Soup's On!

It's soup season. I love making up a batch of butternut squash soup to start out the week. That's what I've got planned for the week to come. I found a great recipe in Prevention a few years ago and started making it the first fall Ted and I were married, so it always evokes feelings of happiness and warmth.

I can't find the source online so here it is:

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large leeks, trimmed, green and white parts chopped
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
2 large carrots, grated
3 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Preparation Instructions
Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add leeks (/onion) and saute until soft, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and cook 1 minute longer or until fragrant.

Add squash, carrots, and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 20 to 25 minutes longer, until vegetables are tender.

Puree soup in a food processor (/blender/with a hand-held blender). Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Nutritional info per serving
193 Cal, 4 g Fat, 0.5 g Sat Fat, 0 mg Chol, 459 mg Sodium, 39 g Carbs, 7 g Fiber, 6 g Protein

Source: Prevention, May 2007

Modifications:

• I've substituted one bunch green onions or a yellow onion and chopped greens for the leeks, depending on what I've got on hand.
• I usually use 1/4 tsp of cinnamon because Ted likes cinnamon. :)
• I usually use 1/4 tsp of ground nutmeg because who keeps fresh nutmeg around the house?
• I just chop the carrots because you stick the soup in the blender or a hand blender in the soup anyway. No need to spend extra energy shredding.
• I omit salt and pepper because it doesn't seem to need it with the leeks/onions, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Serving suggestion: I usually serve with brown rice and almonds for a hearty vegetarian meal.

Now we'll see if I actually get around to making this on Sunday or Monday night.

Tomato Soup

I'm a big soup fan, but I had yet to try a tomato soup recipe. I came across Eating Well's roasted tomato bread soup recipe a few weeks ago, so I gave it a try on Monday. It's not what I would consider a classic tomato soup, as it contains more onions that tomatoes. But roasting the onions, tomatoes, and garlic makes a really rich flavor that is complemented well served atop toasted bread and topped with basil.

Start to finish, it took me about 50 minutes. Prep was pretty straight-forward. You can chop up the tomatoes while the onions are roasting, and start the broth simmering a little early (see below) to cut preparation time.

My modifications:

• I used four medium tomatoes (yielding about 4 cups chopped into smallish chunks) rather than cherry tomatoes
• I started simmering the broth during the last ten minutes of roasting the onions, tomatoes, and garlic
• I did not serve topped with cheese (for obvious reasons, due to my allergy)
• Topped with dried basil because I didn't have any fresh on hand
• Served with sourdough rather than whole wheat (I'm a big sourdough fan)

One thing Ted and I really liked about this recipe it that, served with the bread, it is somewhat reminiscent of riboletta, a vegetable-based soup served with bread in Italy, particularly in the Tuscan region.

Would I make this again? Yes.

What I might try next time:

• Adding cannellini beans (white kidney beans) and chopped celery to the broth to make it a little more like riboletta

Other comments: Due to the high onion content, my emptied lunch containers smelled nasty. The soup tastes much better than the smell it leaves behind in the container...