Creamy Tomato White Bean Soup

This summer has been weird. And when I say weird, I mean too stupid freaking hot and humid and it's screwing up my life. I think I have gone a month, maybe more, without making soup. That is just not right. For as long as I can remember I have made soup, or at least eaten soup, just about everyday, even all summer long. But the terrible heat and humidity this year, I just have had no desire. It has been straight up shredded zucchini and whole tomatoes for some time now. I just don't want to have any residual added heat to my life.  But the other day, oh how lovely. I woke up with a chill,  enough that I needed to grab a long sleeve before leaving the house, and had the very strong urge to return home and get my soup on. And soup on I did!

For my first trip back into soup (oh how I missed soup!), I went simple and used what I, and many, many people have ample supplies of right now. Tomatoes. And beans because I wanted my soup to be thick and creamy and I had the beans so why the heck not.

This soup really requires very little and you get the most thick, delicious, creamy, tomatoey soup. Perfect to eat alone, but is fanatic with some crackers, or a hunk of crusty bread. And it uses a lot of tomatoes which is nice because I am (as are many of you.. My neighbor is bringing me HER tomatoes now too) trying to make a dent in the ever growing pile or these beauties on the counter. This soup dented it, until I went out to the garden a few minutes later. My pile is bigger then ever, which is fine because I am back on my soup game. 

The stuff. Lots of tomatoes, some white beans (I used navy, but any white bean would be good) a large onion, a carrot, salt and pepper, a lemon, some olive oil, and honey (optional).

First off, chop the carrot and onion into chunks.

Toss the chopped stuff into a big ol' pot with a drizzle of olive oil and cook on a medium heat until nice and soft. 

While veggies are cooking, core and cut up all those tomatoes. 

When the veggies have cooked up a bit, add the tomatoes, the beans, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to the pot and give it a good mix. Return to high heat, stirring even so often, until the tomatoes give off enough juiced to start boiling then turn heat down to medium and cook for a little while, like 1/2 an hour or 45 minutes.

Until it looks lit this. The tomatoes have all fallen apart and the beans, carrots and onions are mushy. 

Blended with the juice of the lemon and a sprinkle of pepper and more salt if needed. 

Now serve into a  bowls. Garnish with a drizzle of honey if you are feeling it. Sliced cherry tomatoes make for fancy garnish. 

Creamy tomato bean soup for everyone!

Hurray for soup!

-C

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Creamy Tomato White Bean Soup

Makes about 1/2 gallon (enough to serve a crowed or enough to serve one for a few days and maybe freeze some for later)

• 10-12 large tomatoes 
• 2 1/2 cup or 1 can of cooked white beans (I used navy but any white bean will be good)
• 1 large onion
• 1 large carrot
• I lemon
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• honey (optional)

Start by chopping the onion and carrot up into small chunks. Grab a large heavy bottom pot, drizzle a teaspoon or two of olive on the bottom then toss in the chopped veggies. Place the pot on a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the onion and carrot start to soften. 

While the veggies are cooking, core and cut up all the tomatoes. Once the veggies are soft, dump in all the tomatoes, along with the beans and all the liquid they are in. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn heat up to high, giving it a good stir until the tomatoes start to get super juicy then bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for another half hour to 45 minutes, giving it a stir ever so often.  When the tomatoes have completely fallen apart and the carrot, onions, and beans are mushy, you know its done. 

Remove the pot from heat and dd in the juice of the lemon. Using a hand blender, blend until it's a smooth creamy consistency. If you only have a counter belnder, let soup cool a little before handling and  be really freaking careful and blend a few cups at a time, making sure to have the blender lid on. Hot soup in the face is no fun.

Once soup is creamy and smooth, serve in bowls with a drizzle of honey (totally optional, but some people really like a touch of sweetness to their tomato soup) and more pepper to a taste. Garnish with thinly sliced cherry tomatoes if you are feeling fancy. 

Any extra soup can be refrigerated for up to a week. Can also be frozen. 

Spring Cleaning the Refrigerator and Use it up Soup

What are you doing this weekend? It is suppose to be cold and rainy (if not snowy) and crappy and just not a good weekend to be hanging outside, which makes it the perfect weekend to spend some time inside, SPRING CLEANING! Haha. Doesn't cleaning get you excited? No, well, sorry for you. Me, I like to clean, and I really like to tackle jobs that really really need to be tackled, like cleaning out the fridge. And a crappy weather spring weekend is probably the best time to do it. 

The refrigerator. My pride and joy of the kitchen. It's an old harvest gold Fridgaire from like 1970. This is the fridge I spent almost a year hunting down and finally finding on craigslist from a man who was cleaning out his dead mothers house. The fridge that I almost gave up on when I couldn't find it and almost bought a big stainless steal thing instead.mBut last minute, I found it, like it was  meant to be. And this fridge has a story all of it's own. It was a prize won by on of the ladies daughters from a cereal company contest. The family kept it for all these years and took such good care or it because of that. A well cared for and loved fridge. It is a good one with faux wood trim and metal shelving. It keeps my food cold and frozen  (sometimes frozen when it shouldn't be. The back top shelve  in the fridge has a few cold spots the might freeze whatever is there. My solution to that is to not stick things in the cold spots.) and is just as pretty as can be. Some people question it, don't understand why I didn't just buy a matching fridge to my stainless steal stove, but you know what, if you don't like it, well I really don't care. It makes me happy and I love it.

And to what goes on on the inside. To know me is to know what is inside of my refrigerator. It is always packed. There is and always will  be carrots, beets, lemon, cabbage, turmeric, greens, greens, and more greens in there. There will always be some hummus of some kind, mustard, bread dough, tofu, and lots and lots of any and every veggies you can think of. Plus a bunch of  jars and container, which I have a bad habit of not placing lids on all the time, full of lentils and beans, rice, and quinoa.  There is usually a  baked sweet potato or some squash and more likely the not, tomatoes and plant milk. In the freezer, well that's getting pretty empty now, but after harvest in the fall, it is packed to the brim with bags of frozen veggies. Now it has a few bags of veggies, frozen bananas and berries,flours, and nuts. But the fridge, The fridge is always full. And it an get a little messy....

And now I it's time to clean it out. 

I spot clean and straighten it out often. Usually before I pick up farm share I go through it and tidy up, make more space, and pull stuff out that needs to be eaten first. But that is just the surface cleaning. Stuff gets sticky, stuff gets stuck, and especially with veggies, stuff gets dirty.  Spot cleaning has a place but it's not cutting it anymore. It's spring and it's time for a full fledge deep clean. 

Now I know most people have their own methods for cleaning but here are a few tips and techniques that I have to tackle the beast.

-Prepare. You don't want to just go at it without a plan and supplies. Get out your cleaning supplies. Grab a recycling can and a compost bucket, and have a big lean surface ready to place stuff on. The vacuum or a broom should be handy too. 

-Cleaning solutions. It is a fridge so you don't want to be cleaning it with a bunch of chemicals. What I use is a vinegar solution. 50/50 white vinegar and water and a squirt of dish soup. It cleans, degreases, disinfects, and won't kill you. 

-An empty sink or bathtub to wash all the drawers and shelving off. 

-A few clean containers. Just have them on hand, with lids, to place stray things roaming around in there. 

-Clean from  top to bottom. This avoids crap falling into something you already cleaned.

-Labels. Any containers that are not clear might benefit from a label. And if you tend to leave things in the fridge for a long time, a label for the date of opening is also a good idea. 

-Inventory. Knowing what is in the fridge is very important, this prevents food waste.

-Too many condiments. I don't know how many times I have looked in peoples fridges and seen 5 different bottles of ketchup or Italian dressings open. Consolidate.  And if you don't like it or don't use it, get rid of it.

-Wipe it all down. Not just the fridge itself, but all the stuff going back into it. So many times I have stuck the soy sauce in the door and had it leaked all over. 

-Know your fridge and place accordingly. Most people don't have super old fridges, but even the new ones have some quirks. Know if there are cold spots or dead zones or places that things get stuck and place food accordingly. Also think about where you are placing food. It don't make sense to but the milk way in the back if you use it all the time.

-Under and behind. Don't forget to clean under the fridge and behind the fridge. It will be dusty, maybe a little gross, but it must be done.

-Music. A good playlist is always going to make you better are cleaning.

As for the Use it Up Soup, do just that. This is the perfect time to use up what you got. I know that I have way more veggies then the average person, but don't let that stop you. You could even pull stuff out and fill in missing ingredients form the store if you want. And be creative,  pickled hot peppers, all the frozen veggies, any wilted greens. Even almost empty bottles of mustard. If you think it sounds good in soup, use it up. Add some canned tomatoes and a handful of spice, you are gonna end up with something tasty.

. A clean fridge and soup, how can it get any better? 

The before. Veggies all over. Jars and containers stacked, with and without lids. A stray half of banana, and empty water bottle, and a half eaten salad in a bowl just having out.  The shelves are kind of gross. The veggie drawers are nasty, and I think almost everything is wet because I dumped over a container of tofu the other day and all the tofu water leaked all over...... This deep clean was a long time coming.

I always have so many bags and containers of veggies and beans in the fridge.

The stuff in the door too. This is actually a lot of crap. The last dinner party we had someone brought over salad dressings. The mr and I don't use salad dressing, but I guess it's not so bad to have them here. The littles like them and I know that they will be eaten.

And the stuff that is going to be soup. I found a wrinkly parsnip, some celery, carrots, a few cooked potatoes, some cooked butternut squash and a half a kale and carrot salad. The jar of almost gone lentils, and jar of tomatoes. Some ginger and turmeric root which is always is the fridge. A rutabaga, some cabbage, an onion, and I also grabbed some frozen green beans and the rest of the frozen rhubarb ( resh rhubarb is on it's way) 

I chopped it all up, tossed it into a big pot. Added some spices and  water and stuck it on the stove to cook away while I got to the cleaning. 

Empty fridge. 

After. Clean fridge wand clean food. All organized and pretty.

The freezer before. It looks a little crazy but there really isn't that much in there. 

After. I pulled it all out, wiped it down, and put it all back, organized, and wth lids (again, my bad habit of no lids) 

And all the while I was cleaning, the soup was cooking.

Clean refrigerator. Makes this lady happy here. 

And the reward for all of your cleaning. A big bowl of soup.

-C

Vegetable Soup

Whether you are stuck at home because you have the flu or because you do not want to leave the house for fear of turning into a human popsicle, or maybe even you just don't want to because this is the first weekend that you have no plans, no obligations, no parties, well then you are in good company. 

Unfortunately for me, I have to leave the house. I have obligations, I am getting over the flu, and I am pretty sure I am going to turn into a popsicle because when -8 is the high for the day, well, it's bound to happen. 

But lucky for me I already made the soup, in my fitful sicky, but able to think about and eat food again state. Yes I had the flu, or better yet, the stomach flu. And the stomach flu and food do not mix. Even the thought of food would send me reeling and it was just no good. I seriously thought I would never be able to think or better yet, eat food again without turning straight to the bucket. But I will stop there because you don't need to hear about my misery. Anyway, the death spiral subsided and food was no longer the enemy. I actually wanted (kinda of) to eat again. So food it was to be.

Because it was my first day back to food, I really wanted to take it super easy. (Before I made this soup I actually boiled a carrot until it was mush and ate that just to test my tummy)  Nothing heavy, obviously hot and warming, not to spicy.  Just soothing and nourishing. And I didn't really want think about it and worry about it and spend much time in the kitchen. Sure I could have bought a can of soup but actually no, canned soup is not for me. And I know the mr would have thrown something together for me but I was determined to be a slightly productive human and do something with my day even if it was minimal.  I had to make the soup, I had to do it. 

This soup was exactly what I needed and could not have been any easier to make. Chop up some shit, toss it into a pot, and walk away (or nap on the couch) for a little while. It can be done on the stove, in a slow cooker, or if you have a Instapot and want to do that, I should say go for it. And I am not saying this because I was starving, but  this was one dang fantastic tasting soup. Right in every way. It's going on my semi permanent soup rotation for the next few months.    

No bad after 48 hours of dying and no food. (stupid flu)

The stuff. Carrots, celery, a small rutabaga, and and onion. A red potato, a parsnip, some green been, garlic, canned tomatoes, navy beans,  thyme, rosemary, a bay leaf, and salt and pepper.

Note here that all this stuff was already in my house. Say you do not have a rutabaga or a parsnip, it's totally fine. You can add 

Here is the hardest part. Chop it all up into little pieces. All of it all mixed together, just get it chopped.

And toss it all into a big pot with he green beans, a handful of dried beans, and the spices.

Add in the can of tomatoes

Then fill the pot with water.

Now stick the pot on the stove and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a little lower the medium and loosely cover with a lid. 

A couple hours later, once the beans are cooked and the veggies are tender, you got yourself a big ol' pot of some fantastic home made, easy as can be, vegetable soup. 

Chunky, hearty, and easy as can be. And the best part is that I have left overs and we all know that left over soup is the best soup. 

Stay warm, don't turn into a popsicle.

-C

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Vegetable Soup

Makes a big pot of soup

• 2 carrots
• 3 stalks of elery
• 1 onion
• 1 small rutabage
• 1 red onion
• 1 parsnip
• 2 cups frozen green beans 
• 1/2 cup navy beans
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 28oz can  (no salt added) crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon roasemary
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leave
• salt and pepper
• water

Note. You might not want rutabaga in this or you might want to add some cauliflour or peppers, so go for it. It's a pretty adaptable soup so use what you got and like. 

Grab all you raw veggies, give them a quick wash, then chop them all up into bite sized pieces. Mince up the garlic. Dump it all into a large heavy bottom pot. Add in the frozen green beans, the dried beans, the spices and the can of tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and  enough water to cover the everything 3-4 inches. 

Place pot on stove, bring to a boil, then reduce heart to medium low and loosely cover wit a lid. Cook, giving it a stir once in a while,  for a least 1.5 hours ( can cook all day on long on simmer if you like)  or until the beans are coooked through and the veggies have soften. Add more water if needed.

Serve when you are ready to eat. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup

It's finally getting cold around here which I know some people are pretty bummed about but not me, I am ready for the days of it being cold and dreary (seriously). These are the days that I like to hunker down and keep myself all warm and cozy. And what is more cozy then a big bowl of hot soup? Nothing I say. Or maybe a big cup of hot tea and a cozy blanket by the fire, but I don't have a fire so soup it is. 

And I know a few of you people have a little pie pumpkin or two laying around from Halloween and are thinking " what the heck am I going to do with it". Well I got you here. You are going to make that pumpkin into something great and amazing that is not a dessert (because you are still working your way through all the Halloween candy). You will make it into soup and then you will eat it and then you will thank me later. 

The stuff. A little old sugar pumpkin, some red lentils, celery, a carrot, and an onion. A few heads of garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and ginger, salt and pepper, and water to round it out. 

Start with dicing up the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. 

Into a heavy bottom pot they go. Stick the pot on heat to sweat the veggies a bit.

Dicing up the pumpkin. No fuss here, just chop it in half and scoop out the seeds (keep seeds to roast and  top soup with) then cut into little chunks. 

Grab the pot that the veggies are cooking in and toss in the pumpkin, the spices, the lentils, and the water. Give it a good stir and back to the stove.

All cooked, smelling and looking so good.

Now blend it all up.

A smooth creamy delicious bowl of pumpkin warmth and goodness. A soup to take into the chilly days ahead. 

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Pumpkin Red Lentil Soup

serves 3-5

• 2 1/2 -3 cups diced pumpkin (one small sugar pumpkin)
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 1 medium onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 carrot
• 1  teaspoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric 
• 1 teaspoon coriander 
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3-4  cups water or veggie stalk
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• toasted pumpkin seeds for garnish (optional)

Start by dicing up the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Toss into a large heavy bottom pot with a splash of olive oil. Place on medium heat to start cooking. Now grab pumpkin, cut in half, and remove all the seeds (reserve seeds for roasting) Dice up the pumpkin and toss into the pot with the veggies. Add in the spices, the lentils,3 cups of the water or stock, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to low. Place lid on pot, but not tightly, and let the soup cook for about a 1/2 hour or until the pumpkin is fork tender. 

Once everything in the pot is all cooked up it needs to be blended. You can either transfer to a blender or use a emersion blender and blend until the soup is a silky smooth  Either way, be freaking careful cause the soup is hot! While you are blending, if you think you need to add more liquid, go for it. You can make this as thick or thin as you like.

And now soup time! Laddle into bowls, top with parsley and roasted pumpkin seeds (optional) and get to eating all the good. 

Place any leftovers in fridge and heat up later (makes a great breakfast soup)

Creamy Parsnip Split Pea Soup

I've gone on a complete split pea binge. I have been making it (or reheating it if I have left overs) every day for the last two weeks, no joke. (This lady needs her protein) I get home, grab what ever veggies I see first in the fridge, a few jars of some spices, the giant jar of dried peas, and make quick work of lunch. Chop chop, dump, splash, stir. I am a soup (stews and bisques too) master. Soup for lunch. Right in all ways and just needs to happen.

Sometimes I'll make soup and it's just good soup.  Sometimes it will end up being really good .This soup, well this soup is really freaking awesome and is my new go to for split peas. Thick and creamy, mildly sweet from the parsnips and ginger, but mellow at the same time. Add a little or a lot of pepper (lots of pepper here) and you got yourself perfection.

Soup that warms you up from the inside out and leaves you happy and full.

Split pea for life!

The stuff. Dried split peas, parsnips, a carrot, and onion, some Italian seasoning, ground ginger, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. Also need water.

Chop the veggies. Smaller chunks are good, but don't worry to much, it's all getting blended up anyway.

Now toss all those veggies into a big heavy bottom pot and mix in all the spices. Stick o stove with a splash of water and turn up the heat to give the veggies and spices a few minutes alone to active all the goodness.

Once the smell hits you nose and the veggies look like they need some water, dump in the split peas and add enough water to completely cover everything plus a few extra inches. Bring the pot to a boil then turn down to low, stick a lid on pot, and let cook. Check an stir every 10 minutes or so. If it starts to look dry, add in another few cups of water.

Peas are soft, veggies are cooked and now soup is almost ready to go.

Just blend it until smooth. Take liberty hear and smooth it as much or as little as you like. Also if you want to thin it out, just add more water. Want to thicken it up, just cook for a little while longer. ( spit pea is so easy).

And that is it.

You know what to do from here.

Soup time!

Stay warm and have a great weekend.

-C

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Creamy Parsnip Split Pea Soup

makes a large pot of soup that will feed 4-6

• 1 pound dried split peas
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 pound (about 4-5) parsnips
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning*
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• water

*Note. Italian seasoning is pretty basic and you probably have it, but if not you can make your own by mixing equal parts thyme, oregano, basil, and rosemary.

Start by rough chopping all the veggies and placing them in a large heavy bottom pot. Mix in the spices and bay leaves. Stick on the stove with a splash of water and cook for a few minutes to let the spices ans veggies heat up and smell all nice. Add in peas and enough water to completely cover everything in the pot plus a few inches. Bring to a boil, them turn heat to low, cover pot, and let cook for about 1/2 hour-45 minutes, checking and stir ever 10 minutes. If the soup seems to get too dry, just add in a few extra cups of water.

Once the veggies and peas are soft, turn heat off and using the blending device of your choice, blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and eat hot but watch your tongue.