Year of the Soup: Week 43

I’m growing tired of soup.  Soup lingering in tupperware bowls in the back of my fridge for weeks.  Soup splattered all over the kitchen counters and stove (yes, I’m messy.)  Soup recipes that seem like a good idea until you smell the contents bubbling on your stove.  I’m just a bit over the whole thing.  So it’s a good thing that this soup was so delicious, and left me with no leftovers to anguish over.  I fed it to a handful of willing friends last night, and the consensus was that this corn chowder is a keeper.  Only 9 more soups to go until the year is complete – I think I just might make it.

It’s been a hectic week, so my only blog post is about soup – apologies!  I’m off to St. Louis tomorrow to photograph a wedding at one of my favorite venues in the beautiful fall weather.  Look forward to seeing that wedding next week! :)

Cheddar, Corn and Potato Chowder

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon flour
32 ounces vegetable broth
2 1/2 cup diced Yukon Gold potatoes (about 4 large)
2 cups frozen yellow corn
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste Continue reading »

Year of the Soup: Week 42

I’ll admit to being a bit afraid to taste this one.  It sounded interesting from the ingredient list, but once I started preparing everything I began second guessing myself.  I started worrying this would be just another in a (seemingly) long line of soup failures.  Peanuts, tomatoes and chickpeas?  Really??  Really.  And as it turns out, it’s delicious.  It’s something completely different than anything else I’ve made, and quite tasty.  Win!

I opted to use butternut squash, instead of yams as this recipe calls for, because my friend Devon gifted me a squash the size of a small child (thank you!)  I think it worked just perfectly in this soup, but the yams would probably be a little sweeter.  If you don’t like peanut butter, I’d steer clear of this recipe.  But if you love it (like I do) – enjoy!  Yummy.

West African Soup

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup roasted peanuts
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 6 cups sweet potatoes, peeled & cut in 1 ” cubes (or butternut squash)
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans vegetable broth
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 sprig flat leaf parsley (optional)

Directions

1. To make peanut butter, process peanuts in food processor about 2 minutes until smooth, scraping the bowl at least once.
2. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion in oil about 7 minutes until lightly browned.
3. Add peanut butter plus sweet potato through tomatoes.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes until sweet potato is tender.
5. Serve garnished with parsley.

Year of the Soup: Week 41

I love fall.  Crisp air, turning leaves, the return of the pumpkin spice latte…so many things to love.  And it finally feels like soup season again!  While I am dying to make some more fall-specific soups (like pumpkin soup – yum!), I had a bit of a hectic schedule this week.  So those will have to come a little later.  Instead I opted for a quick vegetarian chili.  I’ve made and eaten a lot of vegetarian chilis, and I chose this one because it sounded so different from anything I’ve made before.  That’s the whole point, right, trying something new?

While it is something new, I’m not sure this chili is an improvement over my previous favorite recipes.  The main reason is that this chili packs some serious heat.  I’d suggest using only one chipotle chili unless you like spice a lot.  But truthfully, I wouldn’t really recommend this recipe.  It relies too heavily on the spice for its flavor, and the beer actually leaves it a little bitter.  There are definitely better vegetarian chili recipes out there.  Oh well, they can’t all be winners :)

Black Bean Chili

Ingredients

• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, drained and minced
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 Tbs. ground cumin
• 1 large onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced (5 tsp.)
• 2 14-oz. cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 24 oz. gluten-free dark beer
• 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn Continue reading »

Year of the Soup: Week 40

I made this entire soup while wearing 4 inch heels.

That’s huge for me – I’m not good in heels.  But because John is 6’5″, I’ve decided to wear heels for our wedding.  Knowing how so many brides have sore feet after only about an hour, I’m taking the advice given long ago by Jackie before her wedding.  She wore her wedding shoes around the house for weeks – most notably to vacuum.  Because of it, she was able to spend the entire night in her fabulous purple heels instead of downgrading to flip flops.  So I’m opting to cook in my heels for the next few weeks to prepare my feet.  So far, so good.

As for this soup, it had all the makings of an excellent recipe, but I think the ratios are off a bit.  The flavor of the apples really overpowered everything else, which made it altogether too tart.  If you make it, I’d suggest cutting back on the apples, or using a style that’s less tart.  Thank you much to fellow photographer/vegetarian Stephanie for sending me this recipe!  Now that I’m down to only 12 soups left, I could use more suggestions, so feel free to send a recipe my way if you see a good one :)

Roasted Parsnip and Apple Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. parsnips
4 Tbsp butter
1 1/4 lbs. tart apples (granny smith, pink lady, etc.)
1 small sweet onion
1 lb. waxy potatoes (such as Yukon gold)
1/2 tsp each ground ginger, cumin and nutmeg
1 tsp coriander seeds, pulverized
2 litres vegetable stock (or chicken)
1/2 cup cream
kosher salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste
Continue reading »

Year of the Soup: Week 39

This soup doesn’t really feel like soup.  It’s packed with flavor and truly delicious, but doesn’t seem like something you should eat straight from a bowl with a spoon.  It’s just not really soup.  To us, this recipe felt more like a great sauce.  If you put it on some veggies or chicken and served it on a bed of rice – yummy.  That’s what we plan to do with the leftovers, actually.  It’s not soup, but it is still good.  Happy Tuesday!

Indian Roasted Eggplant Soup

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant (about 11/2 lb.), coarsely chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped apple
• 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs. Dijon-style mustard
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 12-oz. can tomato juice
• 3 Tbs. chopped cilantro plus extra for garnish, optional
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste Continue reading »