Warm, Creamy Smooth Carrot Soup (Potage Crécy)

Bundling up in this cold winter can only do so much to keep you warm. While I was studying in France, I remember seeing vending machines that dispensed steaming cups of potage, a smooth and thick peasant’s soup of winter vegetables, and thinking that the French had the right idea. Healthier than a cup of hot cocoa, and as simple as a soup can be, potage crécy uses just carrots, potatoes, leeks (or onions in this case), and a spot of milk.

This is my favorite kind of dish: filling, delicious, easy, quick and made with ingredients I pretty much always have around. I found this recipe in a rare but well used cookbook from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs called “America Cooks” that we came across in a used book store for one dollar years ago. I’ve since tweaked the recipe so it is a bit different from the original, though I must say that if you ever find a copy of one of these books, it is a great resource to have around.

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Roasted Red Pepper Risotto, or The Importance of Being Creative in the Kitchen

I know you probably think I’ve posted the same dish twice in a row. And honestly, considering the month I’ve had, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had done that. But no, I’m not that absent-minded (yet). This risotto has an even more winding origin than the last one I posted. If you are actually craving something like Roasted Red Pepper Risotto, I assure you there are far easier ways to come by it. One day I’ll probably try to figure one out. That day was not today.

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Flexible Bean and Barley Soup

Weeknights have become busy around here, between new year’s resolutions, birthdays, and the usual. This is the time of year when I know I need food to function but I can’t always bring myself to whip up something new each night. The lack of fresh produce in the house doesn’t help either.

It would be really easy to succumb to take out and pre-made frozen foods, but I know my stomach, wallet, and conscience wouldn’t be happy with me if I did.  To combat winter food fatigue, I’ve been making larger batches of things to take for lunch with me throughout the week. I’ve stocked the freezer so that when I’m at wits end I don’t end up ordering pizza (at least not again anyway).

This week, the savior dish was a bean and barley soup I’ve been playing with all winter. Basically, I choose two types of dried beans, throw in a cup of barley, onions, carrots, celery, a bay leaf and bouillon and we eat like kings for a week. This kind of soup is filling, incredibly healthy, cheap, and can last for days and days. I bet you could even feed it to an avid meat-eater and they wouldn’t even realize it is vegan.

Here’s my latest recipe, but this soup is flexible enough that you could substitute just about any ingredient for another similar one (except the barley which is needed for its magical thickening powers).

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Split-Pea Soup

Unfortunately for me, growing up I never knew a good pea soup, let alone one outside of the school cafeteria. My mom didn’t make pureed soups from scratch often, so for me the words “Split-Pea Soup” conjured up images of gelatinous vats of over-salted green-gray mush, not unlike in the Exorcist, that would send me running from the cafeteria when appearing on the menu.

So, it’s not a surprise that a couple of weeks ago when Sarah expressed an interest in making a batch after picking up some dried split-peas at the grocery, I needed a little convincing before I was ready to revisit that childhood memory. I’m sure that not all of you grew up detesting pea soup, but after one taste of Sarah’s simple and satisfyingly creamy concoction topped with crunches of bacon and sweetened slightly by carrots, I dropped all previous stereotypes of the heartily-satiating dish. Highly recommended for cold, wintry nights alongside a chewy piece of sourdough.

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My Grandma’s Vegetable Soup

I was a pretty adventurous eater as a child, but not all of my cousins and siblings were. Every kid has at least one food they won’t touch with a ten-foot fork. From what I remember, it didn’t have much to do with taste. We just picked a food we were going to hate (mine was broccoli, which I now love) and would kick and scream if it was even on the same plate as anything we were going to eat.

With so many grandkids and so many different tantrum-inspiring vegetables to keep track of, my grandmother still managed to make a vegetable soup we all eagerly devoured. The secret involved never telling us what was in it and pureeing the whole pot. Brilliant. Even though I’m a huge fan of most veggies and would eat the soup no matter what was in it now, the blended creamy mix just hits the spot. It’s one of my favorite ways to remember my grandmother and being a kid.

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Saucy Apron’s Tomato Bread Soup

Shamefully, I let the end of a delicious loaf of marble rye go stale longer ago than I care to admit. For the last few days, I’ve been keeping an eye out for recipes that called for hard bread. At first I thought I’d make it into bread crumbs but my laziness for cleaning crumbs out of, well, anything got the better of me and I decided it would be best to use the bread more or less whole.

I came across this post by the Saucy Apron for Tomato Bread soup. It seemed just the ticket for an unseasonably cold day on which I happened to have all of the ingredients. But before I get to the recipe, I should say that I’ve been following the Saucy Apron for some weeks now. I have to resist the urge to bookmark almost every single one of her posts to try later. Her style seems very similar to mine: grab whatever is in the fridge, throw it together, see what happens. This was the perfect opportunity to try one.

Of course, because it’s me I couldn’t simply follow her instructions. I was low on broth and had no fresh basil on hand. I used way too much bread and mixed canned and fresh tomatoes. Jen decided to add some sharp cheddar on top instead of olive oil. The soup came out… good. Not great. But it’s definitely something I’m going to try again in the future, changing it a bit until it’s great. From what I’ve read on the Saucy Apron, sounds like she’d forgive me for playing around with one of her recipes. This recipe has definitely inspired me to experiment again. I can’t wait to try another one of hers!

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Tomato Rice Soup

Note: No matter what angle, placement or camera settings we tried, none of the pictures came out right. If anyone has any photography tips on clearly showing off a bowl of soup, I’d love to hear them, please!

This soup got me through months of laziness and countless colds. It is warm and can be as flavorful, or not, as you need it to be. I used to add a dash of cayenne, which would clear my sinuses out in no time when I was stuffed. Now I like it to be a little less punchy and a bit more savory.

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