Soup's on!

It's that time of year again when I can't get enough soup. Nothing is better on a damp wintery (wintry?) night than a steaming bowl of hot homemade soup. I've already blogged about some of my favorite soups: Butternut, Tortellini so this year I am going to expand my horizons a bit. On my list of soups to make this year: cauliflower, potato leek, carrot ginger, tomato...what are your favorite soups?

One that I've always secretly loved is Tortilla Soup, but have never had a vegetarian version so I decided to craft my own. It's sort of a vegetarian blend of my favorite parts of tortilla soup (large chunks of veggies, shredded cheese, crunchy tortilla strips) and posole (hominy, lime), with the addition of chipotle flavors just because. You can make it as spicy as you'd like with the addition of more chipotles or hot sauce and it is vegan without the topping of cheese.

Tortilla Soup with Hominy and Chipotle (vegetarian)

Serves 4-6 as main course

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth or water
1 can hominy
3 carrots, chopped into ½ inch pieces
¼ of a small green cabbage, chopped into 1-2 inch strips
6 small corn tortillas
1-2 tsp vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings: shredded cheese, avocado, lime, cilantro, diced tomatoes, sour cream, hot sauce

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, garlic, cumin, and chili powder and cook 5-10 minutes, until onions are tender. Add the tomatoes and chipotle peppers and stir to combine. Add broth/water, hominy, carrots and cabbage, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15-20 minutes.

2. While soup is simmering, prepare the tortilla strips. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut tortillas in half and then into ¼ inch thin strips. Toss in bowl with 1-2 tsp. oil, just until coated but not “soaked”. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring at least once so that the strips cook evenly. When strips are golden brown, remove from oven and sprinkle with salt.

3. Serve hot with small bowls of toppings.

One more wintry meal

Trying to look on the bright side of this unseasonably cool and wet weather we're having...one last chance to make some of my favorite wintry meals. Last week I made Three Bean Chili with Quinoa Cornbread and on Sunday I made The Veggie Queen's Winter Squash Enchiladas. A healthy and really delicious dish from "Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment" by Northern California vegetarian chef Jill Nusinow ("The Veggie Queen"). I had a chance to meet Jill at the Gravenstein Apple Fair last Fall and this is probably my favorite dish from her book.

Glazed Brussels Sprouts and Carrots

I found this recipe in a Gourmet magazine last year and I make it often during the fall and winter (including Thanksgiving at LoPo and KK's this past year - see photo). I can get brussels sprouts, carrots and shallots all winter at our farmers market and this is an easy and delicious way to get them eaten up! The recipe is good as is, but I usually use a little more cider vinegar (about 2 Tablespoons). You can find the recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrots-and-Brussels-Sprouts-241514

There's nothin' like a bowl of squash soup on a cold night

There are a lot of versions of butternut squash soup - smooth, creamy, thick, spicy, curried. I love all things squash, but when I make it myself, I make this super easy light version. of butternut squash soup. The ingredients and quantities are a little vague, but I promise you - you can't screw this up.

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic

1 butternut squash

2 potatoes (any variety)

2 carrots (sometimes I throw in a parsnip too, if I have them)

1 apple

2-4 cups veggie or chicken stock

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper to taste

dash cayenne or red pepper flakes, chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Peel and chop all vegetables. (It doesn't really matter how big or small you chop things because it is all going to be pureed, but it's best to chop all of the harder veggies about the same size). Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables, the apple and bay leaf, and cover with stock. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. When the veggies are soft, let cool a little before blending with a stick blender or in a food processor or blender (be careful blending hot things!). Return to soup pot and season with salt and pepper and other herbs if desired. Garnish with croutons (as in photo), toasted pumpkin seeds, sour cream, or fresh herbs.