Tomato Basil Soup

For a moment there tonight I thought I was eating supper at Turtle Bread in Minneapolis, then I remembered that I was in my own house and I was the cook. On the menu, Tomato Basil Soup with Focaccia bread.

Here's how I made the soup:

I picked about 15 tomatoes from my garden, cleaned, cored, and halved them. I them tossed them in Olive Oil, added a little salt and 2 cloves of garlic and then roasted them in the oven on 400, for 45 minutes.

Then I sauteed one yellow onion with 2 Tblsp of Olive Oil and 1/2 tsp of Red Pepper Flakes. After the onions were cooked I added the roasted tomatoes (juices and all), 4 cups of Chicken Stock, 1 cup fresh basil, 3 cloves of garlic, and 2 bay leaves. I simmered this for about 1 hour. Blended it up, added 1/4 cup cream, a bit more fresh basil.

And then I ate it all up!

The bread comes from, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, a great cook book.

Curried Carrot Soup

I got this recipe from Ed and Linda (via their "Everyday" cookbook, I believe). Based on Ed's suggestion, I doubled the amount of curry powder...and I would ALSO recommend this!
I would love to say that Charlie gobbled/slurped this soup right up, but in all honesty that wasn't the case.* I, however, thought it was sensational! Especially with the cilantro garnish.

*At least he was clothed in orange head to toe so when he spit it out, it wasn't that noticeable!


Curried Carrot Soup
serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

2 T butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (about 3.5 cups)
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 to 2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

1. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, curry powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

2. Add the broth, carrots, and 3 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes

3. In a blender, puree the soup in batches until smooth; hot liquids will expand when blended, so be careful not to fill the jar of the blender more than halfway. To prevent the liquid from spattering, allow the heat to escape: Remove the cap from the hole in the lid, and cover the lid with a dish towel when blending. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Add more water to thin to desired consistency. Reheat, if necessary. Stir in the lemon juice. Serve garnished with the cilantro, if desired.

Senegalese Peanut Soup with Chicken

Yum yum!

3/4 pound sweet potatoes
5 tablespoons peanut oil
8 each Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup onions, julienned
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 quart chicken broth
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chopped, roasted peanuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil and place in an oven-proof pie tin. Place the pie tin in the oven and roast the sweet potatoes for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the potatoes are fully roasted and fork tender. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the potatoes and discard them. Reserve the sweet potato flesh until ready to use.

Place the tomatoes in a small mixing bowl and coat with 1 tablespoon of peanut oil. Lay the tomatoes on a baking sheet, skin side up, and season with salt and pepper. Place the sheet pan in the oven and roast the tomatoes until the skins are caramelized and wilted, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the tomatoes from the oven, discard the skins, and set the tomatoes aside until ready to use.

Set a 1 gallon stockpot over a medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. Add the curry powder to the pot and toast for about 30 to 45 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the onions and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the cayenne pepper and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer.

Add the roasted sweet potatoes and tomatoes to the soup. Add the peanut butter and coconut milk to the pot and stir to blend. Let simmer for 10 minutes, and blend with an immersion blender or in batches in a bar blender until smooth. Season with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and, if necessary, more pepper.

Season the chicken pieces with the remaining teaspoon of salt and the white pepper, and sear in a hot saute pan with the remaining 1 tablespoon of peanut oil for 5 minutes. Add the seared chicken to the pot. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with extra cilantro and the chopped peanuts.

Rainy Day and Stew

I found this recipe on Saturday and it was warm out so I didn't think stew was really appropriate, sunny and warm again on Monday, blah. But today, it rained. The second day of fall, rain, and stew go together right?

So I give you, (by way of Martha Stewart and friends) Vegetable and Navy Bean Stew. Here's where you can get the recipe.

Garden Fresh Beets

These fresh beets from my garden just became Roasted Beet Borscht.

The recipe is here.



I asked Ed if he thought I should make this recipe - he said "I love Borscht." So I decided that was as good a reason as any to give it a try. Plus, I've got a lot of beets to do something with.

I'd never even heard the word Borscht before little Benjamin fell asleep over "Too Much Borscht" back in January. According to Wikipedia, Borscht is the Yiddish word for soup. More here.

Mine doesn't look anything like the pictures on Wikipedia, but I followed this recipe exactly. (All except for I didn't use dill, and I used yogurt instead of sour cream.)

This was actually much like the Carrot Ginger Soup. So if I made it again, I might not blend it up quite so much - just for something different. I also used Ed's idea of toasting a Pita with a little EVOO for a nice bread to go with it.

If you like beets - you'll like this! Yum!

Let me know if you try it.

Sara

Ginger Carrot Soup

This one reminds me of a great vacation...

Last summer when Ed, Linda, Bill and I went to Duluth we stopped at this "fancy pants" restaurant on the way back. After looking at the menu I was less than excited about my choices. I finally settled on a bowl of Ginger Carrot soup and some bread. Best soup ever, well maybe not ever - but close. It was served in a teapot, with a dollop of cardamom ice cream.

Tonight's recipe is Ginger Carrot Soup. Here's the recipe. I used a dollop of vanilla yogurt because where does one get cardamom ice cream anyway? I didn't serve mine in a teapot - in fact my tea kettle has lots of spurts of the soup splattered on it - ah well - it was worth it. I got a kitchen to clean up - let me know if you try this one.

Tomato Basil Soup

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this, Sara. The Spicy Hot V8 is the secret...regular tomato juice just isn't the same.

Tomato Basil Soup

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
11.5 oz. Spicy Hot V8
14.5 oz. chicken broth
15-20 fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup butter

Combine tomatoes, V8 and chicken broth in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. * Puree in blender or with immersion blender. Add the cream and butter, return to medium-low heat, and stir until butter melts completely. Serve immediately.

*We've added basil before and after pureeing....both are good.