Andy's Cioppino

Another delicious meal by my good friend, Andy. This was also my first time ever having seafood stew! This was chock full of mussels, shrimp, squid, scallops, halibut and carrots, celery, tomato base and a tinge of fish sauce as a secret ingredient! Here is an interesting fact about Cioppino, or Italian seafood stew: it originated in San Francisco as a compilation of foods consumed at sea. It was developed in the late 1800s by Italian fisherman who settled in the North Beach section of San Francisco. It is a hodge podge of various regional Italian fish soups and stews.. Unfortunately I do not have an exact recipe - only photographs to drool over.

Kale and Butternut Squash Minestrone Soup

I recently learned that for my 20 years of speaking, I have been mispronouncing "Minestrone." While sharing with colleagues what I was planning to cook for dinner I was informed that it is not pronounced "Min-estron-ee," but actually "Minestron." Either not a single friend or family member has ever corrected by Italian mispronunciations, or the entire West coast is with me in acknowledging the silent "e." Regardless, I was a bit embarrassed but still wanting to make the soup regardless of the silent or not "e." I have a lovely recipe from Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food cookbook which I adapted slightly and made for my Dad the first night of his visit. I have read a lot about Alice Water's and I have even been to Chez Panisse, but I have never tried cooking one of her recipes. This soup was delicious, seasonal, and healthy and I served it with my blue corn muffins. I had enough leftovers for two extra lunches and a dinner.

Kale and Butternut Squash Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

2 cans Cannellini beans

1/4 cup olive oil

2 1/2 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 1/2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

3 dried bay leaves

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

3 cups water

2 cups stewed tomatoes

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 large bunch kales, stems removed and roughly chopped

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 large handful fresh dill, chopped

Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a big pot heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

2. Add the bay leaves, rosemary, sage and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more.

3. Add the chopped kale and tomato (add all the liquid too) and cook for another five minutes.

4. Add the 3 cups of water and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Add the sundried tomatoes and squash and beans and cook until the squash is tender, about 20-25 minutes, add in the fresh dill just before cooked. Serve with freshly grated cheese and enjoy!

Mushroom Barley Soup

I recently had lunch at 2nd Avenue Deli and one of the soups was mushroom barley soup which was delicious but overpriced for a very small amount. I decided to make a huge pot of my own mushroom barley soup that could feed eight and cost very little. I found this recipe on my favorite food site and worked from it. This soup is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter night and with some flaky and chewy bread it's fantastic!

Mushroom Barley Soup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

10 oz pound mushrooms, chopped

8 oz corn kernels

2 large carrots, chopped

2 large celery stalks, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 cup pearl barley

2 tablespoons flour

8 cups mushroom broth, or vegetable broth

1 large handful fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Directions:

1. Melt butter over medium high heat in a large pot.

2. Add the mushrooms, corn, carrots, celery and onion and saute until the vegetables begin to brown, about 20 minutes.

3. Add flour and stir for five minutes. Gradually mix in the broth and pour in the barley. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the barley is soft and the soup thickens, about 40 minutes. Add in the parsley and dill and serve warm.

                              

Aunt Sue's Red Lentil Soup

My Aunt Sue is a phenomenal chef; every meal I've ever had of hers has been delicious and healthy! I was excited to receive an email of one of her soups and so my cousin, Megan, and I decided to make it on Tuesday night. We made it a little spicier than we were expecting, well, it was sort of an accidental spiciness because I put in a little too much chili flakes. Luckily, the heat wasn't too much and it still tasted great! We enjoyed the soup with a fresh loaf of garlic French bread and a salad. I had some more of the soup for lunch the following day. Sue usually adds the juice of one lemon to her soup but we didn't have one, well Megan went to get one, but we forgot to use it. Still it tasted great! Also, some ideas for garnish are cilantro or even some grated parmesan.

Aunt Sue's Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 heaping teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons chili pepper flakes

1 quart chicken stock

2 cups water

1 cup red lentils

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute the diced onions with olive oil until they are translucent. Add in the garlic about half way through.

2. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper and chili flakes and saute for a couple minutes.

3. Add in the chicken stock, water, lentils and diced carrots and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

4. Using an immerssion blender or food processor, grind the soup. Be sure to not grind the soup too much, the soup should still be chunky.

Super Vegetable Soup

I made this vegetable soup back in the summer and ever since, my boyfriend has been requesting it. The tricky thing is that when I made it, I just threw together whatever vegetables I had so I had no idea how to recreate it exactly. He remembers it being orange and yellow which lead me to believe there was a lot of yellow squash and carrots. We enjoyed this soup with some homemade beer bread and freshly grated parmesan cheese. I recommend picking up some thick whole wheat bread to truly enjoy this soup. This soup is super because it keeps really well. It tastes great chilled and you can pack it for lunch for the next few days. It's also super because there are so many vegetables in it and it's filling and healthy. My recipe doesn't have any salt so if you prefer to add it in, then go for it! Also, I prefer vegetable soups to be a little chunkier, but you can easily puree to get your desired consistency. I just put the cooked vegetables in the food processor for a couple seconds to keep the chunkiness.

Ingredients:
1 lb yellow squash (about 2 1/2 large squash), cut into 1/2 inch slices
5 bella mushrooms, cut into thirds
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 whole carrots, cut into 1 inch sliced
1 1/2 cup corn kernels
3 large shallots, minced
3 small Thai chilies, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin
Pepper

Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients, except for the water, in a large pot over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the water and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
3. Pour the soup in batches into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to get a consistent texture.
4. Sprinkle with some grated cheese, dried pepper flakes, or some mint and enjoy!

Broccoli Soup with Toasted Corn Crutons

No matter how hard I try, I can't get pretty soup pictures. I try to clean the edges of the bowl but my imperfections always come out in soup pictures. Also, because the soup is still hot off the stove when I sprinkle the parmesan, it instantly melts into the soup. One day I hope to have lovely soup pictures. Until then, you are just going to have to trust me that this soup is really tasty and comforting. With some crunchy bread, this soup hits the spot. I don't have an immersion blender so I have to process it in a food processor in two separate batches, so I understand why purchasing an immersion blender would save a ton of cleaning. That may have just sounded like an advertisement, but until this evening I truly believed I was better off without an immersion blender. If my cold weather = hot soup kick continues, I think I will get an immersion blender and perhaps then I will have pretty soup pictures! I found this simple recipe on Inspired2Cook and decided to change it up and see/taste what happens. I'm quite excited that I have a left over tub of this in my refrigerator for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients:

(Makes 4 servings)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

4 teaspoons minced garlic

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 pinches dried chili flakes

2 pinches oregano

1 pinch ground pepper

4 cups water

3 teaspoons low sodium vegetable bullion

1 16-ounce package frozen broccoli florets, thawed

1/2 cup white corn kernels

Grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Add the sweet potatoes, chili flakes, oregano, pepper and water and bring to a boil. Add in the bullion to dissolve.

2. Adjust the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered until the sweet potato is tender to a fork, 8-10 minutes. Add the broccoli and simmer for 3 minutes.

3. In batches, puree the soup in a blender or processor. Put the soup back into the pot and return to a medium low heat.

4. Bring oven to broil setting. Drizzle olive oil on a pan, place corn kernels on pan and sprinkle with pepper. Broil the corn for 4 minutes, or until toasted and crunchy.

5. Sprinkle the parmesan and corn on the soup and enjoy!

Spicy Tomato Soup

Tomato soup with grilled cheese is one of my favorite comfort food combinations. It reminds me of the being a kid in the summer. I had a bunch of left over tomatoes from the last batch at the farmers market and it was cold night so I wanted something warm. This soup tasted fantastic I just wish I had had some good bread to go with it and dip in it! It's healthy and I didn't add any salt so it's sodium free! Beware readers; this soup packs a lot of heat on the spiciness factor. I used one Habanero pepper but for the uninitiated, a tiny piece can cause prolonged suffering. The parmesan offsets it a bit, but simply omit the pepper if you want to have a non-spicy soup.

Spicy Tomato Soup

(Makes 2 bowls)

Ingredients:

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 white onion, chopped

2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 Habanero pepper, minced
1/3 cup soy milk
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:
1. In a pot, over medium heat, saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent and the garlic is golden. Add in the tomatoes, pepper, milk and remaining olive oil and bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is thickened and warm to eat.