Lentil Vegetable Soup

I have nothing to write about this soup except that it's healthy and delicious. The original recipe is from Cooking Light from maybe ten years ago.

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 - 3 carrots, finely diced
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 cup dried lentils
5 oz baby spinach
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons whole grain Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
finely grated parmesan or asiago cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, celery, carrot, and bay leaves; saute for 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, salt, and minced garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add vegetable stock, water, and lentils; bring mixture to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 25 minutes. Stir in the spinach, parsley, vinegar, mustard, and pepper; cook 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Ladle soup into bowls; top with cheese. Makes 6 servings.

Cold Peach Soup

I never end up taking a picture of this soup and it's probably because I'm too busy wolfing it down to grab my camera. Maybe next time I'll remember and add a picture. This soup can be served as an appetizer or as dessert. We usually enjoy it as a dessert. I made a couple small changes to my mother's recipe, which may have come from bon appetit in the '80s. Here's how I make it:

7 large peaches, pealed and quartered

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Optional: 1/4 cup peach schnapps

Puree the peaches and sugar in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate. Makes about 6 servings. Garnish with peach slices.

White Bean and Swiss Chard Soup

David and Camille had colds earlier this week, so I decided to make soup for dinner. Only problem is that I then got really sick with mastitis and landed myself in the hospital for a day and a half, so I didn't end up making this until David was feeling better. Anyway, this soup is not super-exciting to look at, but it was surprisingly quite delicious. The original recipe is from The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Soup and can be found on the Williams-Sonoma website. Here's my version:

1 1/4 cup Great Northern beans, soaked for 4 hours

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 vidalia onions, coarsely chopped

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large bunch Swiss chard, stems removed, cut into thin strips

6 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup mini fusilli

4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped

Grated pecorino romano cheese

In a large soup pot over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and saute for about 3 minutes. Add two-thirds of the Swiss chard and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, beans, tomatoes, basil, and garlic and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender, about an hour. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Using a blender, puree about 2/3 of the soup in batches leaving the remaining 1/3 for texture. Return the soup to the pot. Heat the soup on medium-high heat and add the cooked pasta, about 2 tablespoons of the parsley, and remaining Swiss chard. Cook until the chard is wilted but retains its color, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle parsley and romano cheese on top. 6 servings.

Carrot-Ginger Soup with Chile Butter

Ginger again? Yes. I'm really trying to waste less food, so I'm trying to piggy-back meals with the same fresh ingredients that I don't use all the time and don't keep for a long time. Ginger root will keep for a while, but not usually as long as I go between recipes that use it.

I've made this soup quite a few times now. The original version of it appeared in the May 2010 bon appetit and is available online. Both David and I really like it and the fussy, picky, non-eating Camille finally tried it tonight and decided that she likes it too! Tomorrow, it will probably be a totally different story.

Most of the changes I made to this recipe had more to do with food waste than with flavor or preparation. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds of carrots, but my grocery store only sells carrots in 1 pound increments, so I decided to just use all the carrots and add a little extra liquid. The original recipe also specified 5 cups of vegetable broth, but the vegetable broth I like comes in a 4-cup carton, so I use 4 cups of vegetable broth and 1 1/2 cups of water (1/2 cup extra for those extra carrots). I also use low-sodium vegetable broth. Since giving birth to Adeline and having had HELLP Syndrome and being put on a low-sodium diet, I've been far more conscious of my sodium intake. I'm fine now and can eat whatever I like, but I have found that less sodium means less bloating, and still having a slight paunch being 10 weeks postpartum, less bloating is good.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Chile Butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup (2 large) scallions, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. If making ahead, cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

Soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1 large onion, chopped

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

2-3 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups water

6 tablespoons dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, potato, and ginger. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt. Saute until vegetables are slightly softened but not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Working in batches, puree in a blender until smooth. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with a spoonful of chile butter and sprinkle with nuts. Makes about 4 meal-sized servings.

Total prep and cooking time: 1 1/2 hours

What we ate with the soup:

spinach salad with tomatoes and red peppers

multigrain bread