Give Thanks + Curried Pumpkin Soup

Is there anything more perfect at this time of year than a bowl of fresh, rich soup? I think not. Yesterday as the rain was coming down and there was a chill in the air I sent a message to my aunt: "Quick!  I need your pumpkin soup recipe!"  She quickly obliged and my rainy day was turned into perfection. 

This is one of those soups that tastes like it takes forever but in reality is quite quick. Perfect for when you have someone coming over that you need to impress and you don't have all day... or when you are by yourself and you just want to impress yourself. Why shouldn't we want to impress ourselves sometimes? I think I am going to prioritize impressing myself a little more and trying to impress others a little less... and then I am going to enjoy my soup with slippers on my feet and my hair in an uncombed ponytail. That, too, sounds like perfection.

And now time to give thanks...

You know a village raises a child, right? A village also makes a wedding...

Thank you to my friends who took over the music side of it (and ROCKED IT!), the two ladies who made sure the church was decorated (and did much more, too!), my mother-in-law who made all of the table cloths (and gave me the best person to marry ), our friend in Brazil who made the bridesmaid dresses, family friends who came early from afar to set of the reception, students' mothers for helping me to get food for cheap through the Catholic convent (hehehe) and putting together the fruit kabobs, another students' mom for doing my hair, my former landlord for doing all of the flowers, my friends from work who worked hard to help in all ways, another student's mom for being a fabulous coordinator, and to all of our attendants for being the best support! A super special thank you to Pastor Sam, who made everybody laugh and cry, and set the standard in wedding homilies (everyone still talks about it!), and another huge thank you to Dan and Gina who gifted us with a beautiful reception.

I am grateful for all these people above (and I am sure there are more!) for helping us have the best day ever. Because of you, we ALL pulled off an amazing wedding that was far beyond what we could have imagined. Thank you, thank you!

CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP

SERVES 6 •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 35 MINUTES

ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb. of cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups canned pumpkin (or cooked and mashed pumpkin)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup evaporated milk

directions

1. Saute mushrooms and onion in butter until onion is soft. Sprinkle with flour. Add salt, pepper and curry powder. Stir in chicken broth, pumpkin and honey. Simmer 15 minutes. Add milk and heat thoroughly. Serve sprinkled with croutons. (Note: can take part out and blend for smoother texture.)

(Tastes best served the next day.  But really tastes great whenever.)

COST: $7.72        COST PER SERVING (6): $1.29

Soup's On!

  [sweet potato & carrot bisque]                           [carrot & pea soup with dumplings]

             [potato-leek soup]                                  [creamy asparagus soup with sausage]

I've got a thing for soup.  It's tasty, generally easy, and good to eat in this Fall weather that is coming down upon us.  To kick off the season I am sharing my favorite soups with you, all tried and tested in our house.  I am equally excited about eating these again as well as looking forward to the new ones I will learn how to make this year.  

Here's to cozy-ing up with a bowl up hot soup while the rain is coming down!  CHEERS!

[carrot & ginger with lemon]                                                                         

                                                                      [butternut squash & pear]

[summer squash]                                                                          

And my ultimate favorite:  

[white bean, sausage, & kale]

Summer Squash Soup (Farmers' Market Friday)

Being out and about this summer was great.  I got to do things I have never done before: stay in a B&B in the Rockies, hike the Appalachian Trail, watch Brazil play against Japan in a Brazilian bar in NYC, walk the Freedom Trail in Boston...  And then I got to share places I love with people I love visiting from Brazil. Disneyland. San Diego. Santa Barbara. But with all this, I missed out on one of my favorite times of the week: going to the farmers' market.

Yes, that truly is one of my favorite times.  When else, or where else, do you surround yourself with people rubbing shoulders, exchanging cash instead of swiping plastic, talking with familiar strangers?

I had plans to go while I was on the East Coast, but each attempt failed.  Besides, what would I do with fresh produce in my hotel room, really?  Yeah... not much.

Finally, after two months, I headed down to the market with my usual $12.  I don't know where I got the number 12 from, but it has become my norm (grab a ten and two ones... I seem to always have that laying around).

I must admit, the summer selection has some of my least favorite things.  I actually miss the kale and the butternut squash that winter and early spring provide.  The berries and stone fruit are nice, but I never get that many. Maybe because I know my $12 won't spread very far if I buy fruit... so I pretty much stick to the veggies. (Luckily for me, we have a ton of farm stands nearby that sell fruit for cheaper than the farmers' market, even though they are many of the same vendors.)  This week my bag filled up with leeks, beets, green onions, and a bunch of summer squash.

But then I had a problem: What do I do with this squash? Other than cook it and through some garlic salt on it, I had never really done anything with this vegetable...

Yay for readers who follow along on Facebook!  I threw the question out there and got three DELICIOUS ideas, one of which I had all the ingredients on hand already.  And so, Summer Squash Soup, compliments of Donna, was set out for dinner. Easy and fresh, the perfect way to enjoy my farmers' market produce!

I guess the farmers' market isn't the only place you rub shoulders with others...

SUMMER SQUASH SOUP

Recipe slightly adapted from blog reader, Donna.  Thank you!

SERVES 4  •  PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 40 MINUTES

ingredients

·        Large white onion, chopped

·        Large leek (white and light green portion), thinly sliced

·        2 tablespoons olive oil

·        6 cloves of garlic, minced

·        6 summer squash of any variety, peeled and cubed

·        2 cans (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth, such as Swenson’s

·        4 fresh thyme sprigs

·        ¼ teaspoon salt

·        2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

·        ¼ cup shredded Parmesan, to top

·        ¼ cup green onion, chopped, to top

directions

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions and leek in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add squash; saute 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the broth, thyme and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender.  Discard thyme sprigs. Cool slightly.
3. In a blender, process soup in batches until smooth. Return all to the pan. Stir in lemon juice and heat through. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and green onion.

 COST: $6.76      COST PER BOWL (4): $1.69

Potato Leek Soup

Let's talk about leeks, Baby. (Sung, of course, to the Salt-N-Pepa's melody, proving I spent a bulk of my formative years in the 90's -- which were great years to grow up in. We had enough technology to enjoy Mario on rainy days but not too much that we didn't pass up the chance to roller blade when we could.  And then we jammed to Can't Touch This on our Walkmans while organizing our Lisa Frank stickers... by the way, all you need to say is, "In West Philedelphia, born and raised," and I cannot help but finish the entire song. Don't believe me? Try it next time you bump into me...)

And back to leeks...

These things are amazing. I have used them a couple of times before, and every single time I have a ridiculously tasty dish in front of me.  Leek & bacon baked eggs and a leek & asparagus quiche were my introduction to them, both packed with immense flavor, both needing very little 'other stuff' added to make that flavor so wonderful.

Actually, the first time I used them I had no idea what they were and I couldn't find them except in the frozen food section, so I broke my usual rule of relying on fresh produce to be the bulk of my purchases.  Wasn't the best combo for what I was using them for.  The next time I decided to get the fresh ones, but had no idea what I was looking for, until I asked the worker at the store.  He looked at me a little funny and then pointed right in front me, where a fairly prominent sign read: LEEKS.

Whatever.  It happens.

One important thing to know about these flavorful giants of the onion family -- you need to clean them very well as dirt can be trapped inside.  The easiest way to do this (or so I read and then did with successful results) is to chop first and then clean in a cold water bath.  Since you will probably just be using white and light green parts (unless you are making broth) don't cut up the dark green tops.  Just put the lighter colored parts in the water, use your hand to agitate any dirt off of them, pour out the water, and then repeat another time or two.  Takes about a minute and ensures that your leeks are ready for you to use.

Apparently, potato leek soup is a classic.  But like many foods that don't come stamped with a Kraft logo, I didn't know that.  For me, it is a new found treat.  I am a lover of soup, which you probably have gathered by reading my blog for any time, and this was one of the best I have ever had.  My husband declared it gold star quality -- and he isn't a fan of soup that much.  The ingredients are simple while the flavor is powerful.

One of my favorite parts? Except for the heavy cream and salt, every ingredient I used came from the Farmers' Market or my own herb garden (the chives).  And you KNOW how happy that makes me ;)

POTATO LEEK SOUP

SERVES 4 •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES

ingredients

• 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and cleaned (see above)
• 3 cups broth, either vegetable or chicken (You can make your own ahead of time or use canned/bullion/whatever suits you) + 1 ½ cups water
• 3 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• fresh snipped chives, to top

directions

1.      In a large pot, combine leeks, potatoes, broth, and salt.  Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are very soft (you can poke the potatoes with a fork to test).

2.      Working in batches of about 1/3 of the soup at a time, puree in blender.  Be careful to allow the heat to escape before closing the lid to the blender to avoid it exploding.  Transfer pureed soup to a new pot, and continue until all soup is pureed.

3.      Add heavy cream to soup, serve while hot, and top with fresh chives.

 COST: $5.10           COST PER BOWL (4): $1.28

Nutritional Information
calories 235   •    total fat 17.2g    •    fiber 1.8g    •    sugars 2.3g   •    protein 3.6g

Introducing Farmer's Market Fridays... (Carrot Soup with Ginger & Lemon)

I have a recent obsession: Farmer's Market.

When I have something that I think about a lot I wind up talking about, a lot.  Which means this new obsession of mine has led me to say, "I really like going to the farmer's market!" about 10 times a day, and "Man, I love farmer's market!" about another 10 times per day.  Yesterday, upon hearing me proclaim my love for farmer's market again, my husband said, "I know.  You told me.  Every single day."

But just in case you missed it, let me proclaim from the rooftops: I LOVE FARMER'S MARKET.

Really, I do.

Which is why I am introducing Farmer's Market Fridays to you.

This will be our chance to come together across the county and hopefully the globe to explore the local farmer's markets in the communities in which we live, to share our fabulous finds and new recipes.

Here is the plan:
Each Friday (or most Fridays -- you know how it goes) a different blogger will be sharing their local Farmer's Market with us.  The task will be to show how much they can get with $10... this will give us the chance to see the similarities and differences that abound, both in produce and in price, while virtually travelling from sea to shining sea.

At the end of each post you will be able to link up with anything Farmer's Market related (from the past two weeks) to allow us to hop on over to each other's blogs and see what is going on in your neck of the woods. You can showcase what you bought, share a recipe that used Farmer's Market ingredients, or anything else you can think of, as long as the post is somehow related to a recent trip to the Farmer's Market.

My hope is that through all of this we can foster a sense of community while supporting the local communities we come from AND get some great food on our tables while keeping our hard earned cash in our wallets.

Please, come join me on this great Farmer's Market adventure!

To start us off today, I have the most incredibly delicious soup that my taste buds have ever encountered.  Most of the ingredients -- carrots, garlic, onion, tomatoes, and lemon -- I picked up last weekend while meandering my way through my local Farmer's Market.  All I needed to add was the stock, yogurt, and ginger.

This was my first time cooking with fresh ginger and IT.WAS.AMAZING.  The smell, the taste... oh my oh my!

This was also the very first time I moved beyond my comfort zone of Martha and Rachael and attempted something from Bon Appetit.  Holy freaking cow.  This stuff has expanded my eyes to a whole new level of soup.  And it was really simple.  Nothing too complicated, jam packed full of flavor, healthy, and super tasty.  Not to mention cheap.  SCORE.

So when you browsing through your Farmer's Market this weekend (if you have them yet -- I just found out today that many states don't actually get them until the Summer.  Naive California girl, right here) pick up some carrots and ginger.  It will be worth every penny, I promise.

Let's get this party started!  Link up below with any (date doesn't matter this week!) Farmer's Market post you want to share and let's start enjoying this great thing together :)  (Link-ups will be open until Sunday night.)

CARROT SOUP WITH GINGER & LEMON

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, June 1997

SERVES 4  •  PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 35 MINUTES

ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 1/4 pounds medium carrots, peeled, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 2 tomatoes, seeded, chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 3 cups (or more) chicken or vegetable stock
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  
• 4 tablespoons Greek yogurt 
• 1 small carrot, peeled, grated

directions

1.      Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add chopped carrots, tomatoes and lemon peel; sauté 1 minute. Add 3 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly.

2.      Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

3.      Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more stock, if desired. Ladle into bowls. Top each with Greek yogurt and grated carrot.

 COST: $5.43           COST PER SERVING (4 bowls): $1.36

Nutritional Information
calories 220   •    total fat 12.5 g    •    fiber 5.4g    •    sugars 8.8g   •    protein 6g
(Click here for full nutritional analysis)

Beef Parsnip Stew

I've been keeping up with my get-veggies-first, make-weekly-menu-after plan.  And it has been EXCELLENT.

First of all, who doesn't enjoy spending time out in the sunshine, browsing the farmer's market?  It is a ten minute walk from my house and has become one of my favorite parts of my week.  Peace.  That's what I feel on the walk there, the exchanging coins and bills for fresh produce, the chit chat with others, listening to jokes about redneck vasectomies...

Ok, so that last one didn't bring me peace, but it did make me chuckle in a "I feel like I shouldn't laugh but I just have to" kind of way...  and laughter is the best medicine.

So, what seasonal/new thing did I get this time?  These guys:

That's right, parsnips.

I have never had a parsnip in my life until this week.  Actually, until about three months ago I thought they were called 'white carrots'.  Silly me.

Having no idea what to do with them, I turned to my favorite resource: Everyday Food.  One of my archived magazines had a whole parsnip section.  And one of those recipes called for other items I had already purchased at the farmer's market.

And that is the beauty of shopping like this.  Peace, yes.  But having things on hand that are fresh, easy, and cheap to try new recipes is the winning part.  I settled on a beef parsnip stew and the only thing I had to buy at the store was beef.  Everything else I already had on hand.  Score.

I continued to make my meal plan for the week this way.  Asking what veggies do I have on hand? first, and what can I make with these? second. Wanna know how much I spent for us to eat for the entire week, breakfast, lunch, and dinner?  $48.  That's nine dollars at the farmer's market, plus $39 dollars at Trader Joe's.  I was shocked.  Chalk up another point for my new plan...

As for the stew?  My husband immediately said, "This is a TEN!  Feel free to repeat this one anytime!"  And later, "Babe, you MUST make this when my parents visit from Brazil.  They will LOVE it!"

I guess low prices are not indicative of low taste, but rather quite the opposite.

EXCELLENT.

Recipe from Everyday Food, October 2012

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup flour
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste (from one 6-ounce can)
• 1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-by-2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, season flour with salt and pepper. Coat beef in flour, shaking off excess. In a large heavy ovenproof pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium. In batches, brown beef on all sides, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add remaining tablespoon oil, onion, garlic, and tomato paste and saute until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Add beef and any accumulated juices, potatoes, parsnips, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until meat is fork-tender, 1 hour. Stir in vinegar and serve.
   
   

   COST: $13.22     COST PER SERVING (4): $3.31

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Creamy Asparagus Soup with Chicken Sausage

There are some things I really stink at.  Like, I am terrible at these things.

Keeping my closet organized would be one of them.

I mean, I do get it organized again every week or so.  But in the meantime?  Eh.  Out of sight, out of mind.

Keeping up with my nails.  Oh man. You do not want to see them on a regular basis.  Broken, chipped paint, hang nails.  Sigh.  It is not (usually) a pretty sight.

Turning in paperwork on time.  Getting out of bed when my alarm goes off.  Sending thank-you cards.

All things I suck at.

But there is something I am really good at --> making soup.

Chop, toss, and cook.

Really, what can go wrong?

Hallelujah for soup!

INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pack of chicken sausage, cut into 1/2 inch cubes    
• 1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed well   
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 small red-skinned potatoes (4 to 5 ounces total), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 cups chicken broth or stock
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 bunches asparagus (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch
• One 6-ounce container plain yogurt
• 1/4 whole wheat country loaf, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat; add the sausage and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate. Add the leek and garlic to the pot and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and chicken broth and bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the asparagus and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Scoop out 1/2 cup asparagus pieces and set aside for garnish. Using a blender and working in VERY SMALL batches, puree the soup. Return the soup to the pot, whisk in the yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle the sausage and asparagus pieces on top and serve with the bread.

COST: $8.50  COST PER SERVING (4): $2.13

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Viva Farmer's Market! (Carrot and Pea Soup with Dumplings)

Two weeks ago I found a farm stand on the side of the road on our way to the beach.  (Yes, farm stand and beach appeared in that sentence, and yes, two weeks ago was January.  Man, I love living in California!)  We have driven past it many times but always found some good reason why we couldn't stop.  Too cold from the ocean, too hot from the sun, too... lazy.  But we did, and it rocked my world.

$12.15 later, we walked out of there with bags and bags of produce... tangerines, sweet potatoes, leeks, garlic, onions, pears, apples, and more.  That week, instead of making my menu first and then finding the produce to go with it, I looked at what I had and thought, "What can I do with these leeks?  How about these sweet potatoes?"

Success.

Since we weren't going to drive past this farm stand this past weekend we walked down to the Farmer's Market.  In the last city we lived in the farmer's market was kind of hoity-toity.  Sure, there was good stuff there, but mostly it was orchids and perogies and $5 heads of lettuce.  But where we live today it is a whole different story.  It is what I truly want from a farmer's market -- fruits and veggies, honey and cheese, all grown/made in our own backyard, sold at a good price.  We walked out of there, once again, bags full of produce, pockets still full of money.

Radishes, beets, carrots, more sweet potatoes (as you can tell, I have a thing for them...), onions, cilantro, and whole lot more.  And once again I made my grocery list based off of that.  Broccoli beef stir-fry one night, sweet potato and arugula pizza the next; salads galore and fresh garlic cheese to munch on.  My grocery list for the store?  Nine items.  NINE.

My menu planning will never be the same.

One of those nine items on the list: peas.  That was all that was separating us from being able to make one of our favorite soups.  The farmer's market supplied us with the carrots, onions, celery, and parsley; my pantry provided the flour, baking powder, and vegetable stock.  And in the fridge we found milk, butter, and Dijon mustard.  Put it all together and we had ourselves some warm, hearty soup.  Perfect for these cold winter evenings.

And by cold I mean 45*F ;)

Carrot and Pea Soup with Dumplings
Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray Everyday, March 2011

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 carrots--peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

• 2 rib  celery, chopped

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• Salt and pepper

• 1 fresh bay leaf

• 2 rounded tablespoons flour

• 1 32 ounce container  (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock

• 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard

• 1 cup frozen peas
• FOR DUMPLINGS:

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley or dill

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or milk +bit of white vinegar)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

directions

1. Heat a couple of tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add the butter to melt, then add the carrots, celery and onion; season with salt, pepper and the bay leaf. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots soften, 7 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on the vegetables and stir for a minute, then whisk in the chicken (or vegetable) stock until thickened. Stir in the mustard and peas. For a thinner soup, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups water with the stock.
2. Add the chopped fresh parsley to the flour, buttermilk, baking powder, and salt.  Mix well to form batter. When the soup is bubbling, form the batter into small dumplings using 2 spoons, then drop onto the surface of the soup. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and cook the dumplings, gently stirring, until just firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the soup and dumplings to shallow bowls; discard the bay leaf.

COST: $4.19  COST PER SERVING (4): $1.05

Have yourself a very peary Christmas! (Butternut Squash and Pear Soup)

It's all done.  Christmas shopping that is.  A pile of gifts are to my right and a heap of wrapping paper is to my left.

Is it just me or was Christmas kind sneaky this year?  Seriously, it feels like it came out of nowhere.  Not that I am complaining.  I adore Christmas.  The lights, the music, the laughter, the story of a baby born long ago... it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Some other things I love about Christmas:

Peppermint everything
The smell of Christmas trees
Mannheim Steamroller

Wreaths on the door
Rain coming down (yes, rain and not snow... California!)
Giving presents

Fudge
Christmas cookies
Mistletoe

What a minute -- I have never actually been kissed under the mistletoe before!  Guess I better grab that many of mine and make some Christmas magic happen! ;)

And last, but not least, SOUP!  It has always been one of my favorite dishes, and I hope it forever more shall be...

How about you?  What are your favorite things from this season?

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND PEAR SOUP
Recipe from Everyday Food, Dec. 2012

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced large
• 1 small butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and diced large
• 2 pears, peeled and diced large
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• Chopped fresh chives, for serving

directions

1. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until translucent, 6 minutes. Add squash, pears, and 4 cups water; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until squash is soft, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. In batches, fill a blender halfway with soup and puree with yogurt until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a clean pot as you work. Season with salt and pepper; serve with chives and a drizzle of olive oil.

COST: $$4.42   COST PER SERVING (6): $0.74

Carrot and Sweet Potato Bisque

It all started when I wanted soup.  Simple request, usually.  But with October Unprocessed I was a little worried that it would be much more complicated.  I mean, I would have to make my own stock first!  That seemed like a lot of work...

Except it is NOT.

I took all the odds and ends of veggies I had laying around in the fridge, dumped them in a soup pot, covered with water and added some salt, then let it boil for about an hour.  While I watched TV.  Yes, that's how complicated it was.

But what kind of soup did I want to make?  Well, I wanted to make I-don't-need-to-go-out-in-the-rain Soup.  The perfect kind for a day like yesterday.

Cupboards and fridgedoors were opened.  Kale?  Nah... enough of that recently.  Beet?  No.  I did not want beet soup.  But I did see those beautiful, colored carrots I got for a buck at Farmer's Market a few days ago.  And there were a few sweet potatoes hiding in the bottom of my pantry.  The perfect ingredients for the perfect soup.

In the end I wound up with a creamy (thanks to pure Greek yogurt and a blender) sweet potato and carrot bisque.

Guess what?   It was delicious, unprocessed, and cost about 75 cents per bowl.

And I didn't have to go out in the rain...

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 T butter
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 5 medium carrots, cut into medium-sized pieces
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt, plus a little more to top the soup
• sprigs of fresh herbs, your choice, to top the soup

DIRECTIONS

1. In soup pot, melt butter and saute onion and garlic, about 5 minutes.  Add cinnamon and nutmeg and cook another 2 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and carrots to pot and cover with stock.  Add up to 1 cup water, if needed.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to low and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are soft.
3. In a blender, working in small batches, puree the soup mixture.  Be careful to let the steam out before blending to avoid any explosions. 
4. When finished, stir in yogurt and salt/pepper.  Top each bowl with a small dollop of yogurt and fresh herbs of your choice.

COOK'S NOTE

To save time, use bullion cubes.  Otherwise, make your own.  It tastes AMAZING!

COST: $2.98   COST PER bowl (4): $0.74