SW: Wrap-up, one last recipe, and time to link up!

Hi Friends!

Hold those tears! I know we're coming to the close of this year's soup week, but it's okay! For one, there are all sorts of yummy recipes from this year to try out:

• Lasagna Soup
• Caramelized Shallot Soup
• Loaded Potato Soup
• Minestrone AND Focaccia
• Chickpea Curry Flamingo Soup

Plus, there are all sorts of recipes from the last two Soup Weeks in case you need more ideas.

For today's soup post, I had grand ideas to introduce you to my Chicken Enchilada soup. I really did. But when I made it earlier this week, well, friends, it was nasty. (I'm not joking. It really was. I HATE throwing away food, but I seriously threw away the entire pot because I couldn't stand the idea of anyone actually eating it.) So, I'll instead link up to another recipe for chicken enchilada soup, and when/if I get up enough courage to try again, I'll post the recipe. 

When I first started mulling over ideas for my personal theme for this year's soup week, one of the earliest ideas I stumbled on was converting my chicken enchiladas into soup form. Fun, right? Then, when I happened to be looking through dinner recipes for ideas, I discovered someone else had already made one. Dude! Never fear, the version I made uses a much different ingredient list, and this one looks tasty. I make my own enchilada sauce, so I have an aversion to using a canned version, but that shouldn't stop you, unless you have similar qualms. 

And, if you have a soup you'd like to share with the class--no really, it would be awesome--please link up! Super fun, right? Right.

SW: Chickpea Curry Flamingo Soup (Guest Post)

There are days when I truly believe I am friends with the coolest kids on the planet. Case in point: my friend, S. Don't believe me? Read this post, and you'll be changing your mind! (Oh, and S blogs at Saturday Sequins, which is a lovely blog containing all sorts of pictures of pretty sparkly things. Go there. Go there now!)

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Chickpea Curry Flamingo Soup

This started out as a regular old soup recipe. However! Since this is Audrey's blog, I decided to make it extra special and pink. So I wondered ... what's bright pink and goes with soup? And the answer came to me. A whole, live flamingo, of course!

(Really, I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner.)

Ingredients:

1 medium-size Phoenicopterus ruber

1 can chickpeas

2 sticks celery

5 cherry tomatoes

5 baby carrots

One ½-inch thick slice onion

1 cup veggie broth (or water)

1 handful fresh spinach

1 TBS olive oil

A light sprinkling of mixed dried Italian herbs

About ½ tsp Curry powder

Instructions:

Gently introduce the idea of soup to the flamingo. Explain that he's a garnish, not a dinner guest.

Chase the flamingo around and around your kitchen table in your sock feet, slipping comically on the tile floor and landing on your face. Curse as you feel itty bitty birdie feet on your back – this is the flamingo dancing the Victory Jig.

Leave the flamingo for now. Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until completely smooth.

Transfer the liquid into a sauce pan and cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until thick. At this point, if the soup isn't completely smooth, let it cool and return it to the blender.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Decide that honestly, the soup looks pretty darn tasty, even without the flamingo garnish.

Invite the flamingo to dinner. He's worked up quite an appetite with all the dancing, so he'll accept. Please note that flamingos can't hold spoons – it helps to have a straw on hand. Also note that if you turn your back for even a second, the flamingo will slurp up all of your soup, and you'll be back at square one.

Finally, note that if you leave out the curry powder, this also makes a great vegetarian gravy.

Serves: One hungry flamingo.

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Dude! I am SO making this. Come back later today for a Soup Week wrap-up post and my linky party! :)

SW: Minestrone & Focaccia (Guest Post!)

Dudes! I know you're going to read this and say, "Audrey, how is it possible that you love us oh-so much? You got your friend John to come back and share MORE recipes with us! You are a magical, lovely human being that deserves to be crowned and fattened up with red velvet cake." 

Well, if you insist! I do love me some red velvet....

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Marvelous Minestrone
It's great to be back for my third Soup Week guest appearance! My soup last year focused on one particular vegetable, and a very small number of ingredients. This year we'll clean out the fridge and/or the pantry and make a soup that can contain quite a few ingredients: minestrone. This is a great slow cooker recipe to start mid-afternoon on a weekend, but can also be made in a stockpot in an hour or so.

Minestrone is a classic Italian peasant soup from the "cucina povera" ("kitchen of the poor") tradition. Minestrone is a class of Italian soup that is thick and hearty, more like a stew than a thinner vegetable zuppa. So while I'll be showing you a typical tomato-centric version, the essence of minestrone really is that it is made from whatever you have on hand, and whatever is in season. There are no rules, just an infinite variety of soups!

Ingredients

• 1 small onion (or half a larger one), diced
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1 28 oz can of crushed, diced, or whole tomatoes
• 32 oz broth (vegetable, chicken, or beef); or use bouillon cubes
• 8 oz water
• 15 oz white beans (cannelini, navy, etc.)
• 15 oz chickpeas
• pasta, about 1/2 lb
• sea salt
• black pepper
• dried herbs (basil, oregano, chives, parsley)
• olive oil

Procedure

1. If you're using dried beans, you'll need to plan ahead and soak them overnight or par-boil them.
2. Dice the onion and carrots.
3. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in your stockpot (or a saute pan, if making the soup in a slow cooker).
4. Saute the onion and carrots until they soften and the onions just begin to caramelize.
5. Add the tomatoes, broth, and water to the stockpot. (Chop or crush the tomatoes first if you're using whole ones.)
6. Add the beans, onions, carrots, herbs, and pepper, and heat to boiling.
7. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
8. Add the pasta (or rice, if using) about 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
9. Season with salt when fully cooked.

Substitutions/Additions

• Pasta: use whatever you prefer, but especially those remnants in your pantry that are just not enough for a regular meal. Keep in mind that certain types and shapes retain their structural integrity better than others, especially if you have leftovers to save. I typically use orecchiette (which are thick and somewhat shell-shaped), and a handful of large (aka "Israeli") couscous.
• Meat: The version above is meatless, but you can add some cooked sausage, diced chicken, turkey, ham, lamb, or duck.
• What else is available locally at this time of year that you could use? Try some potatoes or rice instead of pasta, leeks (not too much, to keep the flavor from overwhelming), a little shredded kale or spinach, peas, or any root vegetables or squash that would complement your other ingredients. Celery makes a frequent appearance in minestrone recipes, but is not essential if you don't already have some (although it's a great way to use it up if you do).

Bread
As the personal baker to The Audrey, I of course also have an easy bread recipe to accompany this and other soups. The dough can be used for a variety of breads (baguettes, boules, even pizza), but we'll focus here on focaccia, since it is easiest for those new to breadmaking, and requires no specialized kitchen gear. It does require a few words, though, if you've never made bread before. If you have, skip to the Procedure section.

Focaccia is a rustic Italian flatbread whose name comes from the Latin focus, or hearth. The oven was the center of the house or the village, and bread was central to the diet, baked fresh daily. Like minestrone, there are endless ways to make focaccia, but what I describe here is a simplified approach.

Slight digression: One of the key ideas of modern artisan bread (otherwise known as "bread" or "real bread") is a long, slow fermentation of the dough, to allow the biochemical reaction of the yeast to consume the sugars in the flour and release more flavor. Factory bread is typically mixed and immediately extruded through a machine, which is (partly) why it's like eating pillow stuffing. The good news is that we can quickly reanimate those hardworking little dried yeasts and then leave them alone to "git 'er done!" while we do other things. This means we can have great bread with very little actual effort, with the only drawback being that we have to plan ahead a little. At least a day. (See "Timing", below.)

Ingredients

(makes two large focaccia or other breads)
• 20 oz (about 4 cups) bread flour (also called "high-gluten" or "strong" flour); or substitute all-purpose. You can also substitute in 10-20% whole wheat flour if you'd like.
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1.5 tsp salt (you can use a little less if you'd like, since you'll be sprinkling some on top)
• 14 oz Water
• Olive oil

Procedure

Dough-making Day
1. Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together in a large mixing bowl (one that's about four times the size of the flour; if you have one with a lid that's best).
2. Add the water, and mix with a large, strong spoon (wooden spoons are good) until the dough forms a stiff ragged ball. Use the spoon in more of a chopping motion as needed to combine remaining dry flour.
3. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes so the flour absorbs ("autolyses") the water.
4. Wet your hands and use them to continue to mix the dough in the bowl until it becomes a smooth ball and all of the flour in the bowl has been incorporated (about 3-5 minutes). Avoid stretching the dough, just squeeze it and fold it and generally move it around ("knead it"). Stretching the dough causes it to become more difficult to work. Note that the dough will be very very sticky -- this is what you want, really! Do not add more flour!
5. Once you have a smooth ball of dough, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or a lid (such as a plate, or, like I do, a stretchy shower cap!) and put it in the refrigerator.

Bread-making Day
1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before baking.
2. Oil a large (~16x12) sheet pan (with sides) or 9x13 glass baking dish.
3. Divide the dough in half, and on a large plate or cutting board, re-form the dough into a ball by lightly pulling out and folding in the dough from opposite sides, until it has firmed up.
4. Place the dough ball in the center of the baking pan and begin to flatten it out toward the sides. You'll have to stop and let the dough relax for a minute a few times. You eventually want to end up with a uniformly-thick piece of dough that fills the pan.
5. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the surface of the dough, spread it evenly with your fingers, and then use your fingertips to dimple the dough all over. This will keep it from rising too much as it bakes.
6. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let the dough rise undisturbed for about an hour. (Note: this would be a great time to start making some soup!)
7. If not making two focaccia, return the other half of the dough to the bowl, cover, and return to the refrigerator. It will be good for up to about 5 days. If you have leftover soup, make another focaccia, or try making a pizza, a couple of baguettes, or a large loaf of Italian bread.
8. After the dough has risen for an hour, set a shelf in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400F.
9. Sprinkle sea salt over the top of the dough.
10. Bake for approx. 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Variations

• Add some dried rosemary to the dough when you are shaping it. So tasty!
• You can add toppings of various kinds: herbs, tomatoes, olives, etc. Timing Let's say you're reading this on Thursday, when it's published, and you want to have some nice warm focaccia with minestrone on Saturday or Sunday. A timeline could be: mix the dough today or tomorrow, and let it ferment in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Take it out a couple of hours before you begin making the soup and let it warm up. Follow the timing above from there.
•  If this is all too much for you, you might consider trying my cornbread recipe from last year's Soup Week. It's in the same spirit of improvisation as the minestrone soup, and you can use some polenta if you want to be all Italian and stuff.

Enjoy!

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John isn't lying. He really is my personal baker. The best part of this arrangement is that he brings me delicious baked goods because he is nice. I bring very little to the table except my delightful wit and pink hair. (Occasionally I bring my own baked goods or enchiladas.) Dudes. I strongly suggest becoming friends with a baker. They will make you yummy things if you are nice.

SW: Caramelized Shallot Soup (Guest Post!)

Friends, Audrey here. The post that is about to follow is full of silliness AND tasty soup. (Perhaps my new favorite kind of post?) Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for the tasty soup OR the silliness. My friend D is today's guest blogger, and you can find more of his work at Twenty-Fingered Cooking, where he blogs with his lovely wife K. You can also find a copy of his Chicken Tortilla Soup, which is one of my absolute faves. And be sure to check out D&K's recipe from last year's SW!


Caramelized Shallot Soup (or How Captain Soup-Man Saved the Day!)

So, uh, I made this soup about two months ago and have been patiently awaiting Soup Week so that I could share it all with you. I totally just didn’t forget to write about it for two months and then “conveniently” remember when Audrey started posting her Soup Week things. Nope. Not me.

I’ve always loved French Onion Soup – mmm, delicious cheese, crunchy-soft croutons, and yummy beef broth and other liquidy things¹. It’s like a little drink of heaven. So when we found a recipe for Caramelized Shallot Soup in one of Martha Stewart’s magazines, I decided to temporarily set aside my disdain for all things Martha and give it a slurp².

So as anybody knows, to make a good French Onion soup, you absolutely must use the best Gruyère cheese you can find. Fortunately for me, there is an exquisite cheese store with a very opinionated cheesemonger³ less than a mile from my house! So when I realized halfway through the making of this recipe that our fridge did not currently possess any Gruyère cheese, I put on my awesome superhero cape⁴ and dashed out the door, shouting to my beautiful wife K, “Hold down the fort and stir all the soup, honey! I’m off to get CHEEEESE!”

When I arrived at the cheese store, I walked confidently in with my spandex and cape, and had the following conversation with the cheesemonger:

Me⁵: “I’d like about 4 ounces of Gruyère, please.”
Cheesemonger⁵: “What are you going to do with that… cheese?”
Me⁵: “I’m making a carmelized shallot soup. It’s sort of like French onion soup, except with shallots in place of the onions.”
Cheesemonger⁵: “Oooh la la! That sounds amazing! I can just picture it now. The shallots will give it such a different flavor than the onions! More garlicky. And it’s the perfect day for it. And the beef broth… you are using beef broth, aren’t you?”
Me⁶: “Of course, evil cheesemonger! What kind of fowl chef² do you think I am? A chicken-broth user?”
Cheesemonger⁶ (cowering): “No! Never! I never said that! Please, just take your cheese and go!”
Me⁶: “I thought so. Thanks for the cheese, cheesemonger. Until next time.”
Cheesemonger⁶: “I’ll be ready, soup-man. MUA-HA-HA-HAAA.”

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Footnotes:
1. So far everything in this post has been a fabrication. I’m not sure if the trend will continue, but odds are not good.
2. Lousy pun not intended (see footnote 1)
3. I always feel like I should follow up cheesemonger with an evil laugh. A sort of “MUA-HA-HA-HAAA!” kind of thing. I can totally picture the next Pixar movie about an evil cheesemonger villain who’s going to take all the world’s cheese and, I dunno, build a rocket to the moon with it or something. Actually, wait. Has that idea been taken yet? Can I patent it?
4. I may not actually own a superhero cape. But really? What kind of story would it be without details like that?
5. Actual line of dialog
6. Not actual line of dialog

Then I dashed home with my Gruyère to save the day and make the soup!

Ingredients

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1.5 pounds shallots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1.5 tsp coarse sea salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 small red onion
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups beef broth
• 4 cups chicken broth
• More olive oil
• 1 day-old French baguette, cut into cubes
• more pepper
• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated

(Note that I slightly modified this recipe, because shallots are a pain in the butt to peel, and 2.5 pounds of shallots is a lot of shallots. So I substituted a bit of red onion. Whatevs. Also, the original recipe used chestnuts instead of croutons, but I couldn’t find any at the store, and croutons are fun to make!)

The Cooking and the Assembly

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallots and salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally until tender and caramelized (25-30 minutes).
2. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates.
3. Add the bay leaf, beef broth, and chicken broth, and bring to a boil Reduce heat and simmer until soup is reduced by a third, another 25-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Meanwhile, heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high; when hot, add in the cubed French bread, making sure to get each coated thoroughly with oil (add more oil if necessary). Sprinkle a generous helping of pepper on them.
5. Continue stirring croutons until crispy (keep a weather eye on them so they don’t burn, though!); remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Mix croutons and Gruyère, and let cool.
6. When soup is ready, ladle into bowls, and add several croutons. Grate some more cheese over the top, and serve.

And so ends my saga. You can thank me once you’ve passed out on your sofa in contentment. Mua-ha-ha-haaa.

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There you have it, ladies and gents. Perhaps this is the new mascot for Soup Week?

Soup Week Prep: Stock Recipes

Are you ready for Soup Week? Six days!

In the meantime, why not prep and have some stock ready? All of my recipes this year include stock, and maybe some of the guest posters as well.

So, because I'm super generous, I found a couple of awesome links all about making your own stock. (Alright, so credit where credit is due, Aliza had the brilliant idea to talk about stock in advance, and I thought it was brilliant, so here we are.)

Veggie stock from Veganyumyum. Seriously, Veganyumyum is such a terrific blog name, I had to feature it! Also, it goes into an article from Cook's magazine, and I found the results very interesting and thought you might too. I recommend reading through this article, even if you're more of a chicken stock kind of person. I want to hunt down the original Cook's magazine article, but even without having read it, I'm pretty sure I always want to make my own stock from now on.

Chicken stock from Michael Ruhlman. I read The Elements of Cooking by Ruhlman quite some time ago, and it's absolutely fantastic. He talks quite a bit about stock in the book, but here's an easy recipe.

In Ruhlman's article, he also talks quite a bit about bacteria and the safety of leaving your stock on your stovetop for a week, and if that sort of thing grosses you out, how about this chicken stock recipe from Gordon Ramsay?

If those recipes still aren't enough, there are about a quatrillionbillion other recipes on the internet. I leave you to it, Friends. Remember! Come back Monday for the Soup Week opener! Not to toot my own horn, but it's pretty amazing!

quilt #3.

Saturday was fabric shopping day, and it was a DOOZY of a fabric shopping day. As always, the lovely K was invaluable, and while I did make some changes to the idea in my head that I had for quilt #3, there weren't as many changes as I thought there might be. And in fact, I'm so excited about these changes that I think it's going to be a super more awesomer quilt.

And since this quilt isn't a secret, would you like to see my fabric? Of course you would! Here, in all their glory, the SEVENTEEN different types of fabric:

(Yes, that's my favorite Paperchase Christmas Tree plate.) 

Yesterday, I spent three (four?) hours soaking them for excess dye, washing, and pressing this stack of fabric. Now, they are all draped over a chair, waiting for me to cut into them. You are probably wondering how all of these fabrics are going to come together, and I'm not going to tell you that. You'll just have to stick around and see. I will tell you that the very bottom fabric (that awesomely fierce white and black print) will be the backing fabric, so don't have a heart attack thinking I'm going to sick this overly stimulating quilt on someone. I read a blog entry recently where a woman used this pale butter yellow to back a quilt, and sure, it was pretty and all, but I kept thinking, a little boring, don't you think? There's a place in this world for pale butter yellow backing fabric, sure, but not in an Audrey quilt. (I reserve the right to change my mind on that at any time.) For now, BAM! Black and white bold designs!

We survived our first no-daddy day, and it went fairly well. The boy is definitely missing his papa, but we're keeping it together. I'm trying not think about how much it would suck if my husband's flight home crashed and I became a widow with two little ones. (Overactive imagination, much?) I've got bread dough rising for raisin bread, and I've got fresh hummus in my fridge and a tasty avocado to finish off. I had NO idea that avocado would be so tasty in quesadillas. The warm tortilla and cheese, mixed with spinach and topped with aforementioned hummus? All made EVEN BETTER with the addition of the smooth sliced avocado? Quesadillas would definitely be my desert island food. Tonight's dinner plans include soba noodles in a peanut sauce with sauteed chicken and veggies. (I heart soba.) Lunch...will probably be a repeat of last night's dinner. I'm craving pumpkin cookies, so I'll probably whip up some of those in the near future. Today is certainly shaping up to be a good food day, but with teams of men with chain saws attacking trees up and down my street, I'm not sure how well Banzo's nap is going to roll. Every time they slug into a tree, he yelps and comes running to sit on my lap.

SW: Hot & Sour Soup (Guest Post)

People, I am exhausted. As much fun as this soup week has been, eleven posts in five days is a lot for one girl to handle. However! I think we've had an excellent turn-out, I love that I had SIX guest contributors, and every time I get an email or message saying someone is trying one of the soups, my heart jumps with glee.

But all good things must come to an end, and Soup Week 2011 is due. Next week, I'll return to regularly scheduled Hot Pink Mama, including thoughts on nanowrimo, the Bean's eating utensil progress (complete with photos), and a really good book I read last week. I'm leaving you with my friend Andrea's Hot and Sour Soup recipe. She was a super big meanie and didn't bother sharing, which is so uncool. :) I hope you had a super fun week! Thanks for stopping by!

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I love most Asian food. More specifically, I love spicy Asian food. Thai food is some of my favorite food in the world. In fact, I just had green curry from my favorite Thai restaurant today, and I am drooling in memory. As for Chinese food, unfortunately, most Chinese restaurants, at least in my city, seem to be of the Americanized garden variety, using a lot of oil and MSG and enough sodium to bloat up a blimp. So while I love it dearly, I rarely allow myself the indulgence of ordering it. My main weakness at a Chinese restaurant and one thing I must order at a Chinese restaurant is the hot and sour soup. The main problem with that is that I’m a mostly vegetarian and the strands of pork in most varieties of hot and sour soup are difficult to pick out. Not only that, but it’s always a crapshoot. Some hot and sour soups are divine. Others are bland and disappointing. Even at the same restaurant, there can be a variety in quality depending on what day I go.

So I recently went on a quest to find a recipe for a good quality hot and sour soup that is easy to make and without too many oddball ingredients and as tasty as the best restaurant quality hot and sour soup.

I found a great recipe here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1748,135181-254194,00.html

I played around with it to make it vegetarian and suit my own tastebuds, and this is what I came up with:

Easy Hot and Sour Soup
by Andrea!

 

Ingredients

4 cups of broth (I used vegetarian but chicken can be used as well)

1 Tablespoon hot chili sauce (this is hot stuff, so use sparingly (maybe ¼ Tablespoon) if you don’t like as much spice as I do)

1 cup dried Shitake mushrooms (you can use any mushroom you like, but I got these at an Asian grocery store. You must soak the dry mushrooms in water for about 25 minutes before use)

3 Tablespoons soy sauce (I used lite sodium)

¼ Teaspoon white pepper

½ cup bamboo shoots

¼ cup rice vinegar

3 oz block firm tofu, cut up

1 egg (beaten)

2 strands green onion diced

1 Teaspoon sesame oil

1. Simmer vegetable broth for 5 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms, soy sauce, and chili sauce.
3. Simmer 5 minutes more.
4. Add white pepper, bamboo shoots, tofu and vinegar.
5. Simmer 5 minutes more.
6. Add beaten egg in a thin stream. Allow to cook for 30 seconds.
7. Add onions and sesame oil.
8. Let simmer a few minutes more, then eat until you lick the bowl!

Notes: This will probably taste even more like the restaurant quality hot and sour soups if you make with chicken broth instead of vegetable broth and add ¼ cup to ½ cup shredded pork to it. Also, the original recipe calls for cornstarch to thicken it. I did not do that. I enjoyed the thinner broth, but if you prefer a thicker broth, you could add cornstarch mixed with water before adding the egg.

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Andrea is my partner in crime that begins with the letter “A.” (Mainly, awesomeness.) Together, we rocked pixie cuts and works of fiction that require years of work, pausing only to occasionally sneer at those who haven't been slaving on their projects for half a decade or more. (We are kind of snobby like that.) Andrea has lived all over the world, and both her writing and food reflect that. Besides being the wife of a super cool dude, she's also a teacher, which automatically means she deserves your undying respect. She's also brilliant, making her seem too awesome to be true! However, I promise I didn't make her up as an excuse to post more soup week recipes, and as proof, you can check out Andrea's blog and see for yourself.

SW: Married Soup

We've made it through four amazing days of soup, and today, you get two more recipes to try!

When I tried this recipe, I wasn't going to use it, but my husband has only told me about fifteen times this week that it was amazing and he loved it and why won't I use it? So I'm going to use it. I thought it was tasty, but I wasn't going to create a song and dance routine for it, you know what I mean? I trust you can make your own decision.

Italian Wedding Soup really is quite amazing. Wedding Soup is a chicken-based broth with meat (usually meatballs or sausage) and greens. Then you can add about a kajillion other things, including beans, lentils, pasta, tomatoes, etc. The Italian should actually read “Married Soup,” probably referring to the relationship between the greens and the meat. (Or so wikipedia suggests.) So, I'm calling mine Married Soup because I think that sounds fun.

The meatballs in the recipe I originally used weren't as flavorful as I normally like them, so in the future, I'll substitute my own meatballs. I've modified the original recipe to make it more like mine.

Oh! And before I forget! Two links I wanted to share with you:

---Besides John's cornbread, I really enjoyed bread from this cookbook with our soup. I have talked about this cookbook before. I am in love.

---My friend Rebecca posted this super yummy looking soup on her blog. It is difficult to find green chile in this neck of the woods, especially the hot variety, but some grocery stores carry mild, and I have found a little teeny tiny can of hot at a specialty store.

Come back later! My friend Andrea is going to close us out with a super tasty offering. 

Married Soup-Friday

Modified Recipe.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 1 small onion, Audrey-style, aka food-processed to smithereens
• 1 teaspoon garlic, food processed with the onion
• 1/2 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Italian bread crumbs, enough to make the meatballs cohesive
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1 lb. ground beef
• Freshly ground black pepper
  

Soup:

• 12 cups water with chicken base/bouillon added
• 1 pound endive, escarole, or kale; coarsely chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

Directions:
Meatballs:

1. Add onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, egg, salt, and bread crumbs to a bowl and blend. Add the cheese and beef. With your hands, form meat into 1-inch diameter meatballs.
2. Set aside. Don't cook!

Soup:

1. Bring water and bouillon to a boil in a large pot over medium-high. Add meatballs and greens until the meatballs are cooked through and the greens are tender. Maybe 8 minutes? Maybe 10?
   
2. While that's cooking, whisk the eggs and cheese in a small bowl. When the meatballs are done, stir soup in a circular motion and add egg mixture slowly. Ideally, it will create thin ribbons of egg-cheese goodness throughout the soup. It may not look pretty. That's okay.
   
3. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve with parmesan as a garnish.
   
4. Yum!
   

SW: Cornbread (Guest Post)

I know, the guest posts this week were a BIG, awesome surprise. You know what's ALSO a surprise, even to me? This particular guest post! Last night, my friend John offered, and I accepted and then made him seal an oath with blood because not only did I want this recipe, but sharing it with you was almost as important. (Hey, I'm an honest girl!)

I'm really stoked to have a homemade bread post, mostly because I feel soup REQUIRES bread, and while store-bought can be okay, homemade makes the soup-eating experience magical. This cornbread is oh-so-yummy and compliments several (if not all) of the recipes I'm featuring this week. I had it with Sarah's black bean soup, and I let my dearest husband have the rest of it with our lentil soup.

Oh, and before I go any further, yes, you're welcome!

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Cornbread
Guest Post from John! 

Cornbread is one of those battleground foods that even good friends
argue over. Sweet or savory? Moist and cake-y or dry and firm? Thin or
thick? Coarse or fine ground meal? Cast iron or glass? Baked or grilled?
Bacon fat or butter? Fresh corn kernels or not? So many choices! So many
versions to try with different soups!

This version is sweet and moist, but can be modified if desired. Try
reducing the sugar and adding a small amount of finely chopped chiles,
for example. Or try a mixture of coarse and fine meal. (If you use a
coarse grind like polenta, soak it overnight and press out the water
before adding to the flour mixture.) The recipe is based on, but modifed
from, one by my favorite "bread head", Peter Reinhart, from his book
Crust and Crumb. Note that ingredients in ounces are by weight, not
volume.

Ingredients

8 oz corn meal (I use 4oz medium and 4oz fine grind)
8 oz All-purpose flour
1 1/2 TB baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

4 oz brown sugar
2 TB honey
2 TB melted butter
3.5 oz eggs (approx 2 med/lg)
12 oz sour cream
3 oz fresh/frozen corn kernels (optional)

Procedure

1. Melt butter in a small mixing bowl and incorporate honey until
dissolved

2. Whisk together meal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, soda, and
salt in a large bowl

3. Whisk eggs and sour cream in a medium bowl

4. Incorporate butter/honey mixture into egg / sour cream mixture

5. Combine liquid mixture with flour mixture in the large bowl

6. Fold in corn kernels (if using)

7. Spread the very stiff batter in a 9 x 13 in. glass baking dish

8. Bake at 350 deg F for 45-50 min until a tester comes out clean. The
top should be medium to dark brown


Bonus for bread heads: here is the baker's % formula so you can scale
this up for large parties, make muffins, or just make multiple pans and
freeze for future soup weeks.

50% Corn meal
50% AP
4.7% Baking powder
0.5% Baking soda
1.6% Salt
25% Brown sugar
9.4% Honey
6.2% Butter
20.8% Eggs
75% Sour cream
18.7% Fresh/frozen corn kernels

---

John is the best baker I have ever met. Ever. I want him to quit his boring day job and either open a bakery or start his own TV baking show. (I go back and forth with TV show name ideas. Right now I'm favoring Muffin Man John, so that I can say “I DO know the muffin man!”) Of course, I will get free baked goods because I helped provide the inspiration for his new career. Besides baking, John does a lot of other cooking (also amazing) and has one of my favorite libraries ever. His taste in fiction is spot-on. He is married to the brilliant Sarah, who was sweet enough to provide one of Soup Week's guest recipes. Finally, let me just say, if you do not try this recipe, you will regret it for the rest of your life!

SW: Butternut Squash Soup (Guest Post)

Karen was super sweet and did an excellent write-up for this, making my life so much easier. (No really.) Let's just say, managing soup week and nano at the same time was not a great idea. So thank you, Karen, for making life easier for me. Now go read!

OH! And eat this soup. As Karen will mention, I've eaten it, and it's TAAAAAAAAAAASTY.

---

It’s soup week (and it’s fall), which means it’s time for one of my favorite soups. We got into making soups around the same time that we moved to the Midwest, because there’s really nothing better than hot, rolls into your stomach goodness on a cold fall evening. Although we need no reason to make this soup, the origin for this soup in soup week is because Audrey was afraid to cook with butternut squash. (Something about a bad experience.) David was so appalled that he rounded up the whole family and made them soup, which honestly sounds like a huge win for Audrey and company! And since he’s off writing for NaNo, I get to write the blog entry!

Butternut Squash Soup-Thursday
Modified Recipe, or as David says,
"Found and rescued from the somewhere in the bowels of the internet."

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed (~1”)
1 onion, diced
4 small apples (or 2-3 normal-sized apples), peeled, cored, and diced
2 thick slices of bread
chicken broth to cover (~48 ounces, but this can depend on how large
your squash is)
~1 tbsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste (although, it really just needs a dash of
pepper, and really no salt)

Prep:
Put everything in a large pot and add the chicken broth to cover.
Bring the pot to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes, or until the
squash is tender. Puree (either with an immersion blender or with a
more traditional blender) and serve. If you want to be really fancy,
you can garnish the top with heavy cream or cheese. (Or 1% milk, if
you don’t stock fancy things like cheese and cream.)

For David’s more colorful rendition (and in-prep pictures!), see:
http://www.evokewonder.com/twentyfingers/2010/09/d-butternut-squash-soup/

---

Okay, so regarding the bad squash experience. The ONE time I tried to do something with butternut squash, I apparently got the evilest squash to ever grace the planet. It oozed some icky sticky liquid that was impossible to wash off my hands, and then, after I spent TWO hours cooking a bisque that I had had before and found incredibly tasty, my pot was flavorless, and I wound up dumping the entire thing into the garbage. Ugh. Of course, David and Karen's soup was lovely and made me think that maybe (and that's a BIG maybe) I would try this again.

David and Karen blog here, but don't check out that link unless you want to be overloaded with tasty meals and amusing musings about food. Also, don't lick your screen. That's just gross. When I last checked, they had all their fingers, which is fairly useful considering D's academic pursuits involve the CS world and K's revolve around chemistry. Besides doing boring math-y, computer-y stuff, David has a fancy camera with which he takes AWESOME pictures. He is also working on his first project for nano. As for Karen, she is my quilting sensei, and her finished quilts make me want to be a better person, or, at the very least, a better quilter. She washes a lot of dishes. By hand. They both keep me fed with good food. (And the pie! Don't get me started on the pie!)

SW: Zuppa Toscana

If having a dedicated soup week isn't enough to convince you, the fact is, I like soup. A lot. And sometimes in restaurants, I order soup. Like at Olive Garden. I order their zuppa toscana. They may have other good food, but I neglect it. Zuppa all the way!

This particular recipe has been making the rounds lately. I made it for my family, and we enjoyed it so much that I suggested that we make it for a home fellowship dinner. They liked it so much that one of the ladies asked for the recipe and made it for a marriage builders dinner we attended. Team it up with warm bread and a salad, and it's a lovely lovely dinner. Also, if you've never had kale before, it's jam-packed with all sorts of vitamins and minerals and goodness, so tell your internal organs to prefer for incoming nutrients!

Zuppa Toscana - Thursday

A modified recipe.

Makes 4 Servings

• 1 lb mild ground sausage
• 2 large russet potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large white onion, chopped (or food processed!)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or used with a garlic press
• 2 cups kale, chopped
• 2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  

1. Brown sausage in soup pot, remove and place in container to the side.
2. Reduce heat to medium and add the chicken broth, then the potatoes, onions, and garlic. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. (If you prefer a thinner and less concentrated soup, add 1 quart of water before adding the potatoes and aromatics.)
3. Add sausage and simmer for another 10 minutes.
4. Turn to low heat and add heavy whipping cream and kale.
5. Heat through, then salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
6. Yum!

SW: Potato Soup (Redemption!)

Last year's Soup Week should have featured Potato Soup. Instead, my body revolted, and I became horrifically ill and actually visited the doctor. This year, I sought revenge! Or at the very least, redemption. As an extra Soup Week bonus, I am posting my potato soup “recipe” to make up for missing last year. Yes, I know. I'm a peach like that.

This recipe is actually built from my mama's. As a child, I begged my mom for one of two dishes: her amazing chicken fried chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy so good that I would eat it straight from the pan sans potatoes; and her potato soup, which she made in the winter, in copious amounts, and which made me so happy that I regularly did the potato soup dance. No, you may not see it, so don't bother asking.

I'm going to use the oh-so-telling quotation marks around “recipe” because I don't measure ingredients for dishes I learned from my folks. They never did. However! I will provide a rough idea of the ratios. You'll have to be brave and make this to taste, but I believe in you!

Potato Soup-Wednesday

Original “Recipe” from my mama!

Ingredients:

• 8 medium-sized russet potatoes, cubed
• lots of milk and water (see ratios below)
• kosher salt
• ½ of an onion (not food processed to smithereens!) I cut an onion in half, peeled off the outside, and dropped it in the pot.

That's it. I also garnished with bacon bits (that I tore from strips of bacon, not the ones you buy in the store) and parmesan cheese. However! My mama used to throw in whatever we had on hand, so I have had this same base of soup with the following ingredients:

• corn
• ham
• broccoli
• cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• carrots (admittedly not my favorite)
• various herbs and spices
• green chile (if you're adventurous and can get your hands on some)
• etc.

Now, prepare yourself for a very technical and precise “recipe.”

1. In a 6 qt. pot, add milk (2/3 of your liquid) and water (1/3 of your liquid) leaving a couple of inches of room in the pot. Add potatoes and turn heat to medium-high heat. Add some kosher salt.
   
2. Cook a LONG time. When your liquid gets too excited and tries to escape the pot, you need to turn your heat down to medium (or lower, depending on your stove's macho-ness) and cover.
   
3. When the potatoes are super soft, smash them into nothingness with a potato smasher. Taste. Add any other ingredients you're feeling, and if you're adding raw veggies, give them enough time to cook. Salt and pepper as needed.
   
4. Garnish with cheese and bacon bits (or whatever compliments your particular variety).
   
5. Yum!
   

SW: Sausage Tomato Lentil Soup

Er...stew, more like.

Today marks the halfway point, and I'm crossing my fingers that you are waking up every morning, looking forward to the moment you can direct your browser to this web address and peruse the latest soup offerings.

Another of my midwest discovery was lentils. I'm sure they exist in the southwest, but I never knew anyone who cooked with them. I mean, lentil enchiladas? Weird! However, I know plenty of people who cook with them here, and after having a fantastic sausage and lentil soup that I dreamed about for over a year, I finally decided to sit down and make my own. I did. It was tasty and more than a good idea. My husband, who does not like beans or lentils of any sort, eats this soup. Also, it's different than a “traditional” sausage and lentil soup as it uses ground sausage instead of whole and uses a lot a lot a lot of tomatoes. Nathan said “it's very flavorful.” He cites that as the reason he's willing to overlook the fact that it's loaded with lentils.

I think the crockpot was one of the greatest inventions to ever grace the planet, especially for busy moms/working folk. This recipe honors that invention! I should also mention that this soup is really really good the day after you cook it. In the past, I have added in celery the original recipe calls for, and that's super good too. If you want to add celery, shred/chop 1-2 stalks and add it in with everything else.

Sausage and Lentil Soup-Wednesday

Modified Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground Italian sausage

• 1/2 large onion, with outside skin removed

• 2 cloves garlic sliced, or 1 tbsp. minced garlic

• 1/2 cup shredded carrot

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry lentils, rinsed

• 8 cups water

• 1 tbsp. chicken base

• 1 (28 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add sausage over medium high heat and cook until browned.
   
2. In your crockpot, add the lentils, water, chicken base, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and carrots. Also add the bay leaves, parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil. I know I've said before that we aren't big onion fans, but keeping the onion uncut and in tact makes is oh-so-easy to pull out at the end.
   
3. Add the sausage to your crockpot, and cook until the lentils are tender, approximately 4 hours on high heat, 8 hours on low. Or, you could do it the Audrey way and put everything in a pot first thing in the morning, and let cook all day on low until you're ready to dine.
   
4. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
   
5. Yum!
   

SW: Chicken Tortilla Soup (Guest Post)

Brace yourself! Awesome incoming!

I'm so so so excited to tell you that this afternoon's edition is another guest post from a good friend of mine. And lucky for you, she's also from the southwest, so when she says she's giving you an authentic offering, you'd best believe her, then immediately rush out, buy the required ingredients, and prepare this soup. I present, Aliza's Chicken Tortilla Soup!

---

Tortilla Soup-Tuesday

Recipe from Aliza!

This was originally a random recipe that I stumbled across online, but altered to make it more "authentic." It makes between 8 and 10 servings. Freezes well up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups of salsa (I prefer medium heat)

4 mined garlic cloves

1 small white onion, diced

~1/2 cup of skinless, roasted green chile, chopped (small can/jar if you don't store any)

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (I try to find the biggest bunch possible)

1 1/2 tablespoons cumin

1 teasp. chili pepper

4 cup chicken broth (1 box)

1 teas. salt

1 teas. pepper

2 flour tortillas 

shredded cheese for topping

 

Directions:

1. Boil chicken in a med-large pot.

2. In separate pan, brown onions with garlic, cilantro, chile, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

3. Once chicken is cooked (approx. 20 minutes), drain water, cut into chunks and place back into pot.

4. Add contents of pan, salsa, and broth and simmer for 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bake tortillas on cookie sheet (or straight on the shelves) at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until crispy. Break into small pieces or cut into strips.

6. After the soup has simmered, serve into bowls, then sprinkle tortilla pieces and cheese into each bowl.

7. Enjoy!

---

Aliza is awesome! She has somehow harnessed the power to bend time, and her daily routine includes university coursework, wifery, photography, painting, home improvement/decorating, and—oh, did I mention?—mothering an adorable eighteen-month-old. Time-bending=amazing! Not only is she an avid soup lover, but I have it on good authority that she makes a mean latte. I know, I know, you'd think that Aliza can't be any more awesome, but you'd be wrong. She BLOGS here and here. Go read her stuff, and you'll see what I mean.

SW: Broccoli Cheddar Soup

One of my favorite things about our midwest town is the fact that there is a Panera Bread Company here. I love Panera. That was one of the perks of moving here. If the Panera people let me, I might try to live there. I love their pastries, I love their souffles, and I love love LOVE their soups. And my favorite is their Broccoli Cheddar Soup because a good BC soup is always amazing. While it doesn't taste exactly like Panera's, it was still super tasty and satisfying.

I think I inadvertently doubled the broccoli required because ours was very very broccoli-y, but I hadn't measured my broccoli by pound, and I don't have a food scale just yet (I know, heresy!) so I just used three crowns of broccoli. I also added more cheese, so really, the mods I made to this recipe were relatively slim. But after adding all that broccoli, extra cheese was very necessary.

Also, veggie-izing this recipe would be SUPER easy. Veggie broth, and wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup-Tuesday

Modified Recipe.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock
3 bunches fresh broccoli
1 cup carrots, julienned
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt & pepper, to taste

12 ounces grated sharp cheddar

1. Saute onion in butter and set aside. Add the flour and melted butter to the pan and whisk over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently. At the four minute mark, slowly add the half-and-half, all the while continuing your frequent stirring. Repeat this process with the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Add the broccoli, carrots, and sauteed onions, and cook over low heat until the veggies are tender, another 20 minutes or so. Salt and pepper.
3. The soup should be thick at this point, so pour in SMALL batches into the blender and puree. I am a pro at pureeing hot liquids in my blender due to much trial and error, so if you have never done this before and don't know the proper protocol, ask someone! SMALL batches. No lid. You'll avoid burns!
4. Return the puree to the pot, and place over low heat. Add the grated cheese and stir until well blended. Serve. And serve in a bread bowl if you have some lying around because it will be simply tasty!
5. Yum!

And yes, later today, there will be another SUPER yummy guest post!

SW: Spicy Black Bean Soup (Guest Post!)

Vegetarian/Vegan Peeps:

I know that the majority of my recipes do not apply to you, and I try really hard to think up ways to modify my recipes for you, but I do not always succeed. I have heard of TVP and other similar replacement protein sources, but I do not know enough about them to suggest replacing pork tenderloin with them. So! Today's guest post edition is for YOU. I've eaten this soup twice, and both times it was the veggie rendition. It is SUPER tasty. Get ready, grab your spoon, and enjoy yourself thoroughly.

Love, Audrey

---

Vegetarian Black Bean Soup-Monday

By Sarah at Saturday Sequins.

Hello, readers of the most excellent Audrey's blog! I'm excited to be a guest poster today and to share the recipe for my favorite soup.

This soup is vegetarian and vegan-friendly and, when made with the right ingredients, also gluten-free. I've never liked the idea of textured vegetable protein as a meat substitute, (what does that mean, anyway? Sounds too much like Soylent Green to me) so instead, I've mixed two healthy, delicious whole grains, millet and amaranth, which you can find in any health food store.

Also, note to carnivores: Yes, you can substitute lean ground beef for grains! I won't cry if you do. Just brown it in a skillet with a little olive oil before you add it. About 1 Lb should do.

What's in the soup:

2 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 c onion (diced)
veggie broth (low sodium)
1/4 c millet
1/4 c amaranth
1 (15 oz) can black beans
1 (15 oz) red kidney beans
1 can (28 oz, or 1 Lb) crushed tomatoes with basil (I like the Meijer Organics brand)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies (I like the Eden Organic brand)
 2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cumin
A dash or two of black pepper
A light sprinkle of Italian herb mix.
1 c frozen corn
1-2 large handfuls finely chopped fresh spinach (optional)

How to make the soup:

Pour olive oil into a large soup pot with garlic, onion, and about 1/4 c veggie broth. Put it on medium-low heat, or a little lower than that, until the onions become slightly translucent.
While this is going on, in a separate, smaller pot, add millet, amaranth, and 1 3/4 c water. Bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes. You might want to check it at the 15 minute mark and give it a stir -- in my experience, it almost always needs it!

While the grains cook, add about 1 c veggie broth, black beans, red kidney beans, crushed tomatoes with basil, diced tomatoes with green chilies, and 1/2 c water to rinse the rest of the tomatoes out of the cans.

Keep the large soup pot on medium low, and add chilli powder, cumin,  black pepper, and Italian herb mix.

When the grains are cooked, add 1 c to the soup pot, along with frozen corn and spinach (if you want-- again, there will be no crying if you decide not to). Let the soup cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, and it's ready to serve!

This recipe serves 6 to 8 people, depending on portion size and appetite. It goes very well with tortilla chips for dipping, or with a huge slice of cornbread. Or both.

---

Okay, now go! Make! Devour!

About Sarah:

I am sad because you probably don't know Sarah. (I am also secretly happy because I don't want to share her with you.) Go to her blog, and you'll see why. Can you believe she makes all of that gorgeous jewelry? She does. Either that, or she has minions that produce it for her, and she takes the credit. But I'm guessing it's the former option because minions are expensive. When she's not making jewelry or writing soup blogs for me, Sarah hula hoops, writes both fiction and non-fiction, wears Halloween socks, and is the wife of Mr. Sequin. Keep in mind that if you try and steal her from me, I will cut you.

SW: Pumpkin Pork Chili

Welcome to Soup Week 2011 at Hot Pink Mama! I have been dreaming of fresh soup ideas since last year's bash, and I'm eager to share with you the five delicious recipes for this year's soiree! (And by five, I actually mean TEN!)

August 2011 marked the start of my third year of midwest life, and to honor that momentous occasion, I decided to learn how to make a “chili.” Being a desert girl, chilis are weird and exotic, but I was determined that I wasn't going to make any ol' chili. It would be a creative one! Unique! Exciting! Innovative! And when I found a recipe on the food network's website, I flipped. It was perfect! (Or, it would be, after I modified it.) It was seasonal, exciting, and promised to be an adventure, and I'm really hoping you're ready to take the plunge and go with me. I present:

Pumpkin and Pork Chili-Monday

Modified Recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into ½ inch cubes

• 1 12-ounce bottle Negro Modelo
• kosher salt
• 3 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 15-ounce can pureed pumpkin (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup veggie oil
• 1 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 medium white onions, food processed to smithereens!
• 4 cloves garlic, food processed to smithereens!
• 1/8 cup New Mexican red chile powder***
• Lime wedges, for serving 

***You may not find this in your regular grocery store, meaning you'll have to check a specialty store, or even better, one of those little tiny Mexican grocery stores that are awesome! I can find it here with relative ease, so I'm hoping you can too. If you can't, use the chili powder of your choice, though you'll probably want to kick it up a notch, maybe as much as another 1/8 cup. 

1. In a large pot, toss together your pork, the beer, 2 cups water and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Simmer over medium heat, and because foam will form, skim that stuff off! Add half of the oregano, cover, and cook approximately 30 minutes.
2. While those ingredients are starting to get to know each other, combine 3 tablespoons of pumpkin and the sour cream in a bowl. Salt to taste, then cover and chill.
3. Heat up the veggie oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, poblano, onions, garlic, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Cook until translucent, but not browned, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining oregano and the red chile powder, and cook another 5 minutes. Then add your remaining pumpkin, and cook another 5 after that.
4. Add the tomato mixture to the large pot and simmer with the pork until your pork is tender, give or take 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve the chili, topping with the pumpkin/sour cream mixture. Garnish with limes, and if you're feeling like it, add cheese, such as mozzarella or parmesan.
5. Yum!

Come back later today for my first guest post, a soup so yummy in your tummy that you'll swoon! (I can say this with confidence. I have DEVOURED this soup more than once.)

Soup Week 2011

I have tried tried TRIED to be patient and surprise you, but I can't hold back any longer! Not only will Soup Week 2011 feature five exciting recipes from yours truly, it will also feature recipes from guest bloggers! Friends, you will be up to your ears in soup, which sounds gross, but if you are a true soup fanatic, you will be ecstatic. Tune in Monday morning for the first of the soup recipe offerings. Last year, I gave you a preview of the recipes, but this year, I'm keeping the list close to my heart.

MONDAY! SOUP!!!!! (Because you'll need something "healthy" to eat with all that candy.)

coming soon...

The Second Annual Hot Pink Mama

October 31-November 4, 2011

Soup Recipes of Awesome

And some awesomeness I can't tell you about just yet!

Do I really have to tell you that you want to be here?

Because you do.

SW: Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Don't judge me, but I hate crusts. I always have. I make myself eat sandwich crusts because my mom always insisted the vitamins and minerals of the bread was in the crust. I'm not entirely sure that's true now...but something about it has stuck with me. But pie crust? No thank you! If I'm eating a pie, occasionally I'll suck the crust down with the filling because I'm either lazy or worried that people will judge me. But in the privacy of my own home, I usually toss that junk into the garbage. Sorry starving children in Africa. I did not eat my crust. I wasted. But c'mon! It's crust! It's ewwwwww-y!

So...when I first went to Jason's Deli and discovered they had a chicken pot pie soup (teehee, no crust!) I about died. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a JD's close to you. Maybe you are like me and drool at the thought of their chicken pot pie soup. (We're talking copious amounts of saliva, here!)

But when I moved to the midwest, I discovered that my soup need could no longer be met. I had to improvise. Thankfully, the internet can tell you pretty much anything you need to know, and this recipe had already figured out a pretty tasty substitute to squelch my needs. (I use the first recipe, so I can't vouch for the yumminess of the easier version.) Of course, I needed to add my own brilliance to the mix, and the resultant product I'm about to show you certainly got my vote. I've never compared it side-by-side to Jason's, but I have this sneaky suspicion that my version would win in a popularity contest.

A bit of warning--I do bake this, and it gets really thick, so you could argue whether it's still a soup or if it's transformed into a casserole. I don't care either way. It's yum, and that's the important thing.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 small russet potatoes, cubed
• pot pie veggies in whatever quantity makes you sing, i.e. corn, carrots, peas, etc.
• 3-4 tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1 cup flour
  
• 2 tbsp. chicken bouillon, ground up (or, my favorite, Better than Bouillon, which requires no grinding!)
  
• 2 cups-ish chicken broth
• 4 cups of milk
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 cans Pillsbury Grands Jr. biscuits (I use buttermilk flavor)

1) Cook your potatoes until soft. I did cook mine in chicken broth, though instead of adding water, I just added enough chicken broth to cover them. When they are done, drain and set aside.
2) Over medium-low heat, saute garlic in olive oil for thirty seconds in a large soup pot, then add your seasonings and your flour. Create a roux and let cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If you like more soupy-chicken pot pie soup, cut your flour in half. I like mine really thick, yum!)
3) Add bouillon and chicken broth to the roux, which will form a really thick goop.
4) At this point, I pre-heat my oven to 400 degrees and set aside 2 9x9 inch pans for future use.
5) Slowly add 4 cups of milk to the soup pot.
6) Then add chicken and veggies one at a time. Let everything get acquainted and comfortable.
7) Now, split the soup pot mix to both dishes and pop the biscuits open. Spread 9 biscuits in 3 rows across the top of the dish. You may be wondering, what do I do with that 10th biscuit? Tear it into fourths and plug the small holes in the middle. (Don't mind my shadow on the below pic.)


8) Pop both dishes in the oven and cook until the biscuits are golden brown on top, about 20 minutes.


9) Cool 5 minutes, then devour!