Recipe: Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Soup

This hearty but simple soup is packed full of the flavors of the fall harvest. With sweet potatoes, onions, and chard, you'll be in a fall veggie lover's dream with this easy and flavorful vegetarian soup! Just a few, simple, fresh ingredients make this a winner to make, and to eat. It's great as a side dish, or even as a main vegetarian course. Use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth for a different flavor as a non-vegetarian option.

Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Soup
(Serves 4 - 6 as a side dish.)

Ingredients:

1 large onion, coarse diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
6 spring onions, chopped, include green tops
6 cups vegetable broth
1 lb Swiss chard, washed, trimmed, and coarse chopped
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Put a big soup pot over medium heat, add the onion and olive oil and cook until onion softens, then add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, then immediately turn heat to low and simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are all tender. 
• Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed, and serve hot.

Recipe: Sweet Cider Red Cabbage Soup

I'm not sure if the origins of this recipe are Russian or not, but it seems a bit Russian to me.... It's a great fall dish, warming and sweet, and packed with the flavors of fall. The red cabbage gives it a beautiful color, and while it may seem to be out of your comfort zone when it comes to flavors, it's simple enough to take a risk on. This would be a nice side dish with a pork roast. Give this one a try, and see how this simple vegetarian peasant soup suits your palate.

Sweet Cider Red Cabbage Soup
(Serves 2-4.)

Ingredients:

1 medium size head red cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup chopped dates
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 cups real apple cider (or apple juice)
1 cup water
1 regular size carrot, coarse grated

Directions: 

• In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, put the lid on the pot, and simmer very slowly for 20 minutes, or until cabbage is very tender.
• Serve hot. 
• To balance the sweetness of this soup you may want to add a dollop of Greek yogurt to the top of each serving.

Recipes: Roasted Pumpkin Apple Soup

We're wrapping up our month of fall harvest soups with a week of soups on the sweeter side. After all, fall is when sweetness comes into its own! With sweet and tasty fruits and vegetables like apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, fennel, and cider at every turn, it's easy to find ingredients for making hearty fall vegetable soups this time of year.

Check out today's recipe for a great way to use up that sugar pumpkin you picked up on a whim at the farmer's market. This simple soup is sweet, spicy, smooth, and delicious - the essence of fall in a bowl!  And be sure to check back later this week for some more interesting soups on the sweet side!

Roasted Pumpkin Apple Soup
(Serves 2-4.)

(Image courtesy of tiramisustudio at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of diced cooking pumpkin
1 large firm apple, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
3 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
1 cup whole milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and get out a large baking sheet.
• Put the pumpkin pieces, apple pieces, cooking oil, salt, and cumin in a large bowl and stir to coat very well; dump out onto the baking sheet and roast in oven fo4 45 minutes, or until pumpkin and apple are browned and soft. Stir with a spatula several times during the roasting time. Remove and let cool slightly.
• Scrape pumpkin/apple mixture (with all the oil and seasonings on the baking sheet) into a blender, add some of the vegetable stock and puree until smooth. Do this in batches if necessary, pouring each batch out into a clean soup pot as you go.
• When mixture is all pureed and in the soup pot, put over low heat and stir in milk. Heat just until hot, do not boil.
• Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
• For a creamier soup, add the milk during the puree process along with the milk.
• Serve hot.

Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower & Herbed Goat Cheese Soup

This easy twist will take a classic cauliflower cheese soup to a whole new level! With just a few simple ingredients, you can elevate these humble soup beginnings into something fancy enough to grace the table at the most elegant soiree. Roasting the cauliflower brings out the natural sweet and nutty flavors of the vegetable, while the creamy goat cheese adds richness and a touch of acidity to balance it out.

Roasted Cauliflower & Herbed Goat Cheese Soup
(Serves 4-6.)

Ingredients:

1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup of crumbled herbed goat cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and get out large baking sheet.
• Put cauliflower on baking sheet, drizzle on 1 Tbsp olive oil, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and spread around with your hands. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, using a spatula several times during cooking times to turn cauliflower pieces over; remove when fork tender and set aside.
• In a large soup pot, add the onion with a Tbsp of olive oil, put over medium-low heat and cook until the onion softens, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
• Add the roasted cauliflower into the pot, scraping all the oils off the baking sheet along with the cauliflower.
• Continue cooking over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, stirring the cauliflower into the onion mixture.
• Stir in the vegetable broth, turn heat up and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, loosely cover pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat and let cool slightly.
• Ladle soup into a blender and puree until smooth, then return to pot over low heat.
• Slowly stir in the goat cheese, continuing to stir until cheese completely melts.
• Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot.

Recipe: Smooth & Creamy Root Vegetable Soup

They go together like....carrots & parsnips?  This perfect pairing is packed with earthy fall flavors and healthy antioxidants - plus it's super simple and simply delicious! With just a few simple ingredients, you can make a creamy and tasty fall soup that goes great on the side with a fall veggie salad or sandwich.

Smooth & Creamy Root Vegetable Soup
(Serves 2-4.)

(Image courtesy of tiramisustudio at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

Ingredients:

3 medium size carrots
3 medium size parsnips
6 cups vegetable broth
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp marjoram or 1/4 tsp thyme

Directions:

• Peel and dice the carrots and parsnips, then put in a big soup pot with the vegetable broth; add salt and pepper to taste.
• Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.
• Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
• Ladle the mixture from the pot into a blender and puree until smooth. Add only enough cooking liquid as you need to make the soup a nice consistency, to your liking. Return the puree to a soup pot, stir in the lemon juice and herbs, then put over low heat and bring back up to temperature and serve hot.

Recipe: Turkey Cabbage Soup

This is a warm, brothy soup that will hit the spot on a cold day! Simple and easy to make, yet tasty and satisfying, this is also a good one if you're feeling a little under the weather. Turkey and fresh veggies make this the perfect healthy and delicious fall soup.

Turkey Cabbage Soup
(Serves 4-6.)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
2 celery stalks, diced small
1 medium size yellow onion, diced
1 can (15 oz) petite diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 medium head cabbage, shredded fine

Directions:

• Put oil and turkey in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Cook the turkey until no longer pink, breaking into pieces as you stir.
• Add the celery, onion, tomatoes, and broth to the pot, stir, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
• Add the cabbage, cover pot and simmer slowly for about 15 to 20 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
• Serve hot with crusty bread.

Fall Is Soup Time - Warm Up With These Tasty & Unusual Chill Chasers

The start of the fall season is usually marked by that first hint of chill in the air.  That chill outside can often translate into a chill inside. This makes fall the perfect time to curl up with a steaming bowl of soup.  But, do you want to have yet another bowl of plain chicken noodle soup?  Why not warm up your body and soul at the same time with some unusual soups?  Here are a few soups that you can try this fall to warm up yourself and your family.

 (Photo credit: 46137)

Harvest Soup With a Basil Bump

If you want a great soup that you can throw together with one trip to the farmers market, this is the soup for you. Get your big pot going with fresh diced tomatoes, zucchini, onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrots. When all those wonderful ingredients have simmered together and gotten all softened, it's time for the surprise ingredient - basil pesto.  Make a classic basil pesto from fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil, blended smooth in a food processor.  Stir the basil pesto into the finished soup, reheat and serve hot. This is great before the basil, but after the basil pesto is added, this soup goes from great to unbelievable!  No more chill.  No more dry scratchy throat after you've settled in with this spicy, satisfying soup.

Pozole Chases the Blues Away

Known as a special occasion dish in Mexico, this is a soup that is often served at large parties where the wine, beer, and other adult beverages flow freely.  As such, this soup is a well-known cure for hangovers and is often eaten in the wee hours of the morning.  Typically, this soup is a combination of pork, beans, and hominy grits in a hearty stock.  But, its curative properties come from an abundance of several other ingredients like garlic, cumin, onion, fresh oregano, and lots and lots of red chiles. Whether you want to sweat out a headache or ward off a chill, having a pozole recipe to turn to is a very good idea.

Wonton noodle soup (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Turkey Wonton Warms You Up

We love our leftover turkey, don't we.  We especially love it when we're looking around for some inspiration to make a warming soup.  This soup starts simply enough with some stock, turkey, noodles,  pork dumplings, and greens.  Use baby bok choy for authenticity, or choose a more bitter or peppery green if you want to impart more of a warming feel to your soup.  Most recipes for wonton soup will have added sesame oil which is tasty and also helps to soothe the throat.  For whatever reason, the more intense the flavor, the more warming a soup seems to be.  Of course, adding red pepper flakes bumps the warming factor up a notch or two, so be sure to spice this soup up to send the chills packing.

Apple Pumpkin Soup Strategies

If there are two ingredients to put in your soup that scream Autumn farmers market, they would be apples and pumpkins. There are quite a few variations on soup recipes using these two fall favorites.  You may be looking for a soup that closely resembles pumpkin pie.  Or, maybe, you want the tart apple flavor to come through first.  You can make a country style soup with big chunks of pumpkin and apple swimming in a sweet and sour broth to warm you inside and out.  You can make a smooth pureed soup with a surprising kick of curry to help clear a stuffy head and chase away the chills.  This is a combination of two powerhouse ingredients that can go from one end of the flavor wheel to the other with no problem at all.  Pick your favorite flavors and create a soup that fits your needs.

When it comes to chasing chills away, nothing beats a big steamy bowl of soup.  But, choose the right ingredients and you can do more than make a warming bowl of soup – you can create a big soup hug!

Be sure to check back later this week for some hot and tasty soup recipes.