My love affair with soup is deep-rooted. There is nothing better than spending a cold day on the couch with a bowl of hot, liquid comfort, topped with all the fixings; cheese, crackers, hot sauce, and some type of crusty bread. Of course, I could easily eat soup for every meal no matter what the season.
This Winter has especially been full of soup-making and eating, as it's been blizzarding non-stop and temperatures have fallen (and remained) in the negatives for what seems like eternity. That, and the whole working two jobs thing means leftovers or take-out about three times a week; although I really have been making it a point to cook more often. Still, I don't mind having a few kinds of soup stocked in the fridge or freezer for when laziness is present.
This veggie soup recipe was made on a whim, keeping in mind the traditional vegetable soup my mom always prepares, and MAN was it good. I had no problem eating it for the rest of the week. Here is the scoop on this simple, delicious vegetable soup:
*In a soup pot, saute one medium-sized, diced onion and two cloves of minced garlic in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until tender. Add 3 or 4 diced red-skin potatoes, 2 sliced carrots, and a handful of fresh green beans, cut in half. After the root veggies start to brown/become slightly tender, add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, cumin, and dried basil to taste to the mix. Add one or two fresh, diced tomatoes of your choice, and continue cooking over medium heat until fragrant. Next, add a 14oz can of Italian-style diced tomatoes and up to a full 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, depending on how thick you want the soup. Add in one can of Italian white beans (cannelini beans), a can of sweet corn, and a handful of chopped kale. Stir in four cups of vegetable stock and a tablespoon or so of powdered vegetable base (chicken or beef seasoning would be acceptable for you meat-eaters.) Let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Add in a full bag of frozen peas a few minutes before serving. Top with a mountian of cheese and, whatever else you love, and enjoy!
This was the perfect arctic-weather meal, and tastes even better as a round-two meal. What foods are you craving this season?
-Heather
