Soup

"There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric; no two are ever alike - unless of course you get your soup in a can."

Laurie Colwin

 

I love making soup, it's such a satisfying process to take a few simple ingredients and end up with a hearty bowl full of warmth. I like using what I have on hand, this is why no two are ever alike! ;)

I made this Roasted Tomato Soup the other day using fresh tomatoes from my friend's greenhouse, frozen tomatoes from our garden, shallots and garlic from the Farmer's Market and served it with homemade Parmesan Thyme scones. This is my Dark Days Challenge meal for this week.

 

 

Then, a few days later, I had some spicy breakfast sausage to use up and some more shallots and garlic along with some kale from the Farmer's Market, so it became Sausage Potato soup with Kale. Yum!!

 

 

Finally, was a lovely vegetable soup with meatballs and pasta. This is one of those soups where you can use up whatever leftover vegetables you have in the fridge or, like I did, use some frozen mixed vegetables. I always keep good quality stock-in-a-box in the pantry this time of year for soup making. It has so much more flavor than canned broth and less sodium too. I also like to have my homemade meatballs in the freezer for quick and easy meals. I'll have to post the recipe for them, they are very versatile and can be used for everything from spaghetti to soup. As you can probably tell, the weather has finally cooled off here! LOL!!

 

I hope you get the chance to make some soup this week to warm someone's tummy and their heart, especially your own! :)

 

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night, all you really need is soup.”

Laurie Colwin

Chopped Winter Salad

Marigold at Goat Philosophy 101 requested the recipe for the chopped Winter Salad that I mentioned in my recent Dark Days Challenge post. Well, it was probably actually the Goatmother; although, if you swapped out the pecans for peanuts, I'll bet Marigold would eat this up! ;)

This is one of those recipes where there really aren't any hard and fast measurements or rules. It all depends on how many you are serving and what you have on hand.

This is my own dressing recipe. I had some extra lemons to use up and didn't like the sound of the rather sweet, lemon poppy seed dressing included with the recipe. I don't usually make vinaigrettes, opting instead for mayo type dressings, but this is wonderful and I will definitely be making it again...and again...and again!!
Here is the original salad recipe, from grouprecipes.com, with my changes in red.

Winter Salad

1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped (I used half iceberg lettuce and half red cabbage)
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 apple, cut up
1 pear, cut up (I used all apple because I didn't have a pear)
1 cup slivered almonds (I used toasted pecans, chopped)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I used crumbled goat cheese)

Combine all ingredients.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1/3 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon diced shallot
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake well. Add to salad to taste and toss all together.

I have been trying to eat more in-season foods recently and was tickled to find a salad recipe that fit the bill. After eating garden fresh, homegrown tomatoes for the past several years, I just can't bring myself to buy the tasteless, overpriced, hot-house grown tomatoes in the grocery store anymore. I feel fortunate to live where I do with our longer growing season AND to have a friend with an awesome garden and a greenhouse! We haven't had any real hard freezes yet so her lettuce and cabbage is still growing beautifully.
Linking up with Wildcrafting Wednesday.

Dark Days Challenge - Week One

I'm joining Nancy at Little Homestead in Boise for the Dark Days Challenge.

What’s the Challenge?The dates are between December 1 and April 15th. The goal is to try to cook four meals each month (1 per week) focused on sustainable, organic, and local ingredients (SOL). Whatever you can find is fine!

What does local mean?
Traditionally local food challenges call for a 100 mile radius, but winter is more difficult in many climates. If you’re new to eating locally try 150 miles. Typical exceptions are oils, coffee, chocolate and spices. If you’re making fewer, or more exceptions, please note that on your first post or comment.

What if I can’t find every ingredient locally?
If you can’t find every ingredient, or even most ingredients, please still write about your attempts. This is just as much about what we learn, the obstacles we find and the decisions we make as it is about cooking with SOL ingredients. Do what you can, where you can.

What if I don’t have good photos?
Take photos of what you’ve got, just do your best. No worries, keep it simple, or just tell the story and we’ll use our imaginations.

I'm glad good photos aren't a requirement because this certainly isn't one of my best! ;)
The beef and noodles included local grass-fed beef. The green beans were from my girlfriend's garden. The chopped Winter Salad included lettuce and red cabbage from the same friend's garden, carrots from the neighbors' garden, local organic apples from the Farmer's Market and my Fromage Blanc goat cheese. The yummy Lemon Vinaigrette dressing included locally grown shallots picked up at the Farmer's Market. Not everything was local or organic but I felt pretty proud serving it up!

I hope some of you think about joining Nancy and the rest of us as we try to live up to this challenge! Check out Nancy's blog for more info. :)

Linking up with Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House.