Butternut Squash Carrot Soup

Butternut Squash Carrot Soup 8

Another wonderful fall soup!  We ordered 25 pounds of carrots from our grocery co-op not long ago so we are making use of them.  Even with all our efforts, I am sure we will end up pickling quite a few--not a bad thing.

I played with this soup a bit.  I added an apple and cinnamon and nutmeg because I wanted my taste buds to shout, "Welcome Glorious Autumn!"  It worked.  You could easily use a pear in place of the apple. 

Just look at all the wonderful produce that goes into the pot!  Squash, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, sage, and apple!  I felt so good eating this!  My kids liked our "Halloween Soup" as well.  We were able to provide this as a meal to a friend doing her part to kick cancer's hiney, and we could feel good about it!  Served it garnished with freshly roasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), a side of our go-to cornbread, and peach slices--a bit monochromatic but still yummy.

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup  9

I've made this for a few years and really enjoy it around this time of year.  It is a hearty, healthy, and perfectly seasonal. 

I omit the shallot and just add a 1/2 cup more of chopped onion.  I used vegetable stock and wasn't disappointed.  You can omit the sherry if you choose not to cook with wines. I used white wine vinegar to taste in place of the Sherry vinegar.  It's pretty forgiving. Garnished with freshly roasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds).

This does make a lot so we eat it for a few days.

Carol's Finnish Pea Soup with Apples

Carol's Finnish Pea Soup with Apples  Rating: 8

Another recipe from Anna Thomas' Love Soup.  This was simple tasting but not bland.  It had just the right amount of acidity to counter the natural sweetness of the peas and apple.  Feel free to use the full amount of cayenne, maybe more. Neal, historically is not a fan of peas but did fine with this recipe and it has two varieties!  It was a good soup and made for good leftovers during the week. 

Green Soup with Mushrooms

Green Soup with Mushrooms  Rating: 6

I got this recipe from Anna Thomas' Love Soup, when I checked it out of our local library.  I am always looking for different ways to get those leafy greens into my family and I.  Provided is an online version I hunted down. 

We substituted kale for chard, a medium potato for the rice, and omitted the cayenne.  We drizzled it with olive oil as suggested and served it along with corn bread and honey. 

I thought it was a hideous color and my husband concurred when he compared it to a baby's diaper.  That said, it was okay to good.  Neal had texture issues with it but I did not.  My kids called it "Alien Soup" and took it in for dinner and lunch at school the next day.  I felt happy to get all those nutrients in and I do mean WOW with the amount of greens it packed in.  I'm always giddy when I get to use my immersion blender but was not in love with this "Love Soup."

Watermelon Gazpacho

Watermelon Gazpacho  Rating: 9

After several days of watermelon it is hard not to bemoan the 21 lb. purchase.  I was glad, though, to try a savory twist on this sweet fruit when I saw this recipe.  It used 8 cups!

It was refreshing and the flavors worked.  I used cilantro instead of basil because that's what I had on hand.

Chilled Watermelon Soup

Chilled Watermelon Soup  Rating: 8

This was quick and easy, yet I still managed to ignore the directions.  I added the yogurt and the blended rather than adding as a dollop at the end.  I did try to garnish it with yogurt after the fact but it mostly sank.

Besides all that drama, it was a yummy, fresh, slightly sweet soup.  We liked it.  Surprisingly, our kids did not care for it but it was competing with the strawberry jello and kale chips our daughter requested at her birthday lunch.

Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup  Rating: 7

This was a snap and good.  Another plus is I got to use my immersion blender.  I served this up in cups for the kids to drink as a fun way to get lunch in them.  We had it with Brown Butter Zucchini Cornbread.  Great lunch!

Chicken Gumbo with Fresh Okra

Chicken Gumbo with Fresh Okra  Rating: 8

We've made this several times, especially when our local farmer's market has baskets spilling over with okra.  It' is definitely comfort food and comes together pretty quickly.

I forgo the sausage and shrimp and am still pleased with the outcome.  I've even used canned chicken in a pinch and like it.  We are generous with the hot sauce in the recipe and bring the bottle to the table just for good measure.  We serve it over brown rice.  Enjoy!

Taco Soup

So we were bummed to find that 4 of our 7 quart jars of pinto beans did not seal when we last canned.  And although I am told I can freeze legumes well, we are trying to use up a few of the jars this week on our menu.

Taco Soup  Rating: 7

Neal said this was a 6 but with some pickled jalapenos and hot sauce it became a 7.  The kids ate it fine and I thought a few drops of hot sauce did the trick.

Changes we made were using freshly roasted Anaheim peppers in place of the green chiles.  I also used taco seasoning in place of the cumin and chili powder but kept the oregano.  It was a quick meal I could throw together with stuff I had on hand and it was good enough. 

Mango Gazpacho

Mango Gazpacho  Rating: 8

We wanted something fresh for dinner and this was great.  It was sort of like a big bowl of mango salsa.  In fact, we are pretty sure the recipes are very close if not exactly the same.  It was sweet, spicy, and fresh.  Now if we just had tortilla chips in the house...

Pickle Soup

Pickle What?  Oh, yeah, you heard me--Pickle Soup.  I checked out Anna Thomas' Love Soup from our local library and bookmarked a bunch of recipes, including this intriguing soup.  My mom has used pickle in dinner dishes on occasion so I knew it wasn't too weird for me.  I know that briny taste is a nice surprise for your mouth, if done well. 

Pickles aren't just a hamburger topping, you know?!  In truth, I had a botched batch of dill pickles that came out somewhat mushy due to my home canning inexperience and this was a great way to use them without the texture issue sabotaging the dish.

Pickle Soup  (exact recipe as in her book but online) Rating: 8

1/10 of a recipe = approximately 160 calories

Served this up with some oven warmed roasted garlic bread found on the discount rack.  Neal liked the flavor and the variety of vegetables.  I liked the flavor too.  If you do make this, let the pickles do their thing during the simmering process so you don't make the mistake of adding more pickle juice too early.  It mellows somewhat over time.  We noticed it was milder the next day when we had it for lunch.  The Pickle Soup was really hearty.  This makes a ton and does freeze according to the author.

One jar of botched pickles down, 5 to go!

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup

This soup was a joy to prepare! 1.) It was made with just a few ingredients, 2.) I got to use my immersion blender (giddy!), 3.) Its aroma was healing, and 4.) It was so beautifully vibrant.  My picture does it no justice. Go to the recipe link!  She captures its true color.

Carrot Apple Ginger Soup  Rating 7

The only change I made was slipping in a lone, unloved, smallish parsnip with the carrots.  It was good.  Served it with bread. Kids ate it up. I was more excited about making it than eating it.  I may lessen the ginger a touch as it was somewhat spicy for me but not for Neal.