Fresh-from-the-Garden Minestrone

This minestrone recipe is designed to take advantage of whatever is growing fresh in your garden right now. While you may want to stick to the combination of root vegetable, squash, beans and greens, substitutions can and should be made depending on what’s available. What makes this soup really tasty is the “garnish” of bacon, [...]

Variations on a Theme: Egg Drop Soup

Image via Wikipedia

To continue the theme of spring dishes, I wanted to discuss Egg Drop Soup. This basic soup goes by many different guises, including the Chinese version that is most familiar and Stracciatella in Italy. Heartier versions with garlic, rice, spinach and even chicken can be found in many other cuisines, such as Greece [...]

Adding Flavor to Quick Soups: Minestrone con Pesto

As I said in a recent post, I have been experimenting with building flavor in long-cooking soups by making my own broths, sauteing components separately and then cooking them together for a long time to really marry the flavors. This worked really well when I made a Wild Mushroom Soup for Thanksgiving. But what if [...]

Building Flavor for Soup: Mushroom Broth

Soup is one of my favorite dishes to make. During the winter months, I think we eat it at least once a week. Soup is a go-to dish because I can usually put together something hearty and satisfying just from what I have in my refrigerator and pantry in less than 30 minutes for a [...]

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Image by shannon_turlington via Flickr

When the days get chilly and gloomy, I get in the mood for soup. We eat a lot of soup around here, at least once a week, and I am always on the lookout for exciting new recipes to try. Now that I am in the habit of making my own [...]

Farmers Market Vegetable Soup

The problem with going to the farmers market is that it is all too easy to yield to temptation and grab up way too many fresh vegetables than you can possibly eat in a week. What better way to take advantage of all that bounty than to make a huge pot of soup? You can [...]

Homemade Tomato Soup Just Like Mom Used to Make (With a Can Opener)

This is a very simple but very satisfying recipe for tomato soup that reminded me a lot of the Campbell’s tomato soup I used to eat as a kid — only better! A batch keeps for about a week in the fridge (I don’t recommend freezing), so this is a good soup to make on [...]

A Big Batch o’ Gazpacho

There’s no denying it. Despite the hotter-than-Hades August that seemed like it would never end, fall has arrived. The cool, crisp days with no humidity almost make you forget that we’re still in the midst of a record drought. Who needs rain when you have glorious blue sky and it’s 72 degrees out?
So why am [...]

French Onion Soup

Patricia Wells is my new best friend. I have had her cookbook, Bistro Cooking, for a while but only recently began cooking out of it. The recipes are simple but hearty French bistro fare that rely on the best ingredients for flavor, and each one I have attempted has been delicious. Her Marinated Goat Cheese, [...]

Chicken Soup for the Body

Your mother was right — when you’re sick, chicken soup is the best medicine. There’s no denying that when you’re feeling stuffed up and miserable, a bowl of chicken soup can bring relief. (My husband and I both confirmed this in independent taste tests yesterday, he with a bowl of Chinese chicken dumpling soup, I [...]