I Heart Broccoli: Broccoli Soup with Cheddar Croutons

Last weekend, my two very good friends from college took me out to give me my birthday present: mani-pedi's. We also threw in some eating, drinking, and shopping, too. While we were sauntering around and window shopping, we ended up at Anthropologie. I honestly cannot wear anything in that store, try as I might. I don't have the right complexion for the majority of the tones they play with and I definitely do not have the body, either (a wide body + flowy skirts, dresses, and tops = not that great). The thing that Anthropologie does have that I love to browse is their kitchenware section. Most of it is tchotchke items, but if I had the money to throw, I'd buy a handful of their beautiful mugs and linens. Anyway, while browsing, something caught my eye: a beautiful...brightly colored...cookbook. I love big splashy cookbooks with pages of photographed dishes and food. The book is Ripe: A Fresh Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables. It's a gorgeous book, first separated by color, and then by ingredient. I'd never seen a cookbook organized by color, but I love it (even has a website)! It helps illustrate the approach the author, Cheryl Sternman Rule, is going for. What grabs your attention in the produce section or farmer's market? Color. Color is was signifies ripeness, it signifies nutritional value, it signifies deliciousness. I quickly grabbed the book and brought it home. I haven't treated this cookbook like the others I have on my shelf. I have treated this cookbook like an actual book. My husband found me in the chair in our office curled up with this book, reading it, and he chuckled. "Who reads a cookbook?" Well, I do, I suppose. Each ingredient is prefaced with a vignette from the author, talking about her relationship with the ingredient. Her writing style is humorous, sarcastic, and genuine. It's similar to how I talk and even a bit how I write. I know I'll find myself leafing through this book a hundred more times, and you'll see plenty of her recipes posted here, as I find something new and exciting to make. But, of course, the first ingredient I turned to was broccoli.

I think I've mentioned my love of this particular member of the cabbage family before. I love broccoli. I've always had. It's not like it's a newly found favorite, like brussel sprouts (shh, don't tell my mom...), I've always loved broccoli. When I was a kid, my favorite vegetable side was steamed broccoli, topped with a splash of red wine vinegar. I never understood my cousins' infatuation with cheese sauce. Why drown these little tender trees with heavy thick cheese? Don't get me wrong, I love cheese sauce, but broccoli has this great flavor - why cover it up? Plus, I loved the texture of the stalk and the "leaves" of the crowns. It's a little sweet, a little bitter, and a whole lot of delicious. In college, my dorm fridge was stocked with bags of prepared broccoli florets. I'd throw them in a bowl with a bit of water and pop in the microwave for a minute or so. Pull it out and snack on them while watching TV or chatting online. The second half of my senior year consisted of broccoli florets and microwave-baked potatoes (plus its various toppings: hello baked beans!). My husband would shake his head whenever he'd visit and open my fridge to find these two items in abundance (amid bottles of beer, of course). No one could ever say my diet was unhealthy. It certainly wasn't a varied diet by any extent, but at least I wasn't living off of Hot Pockets.

So, what did Ms. Rule have in store for my favorite vegetable? Why, soup, of course! I love a good soup, but unfortunately the majority of broccoli soups at restaurants tend to be heavy, thick, and full of "cheese", with absolutely no flavor of broccoli, unless you count the sour taste of overcooked cabbage as the flavor of broccoli (which no one should). This soup has but a little bit of cheese in it and no cream. It uses an immersion blender and a bit of Greek yogurt to thicken at the end, but otherwise it's all broccoli on the inside. The thing that really caught my attention for this soup, though, was the combination of spices used to flavor the soup: whole cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and ground coriander. This elevates the soup entirely and places it into more Indian fare than American. Oh, and did I mention it's topped with cheddar croutons?* I love croutons in my soup (one of the reasons I LOVE French Onion Soup) and these add a lovely sharpness against the spicy thick soup. As the author notes before the recipe "As with most soups, its flavor improves over time." The spices are super potent even after a day after the soup is cooked. Total powerhouse of flavor, it definitely stands on its own. Or, you know, paired with an open-faced grilled cheese with tomato, which is what we did with the leftovers.

* Haha, okay, funny story about the croutons. The recipe says to line a baking sheet with parchment when making the cheddar croutons. I pulled out my roll of parchment and grabbed what was left of the roll: a 18" x 1" strip. Well, that wasn't going to do me any good. So, I grabbed what I thought would've been a fine substitute: aluminum foil. Boy, was I wrong. The cheese immediately stuck fast to the foil and took the cubes of bread hostage. I did what I could with my spatula when trying to flip and turn the croutons during baking, but it was a big fat mess. In my final step, attempting to rescue the croutons from the metal clutches of the foil, my husband peeks over my shoulder and says "Wouldn't a silpat worked better?" I shot him the look of death over my shoulder and he high-tailed it out of the kitchen. How stupid of me? I have 2 silpats in my arsenal. Why didn't I think to use them?! As I went about picking little bits of foil off of the salvaged croutons, I yelled to my husband in our office: "And, yes, a slipat would've worked better."

No Soup for You! Week Serves Up: Lentil Soup

No Soup for You! week continues with a favorite from my childhood.  I know I received a few requests on Facebook for Cream of Mushroom, but I have actually never made it before (let alone have it available for this week).  However, I have taken note and will make sure to make it sometime soon and blog about it.  I, too, love cream of mushroom soup.  I remember seeing a recipe for it somewhere around here, so it's on my list!  The topic for today, though, is that most humblest of legumes:  the lentil.

Growing up, my mom had a winter routine of making large pots of soup and freezing it for those nights when she was too tired to cook.  One of the staple soups was lentil.  I loved lentil soup as a kid.  I remember other kids my age not caring for it because for some reason I found many kids didn't like beans/legumes.  Weird, I know.  Anyway, my mom always made the best lentil soup.  It was savory and full of chunky vegetables, lots of garlic and the lentils themselves were always cooked to perfection.  I have taken on this same tradition of making large pots of soup in the winter and keeping them for later dinners or even lunches.  Lentil soup has always made me feel warm and comforted.  It's the kind of soup which results in the "warm soup belly" afterward.  It's probably comforting only because I associate it with being a kid in the winter.  It would be cold and dark and stormy outside and my mom would put in front of me a big steamy bowl of lentil soup, topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, served with a huge piece of sourdough bread (or garlic bread, depending on the night).  I'd dig in and in no time, my bowl would be empty and I would immediately be warmed from head to foot.

This is a perfect freezing soup, but I point out that when reheating the soup, add a little water.  Unless you want your soup really thick, the lentils soak up all the moisture, even as it's sitting in the fridge or freezer.  Also, the recipe below makes A TON of soup.  If you don't have the room for all the leftovers, or that many mouths to feed, I (and my mom) recommend cutting the recipe in half.  You'll get plenty of soup for dinner that night or week and still have enough to freeze for later!

Lastly, don't feel beholden to the recipe below.  You can pretty much add anything you want to your soup and as long as it has lentils in it, it's still considered lentil soup.  My sister makes a great lentil soup by simply using up all the veggies she has in her fridge.  She also adds sausage to her soup, which I usually don't.  Her lentil soup is still delicious; just as delicious as our mom's, and as mine.  In other words, feel free to make it your own.

Don't miss the exciting conclusion No Soup for You! Week...Butternut Squash Soup--surprisingly elegant and perfect for entertaining!

No Soup for You! Week and the "Ultimate" Cream of Tomato Soup

Happy 40th Post, everyone!  I actually did not commemorate my 1-year anniversary in April, so I thought I would celebrate a different milestone.  I noticed when I logged in that I had written 39 posts, so this one is my 40th.  It's been wonderful writing about the food I've cooked and the experiences I have had in the kitchen over the past year.  Let's hope this year averages closer to a post a week!

Now, to the topic at hand:  soup.  My No Soup for You! week continues with one of my absolute favorite soups.  Growing up, I loved Campbell's Tomato soup more than anything in the world.  I'd make an entire can and armed with saltine crackers and lots of black pepper, I would eat the whole thing myself.  Marshall's not such a huge fan.  He's said, on more than one occasion, that Campbell's Tomato Soup tastes like the sauces used for Chef Boyardee.  While I've never actually had Chef Boyardee, I can't exactly tell him that it doesn't, but this sounds like an insult so I take offense.  So, when I saw the special "Soups & Stews" issue of Cook's Illustrated earlier last year and it contained a recipe for cream of tomato soup--excuse me, ULTIMATE cream of tomato soup--I knew I had to make it and show Marshall that tomato soup can be creamy and delicious.

I was not led astray, nor would I expect any less from my new favorite cooking magazine.  While there were far too many steps in this recipe than I care for, the result was far better than I could have imagined.  It was meaty, sweet, and silky smooth.  The flavor was the most savory I have ever tasted coming from tomatoes, but it still retained that lovely sweetness that comes from tomatoes, as well.  I think a lot of that sweetness comes from the use of whole canned tomatoes, plus tomato paste.  Of course, there is sugar in the recipe, but it is a means to caramelize the tomatoes as they roast in the oven.  I will say this, though, that step is a pain in the ass.  I ended up with what I feel was far too few tomatoes, by the time I was done seeding them and laying them out on a cooking sheet.  I also didn't seem to get the kind of caramelization that I was originally expecting, so I have a feeling I might've overcooked them.  However, this did not detract from the end result.  This soup was definitely the highly sophisticated city relative of its Campbell's canned country bumpkin, but both are equally warming of the soul.  They say chicken soup is the food of the soul, but my soul'll take tomato soup any day.

Bonus time!
So, what does everyone think of when they think tomato soup?  Grilled cheese, right?  Right.  Well, with a sophisticated cream of tomato soup like this, we needed a sophisticated sandwich.  American singles and white bread were not going to cut it with this bowl.  I turned to this one sandwich that Marshall and I absolutely adore.  It's sweet and salty, buttery and just incredibly delicious:  Ham, Manchego, and Fig Tartines.  Leave it to my Gourmet magazine (RIP) to have a last page of the September 2008 to hide these gems of sandwiches.  The French tartine is an open-faced sandwich, but the recipes on this page are far from the original.  This particular sandwich that we enjoyed with our tomato soup leans more toward the Iberian Peninsula, with the ham and manchego cheese.  The fig, too, is very Spanish, and I could definitely see something like this on a tapas menu somewhere in Spain.  I don't know if I could fully explain the richness that is this sandwich.  The baguette, toasted, mingles with the fig (mixed with butter, of course) and infuses the sharp cheese and finally there's this salty jolt from the ham (in this case prosciutto; serrano would be your true Spanish alternative).  The sweet and salty was a great companion to the rich and savory tomato soup.

If you're feeling homesick, but want still want to wear your tiara (or monocle), this is your meal.

No Soup for You! Week continues...Up next time is my personal all-time favorite soup for eating and freezing:  Lentil (Italian-style)!

No Soup for You! Week Continues: Golden Winter Soup

No Soup for You! week continues with this lovely gem I unearthed in an old issue of Cooking Light.  Normally I don't buy Cooking Light, not that it's bad or anything (this was my mom's go-to cooking magazine growing up) I just usually gravitate toward other cooking magazines.  Anyway!  I bought this issue a few years ago because it contained a handful of soup recipes.  Being the dead of winter, soup is a welcome bowl of sunshine.  The recipe that I kept this issue around was that delicious black bean soup that Marshall absolutely loves, but while organizing my cooking magazines during Winter Break this school year, I found this other recipe that sounded fantastic for a winter evening:  Golden Winter Soup.

I mean, the name says it all.  It's this bowl of beautiful sunshine yellow, but hearty and silky without being super creamy.  It's surprisingly fresh-tasting, considering the rather mundane ingredients.  I don't normally cook with leeks, only because I honestly don't come across a lot of recipes which use it and I don't believe my mom used them much growing up, but this certainly adds a brightness which cuts through the potatoes and butternut squash.  Topped with a little chives, it was seriously summer in a bowl (and this sunshine was edible, rather than the potpourri sunshine...any Friends fans out there?).  Being this came from Cooking Light, the cream is kept to a minimum, with all the silky creamy texture coming from puréed potatoes and squash.  Marshall and I paired this soup with a lovely German wheat beer (I cannot remember which one) which was perfect.  Oh yeah - I almost forgot.  The little side that the cooks at Cooking Light paired with this soup were little Gruyère toasts.  Now, I love cheese and bread, but this was almost like having a little grilled cheese with your soup.  It was great for dipping or scraping up the soup at the bottom of the bowl!

I ended up freezing the rest of the soup, since it makes so much, and it was great even after it was frozen.  I defrosted it one week for my lunch and it was just as delicious as I remembered.  So this is definitely one of those soups where you can make a huge pot of it, have some for dinner that night, and freeze the rest for an easy dinner in the future when you simply do not feel like cooking.  It's okay--I've been there plenty of times myself.  Having stuff like this in the freezer has been a lifesaver for us!

No Soup for You! week continues... Don't miss out on tomorrow's true classic:  Homemade Tomato Soup (and the most delicious sandwiches EVER)! 

No Soup for You! Week Presents: Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

My very best photog friend, Nicole, suggested I pick a theme for a week.  Since I watch more TV (or used to, at least) than I would rather like to admit, she thought I could base my themes on TV shows.  So, for this week, I present:  No Soup for You!  For the following week, I will be writing one post per day, focused on a soup recipe.  While my soup is rather tasty, I would not prevent you from tasting it because you didn't order it correctly.  I also am choosing not to hide away the recipes in an old wardrobe.  Do I have any Seinfeld fans out there?  Maybe?  Okay, moving on...

My first stop on this delicious endeavor is a soup I actually found at Whole Foods.  From time to time, I suggest having dinner out at Whole Foods.  They've got so many options that it's like looking into a vast fridge and finding something that will satisfy any craving.  One day, Marshall and I went for lunch and I walked away with a small salad from the salad bar and a cup of soup.  They had a Vegetarian Tuscan Kale and White Bean soup available, which sounded perfect for what I was in the mood for that day.  When I took my first bite, I was underwhelmed.  There was all these veggies in this soup and no flavor whatsoever.  It desperately needed salt, and I'm not a huge salt person.  But I've learned that everything needs at least a little salt.  I sat at that table and thought "I can totally do this better."

And I did.  I actually found their original recipe on their website.  It shocked me that it suggested using lots of canned veggies, rather than fresh.  I understand if they're creating a recipe meant to finish cooking in a short time, but there's really no excuse for using canned carrots...  So, I gave the recipe an overhaul.  I made it distinctly UN-vegetarian (although it can easily be made vegetarian again) by adding some really yummy Italian sausage, using fresh carrots, adding celery, but kept the canned tomatoes (they're honestly the best option for soups and stews).  I, of course, I kept the white beans and kale in place, or else it couldn't still be called "Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup".  I also added a few flourishes:  grated parmesan cheese, a dollop of fresh (well, homemade/frozen) pesto, and homemade croutons.  The end result was an absolutely delicious and fresh vegetable soup for those cold winter days.  I would necessary freeze this particular soup, but honestly - this soup will go fast.

Stay tuned, tomorrow, for another beautiful soup:  Golden Winter Soup.

Just Warming Up: Cuban Black Bean Soup

And...I'm back, readers!  I'm hoping to do better by you and stick with my cooking blog writing.  It's been quite a while since I've last provided you all with a cooking experience and a recipe, but believe me - I've got plenty coming.  I've got a stack of papers and magazines sitting on the floor next to my desk, just waiting to be introduced!  But back to the topic of this evening...

Winter calls for soup.  A coworker commented on my leftover lentil soup in the kitchen today about how it's all we seem to eat in the winter is soup.  It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone to learn that our bodies crave warm carbs during the winter months.  With the lack of sunlight giving us the endorphins and Vitamin D we need to keep our spirits up and our bodies warm, we turn to food to fill the void.  Potatoes, pasta, beans, creamy dishes which we would never touch when it's hot outside call us forth to their steaming bowls.  We go to bed at night with a comforting feeling in our warm-soup-bellies. 

To be fair, I made this Cuban Black Bean Soup when it was closing on Fall, but it would definitely feel right at home in the months between December and March.  The first time I made this soup was actually a few years ago.  I have made other black bean soups after that, but there's something about this particular recipe which is just terrific.  I think it's the simplicity of the soup itself.  All the fixings you add to it, are added on top of a bowl of stewed black beans - there's nothing else.  For recipes like this one, you'll definitely need the day.  It's perfect for a weekend evening, particularly Sunday, when you can drag out the copious leftovers.  I think Marshall and I even used the soup base leftovers for an attempt at enfrijoladas (tortillas smothered in a pureé of black or pinto beans) one morning a while back and it worked perfectly.  The various toppings make this a great dish when serving kids.  They can have fun plopping chunks of ham, shreds of cheese, and dollops of sour cream into their bowls to make their soup their own.


This soup warms the soul with a little kick of spice.  It also has an underlying sweetness which keeps you coming back for more.  I know that when I make this soup, I cannot have just one bowl - I must have seconds!