All posts filed under: soup

Easy Avgolemono Soup: Greek Chicken Soup with Lemon and Egg

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I live in the desert, where we get less than 4 inches of rain per year, so anytime it rains it feels like an event. When the forecast calls for rain, I immediately go through the five stages of a desert dweller: First, there’s Doubt. I simply cannot believe that it’s going to rain any time soon because the sky is blue right over my house and it is sunny. Hope. A raindrop falls. Then two, then three. Sometimes the rain evaporates before it hits the ground. Yes, this is actually a thing and it has a name: virga. I cloak myself in cautious optimism in hopes that this little bit of moisture will coalesce and become precipitation. When the rain actually starts to hit the ground and the drops come in fast succession I feel myself getting a little excited, which leads to…   Collaboration. This is usually characterized by rapid fire text messages to family and friends: “Is it raining at your house?” “No?” Words of encouragement are sent in reply: “I think the clouds are moving your way!” I check …

My Soup Addiction: Ina Garten’s Winter Minestrone

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A couple of weeks ago, I was watching Barefoot Contessa on Food Network and Ina Garten made this soup on a cold, snowy day in the Hamptons and then ate it in front of a roaring fire!  I immediately thought:  I want that soup right now!!  I also thought: I want it to snow right now! That second thought being completely implausible, of course.  And not that I needed any excuse to make soup, the fact that the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder sure helped my resolve to make an enormous pot of Ina Garten’s Winter Minestrone.   This soup was amazingly good–rich and hearty and loaded with vegetables and tender pasta; it is a perfect, complete meal!  The soup is finished with a bit of white wine and basil pesto, which really adds a lot of depth of flavor.  I love that this soup features butternut squash, which gives it a subtle sweetness.  Plus, it is chock full of dark leafy greens!  The original recipe calls for the addition …

Avgolemono Soup – Greek Chicken and Rice Soup with Egg-Lemon Sauce

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This week I found myself on a quest to satisfy a serious craving for Avgolemono soup (Greek chicken soup with egg and lemon sauce).  Last Monday, I stopped at my favorite local Greek cafe for an early lunch.  This little cafe, in my opinion makes the BEST Avgolemono soup and every time I have lunch there, I have to order a bowl.  But this time, I was told that there was no soup!  I was shocked and asked how it was possible that there was no soup, since the restaurant had just opened and I could see the pot of soup in the background!  “Not ready yet!” was the answer I received.  Flash forward to Saturday afternoon:  I went there again, and ordered the soup and was told “No more soup until Monday!”  “But I came in last Monday and you told me there was no soup!”, I whined.  By this time, I was starting to think that something very, very Seinfeld-ian was going on.  My hopes for soup were temporarily dashed, but then I …

Chipotle Black Bean Soup

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Sometimes there’s just nothing better than a piping-hot bowl of soup.  I think I have a little alarm bell in my stomach that starts ringing for soup any time the weather dips below 85 degrees or there are clouds in the sky–and if it rains, forget it! You can be sure I’ll be having soup for dinner.  That being said, I made soup last night when it was well above 85 degrees and sunny, but it so happened that I had an exciting event to attend yesterday evening and I needed to make a really quick dinner before heading out.  This chipotle black bean soup comes together very quickly, thanks to the use of a few convenience foods, such as canned black beans and tomatoes.  If you have a food processor, then you can really save some time chopping the onions, garlic and chipotle peppers.  Like any soup, the flavor is even better the following day, so if you have the time to make it ahead, definitely do so. The inspiration for this soup came …

Chilled Corn and Avocado Soup with Cilantro Oil

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Ahh, Summer.  That wonderful season that brings us delicious, sweet corn, which grilled in their husks are so tender and sweet that they don’t even need seasoning! I thought of making a cold soup because, let’s face it, we in Southern Nevada apparently live on the surface of the sun.  Temperatures soared to 116 degrees this weekend and anything cool and refreshing was a most welcome thing.  I adapted this recipe found on Epicurious and I used a lot more corn and I also did not strain the soup.  I think that step is a purely personal issue.  I enjoy texture in soup and I find that it makes for a more substantial dish–a soup that “eats like a meal”.  But if you prefer a smoother, creamy soup, straining it would give you that result.  This soup has a refreshing Southwestern flavor with a hint of heat and a little splash of lime and would make a great first course for a summery dinner! For the soup: 4 ears of grilled fresh sweet corn1 serrano pepper, chopped …