Sunday's Soup/Autumn's Harvest Carrot Soup

The Labor Day holiday marks the unofficial end of summer here in the U.S. All the children will be back in school. And soon, summer will fade into our memories. But, one of the loveliest delights of early fall is all the fresh vegetables that are in abundance at the farmer's markets. For someone who loves vegetables, I am like a child in a candy store :) I could easily buy more than I can possibly use. 

This week has been a bit trying, so a holiday is just what I need, a little time to slow down and just not feel that I have to be on high speed for a day or so. With that comes the desire for a pot of soup. I especially like making big pots of soup this time of year, and freezing them in smaller batches that can be taken out of the freezer for lunch and a light dinner. The soup I'm sharing today will be enjoyed this evening, and then make its way into the freezer. I'm calling it an Autumn Harvest Soup as it just looks like fall to me with its rich orange color. The ingredients are simple, carrots, fennel, granny smith apples, and a sweet yellow onion. 

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I began by sauteing the chopped onions and the chopped apples together.  

Added the carrots.

Then the chopped fennel along with the vegetable broth, thyme, and 2 bay leaves. The mixture was brought to a boil and the heat then reduced to a medium, and allowed to simmer until the carrots were tender, about 20 minutes. 

I saved the fronds of the fennel and chopped it a bit.

Once the carrots were tender, I used an immersion blender to puree the soup. When it was nice and creamy, I added the fennel fronds. The result is a soup that is a mix of savory and slightly sweet. Not dessert sweet, but vegetable sweet.

Autumn Harvest Carrot Soup
downloadable recipe

ingredients;
5 pounds carrots, washed, skinned and sliced
1 large sweet Vadalia yellow onion chopped
1 large bulb fennel chopped
2 large Granny Smith Apples chopped
8-10 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
Reserve fronds from fennel and chop 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
salt and black pepper to taste

directions;
Heat oil and butter in large pot. Add onions and apples. Saute until onion is tender. Add carrots and stir well to combine. Pour in 8 cups of vegetable broth. Add chopped fennel, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. 
Remove bay leaves. Using an immersible hand mixer, blender, or food processor, blend soup mixture until creamy. Adjust the thickness of the soup if needed by adding more vegetable broth. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Mix in reserved fennel fronds.
Serve and enjoy!

I hope you enjoy the soup if you give it a try!   

Rhonda

Sunday's Soup/Bountiful Greens Soup

This past week I saw my retina specialist. I was a little apprehensive as I had been told by the surgeon who operated on my right eye this past summer that she saw the formation of a third mole on my retina. Oh my. But, the news was great! He said that yes he saw the third mole, and he felt that there was no sign of a malignancy. Whew!!! So relieved! In just a week's time, I found out that I am in great shape, colon wise, and my eyes are holding steady. The retina specialist told me to keep doing what I'm doing...and I will! 

With the holidays coming up, and the temptation to eat lots of rich food, I thought I would post a soup that I love to eat. It is chuck full of vitamins, and while it looks like a soup that will taste like grass, it's actually quite delicious.

This soup is a blend of asparagus, kale, spinach, carrots and fennel.

Begin by sauteing 1 large onion with 2 chopped carrots in olive oil until the onion is translucent.

Add the chopped fennel, asparagus, chopped and seeded jalapeno pepper, garlic and saute for another 10 minutes.

Add chopped kale, chopped spinach, and chopped parsley along with 8 cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Blend the soup with a handheld blender, or in a blender until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of tahini(sesame paste). The tahini adds a lovely smooth taste to the soup as well as a little protein. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Serve the soup with toasted nuts, I like toasted pumpkin seeds. 
It really is quite delicious and will ward off all sorts of winter bugs and make up for a little of the indulgences that we just can't resist this time of year :) 

Bountiful Greens Soup

ingredients;
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 large carrots chopped
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
3 cups chopped asparagus
1 fennel bulb chopped, use only the bulb
6 cups coarsely chopped spinach
1 bunch kale coarsely chopped, stems removed
1 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup tahini(sesame paste)
8 cups vegetable broth
salt and black pepper to taste

directions;
Pour olive oil in large pot. Add onion and carrots. Saute until onion is translucent. Add jalapeno, garlic, fennel, and asparagus. Continue sauteing for another 10 minutes. 
Add kale, spinach, and parsley to the pot along with 8 cups of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. 
Remove pot from heat. Use a blender, or handheld blender to puree soup.
Stir in tahini. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Serve soup with toasted nuts of choice.

The soup will freeze well.

Enjoy!
Rhonda    

Sunday's Salad/Fennel, Apple and Blue Cheese Salad

What a week, a week filled with good things, bad things, sad things, and very little blogging things. But, the good out weighs the bad, and the bad is behind me, so happily, I move on! 

This time of year is such a joy for me, my tomatoes are coming in and I have tons of basil, so tons of pesto. Nothing better than an open face pesto sandwich. Makes my mouth water just to think about it. All I do is toast a great piece of bread, spread it with a mound of pesto, and then add a layer of my fresh tomatoes. A little salt and pepper, and it's luncheon heaven :)

Another favorite item, other than soups, are fun salads. I have fallen in love with fennel! Earlier this past week, I had purchased fresh fennel. As I was looking in my refrigerator, thinking about what I might like to make, the thought of pairing an apple with the fennel and then tossing it all with mixed greens sounded perfect.  

I placed about 3 heaping cups of mixed greens in my salad bowl, and topped them with a thinly sliced red delicious apple. 

I then added 1 bulb of  fennel which I sliced. Please do not follow my lead, chop the fennel, it'll be easier to eat and much more enjoyable.

I then added 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese, and 1/2 cup of toasted chopped pecans.

Now, the dressing I made, was simple and fabulous. A friend gave me a bottle of blood orange olive oil, and a bottle of tangerine balsamic vinegar.
   

I used 1/3 cup of the oil and 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, whipped it together and then poured it over the salad. 

HEAVEN!!!

The nice thing about the oil and vinegar is that they are available to order. For those of you who live in or near Chicago, they have stores on Wells St. here in Chicago, and another in Evanston. 

If you would like to order the oil and vinegar, you can find them HERE, and HERE. Well worth the investment. 

Fennel, Apple, and Blue Cheese Salad
printable recipe

3 heaping cups fresh mixed salad greens
1 red delicious apple thinly sliced
1 bulb of fennel chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

For the dressing:

1/3 cup blood orange olive oil
2 tablespoons tangerine balsamic vinegar

Whip together, pour over salad, toss and serve.    

Sunday's Salad/Mediterranean Summer Salad

I haven't posted a recipe in quite a while, but this one, at least in my opinion :), is well worth the wait. I originally made the salad during the winter, but for lack of a better name, I'm calling it a Mediterranean Summer Salad. It's light, and yet hearty enough for a main entree when you would like a lighter meal. For those of you who are vegan, it's perfect as it's full of protein.

Easy, easy to put together, just begin with mixed greens, about 3 cups. I like to tear them up a bit before I add the rest of the ingredients.

Top with 1/2 cup of cooked and cooled quinoa.

Next, 4 large, or 6 small radishes thinly sliced.

Chop 1/2 of a fennel bulb. The spicy aspect of the radishes mixes perfectly with the slightly sweet taste of the fennel.

Now add 1/4 cup of toasted and cooled chopped walnuts. If you are in a hurry, delete the toasting, but if you have time, the toasting of the walnuts adds a nice flavor. 

Chop 1 small avocado.
 

Toss the salad and set aside.

The dressing is so, so good. By all means, don't skip this step!
You'll need;
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/3 cup of good olive oil
1 clove of garlic smashed and finely chopped
juice of 3 fresh lemons
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Mix well. 

Dish up the salad, be sure to dig to the bottom as the good bits always fall to the bottom of the bowl. Drizzle the salad dressing over, dig in and enjoy! A warning, the dressing is so good that you'll want to eat it right out of the bowl!!!

The salad will make 2 large entree servings, or 4 side servings. Just increase ingredients for a larger crowd.
 

Mediterranean Summer Salad

Yield: 2 Entrée servings, or 4 side servings

Ingredients:

3 cups of mixed greens

¼ cup cooked and cooled quinoa

4 large, or 6 small sliced radishes

½ bulb fennel chopped

¼ cup chopped and toasted walnuts

1 small avocado chopped

Salad Dressing

1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 clove garlic smashed and finely chopped

Juice of 3 lemons

Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all salad ingredients.

Stir to combine salad dressing ingredients.

To serve, drizzle salad dressing over salad and enjoy!