Wednesday Food Blogging

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Curried Cauliflower Soup

I think I should change the name of this blog to Wednesday Soup Blogging. Because I really, really love to make soup. Maybe it's because we have so many cold, rainy days, perfect for simmering a pot of soup. Or because soup is so forgiving—a little extra spice, or a little extra oil never hurts soup the way it can a cake.

Fortunately, I love to eat soup as much as I love to make it. When I come home from a long hike in the countryside, there is nothing better than a bowl of steaming soup to warm up an empty belly.

This soup is another whizzed soup. I've noticed the British are especially fond of putting their soups in a blender and pureeing them. That's fine with me, but I like to dress them up a little, with some coriander (which Americans know as cilantro) and some drizzled coconut milk. You could also sprinkle some toasted coconut on top. And, for added texture, my husband insisted on leaving some cauliflower intact to add to his bowl.

For spices I've used curry powder, for its convenience, but also added another teaspoon of turmeric. That's because I recently read an article about how turmeric kills cancer cells in a petri dish. I guess a soup bowl is sort of like a petri dish, isn't it? Especially when it contains a melange of healthful ingredients like cauliflower and turmeric.

For easy directions, keep reading:

Southwestern Corn Soup

Full of summer's bounty, Southwestern Corn Soup is perfect for a busy almost-fall day.

It's the end of summer, so there's finally fresh corn in the supermarket. But it's also the beginning of fall, so the evenings are cool.

So of course this situation calls for corn soup. Like many meals, this one started with a knife in one hand, a vegetable in the other. While I shucked the corn and removed the kernels from the cob, I thought about my approach. I sautéd some onions in olive oil, added the corn, and pretty soon had a pot of soup simmering.

To the bowl of soup that eventually emerged I added some fresh squeezed lime, because nothing says Southwestern like the fresh taste of lime juice. And to round off the meal, I heated some refried beans and tortillas, made a wrap and served it alongside steaming bowls of soup.

It was incredibly easy to make, a meal fit for a busy end-of-summer day. Here's how: 

French Lentil and Wild Rice Soup

French le puy lentils + wild rice from Minnesota = French-Minnesotan Soup

I'm sure this soup has authentic roots. I mean, surely some French trapper in Minnesota pulled a bag of lentils from his pack and decided to cook it with the wild rice that grew among the lakes of Minnesota. He probably used some wild tarragon, too, to remind him of home, and some of the precious olive oil he'd traded some Spanish conquistadors for.

Then he probably shared it with the Native Americans, who told him it would be better with some root vegetables and spinach, and showed him where the best wild mushrooms grew.

Pretty soon he was the most popular fur trapper in Minnesota, making delicious French Lentil and Wild Rice soup for all his buddies during the cold winters. But he never bothered to write down the recipe. And sadly, an entire cuisine was lost. And that's why today you never go to French-Minnesotan restaurants or watch cooking shows that specialize in French-Minnesotan cuisine.

Oh well, I have a suspicion that would include Beaver Bourguignon, and the world is definitely better off without that.

Fortunately, my daughter's friend sent me some wild rice from Minnesota, and with another drizzly August day prompting me to make soup, this recipe was born (again?).

Here's how:

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Soup

This butternut squash soup has a Southwestern thing going on.

This soup has been simmering in my mind for a while, but it wasn't until a rainy Monday morning that it all came together. While butternut squash is normally thought of as a winter vegetable, it is available in the summer, and will wait for quite a while for you to decide what to do with it.

I really like how orange butternut contrasts with black beans, so I went that route, adding my favorite summer vegetable, roasted corn, for garnish. And I had chipotles in the fridge, left over from a previous meal. A sprinkle of cilantro provided a burst of fresh, like the sun coming out after a summer rain.

Still, until I took a bite, I wasn't sure how the flavors would meld. The result exceeded my expectations: I was only going to take a bite from the photographed bowl, and save the rest to eat with my husband, but I couldn't stop at one bite. I scarfed the whole bowl down in seconds.

I won't even bother reminding anyone how low-fat and healthy this soup is, full of antioxidents and other helpful bits. Or how sustainable it is—I happened to be listening to a radio program about car emissions and global warming while I cooked (and they made fun of the overuse of the word "sustainable", so I thought I'd toss it in here). But it is all that, along with being just darn good.

To make this soup, start with a rainy day and proceed like this:

Borlotti Bean and Spelt Soup

Soup, for those days when swine flu has you down.

It's still cold enough here that soup is a viable option, especially when your husband is sick with swine flu a cold. So with temperatures in the 50s, I took the opportunity to make soup from the borlotti beans I had soaked overnight.

This is sort of reminiscent of red beans and rice. Except it's Italian in origin and flavor. I really like the spelt, which is shaped like rice, but is chewier, grainier. Nice.

This made a lot. I'll have to make room in the freezer for a few bowls of leftovers, which will be perfect for lunch on a cool spring day.

Keep reading for instructions...

Thai Carrot Soup

Thai Carrot Soup: Filling, not frou frou.

With an excess of carrots in my veggie bin, and a hankering for soup, I knew I had to make carrot soup. But I wanted something different, something spicy and warm, not the delicate carrot soups I normally make (for the record, it's the recipe in the original Moosewood cookbook). So I got the idea for coconut milk instead of cream, and pretty soon I realized I was going in the Thai direction. I stirred in some peanut butter and lime juice, and when I tasted the result, I knew I had a winner.

This is not your grandmother's carrot soup. It's rich, and exotic, and filling—a second bowl easily filled me up, with nary a cracker or salad to go alongside. And the smells—all night I could smell the warm curry spices still emanating from my kitchen.

I dressed it up for its photo, but you don't have to go to the trouble—although swirling a few dribbles of coconut milk hardly takes a moment. The next day, after a snowy hike around the Chilterns, I heated up the remains for lunch and I swear they were even better.

If you're tired of frou frou carrot soups, give this one a try. Directions below.

Kale and White Bean Soup

If you're half frozen, make Kale and White Bean Soup, quick!

During our recent cold snap, I spent a day out in the cold, and after coming home, I thought I'd never be warm again. So of course I made soup. I opened the fridge, saw a bag of kale (kale comes pre-chopped, in bags here) and went from there. Altogether, it took about a half hour to get on the table, and was a filling meal—just what I needed, too.

Now that the U.S. is having a cold snap, I figured I'd download my photos and post a recipe.
But don't do like I did, staying out in the freezing temperatures all day. My fingers were so cold I'm surprised they didn't fall off. Or get chopped off while I chopped veggies with numb fingertips! 

Keep reading for directions.

Corn Soup with Fried Shallots

Corn Soup with Fried Shallots: Very much like the first Thanksgiving?

I guess you could call it Thanksgivingy. Corn, after all, is was what the Pilgrams ate. Maybe. The Old World accepted it, grudgingly, from the New World, a fact for which I'm grateful this Thanksgiving.

When I opened my freezer bin (freezers consist of drawers in British refrigerators) this afternoon, I discovered three bags of frozen corn. Why I've been hoarding sweetcorn I don't remember. Probably in case of, you know, nuclear winter. Or a financial crisis. Or maybe just plain old winter.

Anyway, I decided to try a corn soup, with a bit of Southwestern edge in the form of red chiles. And the fried shallots I'd seen in a recipe photo looked promising. My shelves are also stocked with soya cream from France, where, although they're inhospitable to vegans, they're surprisingly adept with soy products.

Anyway, it made for a divine Thanksgiving meal in a non-Thanksgiving celebrating country. With a Pinot Gris, also courtesy of the French, we were more than satisfied.

Here's how:

Smoky Black Bean and Corn Soup

Black Bean Soup, the perfect low-maintenance meal

On Sunday afternoons I like to putter around in the kitchen, slowing cooking a pot of beans or soup or some other simmering dish. But Sunday afternoons are also my only glimpse into the American cable media market: From 4-6 p.m. we get a window into CNN's Late Edition. While I'd probably ignore it if I were in the US, it's better than nothing, especially during election season. (Like Final Four for basketball fans, or the World Cup for Europeans.)

Unfortunately, our lone TV is miles away from the kitchen. So as much as possible, I've been cooking things that don't need my attention on Sunday. Or skipping cooking altogether. (Notice the lack of recipes here on WFB?)

When I soaked the black beans on Saturday night, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them, but in the end I went for something that needed little attention. I chopped the vegetables before the show came on at 4, and then tossed them into the pot during commercial breaks, stirring and checking the water levels at the same time.

By 6, we were starving for bowls of soup (I also made some homemade tortillas during the times the Republicans were bloviating) so we sat down and discussed the State of the Race over warm bowls of Black Bean and Corn Soup.

If you'd like a low-maintenance meal, click below for instructions. If you need to vote, head over to Voteforchange.com and learn how.

Pea, Courgette and Mint Soup

Soup in the summer? Why not?

I'm not much for cold soup, but I can see the advantages, at least in some climates. After having dental work done, I was in the mood for something soupy, but not heavy. The fresh peas in my fridge, and the pots of mint growing in my windowsill, hinted at an answer.

Courgettes, known in North America as zucchini, are plentiful this time of year, too, and add only a few minutes to the prep time. I served this soup lukewarm—I couldn't quite bring myself to cool it down with ice, but if you suffer less of an aversion to cold food than I do, add a few ice cubes after adding the yogurt, to cool the soup faster. Remove them after a few minutes.

This would be a nice starter for a fancier meal, if you're so inclined.

And if you've got a summer bounty of peas and zucchini, be sure to� try Courgette and Spring Pea Lasagna. Meanwhile, click below for directions for summer pea soup.

French White Bean Soup

Serve it with Armanac. Why not?

When we stopped at a supermarket in France on the way home from The Netherlands, I went a little crazy in the produce section.

Like I mentioned below, I bought white asparagus on spec, but I also picked up courgettes, fresh spring garlic, fennel bulbs, and a lovely pot of basil. Our car smelled wonderful as we crossed the Channel.

A few days later, I soaked the cannelloni beans I've had for a while, determined to make a soup with many of my fresh French foods.

It came out beautifully. I especially liked the texture boost added by the baguette slices floated on top. They soaked up the fennel-flavored broth, just enough to make them cut-able with a spoon. The next night I decided to cut back on the oil, so I toasted the slices in a toaster instead of frying them in oil. Equally delicious, more toasty than oily.

Even if you don't go to France to get the ingredients, you can still make this at home. Here's how:

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup: Why'd I wait so long?

Oddly enough, though I lived in New Mexico for five years, and Texas for two, I never had Tortilla Soup until I moved to London. At a small bookshop in Notting Hill called Books for Cooks, there's a cafe in the back, where every day they cook a menu from one of their cookbooks. One day a friend and I stopped in for lunch, and I had the vegan Tortilla Soup. Ever since then, the idea has been in the back of my mind.

I have no idea why I waited so long to add Tortilla Soup to my menu repertoire. It's one of the most delicious soups I've ever made.

I scanned lots of recipes on the 'net and in my cookbooks,  but none of them seemed just right. Finally, like I do most times when I want to adapt a new recipe, I just went into the kitchen and winged it, using ingredients I had and that I liked. It's pretty easy to adapt Tortilla Soup to your tastes, since many ingredients are added as garnishes. If you don't like avocado, like I don't, simply don't add it.

I'm submitting this post to this month's No Croutons Required round-up of soup recipes. Check it out. And check out the London- (Ontario!) based blog, Food and Spice, for great Indian (mostly) vegetarian recipes.

Creamy Carrot and Lentil Soup

Creamy Carrot and Lentil Soup, decorated with soy yogurt and coriander.

I love soup, if you haven't figured that out already. I love making it, but I don't disdain pre-packaged soup. My favorite is Seeds of Change organic soup, which come in a foil packet. The Spicy Lentil Soup and the Carrot Coriander soup are my favorites. A steaming bowl of either of these after a walk through the Chilterns—mmm, mmm, good!

This recipe combines the ingredients of both—red lentils, carrots, and coriander (cilantro, for you Americans). The yogurt can be optional—my local grocer carries plain soy yogurt, so I try to use it up in as many recipes as possible.

This soup also contains cashews, as an extra boost of protein. It might be good with peanuts, too—for a more African version. Be sure to use vegetarian red curry paste—some brands contain fish sauce. For a spicier soup, use more; for less spice, go easy on the curry paste.

This soup is best preceded by a long walk through the cold woods.

Chickpea and Spinach Soup

I seem to be all about soup these days. But I couldn't resist adding to the soup recipes here with this one, one of the best I've had, I must say, despite how simple it is to make. I made it last weekend, when I had a friend visiting. She'd been feeling poorly and I didn't expect her to eat dinner, but the smells from the kitchen perked her right up. Soup, and a piece of homemade bread dunked in olive oil, are guaranteed cures for whatever ails you.

There were two bowls leftover, which we had when we returned from Paris. Even better three days later, this time with fresh baked foccacia.

Risotto Rice and Cannellini Bean Soup

Risotto rice find a new home in your soup bowl.

Yesterday was soup day at our house. My cupboards are blessed with an overstock of Carnaroli rice, my favorite risotto rice, so that seemed a good place to start. Add beans, tomatoes, and some fresh herbs from my kitchen window sill, and before you know it, soup is simmering away on the hob.

If you don't have Carnaroli rice, you can use Arborio or Vialone Nano, two other types of risotto rice. (Both Vialone Nano and Carnaroli are available from Waitrose, if you're in Britain. Otherwise, check your favorite gourmet stockist.)

I just enjoyed another bowl for lunch, and I do think it's better the next day. Read on for directions...

Laksa

Beansprouts add crunch to Laksa

A couple of months ago one of my food magazines featured a photo on the cover of Laksa, a Malaysian soup popular in Singapore. And then, as so often happens, I came across a couple more recipes, and by Saturday, when I visited Borough Market, I was convinced I had to try a vegetarian version of Laksa.

I found most of the ingredients at the market, except for rice noodles. Luckily my local shop carries those, and I had red curry paste and coconut milk. I used water-packed, Chinese-style tofu, but didn’t deep fry it as some recipes call for. Although I could see where the taste and texture of fried tofu might be nice, I didn’t want to go to the trouble, or waste the calories on deep frying tofu. (Isn’t there something a bit incongruous about the words “deep fry” and “tofu”?)

Next time, I’ll try adding another vegetable for variety. Maybe eggplant (aubergine) or butternut squash (pre-cooked), or zucchini (courgette). I would also use low-fat coconut milk, as the full fat variety didn’t seem necessary in this full flavoured soup.

Laksa would also make a nice starter for an Asian meal, especially if you leave out the tofu and serve it in smaller bowls. It took about a half hour to make, including the time for prepping the ingredients and making the stock. (I made this stock with a goodly amount of mint leaves, which are also used as garnish.)

I served this in wide, flat bowls, because I wanted plenty of room on the top for the garnishes. We filled our bowls more than once, though, and still had a bit leftover for lunch.

Recipe follows.