Finishing things off

It is a few days before I get to pick up my next CSA box and here I am feeling a bit lazy about turning the remaining food into meals. I checked the fridge and before I even bothered to put thought into what I could do with the fabulous veggies I had awaiting me I began chopping them up into more soup. (Not that I am regretting the decision I made, but I just realized that the celeriac would have made a tasty gratin dish or fritters...)


I cannot seem to help but make soup. It is still wet and rainy here and we have not dared turn on the heat. Doing so would admit defeat to the inevitable winter weather that will be heading our way. Instead as I write this post I am wrapped in a nice blanket with an electric heater at my feet.


Now I cannot honestly say this is the most exciting soup I have ever made. In fact I think it tastes "healthy" - not in a bad way, but in a way that makes me feel really good about eating it.


Ingredients:


2 Celeriac
3 Parsley Root (looks a lot like parsnips)
1 Carrot
1 Leek
3 Cloves of Garlic
5 Red Radishes
2 Small Green Cabbages


The first thing I did was chop everything up into similar size pieces. I do this so that everything cooks at the same speed.


1. In a stock pot I sauteed the garlic on low with a few tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and the Leek
2. Then I tossed in all the other veggies and covered them with chicken stock (maybe 4 cups or so)
3. I put a timer on for 15 min. and upped the heat a bit and headed back into the office.
4. When the timer went off I walked back into the kitchen. Added some salt, cracked pepper and another bit of EVOO and turned the heat off and covered the pot.
5. I took a phone call and let the soup chill out for about 10 min
6. I then took out my immersion blender and proceeded to blend the soup up. It was really thick and so I added some water to thin it out. During that time I tasted the soup and added some dill weed and I grated fresh ginger into the soup


Servings - About 10 

Note - this soup is not sweet. It is a bit tart and I think that I what I like about it. It is also very filling. I think this soup would be paired nicely with some corned beef. Maybe because the of cabbage in the soup? It might also be a nice baby food!


Let me know what you think. Do you have any recommendations on herbs that would add some pizzaz to these veggies? Let me know.

How about a soup off?

Okay so actually it wasn't really a cook off event. Last night I presented a class about soup. Why soup? Well I have loved soup from a very early age.  In fact my after school snack was always a can of soup. Many people think this is weird, but it was my staple - its warm & comforting and soothed my soul. Usually something from Campbell's  - nothing quite as good as what I am capable of making now, but none the less my favorite thing to eat at the time! So back to the class...

I had 7 lovely ladies + an itty bitty gentleman (can you see the little one in the pic?)! They are fabulous people so not only was it fun to teach the class to these individuals it was a delightful time filled with laughter and love - all the sorts of things you want in a kitchen and infused in the food. Really the care, attention, and playful atmosphere cannot be beat.

The goal of the class was to help the participants understand how to experiment and add their own flair when making tasty soup. They learned not to take recipes so seriously and just cook up what they have on hand. We also talked about how quick, easy, & healthy soups can be!

What else did we talk about?

-Colors! Eating green, white, red & orange foods and what that means nutritionally & energetically speaking
-Blending
-Storage (plastics, glass, stainless, etc)
-Best type of pot to use
-Discussed a bit about organic, local & the environment

What recipes were featured?

-Carrot Ginger Soup
-Creamy Coconut & Lentil Soup
-Heirloom Tomato & Chickpea Soup (check for the recipe from earlier in the week)
-Creamy Kale Soup

After we made the soup we sat down to do a taste test. While everyone was deciding which soup was #1 they discussed what they learned from the class. One of the main things that the class enjoyed was that they had to go and buy their own groceries at the store. Many of the items on the list were not items they would usually pick up so they felt like the excursion was one of the best aspects of the class. Check out my website (navigate to the events page) as I am scheduling Grocery Store Tours. Check back every so often for all updated events.

How many of you out there love soup? What is your favorite soup to make? Please share!