Gazpacho

I'm not normally a lover of gazpacho - anyone else think it just tastes like runny salsa? It's been soooo hot here tho that the thought of making hot soup is out of the question - that's probably the reason that when I saw this gazpacho recipe from Anne Burrell (Food Network) I was willing to give it a try! That and the fact that this recipe has bread in the base, I've never heard of that (I don't know, is that standard in gazpacho? Just because I've never heard of it doesn't mean it isn't a normal thing).

I followed this recipe to a T other than using a red onion because that's what I had on hand (and it was too strong in the gazpacho, don't recommend using that kind) and an orange pepper because I don't like green bell peppers. Oh, and I substituted bloody mary mix for the tomato juice - and this soup turned out great! I will make this again many times this summer, especially if this flippin' heat continues...

Ingredients:

• 8 slices white bread, crusts removed, bread broken into big chunks
• 2 pounds tomatoes, seeded
• 1 english cucumber, peeled
• 1 large white onion
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds and pith removed
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• kosher salt
• high quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup tomato juice, if needed

Directions:

1. Soak the bread in a medium bowl of water to soften, about 15 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and place in a large bowl.
2. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, 2/3 of the cucumber, 1/2 the onion, and 1/2 the pepper and add to the bread. Add the garlic, season with salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Mix to combine and let sit for about 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry and to let the salt pull some moisture out of the tomatoes.
3. Meanwhile, for the garnish, dice the remaining cucumber, onion and pepper into 1/4" dice and reserve. (NOTE: I did not make garnish...as you can tell from the picture hahah)
4. Working in batches, puree the tomato bread mixture in a blender with the vinegar. Blend in tomato juice to loosen the mixture if needed. Remove soup to a large bowl and stir in about 1/2 cup of high quality olive oil. (NOTE: I used less oil, didn't want to add that many calories!)
5. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
6. Chill. Serve cold garnished with the diced cucumber, pepper and onion. Drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired.

4 servings

Click here for the original recipe source

one year ago: 3 ingredient sangria
two years ago: Kyle's mushroom rice

Vegetable Soup

It's been chilly the last couple days and I felt like soup, this one is roughly based on Cabbage Soup - from the cabbage soup diet that has been around and popular forever - I've combined a few different recipes to come up with this version; I don't follow the diet (mostly because one day is eating all-you -can-eat soup and bananas -yuck, I'd starve haha) but I really like this soup! It's simple and quick to make, and you can tailor it to whatever veggies and spices you like.

Here's my version (but really, add or subtract to it and it'll still taste good!):

In a large pot saute 1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup diced celery and some chopped garlic in a little bit of olive oil, after a couple minutes start adding whatever veggies you like cut into bite sized pieces. This time I did mushrooms, green beans, carrots, yellow pepper, zucchini - it can definitely be a "clean out the fridge" time - let it cook for a few minutes before adding 28oz canned diced tomatoes with the juice, v8 juice (I used 4 little cans), 1 packet of dried onion soup mix, and chicken broth - I add however much liquid makes the soup the consistency I want. Let it cook until the veggies are just starting to get tender, maybe 15 minutes; then add 1/2 chopped head of cabbage, cover and cook for another 10 minutes. Start to finish this takes about 45 minutes, don't let it cook too long or everything gets soft and a bit mushy. This makes quite a lot,  I put it in the fridge and it takes me a few days to finish it, I haven't tried freezing it but don't know why you couldn't. I eat this for snacks and lunch, it's flavorful, filling, and low calorie -  you can google how to do the whole "cabbage soup diet" if you're interested, and if you like bananas :)

French Bean and Vegetable Soup

I got this recipe and photo from a friend, she got it from a "Best of Fine Cooking" magazine. True story and a good tip for the future - she was flying home from a trip at Christmas and couldn't fit all of the gifts she received in her suitcase. So she had the idea to buy a magazine at an airport store and asked them to put it in a very large bag - that way she had a bag to put her excess belongings in to carry onto the plane. I guess they don't count the gift shop bag as another carry on bag - at least she says they haven't stopped her so far. While I would have bought HGTV or fashion/gossip type magazine, she picked up a Fine Cooking and wanted to try this soup recipe. 

She gave me enough soup to have 2 meals (I had it both times for breakfast - yep I eat weird stuff for breakfast, especially if it's delicious leftovers!) and I liked it so much I asked if I could put it on the blog for you guys to try. Even though I didn't make it myself,  I know what a great cook she is and did get to taste it (that counts for something, right?)... I will definitely make this in the future.      

She made a couple changes - the recipe calls for dried flageolets (I had to look that up, it's a small french bean) soaked for hours, she used canned great northern beans instead so skipped the whole soaking part. Because of that she didn't have any reserved water from the beans so replaced it with white wine. She said "figured that couldn't hurt" haha. She also didn't add sherry vinegar and used less of the sausage. Since I haven't made it yet I don't know if I would make any additional changes, but looking at the recipe I can suggest that if you don't have whole cloves of garlic, fresh thyme, or fresh chives I bet it would be fine with dried herbs. I might sprinkle in garlic powder or salt if I felt like it. You could also use a different sausage than andouille, I thought it was crumbled Italian sausage when I ate it - or you could make this vegetarian and leave the meat out entirely. This is a yummy bean and veggie soup with little bits of sausage. Don't be overwhelmed at the long ingredient lists - it's pretty much things you probably have on hand and if not just throw in what you do have! The beauty of making soup...

1 1/4 cups (8oz) dried flageolets, sorted and rinsed
1 medium clove garlic, smashed and peeled
1 bay leaf
kosher salt
2 T. extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter
1/4 lb. andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup chopped leek, cleaned
3/4 cup chopped shallot
freshly ground black pepper
1 T. tomato paste
1 1/2 t. minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 t. chopped fresh thyme
3/4 t. dried herbs de Provence
1 cup sliced carrots (1/4" thick half-moons)
1 cup canned, drained, diced tomatoes (reserve the juice)
1 cup coarsely chopped swiss chard
5 to 6 cups chicken broth
1 to 2 t. sherry vinegar
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh chives

Put the beans in a large bowl, add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches, and soak for 4 to 12 hours.

Drain and rinse the beans and transfer them to a 3 or 4 quart saucepan. Add the smashed garlic, bay leaf, and 6 cups cold water. Partially cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally and adding 3/4 t. salt after 30 minutes, until the beans are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour total. If at any time the liquid doesn't cover the beans, add 1 cup water. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Discard the bay leaf (the garlic clove can stay).

Heat the olive oil or butter in a 4 to 5 quart soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook stirring often, until beginning to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour the sausage and fat into a small strainer set over a bowl, and set it aside. Spoon 2 T. of the fat back into the pot and return it to medium heat. Add the leek and shallot and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently, until the begin to soften, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, minced garlic, thyme, and herbs de Provence, and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.

Add the carrots, tomatoes, and swiss chard, stirring to incorporate with the seasonings. Add 2 cups of the broth, partially cover, and simmer until the vegetables are just barely tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

In a large measuring cup, combine the reserved juice from the canned tomatoes, 1 cup of the reserved bean cooking liquid, and enough broth to bring the amount of liquid to 4 cups.

Add the liquid, beans, and andouille to the pot and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes to meld the flavors.

Season to taste with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Serve garnished with the chives.

This warm and comforting soup is perfect for a chilly evening. Serve it with crusty bread drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. Serves 6.