Tortilla Soup

This recipe came from my acupuncturist. This had turkey in it, and I've replaced that with the Vegetarian crumbles. I also removed a few of the other items, but it came out very good and made the kitchen smell amazing!

1 pound (or bag) of Vegetarian crumbles (I used Morningstar brand)
2 tsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 15-oz can chick peas
1 15-oz can kidney beans
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz can roasted chopped tomatoes
1/2 bag frozen corn
1 large box vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cilantro
1 tsp salt

Cook the crumbles and onion in olive oil in large soup pot. Add garlic about 2/3 way through. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn to summer and cook for about 45-60 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Smoked Sweet-potato & Chile Soup

I don't like "hot" flavors, so did not add the red-pepper flakes, and it tasted fine to us! This is the second soup where I have used our new hand blender, and it works like a charm. This recipe serves 4 people.


1 tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp dried red-pepper flakes
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 1/4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper
6 tbsp sour cream

In a large saucepan heat the oil over a moderate heat and cook the onion until it softens. Now add the garlic, red-pepper flakes, and paprika and cook for 3 minutes, stirring well to mix.

Now add the sweet potatoes and toss well to coat in the spiced onion mixture. Cover with a lid, turn the heat to low and let the mixture cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the stock and increase the heat to bring up to boiling point. Stir well, then reduce the heat to simmering and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool a little. Then puree the mixture with a hand blender or a food processor. Be very careful as sometimes hot liquids can splash out when processed.

Once smooth, return the mixture to the pan and bring gently back to a boil. Season to taste and stir through the sour cream before serving.


100 Great Recipes: Vegetarian, Vicki Smallwood, 2009

Quinoa and Spinach Soup

This is one of the best home-made soups I've ever tasted.


1 medium red onion, diced (1 1/4 cups)
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
10 oz. spinach leaves

Coat large saucepan with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Add onion, and saute 5 minutes, or until soft. Stir in broth, and 4 cups water, and bring to a boil. Add quinoa, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and spinach leaves. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered, or until spinach and quinoa are tender. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and serve immediately.


Vegetarian Times, January 2009

Romanian Tomato Soup

This cookbook, published by the Vegetarian Resource Group in Baltimore, MD, includes a glossary and information about calculating fat in your diet. Each recipe includes specific nutrition factoids.

This is a very simple, but very delicious, tomato soup.

1 cup cooked brown rice
8 cups (or 2 quarts) vegetable broth
15-ounce can tomato sauce
4 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a large covered pot. Simmer over medium-high heat for 55 minutes. Serve warm.


The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook, Debra Wasserman, 1994

Soup & Stephenson

Ever bought a cookbook for one specific recipe? I do it all the time, especially at garage sales. I'm always on the look out for the "HP The Book of" series of cookbooks, they are these little skinny things, with simple recipes, easy instruction, and good photos. When I saw "The Book of Regional American Cooking Heartland" cookbook at a garage sale for 50 cents, I tell you it was love at first sight. especially since it had a Corn Chowder recipe in it. I've been making little changes to my Mom's old fashioned corn chowder over the years, and this one looked good. and the cookbook has tons of wild rice recipes, yummy stuff!

I tried to find a link on Amazon for this cookbook. The title didn't bring anything up, but the Author, BEatrice Ojakangas? She's got pages of Finnish and Norwegian and bread cookbooks. That's pretty cool!

I made a few modifications to her recipe, as I was trying to blend it with my Mom's recipe, which is my favorite corn soup ever, but really simple.

Corn Chowder, improved.
(adapted from The Book of Regional American Cooking Heartland, by Beatrice Ojakangas)
4 slices turkey bacon
one onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tbsp paprika
4-5 cups chicken broth
5-6 red potatoes diced
1 cup milk (I had some cream in the fridge, so i used that up, and the rest was milk)
1 lb bag frozen corn, thawed
3 green onions, sliced thin
1 tbsp chopped cilantro


cook bacon in some oil in a large non-stick pot. when cooked, remove and dice. cook onion and carrot in grease, till soft, about 10 minutes. stir in flour, and cook, stiring, another few minutes. don't stop stiring, you don't want the flour to burn! stir in paprika and potatoes. stir well, then pour in chicken stock. simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender. add chopped bacon, milk, corn, and green onions, and cook another 10 minutes or until all is hot. season with salt and pepper, garnish with cilantro.

This was the first corn soup that my husband finished. Usually he has a bowl or two, and I pig out on the rest, but this time he kept beating me to the leftovers!

vegetarian/kosher version? Omit meat, use vegetable broth. I don't suggest using straight water, it would be too bland.

so onto Neal Stephenson, who I'm sure you're sick of hearing me bitch about.

Which means of course when I saw The Confusion, the sequel to Quicksilver, I had to buy it. come on, it was on the clearance rack! And you know what? It's better than Quicksilver. A Lot better. Or maybe it's an easier read because I know who these characters are, and I'm kind of expecting the wild goose chases? regardless, it should keep me busy for a while.

Books to be read, and Matzoh Ball Soup

Stuff has been a little crazy lately. crazy like working 13 hour days, and getting up the next day to do it all over again with a smile on my face. what can i say? I'm a slave for free food.

not a lot of reading got done. but i made two batches of Maztah Ball Soup, and learned some stuff in the process - parsley = good, thinking your Maztah balls are done before their time = bad.

My Matzah Ball Soup (adapted from Mom's recipe)

make the soup:
olive oil or schmaltz (what's schmatlz?)
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
half an onion, diced
one clove of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
6-10 cups water
salt & pepper

saute the carrots, celery, onion and garlic in some olive oil/schmatlz in a large soup pot. mix in some salt & pepper. when the veggies have softed up a bit, pour in the broth & water, and slowly bring to a boil.

while soup is heating up, make the matzoh balls:
2 tbsp schmaltz or vegetable shortening
2 eggs
a heavy half cup matzoh meal
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp soup stock or a mixture of stock & seltzer to equal the same amount
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley

mix schmatlz/shortening together with eggs in a bowl. and matzah meal, soup stock/seltzer, salt & parsley, and blend well. you should have a mixture that holds together. if not, add more matzoh meal or liquid as needed.

have a small bowl of cool water handy, and wet your hands. roll the matzoh mixture by the tablespoon between your palms to make small balls, and drop into boiling soup. Partly cover and boil for a minimum of 20 minutes (i called them done after 15 once, it wasn't pretty. they were in fact, kind of nasty). matzah balls will roughly double in size while they are cooking, and much of your broth will be absorbed.

book news is a bit lame right now.

i'm desperately trying (again!) to get through Hal Duncan's (debut?) novel Vellum. It's relatively fun, in a Kevin Smith Dogma meets that Keanu Reeves Constantine movie. You know, angels versus demons, trying to recruit the angels and demons who thought the war was stupid and fled to earth in an attempt to hide from the powers on high. It's a good book. It takes a LOT of mental concentration to follow some of what's going on, and i'm ending up reading it in 5 minute increments, which is probably an insult to the book. I really want to enjoy this book, but i really, really should be reading it when i can actually give it the attention it deserves. Maybe in the fall or winter?



got an advanced reading copy of the new Steven Brust - Jhaegaala. I can't tell you how excited i am about this. Still trying to finalize a review of his The Book of Jhereg. You know those snarky noirish detective movies? Mix that with a really good detective caper, and take out all the cheesy garbage, and toss in some telepathy, some teleporting with nasty physical side effects. . . and you'd have something like The Book of Jhereg. except the book is way better than that. if you like fantasy of any shape or flavor, get yourself some Brust.

speaking of fantasy, i couldn't drive past the comic shop this afternoon without spending money i didn't have on Elric: the Making of a Sorcerer, the graphic novel by Michael Moorcock and Walter Simonson. What was even cooler was the guy who owns the comic shop told me to come back and tell him what i thought of it. more than that, i talked Fullmetal Alchemist with the other clerk. that place is so geek-cool!!

soupy soup.

the leaves are falling, it's getting cold outside. time for soups, stews, stoups, and chili.


easy, simply, quick, yummy:
Mushroom Barley Soup


2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
8-12 oz mixed mushrooms (such as button, cremini, or portabello), chopped coarsley. any dried mushrooms should be re-hydrated with some hot water, then dried on paper towels.
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup dry pearl barley
salt & pepper
1 tbsp dry dill, or 3 tbsp fresh minced dill
5 cups chicken broth (or a combination of broth and water to equal 5 cups)

melt oil and butter over medium heat. add onion and garlic, and cook, stiring, until the onion starts to soften. add celery and carrots, cook 2-3 minutes. add mushrooms, barley, dill, and a little salt and pepper. Stir, to get the mushrooms and barley down the bottom of the pot. when the barley has begun to get "toasted", add the broth. turn stove up to high to bring the soup to a boil. once it is boiling, turn it down to a simmer, and cook partially covered for 30 minutes, or until barley is plump and soft.

enjoy with crusty bread, or sandwiches. this soup can stay in the fridge for 5 days. i've never tried to freeze it, but i'm sure it would freeze OK.


books in the to be read & reviewed pile:
Shadowplay, by Tad Williams
The Future Happens Twice, by Matt Browne
Cimmerian City, by Rae Lindley