Soup's On!!

In case you have'nt noticed there's been a little theme with by recipes lately... It's all about the soup baby! Fall and winter are the perfect seasons for soup and we are just in the beginning of it. Though honestly to me any time is soup time, but there's something about the crisp, cool air and the changing of leaves that creates a hankering for something warm and soothing in even those who claim to not be fans of the often brothy substance.

While everyone's garden's are full of fall vegetable bounty now is the perfect time to whip up a few new treats. Keep your eye's peeled for more upcoming soup recipes throught the seasons and if there is ever one you are desiring to try, let me know and will do my best to fufill that soupy desire of yours.

Have a Happy Fall my foodie friends! I hope you enjoy the soups and stews I have created and will continue to throughout :)

Curried Lentil Stew

Ever since I made the recipe for Curry Dahl (Lentils) a while back, I have been trying to think up other recipes to incorporate them into. My Moms favorite soup is lentil and while I was visiting with her the other day, she gave me a packaged one to try. I simmered it up with some chopped onion, garlic carrots and celery. It was a hearty Italian style Lentil soup, which was good and all, but I realized that I much prefer the pairing of Indian flavors with lentils. That is how I came up with this next recipe.

I call this recipe a stew because the consistency is in-between that of a traditional Dahl and your typical vegetable soup. Loaded with fresh vegetables and lots of Indian flavor, this is a hearty dish that is great served on it's own or atop a mound of white or saffron rice. Add some store bought Naan (unless you have time to make your own) or some toasted pita and you have a full meal.

This is also a very versatile recipe in the sense that you could throw any veggies of your choice in the mix. Just keep in mind that you might have to alter your cooking time depending what you use. I love the fennel in this because it gives it a unique twist with it's slightly licorice flavor and aroma.

As many of you know I like to make larger portions so that I have some to last Brandon and I throughout the week for lunches and such. However, if you prefer, you can split this recipe in half or you can spoon you can do as I did and freeze half of it for one of those nights when you don't feel like doing much of anything other than throwing something in the microwave and vegging on the couch.


Cook Time:

Serves: 10 with rice , 6-8 without rice

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups each - red potatoes, carrots, celery and onion - peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

2 fennel bulbs - core and stems removed and cut into bite sized pieces (reserve stalks for making vegetable broth)

2 cups tomato's - cut into bite sized pieces

4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups red lentils - picked through rinsed and soaked for 15 minutes
1 15 ounce can coconut milk - about 2 cups
1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 heaping tbs yellow curry powder

2 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground coriander

1 whole bay leaf

1/4 tsp ground pepper - plus more to taste

1 tsp salt - plus more to taste

Olive oil - for cooking

Cilantro - chopped (if desired)

4 cups cooked basmati or saffron rice for serving - if desired

Directions:
In a large soup pot, on medium heat, add 1 tbs olive oil, a large pinch of salt and all vegetables, except for the tomatoes. Cover and stirring occasionally, cook until they are mostly tender (they should still have a little crunch to them) - about 12-15 minutes. Add tomato's and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Add broth, all the spices spices and lentils - stir well to incorporate all the spices. Cover and let simmer until lentils are tender - about 30 minutes. Add in coconut milk and season to taste as needed; simmer another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve. Top with fresh, chopped cilantro - if desired.

Recipe - Cheese Tortellini Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35-45 minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 6-8 ounce pouch dried cheese ravioli.

½ tsp each dried basil, thyme, oregano, parsley and tarragon

1 whole bay leaf

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp salt plus more to taste as needed

1/8 tsp white pepper

5 cups vegetable broth

3 heaping tbs tomato paste

1 medium onion – finely chopped

1 medium sized fennel bulb – finely chopped

1 large tomato – finely chopped

1 large bell pepper - finely chopped

2 carrots - peeled and shredded

olive oil

Parmesan cheese - optional

1-2 tbs fresh thyme or basil - finely chopped (if using thyme, only use 1 tbs as it can be a little over- powering)

Directions:

In a large pot on medium heat, add 2 tbs olive oil. Saute all veggies except for the tomato, until mostly tender, about 7-8 minutes. Add tomato, cook another 3 minutes. Add in broth, tomato paste, all the dried herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add in pasta, cover and let simmer until it is tender about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat stir in fresh thyme or basil - if desired. Remove bay leaf before serving. Top with some grated Parmesan cheese and you are set. Enjoy! :)

It's Better Homemade - My Endeavors in Replicating a Packaged Product - "Cheese Tortellini Soup"

A couple weeks ago, I was perusing the food aisle at Cost Plus (World Market) and I came across a section of packaged soups and chili mixes. You know the kind that have all the ingredients neatly placed in a single pouch so all you have to do is throw it in a pot of hot water, add in a few ingredients  and your good to go.  Well I purchased a few different one's (including a cheese tortellini soup mix for those nights I am in need of a quick dinner fix.       So the other nigth I i cooked one up and it was actually pretty darn tasty which got me thinking... If I could get something that good in a package, I sure as heck could create something just as tasty without one.
      In my shopping endeavors throughout the week I picked up all the ingredients I would need. I found a beautiful bulb of fennel and a large beefsteak tomato at the farmer market and picked up the rest of what I needed at the grocery store. I laid out all my ingredients, pulled out a few herbs and spices and put my skills to the test.

My goal - to recreate the tortellini soup from scratch (minus the pasta).
The results - a rich tomato and herb broth exploding with the fresh taste of garden vegetables and tender Parmesan filled ravioli.
The general consensus (from me and my husband, Brandon) - it was even better because, 1. It has fresh tender vegetables that aren't reconstituted like you would find in the package. 2. It has a hearty and satisfying homemade taste that you just can't get with a packaged product.
The reason I chose to use the dried pasta is because this soup needs to simmer a bit and by using the dried tortellini, you get a heartier soup as the starch from the pasta helps thicken the broth and the tortellini also absorbs allot of the broths flavor while it cooks.

Because this is a simmered dish, I use dried herbs, but for an extra bit of fresh garden flavor, you can toss in some fresh chopped herbs of your choice (I prefer basil or thyme) at the end. This gives it another layer of flavor, but if you don't have any fresh herbs it is great without too.

A few great things about this soup -
1. This is a low stress meal. Meaning once you've saute up your veggies, you just throw all the ingredients in the pot, cover and let it simmer.
2. It takes less than an hour to make and has a slow simmered taste as if you've been slaving all day. 3. It is versatile - you can use pretty much any vegetables you may already have handy, such as squash, zucchini, beans, etc…
4. For the seasonings - this recipe uses pantry staples that most people are likely to already have at home. So you can cook this recipe up any time you desire for a fairly affordable price without having to go out and buy a whole bunch of seasonings you will rarely use.

Cheese Tortellini Soup recipe - in following post

Creamy Basil and Artichoke Dip

This is a variation of my famous (ok, not really, but one day maybe) creamy artichoke dip. I was heading over to my brother John’s house for a barbeque the other night and I knew just what to make. I had some fresh basil and tomatoes just begging to be used so I came up with a little variation on my classic recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we all did.

If you would like my classic recipe, you can search  for it under the key word "artichoke".

P.S. Please excue the blurry picture. All I had was my camera phone at the time.

Prep time: 10 minutes:

Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Serves: 6-8 appetizers

 Ingredients:

1 cup mayonnaise

1 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 8 ounce package cream cheese - softened

4-5 cloves garlic – finely chopped

1 15 ounce can artichoke hearts - drained and chopped

2 table spoons fresh basil – finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

2 roma tomatoes – thinly sliced

Olive oil

1 loaf of italian bread cut into 1/2 thick slices and, or corn chips to serve with the dip

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400. Coat a 9x9 baking dish with oil or cooking spray - set aside. In a large bowl blend cream cheese and mayonnaise together until creamy. Mix in parmesan cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir until well blended. Add artichoke hearts and 1 ½ tbs of basil. Mix well until artichoke hearts are broken up and blended in. Mixture should be about the consistency of soft oatmeal.  If mixture seems to moist, add more parmesan cheese. If mixture is too dry, add in a little more mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spread mixture into baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes, remove from oven. Place tomato slices neatly over the top. Place back in oven and bake another 5-7 minutes until edges of dip are golden brown and bubbly. Remove from oven, drizzle with a little ovlive oil and top with remaining basil.

Spaghetti With Roasted Tomato & Goat Cheese Cream Sauce

Summer time is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean garden time is over just yet. Depending on your climate, there are still late summer veggies coming in and fall veggies are now in bloom. One thing that's in season right now are tomatoes. Every garden I have passed within the last few weeks is exploding with them. Several of the gals at my work have been bringing in baskets full of the beautiful red, orange and yellow gems. Today there just happened to be a large bowl of beautiful red and gold cherry tomatoes sitting there for the taking. Just glancing at there shiny skins, looking like freshly polished treasures glinting in the late after noon sun peaking through our second story window, I was inspired to make a new pasta sauce. So I snatched up a few handfuls on my way out the door.

I decided to roast them to let their sweet juices and earthy garden flavors burst from their plump little packages. Then I simmered them with a little balsamic vinegar, goat cheese and cream. I added in some fresh chopped herbs from my garden and the result was a flavor packed and fresh sauce exploding with umami. I tossed in some spaghetti and had a delicious dinner with my husband. The great thing about this sauce is - by roasting the tomatoes, you get allot of those great flavors and natural sugars to come out without having to slow simmer your sauce all day long. Add in the goat cheese for some zing along with some fresh chopped herbs and you have a savory sauce that  you can pair with pretty much any pasta of your choice. I happened to be in the mood for spaghetti, but you could do gnocchi, paperdelle, even rotini. Whatever you use it on, I hope you enjoy.



Note: If you don't have cherry tomatoes you can use any kind you like, just adjust the cooking time as needed depending on the tomato size.



Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Makes: about 2 cups


Ingredients:

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 tsp corn starch

2 tbs olive oil

Salt and Pepper - to taste

4 tbs (about 3 ounces ) goat cheese

1 tbs heavy cream

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp fresh thyme - finely chopped

1 tsp fresh rosemary - finely chopped

2 tsp fresh basil - finely chopped

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese - if desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a shallow baking dish or baking sheet lined with tin foil, toss tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place into oven and roast tomatoes until they have burst open and juices are flowing into the pan (about 15 minutes).

Place a food mill or sieve over a large pot. Pour tomatoes and juices into the strainer and push through the juices and pulp of the tomatoes. Discard the skins and anything that did not get through the strainer. Bring tomatoes to a simmer over medium low heat - stir in balsamic vinegar and all but 2 tablespoons of broth. In a small bowl, whisk corn starch into remaining 2 tablespoons of broth. Stir into sauce mixture, season with salt and pepper and let sauce simmer (stirring occasionally) until it has slightly reduced and thickened - about 10 minutes. if sauce starts to splatter while cooking, loosely cover with a lid.

While sauce is simmering, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta. Cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside - covered ( if pasta is done before your sauce).

Once sauce has reduced, add goat cheese and whisk until melted, add cream and whisk until sauce is smooth. Simmer another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in herbs, add pasta and toss together. Top with a little fresh grated Parmesan - if desired. Serve and enjoy.

Vanilla Pineapple Sangria

This sangria has a nice vanilla flavor to it, with the help of vanilla agave nectar, that pairs nicely with the mild flavors of pineapple and mango. Add the spice of a Serrano chili and you have unique and flavorful sangria with a little kick.

If you can’t find vanilla agave nectar, you can add some vanilla extract to regular flavored nectar. I tried this first with a little gingerale and if you like yours extra sweet, this is the way to go. However, if you prefer a little less sweetness , you can use club soda. You could even do half and half if you like.

Prep Time: 5 minutes + 30 minutes chill time

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

2 bottles semi-sweet white wine such as gewürztraminer or riesling

¼ cup vanilla agave nectar ( if you cannot find vanilla, add 2 tsp vanilla extract to ¼ plain agave nectar)

½ cup white rum

1 ½ cups fresh mango chunks, frozen is fine too if thawed first

 1 ½ cups fresh pineapple chunks, frozen is fine too if thawed first

 1 serrano chili cut in half

3 cups club soda or gingerale



Directions:
Place fruit, chili, agave nectar and rum into a 2 quart pitcher, smash fruit with  a large spatula or spoon and blend ingredients together. Add in wine and one cup of club soda or gingerale. Stir well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Before Serving add in remaining club soda or gingerale. Serve and enjoy!