Cream of 'Turkey' & Wild Rice Soup

I think that I have 2 other wild rice soups posted here already (perhaps more?) but that's because I really love wild rice in a soup. Wild rice holds its texture better than standard white or brown rice in soups and makes for a more interesting dish than the standard rices. 

Years ago, I followed a food blogger named Catherine who had an informal blog called Food Snob (which hasn't been updated in many years now). She was a mostly vegetarian who did a lot of adapting of non-veggie recipes. This soup is an example of that, as the original calls for leftover turkey. Like Catherine, I wanted to try this in vegetarian form. While she suggests simply omitting the turkey, I have made it many times with faux chicken (Gardein works well here but I think that I've also used Quorn-- and some of the newer meat subs might be even better here). I also have used a standard wild rice blend instead of instant (this Lundberg brand blend is great but I'm sure others would work well too). 

This is quite hearty and the mix of the chewy wild rice, creamy broth, veggies, and faux chicken is very filling. Enjoy! 

Gazpacho: Two Ways

About 10 years ago, when my dad was living in Southern Spain, I fell in love with really excellent gazpacho. Up until that point, I had only had bland cold tomato soups, but the Spanish did it right! I came home determined to find a delicious gazpacho recipe. After much Google research on the topic, I settled on this recipe from Alton Brown/The Food Network. Indeed, it was just what I was looking for-- rich tomato flavor but with subtle other fresh flavors shining through. Oh- and it was pretty creamy too-- thanks to the 1/4 cup of olive oil in it. I made this several times, but it was an effort, given that it called for peeling fresh tomatoes, seeding, etc. etc..

Then, about two years ago, a neighbor-friend, Amy, told me that her favorite gazpacho recipe was this one. I was skeptical at first, as I was worried the tomato skins (no peeling!) would somehow make the soup texture off, but I was glad to be wrong about that! Indeed, Love and Lemons has been a trusted go-to source for recipes and this one was a hit too (perhaps the 1/2 cup of olive oil helps??). I don't know that I've made the Alton Brown version since I discovered this much easier option, but I'll keep both recipes on hand. 

North African Chickpea and Kale Soup

 I am surprised I didn't blog about this recipe earlier, as it has been a lonstanding favorite of mine. This soup first introduced me to saffron. I remember when I first made it I was not sure that the very pricy orange threads would be worth it... but I was wrong and I've been a saffron fan ever since! The saffron adds a buttery flavor the broth, and along with a cinnamon stick it is really a distintive flavor. Add some chickpeas and kale and it is a winner all-around. I've probably made this soup 30 times over the last few decade or so (at least 2 times/year-- oftentimes more). I've also made it for/with friends and it is different enough to be interesting, but not at all 'weird'. Susan's Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog was another one that I used to follow pretty regularly back in the day. It is worth poking around on her site if you like this recipe and want to try others. Enjoy! 

Catch Up: Lentil Curry

Thirteen years since I started this recipe compilation and I'm still determined to get to 50 soup reviews! That said, I'm veering away from a live-time making>posting. Instead, I'll share a few of my tried and true favorites that I make most years to 'catch up'!

For example, here's a sort-of-cheat for a lentil curry (soup-ish) that I've made a few times this past year and love. This is a quick instant pot recipe that is really excellent. I think that I've made this one 3 times since I discovered it. So delicious! My staff who share an office suite with me have heard me RAVE about this one at least a few times... 

'Classic' Minestrone Soup

I've been making this recipe  for years now and I'm surprised I've not yet blogged it. I put 'classic' in quotes because while that's technically the name of the online recipe, I don't think that it is actually all that traditional (but what do I know?). I have used this many a time when bringing a meal for new parents, a sick friend, or other meal drop-off situations (often with a loaf of no-knead bread and salad supplies). 

I've made slight variations in the recipe, mostly depending on what I have laying around and/or the audience, but I always use the pesto (mostly/often jarred to make it easy and in the winter I rarely have fresh), and the Parmesan rind is what I think makes the dish. 

Celia and Mike went skiing this morning and she had requested vegetable soup so I made a 1/2 batch of this while they were gone (easy to cut in half, just using a full can of beans). I also added cabbage in lieu of spinach or other greens (what I had readily available), and added some broccoli. Additionally, I cooked up a batch of alphabet pasta on the side and added about a 1/3 cup when serving it up for Celia. 

Note that this full recipe does make a HUGE batch. In fact, when giving to a friend I've often portioned off half of the full batch for my own family and given away the remainder (plenty to feed a family of 4+). The full batch will fill my Le Creuset Dutch oven right to the brim so if I'm not giving it away it is too much for us (even eating leftovers for several days...). 

This one is definitely a tried and true go-to soup for me! 

Broccoli [and Cauliflower] Cheese Soup

My mom gave me leftovers of a broccoli-cauliflower-cheddar soup she made the other day. It was so good I decided to make it myself (within about a week of having her leftovers...). It is really one of the most delicious broccoli/cheese soups I've ever had and quite low fat. 

I based it off of this recipe but with quite a few modifications. 

My modifications included: 

-No cornstarch (it is thick enough as is-- just right, actually) 

-2% milk used in lieu of heavy cream

-I had an old bag of riced cauliflower in the deep freezer so used that for this one (it did have some Italian spices in it, but I can't imagine that changed the flavor of the soup too much). 

-No table salt added when the onions were sautéing (or otherwise) 

-This Greek all-purpose seasoning that an old friend turned me on to years ago instead of the "Spike" seasoning (no clue what that is...). 

-I only used 3.2 oz of extra sharp white cheddar (what I had left of a hunk of cheddar). Honestly I think that I could have skipped the cheese altogether (I tasted it and it was definitely delicious before I added the cheese). 

I *did* use my immersion blender to blend (was considering transferring to the Vitamin, but I'm glad that I stuck with the immersion blender as I actually like the texture in this one). I also attempted to use my InstantPot but I think something was off with the seal so it didn't ever seal properly. That was okay-- I just used sort of a hybrid of the InstantPot and stovetop versions (but didn't have to dirty another pot). 

In any case, this is fantastic. Really, really good. I would serve it to guests and will make it again for sure! Like most Broccoli Cream sort of soups it isn't the most gorgeous soup, but honestly it isn't too ugly either! 

Surprisingly Simple [easy] Lentil Soup

I made a delicious soup that I wasn't expecting to be all that good this past weekend. I found the recipe online on the Weight Watchers site. It was a crockpot soup (which I don't ordinarily love) and involved mostly just dumping cans and a 1/2 cup of dried red lentils into the crockpot, along with a bag of frozen mixed veggies, broth and spices. 

Here are the details: 

-2 1/2 cups of low sodium broth (I am still using exclusively Better Than Bullion Veg)

-2 (15oz) cans of chick peas, drained

-14.5oz can of diced tomatoes 

-1/2 cup dried red lentils

-12 oz  of frozen mixed veggies (I just used the most basic mix I could find- green beans, peas, carrots and maybe there was some corn in there too?)

-1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 

-5 oz. fresh spinach

-Parm cheese for garnish/topping

Dump the canned chick peas (rinsed/drained), broth, tomatoes (I did not drain these), lentils and Old Bay into the crock pot. Mix together. Dump the bag of frozen veggies on top of the broth mixture and set crockpot to low for 7 hours. Add spinach at the very end or before serving and top with parm cheese (which I didn't even do). 

So simple, right? This was so good that I bought the ingredients (needed more chick peas!) to make again this week. That said, I may force myself to take a bye week and do something else this week before repeating this. 

Oh- I also added some chopped mushrooms to the broth mixture (because I had some that needed to be used up). I also added a bay leaf and some dried basil (but only because I was low on Old Bay so couldn't use the full amount called for in the recipe). I also think it would be good with some cabbage/slaw mix in the pot too- or really any veg you have lying around that you need to use!