Faithful Readers,
My sincerest apologies for my slacking on blogging. Homework has been crazy and class has been time consuming. Isn't that what I signed up for though? So glad I took Summer classes though. I would get bored to death of sitting around in my non air conditioned one bedroom apartment, not to mention more than likely die of a heat stroke!
This week we made Minestrone Soup, Potato & Leek Soup, Tomato Soup, Spinach Soup, Split Pea Soup and Corn Chowder. Anyone who know what I think about soups know that typically, I hate them. The texture to me is to say the least, nauseating. Some of these were actually quite eatable! The Potato Leek Soup was my absolute favorite. The velvety silkiness of this pureed soup is delightful. The Corn Chowder Soup was also pretty fabulous, despite the traditional addition of pablano peppers, making it slightly too spicy for my sensitive, sweets loving taste buds. The Tomato Soup was a bit of a culinary testing experience. In our three groups, two groups used fresh, Farmer's Market tomatoes and our group used store bought tomatoes. Exact same recipe, same conditions, different tomatoes. Moral of the story is, use fresh Farmer's Market tomatoes! The soup we made was pretty gross. It was an orange carroty color, despite the fact that no carrots or orange product was used! About 2 cups more chicken stock had to be used to give it a soupy texture, meaning it basically tasted like a watery, chicken soup. Weird right? Recipe was great though, just not with store tomatoes. Split Pea Soup was not as terribly awful as I had expected. Maybe it was because we used yellow peas instead of green so it didn't have earthy, traditional color usually associated with a split pea soup. Want to try these spectacular soups at home? Post which recipe (s) you would like and I'll send them! Ready for your hint for next week's topic? Better be eggscited! (; Please excuse my cheesiness.
What are some things you all have been making this week? Share!
Food is love,
Danielle
Danielle, were any of these soups cold? I'm really into cold soups in the summer. As far as what I've been cooking, you probably saw what I posted last weekend: sea scallop ceviche, eggplant crostini and lemon-artichoke hummus. This week I have all the stuff for a penne pasta with veggies and a tarragon pesto (never knew you could make pesto out of tarragon!). I'll probably make it tomorrow or Tuesday. I'll let you know how it turns out!
ReplyDeleteJanie, that sounds great! But no, sadly none of these were chilled soups. I do have a super yummy Chilled Cucumber Soup in my folders that I will copy and paste(: Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteChilled Creamy Cucumber Soup Serves 4
4 large cucumbers, peeled and seeded – cut into small pieces
1 tub Greek Yogurt or 6 oz. Crème Fraiche
1 cup Chenin Blanc wine or other dry, crisp white wine
3 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar
1 small bunch fresh Basil – chopped fine
5-7 leaves fresh spearmint – chopped fine
sea salt
white pepper
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Put the cucumbers into a blender with the white wine, sherry vinegar, sea salt, white pepper and blend until smooth. Add the basil and mint and blend to incorporate. Add the Greek Yogurt or Crème Fraiche to the soup and blend until mixed. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve Cold. You can sprinkle additional chopped basil and mint on top if desired.