soup

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More vegetables! I absolutely love blended, creamy soups, and despite the warm weather yesterday was craving something hot and comfy. A veggie soup was just the thing, light enough for the weather but a little bit comforting too. This “recipe” would work with all sorts of vegetables. I totally eyeballed it and used what I had in the house.

I started by thawing about two cups of frozen cauliflower.

frozen cauliflower

And cleaning and chopping eight large carrots. (There were more than just the carrots in this pic; I can count. Winking smile)

carrots

One large white onion, cut into thin slices, tossed with a glug of olive oil went into the pot. I set the onions cooking low and slow while I boiled some water and prepped my potatoes.

onion

I used four fairly large potatoes, skins and all, boiled until soft.

potatoes

When the potatoes were ready, I opened a can of cannellini beans, drained them, and tossed them into the pot which now contained the cauliflower, onion, oil, carrots, one jalapeno, and ground black pepper.

white beans

I poured in just enough chicken stock to cover the vegetables and let them all simmer until soft.

making soup

And then I got distracted by my open windows, warm breezes, and blasting music. I figured a dance party was more important than photographing dinner.

The rest of the process included pouring the contents of the pot into the blender and blending until smooth. It was a bit of a hassle and mess to pour it in to the blender, but I find I am often disappointed by my immersion blender. It just doesn’t do the trick.

The soup was delicious, smooth and velvety with flavor from the chicken stock and onions. It was definitely one of those dishes that required several bowls to be satisfying; something with it might have rounded out the meal a little better. I actually made frozen fries at 10:00 pm because I was still hungry. I was really dreaming about cheesy bread again though.

I guess this soup gets two thumbs up as an appetizer or a side. I would definitely make it again.

Has this lovely weather changed your food cravings yet? I for one can not wait for tomatoes, corn, strawberries, and watermelon, but I will be happy to get through asparagus, ramps, artichokes, and fiddleheads first.

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Tags: Food, recipe, soup, vegetables

Port and Snow

Did you know that Friday was Port Day? Thanks to the magic of the Twitterverse and some great people in the wine business, I also received some Port samples to taste for the occasion.

Since we already had plans to head to Killington, Vermont for the weekend, I brought the Port along. Port and snow go so well together!

The drive to Killington was rainy and foggy until we got close to Killington itself and started ascending the mountainous area. It was then that big snowflakes started to fall. Despite the weather when we arrived, it had been foggy and rainy all day, resulting in the slopes being closed down, and also in lots of ice and slush on unplowed roads. Unfortunately, our not-so-trusty GPS led us astray, down a very long driveway, and we got stuck. Not the best way to start the weekend. The homeowner had a plow, but he told us to call AAA. New England hospitality? Perhaps he should add a giant “Private Driveway” sign to the start of his property?

At any rate, after about 35 minutes of spinning wheels and backing down the driveway and zooming back up, we made it to the dry, salted road. My husband the driver for the win!

fireplace

We arrived at our cozy house to baked ziti and salad and later, Port. I liked this Sandeman 10 year old Tawny Port the best. It exhibited flavors of both dried and ripe fruit with a warm vanilla undertone and a little bit of spice. It went perfectly with Whole Foods two bite brownies. Yes it did.

Sandeman Tawny Port

We spent the evening by the fire sipping Port, and then I had night one of the worst sleep ever.

Luckily, the next day dawned bright but chilly, and we had a leisurely breakfast while looking out over this.

Killington

Due to the icy conditions and general lack of desire to ski, a bunch of us decided to go snowshoeing instead. Those of us who needed to rent shoes did so, and we spent about four hours hiking around a pretty difficult terrain. By the time we were done, I had removed layers and was just enjoying the warm winter sun.

Killington

Blackberry pictures, unfortunately. . . I have snow shoed in the past with my camera, and it was not fun.

Killington

Throughout our hike we went over hills, past a frozen lake, and even saw some adorably furry animals like this pony.

horse

We unstrapped our snowshoes along the way for a quick bite at the Mountain Meadows Lodge. Sweet potato and mushroom soup was just the thing to warm all of us up.

sweet potato and mushroom soup

Après-snowshoe, most of our group took naps, and then we headed to hang out with the skiers at the Lookout. A few pre-dinner beers and some bar food in the very crowded bar, and we headed home for the night, well stocked with some very mediocre Chinese takeout.

We both had another horrible night of sleep, so we ended up not skiing on Sunday and instead, after fluffy pancakes at Blanche and Bill’s, headed home to nap.

Killington is a really fun place, and while the social scene would probably have suited me better five years ago, there are plenty of reasons to return, including dinner at the Killington Ledgewood Yurt.

Vermont still has so much damage from Irene, and I was happy to see businesses booming. If you’re planning a winter trip, Killington is a good place to start!

Special thanks to Killington expert Daisy for all of her recommendations in and around town!

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Tags: Killington, Port, snow, snowshoes, soup, Travel, Vermont, wine, winter

Meet your newest comfort food. I haven’t made a soup I loved this much in a very long time, and ever since I made it last week, I could not wait to share. I’ve made chicken tortilla soup in the past, but I was browsing through the Wine & Food Affair Cook Book (Which is AMAZING!), saw a recipe for chicken tortilla soup that included cornbread mix, and had to add it to my regular old recipe.

jalapenos

I find spicy food to be incredibly comforting, so I started the recipe by chopping 3 large jalapenos, seeds and all. I also chopped half of a white onion and added both to my Le Creuset French oven with some olive oil, letting them sizzle on low for about 10 minutes. Once the onions were softened, I poured in 32 ounces of low sodium veggie stock, Trader Joe’s brand. I love their pre-made stocks and keep a bunch on hand for recipes.

jalapeno and onion

I got the veggie stock bubbling and then poured in the winning ingredient, 1/2 cup of Arrowhead Mills corn bread mix. I was afraid that it would clump, but I quickly whisked it in, and it became one with the stock.

corn bread mix

Next up I poured in about 3/4 cup of my homemade salsa, one of my major addictions. I might make salsa every single day.

homemade salsa

To the soup, I added three chicken breasts chopped into bite-sized pieces, then brought the soup up to a nice bubbling boil, making sure to stir it so that the corn bread mix didn’t sink to the bottom.

chicken tortilla soup

I also tossed in a little bit of cumin and chili powder. I let it all bubble away on a low flame for about 30 minutes until my husband got home, and then served nice big bowls topped with crumbled tortilla chips and cilantro. We later also added scoops of Greek yogurt as topping.

chicken tortilla soup

I love chicken tortilla soup, but the corn bread mix made a huge difference in this. It made the broth super rich and much thicker than a regular soup. It warmed me from head to toe, and I could not wait to chow down on the leftovers for lunch the next day.

I am tempted to cook every single recipe in the Wine & Food Affair book, it is that good.

What types of soup are you looking forward to this season?

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Tags: chicken, dinner, recipe, salsa, soup

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