Soup!

[shootingstar]

Fresh ramen, noodles is good...and doesn't taste as rich as the Italian oriented handmade pastas. However that stuff is wonderful too.

I wish I could easily replicate in writing his wonderful butternut squash soup variations --not a cream-based soup. We use vegetable stock, somtimes there's an apple or pear, sometimes curry, etc. Then all pureed and served with a dollop of yogurt.

I go simple and cheap at times..fishead soup stock (well hey, Lisa talked about her turtle meals in the crockpot thread. And 1 fishead is only 1 dollar.) with fresh noodles, bok choy or whatever Asian green veggies, or tomato with an egg dropped in and stirred quickly.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Another COLD & WINDY day in the 20's F.
Very unseasonably cold all this week, and going down to 15F tonight.

It was too cold to bike today, but DH and I did the one mile walk to breakfast and back this morning. (nothing much keeps us from our weekend town breakfasts).

I got a few local organic veggies from the farmer's market yesterday, so I made a vegetable soup this afternoon in between the batches of apple butter I am making.

First I browned a large chopped onion and 3 sliced garlic cloves in a big soup pot in 2T of olive oil. Then added:
8 cups water
4 chicken bouillion cubes
black pepper
and the following roughly chopped or cubed veggies:
1 large sweet potato
4 large leaves bok choy
3 carrots
2 cups red cabbage
3 beets
and 1 can small pink beans, drained

then I just simmered it for about 2 hours. It's very good! And it's a beautiful rich golden pink broth because of the beets!

[katluvr]

I made the Black Bean Pumpkin Soup this weekend...it was awesome! And so easy! Now I just need to try some more soup making!

[limewave]

I make something very similar, but with butternut squash puree. I love it. Sometimes it turns into more of a chili if I add sauteed peppers, chili powder and a pinch of curry.

I love making vegetable soup. So easy. So delicious. I like to add just a pinch of curry to this soup too, makes it warm and pleasing.

[7rider]

I made the Black Bean Pumpkin Soup this weekend...it was awesome! And so easy! Now I just need to try some more soup making!

I had it all planned out....I was going to make this one, too.
And then, I forgot to get the pumpkin at the store.
Then...I used my one can of black beans in some turkey chili last night.


Maybe next week.

[OakLeaf]

I actually like my squash soup very simple with hardly any seasoning at all. Onion, maybe a little garlic, whatever happens to be in my broth mix, salt and pepper, that's it. Really lets the squash flavor shine through.

[pardes]

I'm a vegetable soup addict and now in later years have discovered the joy of making quick and easy and very tasty vegetable soup using dehydrated and free-dried vegetables (carrots, onion, celery, green beans, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, and my favorite...mushrooms) in a chicken base stock. It's great with bread and butter and only takes 10 minutes.

[divingbiker]

I made the Black Bean Pumpkin Soup this weekend...it was awesome! And so easy!

I'm so glad you liked it! I realized that I actually used two cans of pumpkin when I made it, but I'm glad to know that it's good with one. I like that it only uses ingredients that I always have on hand.

[Susan Otcenas]

This is a recipe I adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com. The original called for more ginger and only plain water. I cut the ginger and added the boullion cubes for a richer flavor. The original also has the option of swirling in heavy cream at the end, but I find the soup quite smooth without it.

1 medium butternut squash
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onion, diced
2 pounds carrots - peeled and diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed or to taste
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
8 cups water
4 boullion cubes (veggie or chicken)
pepper to taste
2 pinches ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Scoop seeds out of the butternut squash, and place cut side down onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until softened. Allow to cool, then scoop the squash flesh out of the skin using a large spoon and set aside. Discard skin.

2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic, and cook, stirring until onion is translucent. Pour in the water, and add squash, carrots, boullion and ginger. Bring to a boil, and cook for at least 20 minutes, or until carrots and ginger are tender.

3. Puree the mixture in the blender (hold the top on with a dish towel, or else you risk being splattered by very hot soup!), or using an immersion blender. Add boiling water if necessary to thin, but bear in mind this is meant to be a thick creamy soup. Return soup to the pan, and heat through. Season with pepper and cinnamon.

The recipe yields 8 generous portions, with about 250 calories per serving and 10 grams of fiber. I plugged this recipe into my Weight Watchers Recipe Builder and it comes out at 4 points per serving.

I'm considering getting an immersion blender to make cooking this soup easier. With a regular blender, it takes alot of small batches scooped into the blender and poured into another big pot, to get it all pureed. It's wasy to make a mess this way. Seems like an immersion blender would really simplify the process.

This recipe has become one of my winter staples. I freeze a portion to keep for a week or two. When you thaw it, it's very crystalline and somewhat separated. But as soon as you reheat it, it smooths back together again.

Hope you enjoy it!

I think I'll give the black bean pumpkin soup a try. I loooooove black bean. Sound slike a nice hearty winter soup. Thanks for the recipe!

Susan

[Karma007]

I'm a total soup junkie. My latest addiction is a veggie soupl made with homemade stock (made weeks ago and frozen, just for a soup crisis) carrots, chard (in fine ribbons) celery, sauteed tomato garlic onions, etc. IT goes from "ok" to "WOW" when you throuw in a handfull of cheese tortellini!
I can't stop eating it!

[surgtech1956]

I'm looking for some good veg soup recipes. I love soup, but never make veg soup.