Warm Soup for a Cold Day

After playing in all that snow, we needed some soup to cup our hands around and to warm our bellies. The snow prevented much of a shopping trip, however so i stuck with what i had on hand. Leeks, being my hubs' favorite of late have been featuring heavy in my recent soups, and 1 leeks goes a long way to creating a delicious soup. The husband says i'm good at making soup. I love that, since i was afraid of soup making for a long time, assuming that some great skill, knack or formula was needed to make a great soup. I was totally wrong. Soup is easy! Everyone should make soup, and no one should buy soup from a can or box. Skip the bpa lined cans, skip the packaging and skip the preservatives and sodium. Just throw together some veggies (you don't even have to chop 'em much), maybe some (preferably homemade) chicken stock and then finish it off with an immersion blender and you've got soup fit for a king and queen! If you don't have an immersion blender GET ONE, they're awesome... or just chop the ingredients finely for a somewhat uniform consistency at the end.



Served with a side of locally baked crusty bread (and a totally non-local BUT in season avocado!) you've got a well balanced meal. Remember the Dark Days Challenge? The soup challenge is ON this week and i'm proud of this contribution, even if it doesn't meet quite all the parameters of SOLE food. To prove that making soup is NOT a challenge, even if sourcing all your ingredients locally can be, here's the recipe:

1/2 quart condensed chicken stock *homemade*
1/2 quart water
1/2 a cauliflower *not local (california), in season*
1 turnip *local and in season*
1 leek *local and in season*
some garlic cloves *homegrown*
fresh rosemary *homegrown  by my mama #2 1 hour away*
1 potato *Oregon*

To cook is too easy: put all the ingredients in a pot, cover it, bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer until you feel like eating, at least 20 minutes after it boils. Hit with your immersion blender and top with some seasoning for a filling and vitamin packed feast. Makes enough for 4, but 2 of you will end up eating it all if given the chance.

Have you ever become master of a dish or technique you were once afraid of?

This post can be found at Simple Lives Thursdays: a great blog hop of recipes and sustainable living tips