Category: Soups

Farro Minestrone

Farro Minestrone

“What should we have for dinner?”

For many, this is one of life’s toughest questions. With her well stocked freezer and pantry, my mom seemed to always know what we’d be eating, perhaps one day in advance. I never saw her write it down; she would simply get an item from the freezer to defrost each night. Once she returned to work, she left me with daily instructions for getting dinner started before she got home. But she was planning meals that revolved around the standard meat-starch-vegetable meal pattern. Easier than a plant based meal pattern. 

No matter my meal pattern of the moment, I’ve always been a write-it-down person. When friends see my neatly scripted menu plans for the week, they either think I’m a genius or a nutcase! But an hour’s worth of planning time eliminates daiIy 5:00 pm anxiety, keeps the food waste to a minimum, and prevents those desperation “out to eat” days. (Well. Mostly.)

I have shelves packed tightly with cookbooks. Several of my favorites, particularly those of Mollie Katzen and Anna Thomas, include menus. While I might not prep those menus verbatim, they offer insights into how to combine mostly plants into satisfying meals. New winter meal patterns have become my go-tos: legumes and vegetables, soup and salad, stir-fries and curries, pasta and salad. And much like most folks’ classic meal rotations, I find that certain plant based dishes have become keepers, appearing relatively often. 

Today’s Farro Minestrone fits that niche. The recipe includes a sofrito, broth and tomato base, with additional vegetables and cannellini beans. The nutty, chewy whole grain farro replaces the typical pasta. Dried mushrooms and smoked paprika provide umami, along with an optional stealth ingredient, a piece of parmesan cheese rind. The hardened cheese rind becomes soft and melty with slow simmering. Once softened, the rind can be removed or chopped into small pieces and aded back into the soup. If the cheese is omitted, the recipe is vegan. (I pretty obviously wouldn’t do this…) But it’s all about personal preference. 

I once had a much younger, tech savvy friend inform me that I was sitting on a gold mine; that people would buy my menu plans. Sure enough, menu planning services have popped up online-for a fee, of course. I missed the chance to laugh my way to the bank…so in adding a Menus page to my blog, I’m offering up a freebie. The inaugural edition features cool weather menus. There are countless ways in which to eat a plant based diet, but this will give you a peek into how we do it at our house. 

No matter how you figure your menus, slot this soup into one of your evening meals. I think it’s a keeper. 

Hearty, satisfying Italian soup with farro, beans and porcini and parmesan.
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Farro Minestrone

Hearty, satisfying Italian style soup with farro, cannellini beans, porcini mushroom and parmesan.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: farro, minestrone, soup
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1/2 ounce dried Porcini mushroom
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 medium piece Parmesan cheese rind
  • 1 quart broth or stock vegetable or chicken
  • 3/4 cup whole grain farro
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 medium zucchini, cut into small cubes
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped plus extra for garnish

Instructions

  • Place the dried Porcini mushrooms in a medium bowl. Cover with 1 1/4 cups boiling water and set aside to hydrate.
    In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in the onion, carrots and celery and cook for several minutes to soften. Add the seasonings, broth, farro and cheese rind. 1/2 teaspoon of salt can be added at this point, depending on the saltiness of the broth being used. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer for approximately 45 minutes, or until farro is tender.
    Add tomatoes with their juices, drained beans and zucchini. Drain the mushrooms, adding the mushroom broth to the pot. Chop the mushrooms and add to the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes, until zucchini is tender. Stir in the parsley and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fish out the cheese rind and either chop finely to return to soup, or omit.
    Serve, topped with extra chopped parsley sprinkled on top.

Notes

  • Nutrition Facts
  • Calories per serving 320
  • Total Fat 18 g; saturated fat 3.5 g
  • Cholesterol 6 mg
  • Sodium 310 mg
  • Total Carbohydrate 29 g; fiber 8.5 g; tota sugars 3 g
  • Protein 11.3 g 

Poblano Soup

Poblano Soup

Every now and again we take what we call a “retirement” day. I can already see the eye rolls from my employed friends, who think every day in my life is a retirement day. The reality is that retirement still contains daily obligations. Shopping, meal prep, laundry, landscaping, house cleaning. Exercise, pet care, volunteering. These items don’t miraculously happen of their own volition. Even though retired, we still need to carve out the occasional niche to just head off for fun. Which is how we discovered Wisdom’s Cafe and their poblano soup.

Wisdom’s Cafe is one of those quintessentially Arizona spots that one typically hears about via word of mouth.  While it’s quite near I-19, we breezed right past it, with the GPS providing its usual admonishment: tsk, tsk, what miserable navigators you are. Turning around, we found it in the boondocks near Tumacacori.  20 miles north of the border, with beautiful mountain vistas surrounding the property. It’s one of those places in the middle of nowhere that somehow seems to always have a full parking lot. We won’t miss it next time, as one of the restaurant landmarks is a giant chicken out front. Opened 80 years ago by a local couple, it has remained a large family operation with decor of family heirlooms and a huge menu of family recipes. 

I love a good green corn tamale and this looked like just the place to order one. My husband usually seizes on such an opportunity to order a meat-and-fat-filled plate of something, so I was quite surprised when he ordered the poblano soup. This soup was in fact vegetarian, but as it turned out, the soup base was pure dairy cream. A lot of dairy cream. He was more than satisfied with the amount of animal fat in his belly when finished. I tasted his soup, which was in fact scrumptious, but a killer for someone like me who struggles to digest bowls of saturated fat. (In addition to IBS, my gall bladder exited the scene decades ago.) I determined to recreate this soup at home, with a lower and healthier fat profile. 

Poblanos are very popular in Mexican dishes. Deep green and shiny, they have a naturally rich and earthy essence, edging into almost smokiness. The heat can vary, but most consider poblanos to be relatively mild. They are available in most grocery stores. I figured I could use my Provencal Style Asparagus Soup as a template, with a few adjustments. Sub in the poblanos for the asparagus; switch out the herbs de Provence for Mexican spices; and make the “cream” from cashews and pumpkin seeds in my blender. Now there is no shortage of my attempts to create recipes that have hit the trash can. But if I do say so, I nailed this one. Essence of poblano in a rich and creamy soup with no animal fat in sight. 

My poblano soup is also one of those all important soups for an Arizona summer, just as tasty served chilled as it is served hot. Serve it as a main dish, accompanied by salad, or in small portions as an appetizer in a summer menu. While sipping soup, picture yourself under an umbrella on a sun filled patio, surrounded by mountains and that lovely dry Arizona air. All the while under the watchful eye of a huge white chicken!

(A quick note to email subscribers: I changed out my social media buttons and switched my email subscription to a single plugin. If you’d like email notification of posts, please hit the envelope icon in the social media buttons and add your email. )

Poblano Soup
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Poblano Soup

Rich, creamy soup with the smoky essence of poblano peppers.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Appetizer, Soup
Cuisine: Southwestern
Keyword: poblano, soup
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds plus extra for garnish
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 medium poblano peppers
  • 1 3-oz potato
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped onion
  • 3/4 cup roughly chopped fennel
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 3/4 tsp green chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • grated cheddar, if desired for garnish

Instructions

  • Place the cashews and pumpkin seeds in a bowl and cover with water. Allow to soak while preparing remaining ingredients.
  • Cut the stem and inner seeds out of the poblanos and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan. Peel and cut the potato into 1-inch pieces and add to the pan. Add the onion, fennel, herbs, spices and vegetable broth to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until all the vegetables are soft, around 25 minutes. Remove from the heat to cool slightly.
  • Drain the soaked nuts and seeds. Pour into a blender and add the 1 cup of water. Blend at high speed to make a nut cream. When the mixture is smooth, add the cooked vegetable mixture. Vent the top of the blender lid and cover with a kitchen towel to allow heat to escape. Blend at high speed until mixture is smooth and creamy.
  • Pour the soup back into the saucepan and heat gently if the soup is to be served hot. If the soup is to be served cold, pour into a storage container and chill til ready to serve. Soup can also be served immediately at room temperature.
  • If desired, garnish the soup with grated Cheddar and pumpkin seeds.

Notes

  • Nutrition
  • Calories: 141
  • Total Fat: 7.9 g
  •     Saturated: 1.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Sodium: 30 mg
  • Total Carbohydrate: 13.4 g
  •     Fiber: 2.3 g
  •     Total Sugars: 2.8 g
  • Protein: 5.9 g

Green Chili Black Bean Soup

Green Chili Black Bean Soup

“Red, green… or Christmas?”

This questions is commonly asked by one’s server when dining in a New Mexico restaurant. Meaning, do you want red chile, green chile, or both? The southwestern cuisine in New Mexico is different, in that it’s not of the Tex-Mex variety. It’s of its own variety, built upon the beautiful red and green chilies grown in the state. Red sauce is typically made from dried red chilies; roasted and rehydrated, then strained to make a puree-no tomatoes. Green sauce is usually made from fresh chilies, with onions and spices. And these sauces can be HOT! 

My first experience with New Mexico cuisine was many years ago, when moving from Ohio to the southwest for the first time, to attend graduate school in Arizona. We had stopped at a little New Mexico roadside diner in Truth or Consequences for lunch, the kind of spot that has strings of dried chiles hanging from the outside patio. My palate had a reputation for enjoying the hottest of the Tex-Mex food common in the Midwest, so I approached my red enchiladas without fear. But soon, this farm girl was pretending that she wasn’t really crying. Because that red sauce was painful! But it was a good kind of pain, as only one who loves the heat can understand. I’ve been a fan of New Mexico style ever since.

This black bean soup isn’t really hot; but the backbone of the flavor is green chile salsa verde. Further spiced with cumin, coriander and a touch of cayenne, this is a deliciously warming soup. While not an authentic New Mexican dish, the flavor of green chile, tomatillo and cilantro always transports my taste buds to T or C, if just for a few minutes. 

Green chile black bean soup is a great dish to have around, protein rich and nutritious.  I typically serve it with salad and crackers for dinner.  Augmented with a corn muffin or crackers and cheese, it makes a great lunch. I usually cook a pot of black beans in advance for this dish, but if canned beans are used, it’s a very quick cooking soup. The green chili essence comes from Hatch chili powder and jalapeño pepper, but a can of diced green chilies can be substituted if Hatch powder is unavailable in your locale. Canned tomatillos can be used as well, if your local produce department doesn’t carry the fresh ones. 

Living now in southeastern Arizona, New Mexico is only a few hours away and we’ve taken a number of jaunts to Silver City, T or C, Gallup and Santa Fe. Don’t even get me started on the charms of Santa Fe… While each trip is unique, all of them are chock full of dishes made with these chiles. Might be time to make soup, and plan another trip!

bowl of black bean soup with garnishes
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Green Chili Black Bean Soup

Rich and earthy soup of black turtle beans, seasoned with green chilies coriander and spices.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Southwestern
Keyword: black beans, Hatch green chili
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic infused may add a clove of diced garlic
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup fennel, diced
  • 1 medium jalapeno pepper, diced
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 4 1/2 cups cooked black beans home cooked or canned
  • 1 1/2 cups tomatillo, chopped fresh or canned
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp Hatch green chili powder can substitute a can of green chilies
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • salt to taste depends on the beans used
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 cup cilantro, chopped

Optional Garnishes

  • broken tortilla chips
  • additional cilantro
  • grated Cheddar
  • sliced avocado

Instructions

  • In a large soup pot, heat the garlic oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, fennel, jalapeño, thyme and oregano. Salt lightly, and sauce for several minutes to soften the vegetables. If using canned beans, drain, rinse and add to the pot. If using home cooked beans, drain, reserving the cooking liquid, and add the beans to the pot. Stir in the vegetable broth. If using home cooked beans, bean cooking liquid can be substituted for some of the broth, if desired. Stir in the cumin, coriander, chile powder, and cayenne. Taste for salt at this point. The beans used may already be salted. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
  • Stir in the 1 cup chopped cilantro, and blend the the soup as smooth or chunky as preferred. An immersion blender works well, or a blender can be used. If using a blender, blend in small batches with the steam cover removed. Reheat the soup and stir in the lime juice. Taste for salt, and add if desired. Serve in large bowls, topped with your choice of garnishes.

Notes

  • Nutrition per 1/ 1/2-cup serving:
  • 234 calories
  • Total Fat: 4.3 g
  • Sat Fat: 0.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Sodium: 820 mg
  • Total Carbohydrate: 34.8  g
  • Dietary Fiber: 12.4
  • Total Sugars: 1 g
  • Protein: 15.3 g

White Vegetable Chili 

(With chicken… or not)

White Vegetable Chili

Unilever, a huge international food processing company, has released a report recommending people switch to a plant based diet. While the report says all the right things about health and sustainability, my suspicion is that we are approaching a tipping point. A point at which the market for plant based foods has grown so substantially that the future of big food might just have to include plants… albeit highly processed plants. As a plant predominant eater, I appreciate the occasional plant based burger or ice cream bar, but these processed foods are not my foundation dishes.

What are my mainstays? It appears that I’m a relatively new breed of plant based eater, since many of the plant based recipes I find tend toward the mushy and bland. Or leave me ravenous half an hour after I’ve eaten. I’m searching for well-developed recipes using primarily whole food plant ingredients. Said dishes must be delicious: balanced, harmonious in taste and well seasoned, with depth of flavor and pleasing texture. I’m also pretty insistent that they contain the balance of protein, complex carb and fat that I’ve always required in my dietary selections. We are admittedly foodies in this house-piling a few vegetables atop a bowl of grain, however whole it may be, is not going to cut it. 

Which has left me to my own recipe development devices… but I am slowly amassing a repertoire of recipes that make meal planning feel possible. The fact that we are still omnivores is quite helpful. A small amount of meat or cheese can make an amazing difference in the taste and texture of a dish, demonstrated by the “flip the ratio” strategy I’m using today. Most entrees contain hefty amounts of animal protein with a few token veggies. But if I adjust dishes such that the vegetables provide the heft and the meat or cheese is the token, these recipes can be real winners. 

I love a good white chicken chili, but most feature large portions of chicken, a few white beans and a can of green chilies. My taste buds crave the particular essence of green chili, not the chicken. To flip the ratio, swap the chicken for onion, fennel, tomatillo and zucchini; increase the measure of creamy white beans, providing the protein heft; and wheat berries, to deliver both protein and a pop of texture. White miso and balsamic vinegar supply the depth.  When I want the chili to include chicken, I use chicken broth and add in a few ounces of cooked chicken. If not, we use “no-chicken broth” and skip the chicken. TBH, I’m happy with either version of white vegetable chili, as long as the smoky heat of green chili prevails.

 Before trying this, you should probably know that I crave the heat in just about everything I eat. What’s my desired level of heat on a scale of 1-5? 5. So I’ve been careful to moderate the heat in this recipe. Feel free to spice it up or down to your liking. I’m using a combination of fresh Hatch green chilies and Hatch chili powder. Hatch green chilies come quite specifically from Hatch, New Mexico, but they are basically the same as the Anaheim green chili, just with more heat. Anaheims are more readily available, and if need be, one can always use the little can of green chilies. The farmer’s market here has also spoiled my chili loving soul with the roasting stand, at which I can purchase freshly roasted chilies and chili powders of all varieties. However, Hatch green chili powder is available for order from various spice companies, and of course from the ever-ready Amazon. Increase the red pepper flakes if the Hatch powder doesn’t happen to reside in your spice drawer. 

I’ll be searching for hot weather dishes all too soon enough, but this soup warms me to my core on the chilly nights of a desert winter. I suspect it might do the same for you, wherever you happen to be spending your winter evenings.  

White Vegetable Chili
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5 from 1 vote

White Vegetable Chili

Warming white bean chili with vegetables and Hatch chilies
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Entree, Soup
Cuisine: Southwestern
Keyword: Hatch green chili, vegetables
Calories: 233kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil can add fresh garlic, if desired
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 3/4 cup chopped fennel
  • 1/2 cup chopped Hatch green chili can substitute Anaheim
  • 1 cup chopped tomatillo
  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped in 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 basil leaf
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 3/4 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp chili flake
  • 1 tsp Hatch green chili powder
  • 2 cups cooked white beans, home cooked or canned
  • 2 1/2 cups broth, Chicken or Vegetable
  • 3/4 cup cooked wheat berries could substitute farro or quinoa
  • 4 oz cooked, chopped chicken optional
  • 1 tsp white miso
  • 1 tsp white balsamic vinegar

Instructions

  • In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Stir in the onion, fennel and green chili to coat with oil. Sauté for several minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomatillo, zucchini, seasonings, beans and broth. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes to cook the vegetables and blend flavors. Mash a few of the beans in the pot to thicken, if desired. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the wheat berries and chicken, if using. Just prior to serving, mix the miso and vinegar, and stir into the soup. Heat through to serve. 
     

Notes

Total fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 22 mg
Sodium: 683 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 31.4 g   Dietary fiber 8.9 g  Total sugars: 3.8 g
Protein: 16 g

Pumpkin Walnut Soup

I can still see the disgust on Dad’s face as he surveyed his garden, following whatever the current disaster might be. The green beans aren’t setting, the tomatoes aren’t ripening, the garden pests are devouring the cabbage, the garden is under water… a gardener’s woes are myriad. The solution to all of these problems is usually to just eat more zucchini. Because there will always be too much zucchini, regardless of the weather or pesky insects, and it will need to be eaten immediately.

But these problems pale in comparison to a farmer’s woes, due to operational scale.  I’ve always thought of our family farm as a “gentleman’s farm”; my dad had a day job in the city which provided our income. While he spent most spare moments puttering around the farm and gardening, our income wasn’t dependent on crops. A neighboring farmer cultivated the acreage, with dad getting a share of the profit. When there was one, most probably.

Our Community Supported Agriculture farmer here in Arizona is having one of those years with myriad woes. The excruciatingly hot summer slowly gave way to an excessively warm fall, in which the usual seasonal crops foundered. Given that zucchini is out of season, we are eating bounteous amounts of pumpkin and winter squash, for which I suspect the farmer had other plans… but sadly, it’s still 2020. At least, winter squash keeps longer than zucchini!

We have roasted, mashed and pureed. Our Thanksgiving pumpkin pie was actually made from locally grown pumpkin. And we’ve made several batches of Pumpkin Walnut Soup. I’ve long been a fan of soups starring winter squash, but like many vegetable dishes, don’t find them filling enough to be the star of the plate. Given that my soup meal is usually soup and salad, this particular soup needed to buck up and develop some heartiness. Which it did, with a small addition of white beans and toasted walnuts. The beans provide protein and the walnuts bring in healthy fat and delicious flavor.  Savory, herbaceous and warm, crowned with a crisp topping, this is delicious soup.

It matters not if you are inundated with winter squash from the garden… there’s a plentiful supply this time of year at your local grocer. However you obtain your squash, this soup fits the bill for a warming winter meal.

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Pumpkin Walnut Soup

Warming, savory winter squash soup, enhanced with bean puree and walnuts.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pumpkin, walnut
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 1 2.5-3 lb sugar pumpkin or winter squash
  • 3/4 cup chopped onion
  • 3/4 cup chopped fennel
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 3/4 tsp dried sage
  • 3/4 tsp dried rosemary
  • 3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 bay leaf, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces
  • 1/2 cup cooked white beans
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp crisp croutons or toasted bread crumbs
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400° F. 
  • Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel andchop into 1-inch chunks. Toss the pumpkin, onion and fennel with the olive oiland spices, through the bay leaf. Turn onto a sheet pan, and roast for 20-25minutes, until tender.
  • Meanwhile, place the walnuts into a pie dish, and toast alongside the vegetables for 5-7 minutes, until fragrant; remove and cool slightly. Chop 2 tablespoons of the walnuts and reserve.
  • When tender, combine the vegetables, 1-½ cups of the broth, the beans and remaining walnuts in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and thin to desired consistency with remaining broth. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and heat slowly to a simmer.
     
  • Combine the croutons, parsley and reserved chopped walnutsin a small bowl. Ladle the soup into bowls, and sprinkle the topping over thetop, and serve.

Notes

  • Nutrition
  • Calories: 292
  • Total fat: 16.9 g
  • Sat fat: 1.7 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 g
  • Sodium: 998 mg
  • Total carb: 29.6 g
  • Fiber: 9.8 g
  • Total Sugars: 4.8 g
  • Protein: 9.6 g

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Rice

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Rice

Christmas traditions spiral through the years of my life, having earned their keep, whether on the farm or in more recent days. The wreath was secured, the tree was festooned, and the Santas escaped storage bins for their annual Christmas frolic on the mantle. The stockings were hung, the packages wrapped and gifts exchanged. Cookies were baked, rolls were frosted, scones were buttered and wine was mulled. Cherished family gathered, relaxed, partied, and departed, returning to everyday life. And so for another year, the fa-la-la is finished. The only remains? A few pine needles and a tin of leftover cookies, determined to complete their mission, however stale they may be. 

Oh! And the prized, well-picked turkey carcass from the holiday dinner. One of the reliable traditions of holidays on the farm was the appearance of turkey vegetable soup with rice on the day following a menu of roast turkey. Because just like the story of stone soup, Mom would park the turkey bones in a huge stockpot, add a few aromatic vegetables and poultry friendly herbs and let it simmer for hours into golden, fragrant stock. (She skipped the stone, though…) The resulting liquid gold was made immediately into soup, with extra frozen by the quart for future food adventures. 

I am a bit of a sucker for chicken soup, and I’m not particularly picky about the variety. Greek avgolomono? Check. Chicken tortilla soup? A favorite. Italian wedding soup? Definitely. A mammoth bowl of steaming pho? Absolutely. But there’s something about the homemade chicken soup made by your mother… must be in the genes. This is the soup I crave when I am sniffly, when the weather is damp and chilly, or when I simply desire a taste of home. An added blessing- the lush flavor of this soup belies the fact that it is much lighter than the holiday fare in which I have so recently indulged.  While one bowl of soup won’t make amends for all the holiday delicacies with which I’ve been stuffed, it’s virtuous enough to feel like a fresh start. Yes, I know; I hear your protests, but we all need our delusions! 

I don’t try to tweak or fiddle with Mom’s soup. It’s prepared exactly as I remember her making it. It’s such a simple dish that directions and amounts were never actually documented; I had to write it down step by step as I made it in order to have a recipe to post! One does need homemade stock for this soup. The quality of the stock is such an integral part of the flavor that substituting anything else will be disappointing. If making stock is new to you, the following link using option #1 explains how to make stock using leftover bones from roasted poultry. 

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_chicken_stock/

Once done, the addition of chopped vegetables, herbs and rice finishes the soup. Mom always added the bits of turkey found clinging to the bones after the big simmer, and if she had it, some leftover turkey gravy to enrich it. Yes, the delusions continue…

Traditions, old and new, keep us grounded in life. Making homemade chicken soup is a tradition worth pursuing.

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Turkey and Vegetable Soup with Rice

Rich homemade turkey soup with turkey, vegetables and brown rice
Prep Time1 day
Cook Time1 day
Total Time1 day
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice I cook it separately, in chicken stock
  • 2 qts well seasoned turkey/chicken stock
  • 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
  • 1 1/2 cups sliced celery
  • 1/8 tsp celery seed
  • 1/8 tsp dried sage
  • 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
  • 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 cup green beans, sliced into 1-inch pieces fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup peas fresh or frozen
  • 2 cups chopped turkey/chicken
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup turkey gravy, leftover optional

Instructions

  • Heat the stock in a large soup pot, to boiling. Add the carrots, celery and herbal seasonings. Return to a boil, and then simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add the green beans and peas, simmering an additional 10 minutes, or until they are tender. Stir in the chopped turkey or chicken and pre-cooked rice. If leftover gravy is available from the roast poultry, stir in to enrich the soup.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow simmering for 10 additional minutes to blend flavors. Serve hot. 

Provence Style Asparagus Soup

Provence Style Asparagus Soup

Seasonal…

Farm to table…

Funny how upscale restaurants use farm concepts to sell people on a nostalgic experience they have probably never known. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first one in line when it’s announced that plans are afoot for a great restaurant dinner. The upscale chef probably has ideas for preparing that fresh produce that I will love, but would never think of, much less want to mess with.

Seasonal, farm to table food was what you ate on the farm from necessity; assuming you wished to eat on a given day meant that you would be eating what was ripe, whether you wanted it or not. But even if you didn’t, it would be the freshest I-don’t-want-that dish on your plate!

Lucky for me, when that dish was just picked asparagus, it was all good. Mom planted a huge asparagus bed, (undoubtedly with my dad’s labor) when they moved to the farm. She was a bit of an asparagus connoisseur, cutting the firm, thick stalks just slightly below ground level; only the stalks of perfect thickness. If they were too thin, you let them go to grow into the huge feathery plants that she said would feed the garden.

I no longer have the luxury of an asparagus bed outside the door, but I still love celebrating spring with the freshest asparagus I can find at the market. I have to laugh when I see some of the bundles of the thinnest stalks imaginable-these would have been my mother’s rejects. I stir-fry it just like she did, and also use it often for Thai inspired stir-fries and curries. There’s just one problem: I am always tossing out the woody lower stalks that break crisply off the stem. We didn’t have these on the farm, because we picked it at its peak. I’ve been throwing out these darn stalks for years, and suddenly that has begun to bother me…

Enter my Provencal Style Asparagus Vegetable Soup. I make a number of these easy soups, which are basically just vegetable purees, seasoned and thinned to the proper consistency. They are delicious hot, but when chilled, this one hits the spot on a hot summer day. And yes, perhaps peeling asparagus stalks is one of those upscale chef-fy practices, but this soup is totally worth it!

Print Recipe

Provence Style Asparagus Soup

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Soup
Servings: 4 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch lower asparagus stalks
  • 1 3- oz or so potato peeled and roughly chopped
  • ½ cup roughly chopped onion
  • ¾ cup roughly chopped fennel
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1- teaspoon herbs de Provence
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 ½ cups broth I use chicken, but vegetable would work well too
  • 1- cup coconut milk lite or full fat

Instructions

  • Use a vegetable peeler to thinly peel the asparagus stalks. Trim off the bottom if woody. Combine these in a medium saucepan with the potato, onion, fennel, seasonings and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Cool slightly, remove the bay leaf, and then transfer to a blender. Blend to a smooth puree, then add and blend the coconut milk. Thin with additional broth if too thick. Taste for seasoning and correct if necessary. Serve warm or chill. Soup is nice when garnished with a scoop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of herbs.