Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

adapted from Cookie and Kate
serves 6

Ingredients:

• 8 tomatoes, cored and quartered (Any variety, we chose roma)
• 3 red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
• 2 small yellow onions, cut into wedges
• 8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika (We used Hungarian sweet paprika)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F with two racks placed in the middle of the oven.
2. Using two baking sheets: Place tomatoes, skin side down, on one of them.  Place onions and red peppers (skin side down) on the other.  Lightly drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Place the unpeeled garlic on the sheet too.
3. Bake for 45 minutes.
4. Heat the vegetable broth on medium-high heat and add the peeled garlic.  Add roasted vegetables and simmer for ten minutes.
5. Purée the soup using an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender - blending a few cups at a time.
6. Serve with a french baguette or a grilled cheese sandwich! Enjoy!   

Roasted Tomato & Rosemary soup with kale & potatoes

adapted from La Buena Vida

Enjoy!

(photos taken by me)

Ingredients:

• 4 yukon gold potatoes, cubed
• 1 bunch of lucinato kale (or other variety), roughly chopped
• 5 cups of vegetable or chicken stock 
• 1 cup of white wine
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt 
• ground black pepper

Method:

1. On medium heat in a large stock pot add garlic, onions, and celery with a drizzle of olive oil. Sauté for 1-2 minutes until garlic is fragrant and not browned.
2. Add 4 sprigs of rosemary and 3 sprigs of thyme (stems intact to be removed later) and pour in the white wine.  Cook until ingredients are tender.
3. Add the potatoes, can of tomatoes, stock and 1 cup of water. Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer on medium low heat for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding extra water if necessary.
4. During the final 3-5 minutes, add the kale (allowing the kale to hold its flavor and its integrity) and remove the sprigs and Enjoy!  

Bok Choy Noodle Bowl

Adapted from Rachael Ray
serves 4
This recipe was my attempt at duplicating my favorite vietnamese soup "Pho."  Although it was unsuccessful, the soup that resulted from my inspiration turned out to be delicious!  The "fresh" taste comes from cilantro, scallions, and bok choy.  The savory notes are from the stock and shiitake mushrooms.  It is both hot (spicy) and sour.  Since my "first attempt," I have made this soup twice more.  Perhaps one day I will try to re-create the Pho soup (again)...

Shiitake and Cremini

Cilantro and Scallions

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (preferably Canola Oil)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 inches ginger root, peeled and cut into very thin matchsticks or grated
• 1/2 to 1 pound shiitake mushroom caps, sliced (you can also use baby bella or cremini)
• 2-3 medium bok choy, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces
• sea salt and black pepper
• 1 quart chicken broth (I like to use 365 brand from Whole Foods, organic and low sodium)
• 1 cup seafood stock** or 1 cup clam juice
• 100 % buckwheat noodles, vermicelli, or thin spaghetti (optional)
• 4 scallions, cut into 3 inch pieces, then shredded lengthwise into thin sticks
• juice of 1 lime
• bunch of fresh cilantro

**Note: To me, the best tasting seafood stock (comes frozen) - Golden Harbour Wild caught fish stock, all natural, no preservatives or additives.  I buy mine at Whole Foods in the frozen seafood section, Net Wt. 1 lb (454g).  After thawing this out, I use the whole package for the soup.  

Method:

1. Using your largest soup pot, over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil and crushed red pepper flakes.
2. Add garlic and ginger, saute for 1-2 minutes.  Then add the mushrooms.  Continue to cook for several minutes allowing the mushrooms to soften.
3. Season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
4. Add chicken broth and seafood stock (or clam juice).  Put a lid on the pot and bring soup to a boil.
5. As soon as the soup boils, add lime juice and bok choy**.  Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. When you are ready to serve, ladle soup into bowls.  You may serve the soup with or without the noodles*.  
7. Top the soup with fresh chopped cilantro and scallions.

*Note: Buckwheat noodles are easy to prepare.  Once the water boils, drop a handful of noodles into the pot.  Cooking time is 2-5 minutes.  Drain the noodles and add to the soup before serving.  We like to use the brand SHIRAKIKU - Japanese style- Zaru Soba with Yam, buckwheat noodles.  

**I decided to modify a step in the method by adding broth first then the bok choy. (In the pictures above, the broth was added after I had sautéed the bok choy).  I wanted the bok choy to have a "crunch," in contrast to the soup.

Mushroom barley soup with rosemary oil

Adapted from The Yellow House
serves 4-6

shallots, baby bella and shittake

organic pearl barley

Delicious!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter ( I use Vegan Butter - earth balance original)
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1/2 - 1 pound of sliced baby bella and shittake mushrooms (the recipe from The Yellow House suggested 6 cups of sliced mushrooms, but I wanted a heartier soup.)
• 3/4 cup dry red wine 
• 10 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth or water)
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (optional)
• 4-5 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped from stems
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Use your biggest pot and heat the butter over medium heat.  When melted, add the shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir to coat with butter.  Turn the heat to high, and continue to sauté for 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms begin to soften.
3. Pour in the wine and stir.  Allow the wine to reduce by half.
4. Then, add the broth or water and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the pearl barley and a pinch of salt (I chose not to use more than a pinch of salt because the vegetable broth already has added salt.)
5. Reduce to a rapid simmer.  Simmer 40 minutes to an hour or until barley is cooked through. (I pre-soak the barley in cold water for at least 2 hours - so that the cooking time is reduced.)
6. While the soup is simmering, mince the rosemary leaves and mix in with the olive oil or you can use a food processor to create a smoother mixture.
7. When the soup is finished, ladle into bowls and drizzle the rosemary oil on top.  Serve with bread. (we like pumpernickel).

This is one of our favorite soups.  I have made this twice now and it gets better each time.  Soups are great for fall/winter months and by adding more mushroom - it becomes a heartier dish.  As for the wine, since the recipe calls for a small amount, I like to use wine that I usually drink.  I used a 2008 cabernet sauvignon from Frank Family Vineyards, but I'm sure ANY red wine will work.  Next time I will try a zinfandel from Klinker Brick Winery (since it's about 20 dollars less than Frank's).

I hope you enjoy the soup as much as we do.