Cashew Creme of Broccoli Soup

It's October and, hopefully, the el niño rains that we've heard so much about are on their way.  I've started to think about soup again. A big steaming bowl of hearty soup is one of my favorite fall dinners. What makes this broccoli soup different is that the cream is made from cashews.  

Italian Bean and Pasta Soup

We're actually getting some winter rains here in California, so I've switched our dinners back from salads to soups.  When it's raining, soup is my preferred dinner.  This Italian pasta e fagioli (fah-zhool) is a creamy blended version of the more traditional chunky vegetarian soup.  

Wild Rice and Corn Chowder

Seriously, I could eat soup for dinner every night and never get bored with it, especially during the winter months when the weather is cold.  Soup is the perfect one pot meal, full of vegetables, warm and hearty.  I like to make a really big pot so I have leftovers for lunch.  Today, to combat a week of rain and flooding,  I made a wild rice and corn chowder.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

I bought a beautiful organic pumpkin to carve for Halloween and then it rained most of the day, so I didn't carved it.  I figured we wouldn't get any trick or treaters anyway.  (we only had four).  Mr. RK was happy to eat all the extra chocolate, but what to do with that beautiful pumpkin?

Black Bean and (vegan) Chorizo Soup

We could eat Mexican food every night of the week.  We love it that much.  When a friend of mine, who lives in Mexico, linked this recipe on her Facebook page, I knew I needed to give it a try.  I wasn’t disappointed!  The original recipe can be found on the website, What’s Cooking, Mexico?

This soup is balanced perfectly, much better than my other black bean soup recipe.  It’s just spicy enough to warm you up on a rainy night but not so hot that it masks the flavor of everything else.  I topped it with some non dairy sour cream, avocado and cilantro, and we both had seconds.

Chickpea, Chard and (Soy) Sausage Soup

When the weather goes from unseasonable warm and windy to freezing overnight like it did last week, it’s time for soup.  Soup is one of the best comfort foods.  It’s good for you and inexpensive to make.  Packed full of beans and greens, and garnished with some Tofurky Beer Brats, this soup is the perfect end to a very cold winter day.  I love to make big pots of soup so I can eat the leftovers for lunch.  

Bean and Vegetable Soup

Soup is the perfect winter comfort food!  It warms you up, it’s inexpensive, low in fat and calories, and simple to make.  We been a little “under the weather” with colds this weekend, so tonight I made some soup.  Soup always makes me feel better when I’m sick.  This basic bean and vegetable soup is so easy to make, there is no reason to ever buy canned soup.  This recipe is very flexible, on purpose, because it allows you to use up the leftovers you have in your refrigerator.  Another excellent benefit.

New Year's Hoppin John Soup

Happy New Year Blog friends!  For a number of years now, I’ve been cooking black eyed peas for New Year’s Day dinner.  Last year, I made them into a tart with a brown rice crust.  (see link at the bottom of the page) Eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity.  It’s not that I’m really superstitious, it’s just that it’s a very old tradition and I’m fascinated by the history of food. 

Black eyed peas are also an inexpensive, healthy protein that is high in calcium, vitamin A and folic acid.  Since I can no longer eat dairy products, finding non animal foods high in calcium is important.

Corn and Black Bean Soup

Soup is the perfect end to a cold damp winter day.  It’s also easy to make, inexpensive and low calorie.  Curling up with a big bowl of hot corn and black bean soup, after a day of yard work, warms me right up.

Mushroom Barley Soup

It rained here yesterday and when the sky cleared it was cold and damp outside.  Rainy, cold Sundays always make me think about making soup for dinner, so that’s what I did.  I made a big pot of mushroom barley soup.  I haven’t made barley soup for many years, though I’m not sure why.  I used to make it a lot.  So much so, that when my daughter (who was about three years old at the time) got a new baby doll as a gift, she named it Barley.

Udon Noodle Soup

We all need an arsenal of quick dinners for that night when you’re running late and everyone is hungry.  This is one of those dinners.  It’s fast, inexpensive and adaptable.  It’s that dinner where you get to use up whatever leftover veggies you have in your fridge or freezer.

Perfect Split Pea Soup

Whenever I suggest soup for dinner, it’s always the same request.  Split Pea.  It’s my family’s favorite soup.  My split pea soup is the best I’ve ever tasted, anywhere.  I don’t make this claim lightly and I don’t feel this way about many of the things I cook.  If you like split pea soup than you should try this recipe, and if you don’t like it, well, maybe this recipe will change your mind.

Creamy Cauliflower & Carrot Soup

When Mr RK goes grocery shopping he often brings home a cauliflower.  I’ve never quite understood the attraction.  They are pretty, in a this is what your brain looks like sort of way.  They don’t have much in the way taste.  I think it’s probably his way of hinting that he wants cauliflower soup. 

Mexican Bean Soup

Soup has always been a family favorite on cold winter nights and this winter is no exception.  A warm bowl of soup always hits the spot, and this soup is one of my favorites.  I adapted the recipe from a book I bought years ago called The Book of Soups by Lorna Rhodes.  

Minestrone Soup

We were working in the garden yesterday, harvesting the last of the tomatoes before the expected first frost.  Our garden is not producing a lot this time of year, just a handful of this and that.  I’m grateful that it’s producing anything at all, but that’s one of the perks of living in northern California.  We usually don’t get our first frost until November, so our summer vegetables will continue to grow until then.