old-fashioned navy bean & ham soup

Fall in Alaska is that glorious 3 days of the year where the leaves turn beautiful shades of yellow and orange, there's a distinct smell of sour cranberries and wood smoke lingering in the air, and the Chugach mountains look like they're on fire with all the brilliant red of the dwarf birch and blueberry bushes.

Well, those days are long gone.  What we are left with are bare branches, a chill in the air that feels more like a "freeze" than a gentle "nip", and 1,386,798 political mailers, radio ads, and commercials.  Every.  Single.  Day. 

 

My pesky "day job" has been hogging so much of my evenings and weekends of late as the election nears that I've barely had time to throw a piece of toast in the toaster.   But last weekend, to thank some of my comrades at the office who have been working their little tails off with me, I made a huge pot of warm, comforting old-fashioned navy bean & ham soup.  They devoured it, bless them.

That's the beauty of good food.  It is completely, totally, 100% bipartisan.  No, it's even better than that.  It is non-partisan, a-political, and it's the kind of leadership we need in Washington, D.C.

 

Crap.  Sorry.  Old habits die hard!  

 

I love how easy this soup is to make.  Soak the beans and chop up all the ingredients the night before, then throw everything in the crockpot in the morning and walk away for 10-12 hours.  Magic.

 

Also, your house will smell FANTASTIC.  Best air-freshener ever.

 

So, turn off your TV and radio, leave your mail in the mailbox, and make this soup to brighten up a chilly fall day.  And then remember to VOTE on November 4th!

 

 

Navy Bean & Ham Soup

1 lb. dried beans, sorted and rinsed (navy, great northern, or cannellini beans are great, but whatever dried bean you have on hand should work)
9 c. water
3 medium carrots, peeled or scrubbed well and diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups ham, chopped, or one ham shank
1 bay leaf
2 fresh thyme sprigs, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds of fresh black pepper
a few dashes of hot sauce, such as Tobasco (optional)
1/2 teaspoon granulated toasted onion (optional)

drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, for serving

(1) In a large crock pot, soak beans in 9 cups of cold water overnight.

(2) In the morning, turn the crockpot on low.  Add all other ingredients except the olive oil.  Cook on low setting for about 8-10 hours.

(3) Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs.  If using a ham shank, remove shank from pot and chop/shred all ham off the shank and place back in the soup pot.  May sure to "fish" around the soup for any other bones.  Taste soup and re-season with salt and pepper as needed.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil. 

Enjoy!
xo h

Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato & Bread Soup)

It's finally summertime in Alaska.  The grass is green, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming...and it lasts, oh, roughly 9 days.  Therefore, we Alaskans have to take advantage of every single second.  Enter two regulars on the Chena Girl blog: Ma and Pa.  I gently suggested (begged and pleaded) that Mom and Dad take a brief sojourn down from Fairbanks to Anchorage to bask in the comfort of my comfortable (teeny) home and assist me (or, make Dad do most of the work) in a few projects around the house.  I told them the forecast looked great (it rained for three days straight) and it was a perfect time to put a fence up on the back end of my property.

It's really a wonder that my parents love me so much.

So Mom and Dad came down last week to spend some time with their granddog, Milo, and to help me put a little sweat equity into my home.  Ok, so Dad put in some sweat equity while I followed him around the backyard trying to act like I was helping when really I just thought he should have some moral support out there.  We all have our roles to play.

Once it was clear to Dad that I was completely useless to him, save for some political small talk and multiple comments about how many of my raspberry bushes he was killing, I went inside to bug Mom and start making dinner.  The previous day, we stopped in at Bell's Nursery near my house to find a few blooms and ended up with a 5 pound bag of tomatoes from their fantastic greenhouse.  So I channeled my inner Italian grandmother and together with my Mom (who could pass as an American-accented Italian grandmother any day of the week and twice on Sunday) whipped up a batch of Pappa al Pomodoro, or Italian Tomato & Bread Soup.

I had this soup once when I visited Italy several years ago in a small village in Tuscany.  It was heavenly!  Silky smooth and utterly delicious, I couldn't believe how much flavor was packed into a soup consisting of basically tomatoes, olive oil, and bread.  After that, I ordered it every time I saw it on the menu.  When I came home to Alaska, I realized I could only truly make this soup during the summer when tomatoes were in season.  This is the closest I've come to those incredible bowls of soup I enjoyed under the Tuscan sun.

First, start by coring the tomatoes and slashing a small cross on the bottom of each with a paring knife like sous chef Kathy did:

Using a slotted spoon, carefully place the tomatoes in a large pot of boiling water for one minute, then remove them to a large bowl of ice water.  The skins will be easy to peel after this process:

Once skinned, slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds.  Next, chop them into smaller chunks (or tear them with your bare hands, like Mom did).

After the tomatoes are ready, heat up one 1/2 cup of good-quality olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot and saute the garlic for a minute or two until it is soft but not brown.  (Never let the garlic burn-it turns bitter and ruins the taste of any dish!)  Yes, the soup does require a heavy dose of olive oil, but there are so few ingredients and it's key to the soup's silky-smooth texture. 

**And now a note about "good-quality" olive oil.  I'm sure as soon as you read that, you thought, "What-- does the bottle say good quality on it?  How the hell am I supposed to know what's good quality?!"  At this point, all I can tell you is this: trust your taste buds!  Taste your olive oil!  Dip a little piece of bread in it once you get it home.  If it tastes good to you, then it will probably taste good in your food.  If it tastes sharp, or has an off-taste, then hide it in dishes where it's not the star.  It's true that you often pay for quality, but not always.  However, as a general rule of thumb, never by the cheapest bottle of olive oil you can find.  Because usually it tastes...well, like the cheapest bottle of olive oil you could find.**

Once the garlic is soft, add the tomatoes, basil, a generous amount of salt and pepper, and let it cook over medium heat until the tomatoes fall apart and became more sauce-like (stirring occasionally).

After about 30 to 40 minutes, add torn pieces of rustic bread to the pot.  The recipe I adapted says to remove the crusts, but they don't bother me a bit so I leave them in.  Fill with enough water to cover the bread, and add a few pieces of parmesan cheese rind if you have them (I always try to save mine-- they add great flavor to soup!)

Let the soup simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring it occasionally so that the tomatoes don't stick to the bottom of the pot.  Taste it frequently, too, adding salt and pepper as needed.  If the tomatoes aren't as ripe, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste to boost the flavor.  I also add a pinch of sugar to balance out the acidity.  Once it's ready, ladle it into big bowls, finish it with a drizzle of olive oil, and add a few torn basil leaves for garnish.  From the humblest of ingredients comes an incredibly comforting meal.

And a brand-spankin' new fence! 

The great thing about this soup is that it's even better reheated the next day.  The flavors develop more fully, similar to my favorite Ribollita soup, although you might need to add a bit more water to get the right consistency.  I also prefer to eat this soup after it's cooled down in the bowl a few minutes, as opposed to piping hot. 

Pappa al Pomodoro

(Adapted from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian)

6 lbs. large ripe tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

Leaves from 1 small basil bunch, washed and torn in large pieces

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 1-lb. loaves day-old course-crumb rustic bread (crusts removed if you like)

1-2 T tomato paste (if tomatoes aren't as ripe, optional)

1-2 pinches of sugar, to taste

parmesan cheese rinds, for flavor (optional)

1.  Cut the core out of the tomatoes, and make a cross incision on the bottom of each.  Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for one minute (in batches, if necessary) to loosen their skins.  Remove and place tomatoes in a bowl of ice water.  Peel and discard the skins, slice in half and squeeze out and discard seeds.  Chop or tear up the tomatoes into smaller pieces, and put them aside.

2.  Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large, heavy pot (like an enameled cast iron one) over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes to soften, but don't let it brown (or it will get bitter).  Add tomatoes and basil (saving some for garnish), and season generously with salt and pepper.  Simmer, stirring occassionally until the tomatoes fall apart and become sauce-like, about 30-40 minutes.

3.  Tear or cut bread into small chunks and add enough water to cover the bread, about 5-6 cups.  Stir occassionally to make sure the tomatoes aren't sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Add remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil.  If you have any leftover parmesan cheese rind, add it to the pot for extra flavor.  Simmer over medium heat until bread and tomatoes fall apart and soup becomes thick and smooth, being sure to check seasoning periodically.  If the soup needs stronger tomato flavor, add a few tablespoons of tomato paste.  If it tastes a bit acidic, add a few pinches of sugar (I almost always do this to any tomato-based dish).  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of basil leaves.

Enjoy!

xo H

Italian Wedding Soup

Fall has now turned to winter, and the snow flakes have transformed the landscape once again.  Milo the wonder pup is thrilled- snow chasing is his favorite sport of all time.  (What, it's not a sport?  Don't tell him, he thinks he's in training.)

 I love the fresh food of spring and summer, but there's something so deeply satisfying about the smells that come out of a winter kitchen.  Warm, hearty dishes designed to warm the soul when it's, oh, about 8 degrees outside.  Which it will be...very soon.

I've mentioned this before, but if my job in life was to follow a recipe down to the last teaspoon I'd be living out on the streets.  It is not uncommon for friends to come over and see three seperate cookbooks opened up to a clam chowder recipe (yeah, that happened).  Usually, when I want to see how a singular recipe actually turns out without modifying it, I make a phone call to my sister Holly.  She'll actually follow a recipe the first time.  Plus, we both have the cooking gene, we have similar styles of cooking (transl: each of us owns all of Ina Garten's cookbooks), and we look an awful lot alike.  No, that last characteristic doesn't really help us in the kitchen, but it is fun to tell people about how my brother-in-law Sam thought we were the same person roaming the halls at Willamette Law School for almost an entire school year.  (Yeah, that happened too.)

A few years ago I made my first batch of homemade chicken stock.  I was completely pleased with myself.  After refrigerating it, skimming the fat, and pouring the stock into individual containers for freezing, I thought...now what?  I called Holly, who told me to try this soup from our girl Ina.  Holy moly, after that I wanted to dedicate my homemade stock solely to this dish.  This is a delicious Italian-American soup which I doubt is served at Italian weddings- I've heard that the "wedding" part of this dish actually refers to the wonderful marriage between meat and vegetables.  In that case, "I do."

 True to form, this is my own version of Ina's terrific recipe.  I think my changes simplify the soup without sacrificing any flavor.  First, you start with the meatballs.  Usually Italian Wedding Soup calls for beef meatballs, but Ina uses chicken and I love the flavor.  Like homemade chicken noodle soup with the volume turned up. 

The original recipe uses a mix of ground chicken and ground chicken sausage.  I think that requires opening too many different packages, so I just use chicken sausage and they're delish.  (In fact, these meatballs are so good on their own you could use this as appetizers for your next holiday party served with a side of marinara.) In a pinch, I've used turkey sausage.  But lately chicken sausage has been easier to come by so I find I don't need to substitute as often.  For the meatballs, the food processor is a cook's best friend.  I whir up the Parmesan and the bread crumbs (any white bread will do, and even wheat if it's all you have, but I used the artisan white loaf from my friend Janis at Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop- my favorite bread ever!) in the food processor, easy peasy.

Great tip: "grate" Parmesan in the food processor.  Just throw chunks of cheese in and let 'er rip.

If you use store-bought breadcrumbs, you may need to add a little more milk to the meatball mixture because it might be a little dry.  After all the meatball ingredients are mixed, drop them by the rounded spoonful onto a parchment-lined baking sheet- it makes roughly 35 meatballs. 

Baked meatballs.  These are tasty, tasty balls. 

While the meatballs are baking, start the soup by sauteing the onion, celery, and carrots in a little olive oil.  Once they're soft, add the stock and wine and bring it to a boil.  Turn the soup down to a simmer and add the pasta.  I like using little ABC's or stars.

Cook the pasta in the simmering water for about 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.  Then add the chopped dill, kale or spinach, and the meatballs. 

Cook for another minute, and taste for salt & pepper.  Ladle the delicious soup into bowls and top with a little more grated Parm.  Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy.

Italian Wedding Soup

(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

For the meatballs:

1 lb. chicken sausauge (make sure it's not the already-cooked variety)

2 T. milk

2/3 c. fresh breadcrumbs

1/3 c. grated Parmesan

1 egg, beaten

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. chopped parsley

kosher salt and fresh pepper

For the soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

10 c. chicken stock (preferably homemade- see recipe below)

1/2 c. dry white wine (I usually use a savignon blanc or pinot grigio, or whatever is leftover in the fridge)

1 c. small pasta (I usually use stars)

1/2 minced fresh dill

6 oz. kale, ribs removed and chopped, or 12 oz. baby spinach 

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  For the meatballs: combine all ingredients gently with your hands or a fork.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  You should have about 35 meatballs, give or take a few.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

3.  For the soup: on medium-low heat, add the olive oil to a large soup pot.  Cook the onions, celery, and carrots for 8-10 minutes or until soft.  Add the stock and wine and bring it to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer and add the pasta.  Cook about 8 minutes or until the pasta is tender.  Add the dill, meatballs, and kale or spinach and cook for about one more minute. 

4.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a little extra grated Parmesan.  (And the soup tastes even better the next day!)

The Best Homemade Chicken Stock

(Makes about 20 cups of stock)

Don't bother peeling the veggies- just make sure they're well scrubbed!  After making stock a few times, I've found that roasting the veggies makes the most delicious stock.

2- 5 pound chickens

6 carrots, sliced in half lengthwise

4 celery ribs with their tops if they have them, sliced in thirds lengthwise

2 onions, sliced in half

20 sprigs of parsley

20 sprigs of dill

20 sprigs of thyme

2 t. peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 T. salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Remove the giblets from the chicken, but save the neck.  Rinse and pat dry.  Cut the wings off the chickens.

2.  Put the chicken wings, carrots, celery, and onion in a large roasting pan.  Toss with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, a good pinch of salt and peppper.  Toss together, then roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes.

3.  In the meantime, place the chickens in a large stock pot (the biggest one you have).  Fill the pot with 5 1/2 quarts of cold water.  When the veggies are done, add the veggies and the rest of the ingredients to the pot.  (If you have a stock bag, which is similar to cheesecloth, place the veggies, chicken wings, the herbs, and peppercorns in the bag, tie it off, and place it in the pot with the chickens.)

4.  Bring the pot to a boil (this will take a little while).  Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer the pot uncovered for 4 hours.  Remove the scum when it forms.  After about an hour of simmering, remove the chicken and let it cool for a bit.  Remove all of the chicken meat and put the bones back in the pot to simmer (if you don't remove the chicken meat now, it will be the consistency of shoe leather after 4 hours).  Save the meat for another use (I put it in plastic baggies, wait for it to cool in the fridge, and freeze it for later).

5.  Strain the contents into plastic containers and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, skim the fat from the top of the stock, and use the stock within a few days, or freeze.  This is the secret to the best soups you've ever tasted!

Enjoy! xo H

From Italy With Love: Ribollita Soup

I may be Polish by heritage, but I'm Italian at heart.  I'm loud and outgoing, I give hugs to people I've just met, and when I cook I tend to make quantities enough to feed an army.  And I love everything, and I mean everything, about Italy and Italian food.  Several years ago, I spent two weeks in Tuscany with friends and the trip changed the way I see and experience food.  When I came home, I began an Italian cooking frenzy that's never really stopped.  In that process, I discovered a recipe for a delicious soup that was the perfect vehicle for the bounty of veggies at any Alaskan farmers market- a vegetable soup called Ribollita.  If there is any recipe that I am most defined with, it is probably this.  It is one of my favorite things to make (and to eat), and it is my most-requested recipe.

My friends Mera and Chester recently traveled to Italy with family, and returned with one of the best gifts I have ever received: a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil from the olive grove at their villa in Umbria.  Liquid gold!  Mera only asked in return that I make her this soup, and I was happy to oblige.

Like so many of the best Italian dishes, Ribollita is traditionally a peasant dish.  It's loaded with white beans and hearty vegetables, and Italians used it to utilize day-old bread which gives a beautiful body to this soup.  While there are several steps involved in making this dish, none of them are complicated.  And it's the perfect example of my belief that the simplest food is the best food.  Plus, this is no wimpy soup.  This dish eats like a meal.  I fed it to one of my Laborer colleagues one time, and it took him several bites before he asked: "Is there any meat in here?"  After his second bowl, he asked for the recipe.

First things first, cover a pound of dried cannellini beans with cold water and soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.  If you can't find dried cannellini beans (which I've found at a local Italian market and a small grocery chain in town) you can use dried white beans.  I've made this recipe with canned beans and skipped the soaking step, but I found that this soup (as well as most bean recipes) taste better when you start with dried beans.  Something about sitting in a can makes beans taste like, well...like they've been sitting in a can.

Drain the beans, then add 12 cups of water, 2 T. of good, fruity extra-virgin olive oil, two crushed cloves of garlic, and several sage leaves.  Don't add salt at this point, because I've read that salt slows the cooking time of beans.  I usually use chicken stock to cook the beans, but Mera is a vegetarian and I pleasantly discovered that the soup is just as tasty if you use plain water.  Just don't use vegetable stock- Italians don't cook their beans in anything acidic and most veggie stocks contain tomatoes.  Cover the beans and bring them to a simmer over medium heat.  Once the beans simmer, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 1-2 hours or until the beans are tender.  Once cooked, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.  I like cooking them in my big pot, but I transferred them this time to a smaller pot to cool. 

Yup, that's a lot of veggies.

After you've transferred the beans, add 1/4 cup of the olive oil over medium-low heat and toss in the chopped onion.  Once they're soft and translucent, add the chopped celery, carrots, potatoes, Swiss chard, kale, and cabbage.  Season with salt and pepper.

San Marzano tomatoes- perfect for this soup.

And of course, add a good can of Italian tomatoes.  I think whole peeled tomatoes taste best, so my trick is to submerge a pair of kitchen scissors in the can and "chop" the tomatoes that way.
It doesn't look like all the greens are going to fit, but trust me...THEY WILL!  Just keep adding, wait a little bit, and stir until the greens wilt.  Then add more and repeat the process until everything fits under the lid.  Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, or until all the greens have wilted.




While the veggies are cooking, here's where the fun starts.  Reserve one cup of cooked beans from the bean pot and set aside.  Then bust out the stick blender and puree the rest.  (If you don't have a stick blender, use a regular blender but make sure the beans are very cool before you do it!)

Don't throw away the rind!

Add the pureed beans to the pot of veggies.  Now here's a great trick- know that rind you're left with at the end of a grated piece of Parmesan?  I save those and add them to the pot- they add amazing flavor and saltiness to the soup.










Simmer the soup with the lid on for about an hour.  Then add the reserved beans and chopped bread and cook about 10 minutes more.  Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.

Vegetable deliciousness.

At this point, the soup is ready to serve with an extra dose of extra-virgin olive oil on top and some freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.  However, the soup tastes even better the next day, and this is usually how I serve it.  I refrigerate it overnight, then heat the soup in a 375 degree oven for about an hour, stirring occasionally. 

Tuscan Ribollita Soup

1 lb. dried cannellini beans
¼ c., plus 2 T. good extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
4-5 fresh sage leaves
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 bunch chopped Swiss chard
1 bunch chopped kale
½ chopped small cabbage
15 oz. can of good tomatoes
3 thick slices of hearty day-old rustic bread
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
Leftover Parmesan cheese rind (optional)

1.  Cover beans with cold water and soak overnight, or at least 6 hours.  Drain the beans, return to the pot and add 12 cups of water, 2 T. olive oil, the crushed garlic cloves and sage.  Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1-2 hours, or until the beans are tender.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

2.  Heat ¼ c. olive oil over medium-low heat in a large casserole pot.  Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, chard, kale, cabbage, and tomatoes, and season with salt and freshly-ground pepper.  You may have to add the greens a little at a time, and as they wilt keep adding more until all the greens are in the pot.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the greens have wilted.

3.  Back to the bean pot, reserve one cup of beans and puree the rest with an immersion blender.  Add the pureed beans and leftover Parmesan cheese rind to the pot of veggies.  Simmer, covered, for about an hour.  Add the reserved beans and the bread and cook for another 10 minutes.

4.  For best results, let the soup cool and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, heat the soup in the casserole pot at 375 degrees for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  Before serving, top each bowl with a bit more olive oil and a generous dose of grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!  xo H

"Don't Knock It Till You Try It" Curried Cauliflower Soup

This soup is the answer to that age-old question: "What the hell am I supposed to do with all this CAULIFLOWER?" We've all been there, right? Damn cauliflower. Every once in a while, I go on a tear at the grocery store or farmer's market and buy vegetables with wild abandon, and with the best of intentions. And then they go in the fridge. And sit. And sit a little longer. Until I frantically locate a recipe to use up those leeks (potato leek gratin) or kale (ribollita soup). So what do you do with a head of cauliflower? Usually I roast it in a hot oven with olive oil, salt & pepper. But I wasn't in the mood for that. Then I remembered a recipe that my sister Holly emailed me a couple years ago from her boss, Kristan. At the time, she said to me, and I quote, "It sounds really weird, but it is SO GOOD." And she was right. It's weird. And SO GOOD.

Now you're probably thinking, "This lady only posts recipes about soup."  Not true, but I do LOVE soup. So homey and comforting, and since we're inching up on spring I feel the need to make as much soup as possible before the snow melts. I have made a few changes to the original recipe- I decreased the amount of oil, because it really doesn't need much. I also increased the amount of brown sugar- it's not a sweet soup by any stretch, but the sugar definitely rounds it out and balances the healthy dose of cayenne. This soup is delicious, healthy, and filling.  So don't knock it until you've tried it. Curried Cauliflower Soup.

First, chop up one onion (or two, as I usually double this recipe and freeze half). Saute the onion and curry powder in olive oil in a large pot (like my beloved Le Creuset) over medium heat.  I also add a bit of salt at this point and a couple grinds of pepper, since you really need to season soups and stews in stages to help build flavor.

When the onion is soft and translucent, maybe 4-5 minutes, add one peeled, cored and cubed apple.

Next, chop up one head of cauliflower (I usually cut out the core to make cutting the florets easier, but there is no science to this- it all gets pureed in the end.)

Then add 1 quart, or four cups, of chicken broth. Now, the ideal way to make this soup is with homemade chicken stock, which is what I'm using here. I had no idea the difference it would make in flavor and body to soup until I made some homemade stock last year. (I have a great recipe courtesy of my BFF, Ina Garten, and I'll post it sometime!) I make a huge pot of homemade stock and freeze most of it. But any good quality, low sodium chicken stock will work fine (I prefer low-sodium so I can control the salt content in the soup. V. important).

Bring the chunky soup to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the apple and cauliflower are very soft and tender and you can pierce them easily with a fork. At that point, take an immersion blender and puree the hell out of it. This is a soup that really tastes best if its smooth, so spend some time on this step. If you don't have a stick blender, you can use a regular stand blender. Do it in batches and be careful because it's very hot!

Once it's pureed, return the soup to the pot (if you used a stand mixer) and add the brown sugar, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste. When you serve it, add a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt (which helps to cool some of the spicyness from the cayenne) and some homemade croutons (recipe follows) right on top- I love the crunch it adds to the soup. Eat, and repeat (yup, it's that good).

Curried Cauliflower Soup

1 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 T. curry powder
1 peeled, cored, and cubed apple
1 head of cauliflower, chopped into 1 inch size pieces
1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. cayenne (or to taste)
salt & pepper (to taste)
sour cream or Greek yogurt for serving

(1) Saute onion and curry powder in olive oil in large pot. Add a bit of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.

(2) When onion is soft and translucent, add apple, cauliflower, and broth, scraping the brown bits off of the bottom to incorporate.

(3) Bring broth to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until apple and cauliflower are very very tender when pierced with a fork.

(4) Using either an immersion blender, a food processor, or a blender, puree the soup in batches and then return to the pot.

(5) After you puree all of the soup, add the brown sugar, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt, and top with homemade croutons.

Just a note: This soup freezes very well, and I usually double the recipe and stash half of it in the freezer for later. 


Homemade Croutons

Cube bread in roughly 3/4 inch pieces.  For every 1 cup of bread cubes, use one teaspoon of olive oil.  Toss bread cubes with olive oil, and a generous dash of kosher salt and several grinds of pepper.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, tossing once halfway through.  Allow to cool and toss several on the soup (or a salad!).

I make these once during the week and they keep for several days in a plastic baggie.

Enjoy! xo H

The Tomato Soup That Started It All

A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to make some soup.  As I was looking through my collection of recipes, I thought to myself, "I wish I could do this all the time."  You see, I love to cook.  And for the most part, I'm pretty good at it.  Or at least I never have a problem collecting my friends at the last minute asking for mouths to feed (especially my friend Bill, who never misses an invite). When folks ask me what my hobby is, I feel like I should respond with:  mountainbiking.  Or ice climbing.  Or skiing, at least.  But what I always tell them is that:  I love to cook.  I also love to eat good food.  So deciding to have a career as a lawyer makes sense, right?  I'm lucky to have found a fulfilling career as a union lawyer, but I realized that I needed an outlet for all the cooking I like to do.  So here I am:  a technologically-impared lawyer writing my own little food blog.  And the recipe that started it all was a delicious soup that is the perfect accompanyment to your classic grilled cheese sandwich:  Creamy Tomato Soup.  This recipe is a combination of two different ones I found online (which is something I typically do- mash together a couple different recipes to find one I like even better).

First things first, chop up one onion.

(Ok, I just started this thing.  I promise my pictures will get better.  Baby steps.)  Next, mince up 4 cloves of garlic.


Dice up one red bell pepper (I forgot to take a picture, but I figure you can manage).  Throw the onion, garlic, and bell pepper in a pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a medium or large pot.  Add a good pinch of salt and several grinds of fresh black pepper.  Saute 4-5 minute, or until the onion is starting to look translucent.

A nice, deep pot like this Le Creuset (thanks Mom & Dad!) is the perfect pot for soup.

Now here comes the weird step- dollop 8 ounces of cream cheese (I used light, but full fat is fine) into the pot.  This makes the soup so good and creamy!

Stir the cream cheese around until it gets melty and ooey-gooey.  (Sorry, I'm a lawyer, not a professional chef.  So I don't know all the techincal words for these things.  I'll try harder, promise.)

Add to that a cup of milk, 3 cups of low-sodium tomato juice, a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes (I used a box of Pomi tomatoes- which are imported from Italy and you can find them in the regular section of the grocery store.  You pay a bit of a premium, but I think they have the best flavor.  I also love San Marzano tomatoes.  But any diced tomato will do.)  Finally, add the 2 teaspoons of sugar, which helps to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, and brings out their sweetness.  After a stir, it should look something like this.  I taste it at this point and add salt and pepper if it needs it.

Finally, roll up several leaves of fresh basil, and chop 'em up.  Fresh basil is best, but 1 tablespoon of dried basil will work too.

Toss the basil into the soup and stir!  Simmer for 15 minutes or so, stirring frequently.

Finally, use an immersion/stick blender to blend up the soup.  I don't like to overdo it- a few chunks of tomato and onion add a nice touch to me.  If you don't have an immersion blender, blend it in batches in your regular blender, but be careful because it's hot!  Here's what it should look like:

This soup is so delicious and easy!  It is a faithful standby when you're in a pinch, and I think you'll come back to it over and over again. 

I actually forgot to take a picture before I took my first bite of the grilled cheese.  What can I say?  It was dinner and I was hungry. 

Creamy Tomato Soup

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, choppped

2 T. olive oil

8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. milk

28 oz. can (or box) diced tomatoes

3 c. low-sodium tomato juice

handful of fresh basil, or 1 T. dried

2 t. sugar

salt and pepper, to taste

(1) Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the chopped onion, red bell pepper, and garlic, plus a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook 4-5 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the onion starts to look translucent.

(2) Add the cream cheese and stir till melty.  Add the milk and cook until simmering, a minute or two.

(3) Add the tomatoes and their liquid, tomato juice, basil, and sugar.  Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes or so, stirring frequently.

(4) Blend the soup with an immersion or stick blender until smooth but still a little chunky.

This makes a BIG batch of soup- roughly 8 cups.  Too much for this single gal.  But as any of my friends will tell you, I have an inability to make any food in small quantities.  Luckily, I found that despite the fact it has milk in it, the soup actually froze pretty well.  When I reheated it, I had to add an extra dash of sugar because it tasted a bit acidic.  Mass quantity problem solved. 

Enjoy!  xo H