Split Pea & Barley Soup

I love this soup. I didn't have barley the first time and made it with wild rice. It was great but I love it more with barley. It's from allrecipes.com but I am adding my modifications. I just throw the garlic, onion and bay in at the same time as the water and I've changed the recipe below to have the carrots and other veggies go in 90 minutes before it's done. not 60. Doubles very easily.

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 bay leaf
* 3 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder, to taste)
* 2 cups dried split peas
* 1/2 cup barley
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 8 cups water
* 3 carrots, chopped
* 3 stalks celery, chopped
* 3 potatoes, diced (left them out once, used turnips once, LOVED the latter)
* 1/2 cup chopped parsley (I forgot this the second time)
* 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the oil, onion, bay leaf and garlic for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the peas, barley, salt and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme and ground black pepper. Simmer for another 1.5 hours, or until the peas and vegetables are tender.

Spicy Butternut Ginger Soup

Another Love Soup recipe, but this one is Ben's favorite. He requests it all the time now that it's fall.

2.5 lbs. butternut squash
2 yellow onions (450 g)
yellow or red potatoes (225 g. or 8 oz.)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
3 cups vegetable broth
3 Tbsp. finely chopped ginger
1/3 cup (20 g) chopped cilantro (we skip this)
2 tsp. rice vinegar (essential)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice, plus more to taste
1-2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar

Preheat oven to 400.

Peel and seed squash. Chop into 2-inch cubes. Peel onions and cut into large pieces. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Toss vegetables with the olive oil and a teaspoon of salt and spread them on baking sheets or casserole dishes. Roast veggies for 30 minutes, stir them and turn them over, lower heat to 375, and roast for another 30 minutes.

Put roasted veggies into soup pot with 2 cups water and the veg broth, fresh ginger, cilantro (if using), and rice vinegar. Simmer together for 30 minutes, then puree soup using immersion blender or in a blender. Bring soup back to a simmer and season with lemon juice and honey/agave. Adjust seasonings as needed - tasting is important here.

Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup - Vegan

The kids read a book that features split pea soup and have been asking me to make it, but I used to feel sick to my stomach when my mother would make this soup with the ham bone in it. That bone and meat boiling away just smelled so bad! So I found this ham-free version in Love Soup. We tried and it was better each night. It made a ton of soup. I can't believe I liked this soup, but I would make it again.

1 lb. dried green split peas
3 stalks celery chopped (200g)
3-4 medium carrots, chopped (225 g)
1 large yellow onion, chopped (300 g)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme OR 1 tsp. dried thyme
hot paprika (I used crushed red pepper and regular paprika)
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I used 1 Tbsp. dried parsley)
2 -3 cups vegetable broth
ground black pepper

Combine the rinsed split peas in a large soup pot with 8 cups water and the chopped celery, onion and carrots, the bay leaf, thyme, and pinch of paprika. Bring to boil and cook briskly for 20 minutes. Lower heat, add 1 tsp. salt, parsley, and vegetable broth, and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes. The peas should be completely soft.

Remove bay leaf. Taste and add salt if needed. Grind in black pepper. Add more veg broth or water if it's too thick, then puree in blender or with immersion blender.

This soup will thicken up as it cools and then becomes more liquid when it's reheated. But each time it's reheated it will lose water through evaporation, so reheat it with the lid on. Enjoy!

Cabbage Soup

From the cookbook, Love Soup, with minor variations:

green cabbage, 1 lb.
olive oil
onion, 8 oz.
1 1/2 cups sliced leeks, white part, about 5 oz.
2 medium carrots, 4 oz.
2 medium stalks celery, 4 oz.
1 medium russet potato, 8 oz.
5 - 6 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp. dried dill (or 2-3 Tbsp. fresh)
salt & pepper as needed

Preheat oven to 375. Cut cabbage in wedges, remove core, and slice wedges crosswise. Toss with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. salt and spread on baking sheet(s). Roast cabbage for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

Chop onion medium fine. While cabbage roasts, saute onion and leeks with 2 Tbsp. olive oil on medium heat until they are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely dice carrots, celery and potato. Combine these veggies with broth in a big pot and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Then add the cabbage, leeks, and onions to the pot and simmer, covered, for another 20 minutes. Stir in dill and season with salt and pepper. (Optional at this point: stir in 1 cup whole milk. We skipped this.)

Everyone loved this. We had this with fresh sourdough bread and it was very filling and delicious.

It's hard to find a cabbage that is as small as 1 lb., so I roasted a 3 lb. one and we had roasted cabbage as a side dish the first night and we had the soup the second and third nights.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Also known as avgolemono. We made this for Rachel, Sarah, and the boys, and they asked us to post the recipe. We usually double this recipe, which is from the Good Housekeeping 1998 Best Recipes Cookbook.

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth (or about 4 cups homemade stock)
2 1/2 cups water
1 medium, skinless, boneless chicken breast half, baked or poached (about 6 oz.) (we use canned cooked chicken instead)
2/3 cup white long-grain rice
3 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (we always add more)
1 Tbsp. butter

In large saucepan, heat chicken broth and water to simmering. Meanwhile, shred chicken breast by hand into thin strips or shred up the canned chicken with a fork. Add rice to simmering broth and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender.

While rice cooks, combine eggs and lemon juice in large bowl and whisk well.

When rice is tender, slowly whisk about 2 cups of simmering broth into bowl with egg mixture, whisking constantly (try to avoid adding rice to egg mixture - a little is okay). Return mixture to saucepan, whisking constantly, and heat to just simmering, about 5 minutes (do not boil or soup will curdle). Stir in shredded chicken and butter. Makes about 7 cups.

Carrot & Coriander Soup

This recipe is from my friend, Allison, who made this soup for me when I visited her a few months ago.

Serves 4

1 tsp. canola oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced in large chunks
1 large onion, sliced in wide rings
1 tsp. ground coriander
32 oz. vegetable or chicken broth*

Saute the carrots, onion, and coriander in the oil about 5 minutes. Add the broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender. Blend in the pot with an immersion blender, or pour into a blender. Blend until totally smooth. If you removed it to a blender, pour it back into the pot and keep warm. Serve warm.

Allison served this with fancy grilled cheese sandwiches - Raclete on ciabatta and Drunken Goat on ciabatta - and both were fantastic.

*Making your own vegetable broth is super easy. I made 2 quarts, so I used 2 1/4 quarts water, one bay leaf, 1 tbsp. peppercorns, 2 carrots in big chunks, 2 onions in large wedges, 3 stalks celery in big pieces, and about 1 tsp. of finely diced candied ginger (optional). I also added in the innermost papery skin of the onions, because I read somewhere that the pigment in the onion skin will add a nice color to the broth. It worked! I covered it, brought it all to a boil, and then simmered it for about 45 minutes. I added 1 tsp. salt at the very end. Add salt to taste. Then I strained it through a fine mesh strainer into a big bowl, let it cool, then portioned into 2 1-quart containers.

Lentil Soup with Kale

I just made this tonight and it was yummy. We ate it with grilled cheese sandwiches. I found this recipe in a parenting magazine.

2 tsp. canola oil
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 lg. carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. green or brown lentils
12 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
8 cups chopped kale
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (I skipped this one)

Heat the oil in a 6-qt. pot over med/high heat. Cook onion, carrot, and celery until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir, cooking for another minute or so. Add the broth, lentils, basil, thyme, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add kale, and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice and zest and serve.

Curry Squash Soup

I invented this recipe when I was trying to make wataka curry, which was one of my favorite dishes in Sri Lanka. I've modified it over the years. I usually make it with buttnernut squash but today I made it with buttercup squash and acorn squash, because that's what I had on hand.

1 large butternut squash or several medium and small squash
1 can of coconut milk
turmeric, garam masala, chili powder, cumin, coriander - to taste

Wash squash, cut the squash in half, scoop out seeds, and place face down in a baking dish. Fill the dish with 1.5 inches of water. Bake at 400 until soft - 30 to 60 minutes depending on size.

Scoop out the cooked squash from the skin and put it in your blender. Pour in the water from the pan and blend. Be careful if you're blending hot squash. Pour half the squash in a soup pot. Then add the coconut milk to the blender, blend again, and pour into the soup pot. Stir with a spoon over medium heat and add spices, to taste.

Add more water or vegetable brother until you get your desired consistency. Sometimes I like it almost as thick as baby food. This last time it was more a soup like consistency.

Vegan Potato and Leek Soup

I like P&L soup but I can't in good conscience poor a pint of cream into something I'm going to eat. This has no dairy in it. I also made it with a block of neufchatel (1/3 less fat cream cheese) thrown in and it was delicious. I just play it by ear, so I'm sorry that the measurements aren't precise.

about 4 lbs of red potatoes, wash, cut, and boiled, skins on is ok
4 or 5 large leeks, just the white and light green part, sliced thin
oil
water or vegetable broth, however much you feel is appropriate
salt
pepper

boil the potatoes. put a little oil or cooking spray in the bottom of a large part (the one you just used for the potatoes is fine)and cook the looks until clear. Add the potatoes back in and your chosen liquid. cook for awhile until the potatoes are really soft. add some chopped kale if you have it on hand. once everything is soft, spoon 80% of it into a blender. this can be done in batches. blend it and add it back into the pot.

the blended potatoes make a nice thick creamy soup and since you didn't blend them all, you still have potato chunks in the soup. also, the kale adds some great vitamins and pretty green flecks throughout. add salt and pepper to taste.