Category Archives: soup

Spicy Chickpea Carrot Soup

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What’s more comforting than a bowl of soup? How about some spicy soup? You can decide how spicy, onion-y, and garlicky you want to make this. For diced tomatoes, I used fire roasted with green chiles from Muir Glen. This recipe is all up to your own taste. Also, I prefer to use a neutral veg stock/broth because some brands are “too vegetable-y”. (IYKYK.) Use a hand blender to smooth out, or you can use a blender. (I use a hand blender). These are the ingredients:

Ingredients

  • 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes (either spicy or regular)
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • 2 carrots, chopped (you can roast them first too!)
  • 1-2 TB garlic
  • olive oil
  • 1 carton of veg broth (I like Swanson’s veg broth)
  • a little lime juice and zest to taste
  • corriander, to taste
  • cumin, to taste
  • crushed red pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a Dutch oven or stock pot, sauté onion, garlic, carrots in olive oil, medium heat until softened. Add the diced tomatoes, cover and cook until some of the liquid has cooked out and the tomatoes have cooked down (10-15 min, depending on your stove). Add the 2 cans of chickpeas and the spices, lime juice and zest too. Again, all are to your own tastes. I like it medium spicy, not too many onions or garlic. Stir and let simmer for 20 minutes. Then, take out your hand blender, use until the soup is well blended and smooth. There, you’re finished. Now go enjoy your soup.

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

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fire roasted tomato soup

Mmmm, perfect tomato soup for a cold night.

fireroastedtomatosoup2

Add a dollop of pesto and some cheeeeeze!

My mom made this soup when I was recently home for a visit. It is perfect with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine. My version omitted the celery tops (because I rarely buy celery), but it is good with the celery and I used dried basil because I forgot to buy fresh basil (whoops!). The addition of sun-dried tomatoes gives the soup a nice depth. Anyway, I got to use my immersion blender which is one of my favorite kitchen tools ever.

Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

  • 1TB butter
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 3/4C finely chopped carrots
  • 1tsp sugar
  • 1TB dried basil or 10 large basil leaves, torn
  • 4 sun-dried tomato halves, packed in oil
  • 1 28oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
  • chopped celery tops
  • 1 14oz can of vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper
  • dollop of pesto (to add on top when served, if desired)

Melt butter in stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes, or, until soft. Add the sugar, basil, celery tops and salt and pepper, cook for 5 more minutes. Then add the canned tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes and broth. Stir and let simmer for about an hour. Check on it occasionally and stir. Remove from heat and use an immersion hand blender to puree the soup (or, you can use a blender instead). Pour soup into bowls, dollop with pesto and a little bit of Pecorino or parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Smoky Lentil Mushroom Soup

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lentil mushroom soup

Nice and warm on a snowy February day.

I was in 70 degree and sunny temps in FL the other day…only to come back to 27 degrees and snow in NYC. So, why not make some soup? Not that soup fills the void of fresh Florida produce like tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes….Oh well. I think this soup would benefit from some homemade croutons sprinkled on top and a glass of red wine. Enjoy!

  • 2-3TB olive oil
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced or pressed
  • 1 package of white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow pepper, chopped
  • 1/2C. red wine
  • 1 carton of vegetable broth
  • 1 14oz.can of diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted)
  • 2 cans of lentils, rinsed, drained
  • 1 container of spinach, rinsed
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp smoky paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste

(Use a Dutch Oven or soup pot) Heat pot first, over medium heat, when pot is hot, add olive oil and then add shallots and garlic, sauté for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and yellow pepper and cook for another few minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add half cup of red wine and stir. Let the wine cook down, then add the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes and then the lentils and spices, stir. Then cover and let simmer for about 30-45 minutes. Add the spinach just before you’re about to eat and let that get wilted. Serve with crusty bread or, make some whole wheat bread croutons* and sprinkle on top of soup. Serves 4 with some leftovers.

*To make croutons: Cut two slices of whole wheat or whole grain bread into 1 inch pieces. Heat 2TB of butter in a pan, add bread and make sure the bread is coated with the melted butter. If bread isn’t coated, then add a little olive oil. Add some salt, pepper to taste.

Simple Vegetable Bean Soup

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Mmmm, soup is good food (I usually sing the Dead Kennedys song in my head)

Mmmm, soup is good food (I usually sing the Dead Kennedys song in my head)

Did I jinx the nice, unseasonably warm weather that we had the week of Christmas?? Dammit, I miss the 60 degree days and not wearing a winter coat. In fact, I just wore my winter coat for the first time last Monday when it was in the low 40’s here. Sigh. Well, when the temps drop, I like to have a nice bowl of soup and some crusty bread for my dinner. I also seem to make a TON of soup so, I end up freezing most of it. I definitely need a larger freezer. This is a basic vegetable soup recipe…and of course, you can add any type of beans or vegetables you like and adjust the seasonings. I only had white beans on hand, but this is also good with chickpeas. I have also added tiny diced potatoes, chopped broccoli or cauliflower to the soup and it’s delicious.

  • 2TB extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2-3 carrots, chopped
  • 1 stalk of celery, chopped
  • 1/2 a bunch of lactino kale, chopped
  • 1 28oz can of Muir Glen Fire Roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 cartons of unsalted vegetable stock (I always use Kitchen Basic’s unsalted veg stock)
  • 1 can of cannellini beans
  • 1 cup cooked macaroni or small shell pasta
  • Bay Leaf
  • 1-2 tsp Italian seasoning spice
  • Salt & pepper

In a stock pot or Dutch Oven (I used my Le Cruset dutch oven), heat oil over medium heat, then sauté the garlic, onions, carrots and celery until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and diced tomatoes, let simmer and then add the kale and beans. Add the seasonings to taste. For a kick, I added some crushed red pepper. Simmer over low heat until the kale is cooked. Add the pasta last (so it’s not overcooked). Serve immediately. Grate some pecorino romano on top too while you’re at it.

I miss the DKs:
Soup is good food!

Vegetarian Mushroom Soup

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The aroma of sautéeing mushrooms, onions, garlic, butter and a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon filled my apartment. Oh, my, was I going to have a nice meal this evening. I had, had mushroom soup in mind for awhile and actually had never made it (I know, weird, right?) until last night. It’s a really simple recipe that comes together pretty quickly. You can use portobello, white or cremini mushrooms, or whatever you have on hand. I used a combination of portobello and white. It’s also a recipe that you can tweak, which is what I did after finding a basic recipe online. Enjoy with a piece of crusty French bread and a glass of wine!

  • 1TB butter, (may need 2)
  • 1 small onion, chopped (or you could use a shallot too)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 tsp of dried thyme (I also added 1 tsp. of rosemary
  • 4-5 cups of sliced mushrooms (I used 6 cups because they cook down)
  • 1 medium potato, diced
  • 1/4 C. flour
  • 4 C. vegetable stock
  • 1/4 C. red wine
  • Salt and pepper to taste

1. In saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, add the onions and garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until softened.

2. Add mushrooms and potato, continue to cook over medium heat. Add the wine if you are using wine. Let simmer until the vegetables are tender. About 10 minutes.

3. Add flour, stir and break up any lumps of flour. About 1 minute. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the broth is thickened.