Quick orange lentil soup

Total time: 45 minutes

Servings: 8 to 10

2 cups red lentils

1 sweet potato (about 10 ounces), peeled

1 large carrot

1 onion

2 cloves garlic, pressed

2 quarts water

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Coconut milk or half-and-half, to garnish

Chopped chives or cilantro (optional), to garnish

1. Wash the lentils: Place the lentils in a pot or bowl and cover with water. Stir or swish the water with your hand (the water will turn murky), drain and repeat the process until the water is clear. Drain and place in a large pot.

2. Chop the sweet potato, carrot and onion into coarse pieces and add them to the pot, along with the garlic. Add the 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, partially cover and cook until the vegetables and lentils are softened, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Stir in the coriander, turmeric and cumin, then stir in the salt. Cook an additional 5 minutes to marry the flavors. Remove from heat and puree the soup (either using a hand blender or in batches using a standard blender).

4. Divide the soup into serving bowls. Garnish each serving with a drizzle of coconut milk or half-and-half to create a design on the surface of the soup. Garnish with chopped chives or cilantro if desired. Serve immediately.

Each of 10 servings: 163 calories; 11 grams protein; 28 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams fiber; 1 gram fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 3 grams sugar; 365 mg sodium.

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This was our favorite recipe test of the soup batch. Inspired by a sweet potato and apple purée I make every year for Thanksgiving, the soup also has savory overtones. For a spectacular finish, garnish each bowl with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of medium-hot chili powder or chipotle chili powder.

2 tablespoons canola oil or butter

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced

4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

2 1/4 pounds orange sweet potatoes (like jewel yams or garnet yams), peeled and diced

1/2 pound Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 to 1 1/4 pounds tart apples, like Braeburn or Granny Smith, peeled, cored and diced

2 quarts water

Salt to taste

Fresh lime juice and medium-hot chili powder or chipotle chili powder for garnish

1. Heat the oil or butter in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring, until it is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sweet potatoes, regular potato, apples and water and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes to an hour, until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.

2. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup (or you can use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing) until very smooth. Return to the pot, heat through and adjust salt. Ladle into bowls, squeeze a little lime juice and sprinkle a little chili powder over each serving and serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Advance preparation: You can make this a day ahead, but it’s best freshly made.

Nutritional information per serving: 255 calories; 0 grams saturated fat (if oil is used); 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 51 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 101 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 4 grams protein

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Puréed vegetable soups satisfy my craving for comfort food and prove the point that a dish doesn’t have to be rich, heavy or meaty to be comforting and filling. The classic French model is a rich affair, usually finished with cream, crème fraiche or a béchamel. But a potato or a half cup of rice added to the soup with the vegetables is just as efficient a thickener.

Recipes for Health
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you might think about putting one on your Christmas list. With this blender on a stick, you can purée the soups right in the pot you cooked them in. I’ve never found a food processor to be efficient for blending soups; there’s too much liquid in the mix, and that can run out of the bowl or prevent the blades from really puréeing the soup. You can achieve a smooth result if you use a blender, but puréeing in a blender is a hassle, and it can be scary, too, as the hot soup will blow the top off the blender if you close it tightly. If you do use a blender, fill the jar only about 1/3 full, and remove the lid’s detachable center and pull a dish towel down over the top so that the hot soup won’t splash out.

Puréed Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

I noticed that the most popular boxed soup at my supermarket is a tomato and red pepper soup, so I decided to come up with my own version.

2 red bell peppers, roasted

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup diced carrot

1/2 cup diced celery

Salt to taste

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes with juice

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 sprigs fresh basil

Pinch of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock or water

1/4 cup rice, preferably a medium-grain rice like arborio

Freshly ground pepper

For garnish (optional):

Garlic croutons (toast thin slices of bread, rub with a cut clove of garlic, and cut into squares)

Freshly grated Parmesan

Slivered fresh basil leaves

1. Roast the peppers as directed, allow to cool in a covered bowl, then peel, seed and dice. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes, and add the carrot and celery and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and fragrant, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the tomato paste, basil sprigs, cinnamon, sugar if using, and salt to taste. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have cooked down slightly and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the diced roasted peppers, the stock or water, rice, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. Season with freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt. Remove the basil sprigs.

4. Using a hand blender, purée the soup, or use a blender and purée in batches, being careful to pull a dish towel down over the top and not to cover tightly with the blender lid, then return to the pot and heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve topped with croutons, Parmesan cheese, and/or slivered basil.

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From about mid-October to roughly the end of March, we have some form of soup for dinner two or three times a week. It’s incredibly easy to make, has infinite variations, and is really inexpensive. What’s not to love about it?

Here’s exactly how we do it.

The Basic Tools
 Obviously, the most basic thing you need to have is a soup pot or two. We often make soup in these 5 1/2 quart enameled cast iron pots, but any pot that ranges from five quarts or so on up will be sufficient for making soup. I highly recommend having a lid.

You’ll also need to have a ladle, as it makes serving the soup into bowls much easier. You’ll also, of course, need bowls and spoons for eating and a spoon for stirring the soup. That’s really all you need in your kitchen (aside from a stovetop) to make soup pretty much any time you want.

The Basic Ingredients We Always Have on Hand
 We keep a steady supply of a few key ingredients on hand at all times for soup making.

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Our three most frequent soup ingredients are barley, egg noodles, and dried beans. These form the backbone of many of the soups we make, plus they store quite well in the pantry in their dry form. When we find a sale on these, we stock up every time.

We also keep a few basic seasonings on hand, such as salt and pepper. In addition, we also usually keep some homemade vegetable stock around for the liquid of the soup. We also keep some vegetable boullion around in case we’re out of stock.

If you like beef soups, use beef stock or boullion instead. If you like chicken soups, use chicken stock or boullion instead. Keep whatever it is that you like around.

In addition, we keep a few basic spices around: thyme, sage, and bay leaves, for starters. These work well in most soups. We also keep oyster crackers around as a condiment for the soup.

This is actually all you need to make a flavorful passable soup at the drop of a hat. Just cook the main ingredient, add some herbs and pepper, and simmer for a while until it smells too good to resist.

Varying Things Up
 Of course, you’re going to want to vary this for variety’s sake. How do you do that?

The way we do it is that we simply watch for vegetables that are on sale at our local grocery stores. If potatoes are on sale this week, we use potatoes in a batch of soup. The same goes for almost any vegetable, from turnips to kale to spinach to corn. Whatever’s fresh and inexpensive, we try it and use it.

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You can also include meat in your bargain hunting, too. If you find chicken or beef or pork on sale, pick it up and use it as an ingredient. If it sounds good to you, it probably is good.

How do you cook it? The first step is to simply boil your liquid ingredients – water and/or stock. You’ll start with this, then likely add more liquid during the cooking process if the soup gets too thick. Don’t worry about evaporated water – the flavor will just get richer over time.

The easiest way is just to search for your ingredient on Google with the addition “time to boil.” So, if you want to know how long to make soup with, say, turnips in it, you’d search for “time to boil turnips.” You’ll find that turnips take 25-30 minutes to boil.

Then, just make a list of all of your ingredients and how long they take to boil. Add the ingredients in order so that they all finish cooking at the same time. So, for example, if you have beans that take two hours, turnips that take 30 minutes, and potatoes that take 20 minutes, you’d start the beans, let them cook for an hour and a half, add the turnips, and then ten minutes later, add the potatoes.

The exception to this is the meat. If you’re adding meat (I actually also do this with onions and a few other things, too), I suggest cooking it separately until it’s done, then adding it with about ten or fifteen minutes left to go for the soup. Take some of the soup broth you have going, pour it in the pan that you cooked the meat in while the pan is still hot, then pour it back into the soup pot to add some delicious flavor.

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NDP MP Fin Donnelly introduced a private member's bill Thursday that would ban the import of shark fins in Canada. "If you want to get at shark finning, which is what many would understand as a very inhumane practice, then this [import ban] is one of the best ways to get at it," Donnelly, the NDP's fisheries and oceans critic, said at a news conference in Ottawa.

Shark fin soup, a traditional Chinese dish often served at weddings, is a major source of demand for the product. Shark finning, which involves removing the fin from a living shark and then tossing its body back into the ocean to die, is already illegal in Canadian waters, but there is no law to prevent importation. Some municipalities have already taken steps in this direction - Toronto banned the sale of shark fins in October.

Canada imports around 77,000 kilograms of fins each year, a relatively small amount compared to the rest of the world. Between 26 million and 73 million shark fins are traded annually, and Donnelly said some species of sharks simply cannot reproduce fast enough to replenish their numbers.

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I was sorting out a menu for dinner with friends last week and the abundance of watermelons at my local market had me wondering how I could work them into a dish. I was thinking "chilled soup" so I borrowed some ingredients of a gazpacho and bingo!

The watermelon gives a lightly sweet undertone while the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce add substance and flavour. A good blender makes quick work of reducing everything to a smooth consistency. Look for seedless watermelons and this is a very simple dish to make. Serves six.

WATERMELON GAZPACHO

1/2 red pepper (capsicum)

1/2 yellow pepper (capsicum)

3 large spring onions

6 cups deseeded and cubed watermelon

6 large tomatoes (roma if possible)

2 medium chillies, deseeded and sliced

Juice and zest of 2 limes and 1 lemon

150ml tomato paste

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Finely chop the peppers and spring onions and set aside a small amount for garnish.

Remove the cores from the tomatoes and slash an X through the skin at the other end. Cover with boiling water long enough to loosen the skins. Peel, and roughly chop the tomatoes.

Deseed the watermelon if necessary, place in a blender and puree until reasonably smooth. Pour into a large bowl.

Place the tomatoes, chopped peppers and onion mix (apart from the amount for garnish), sliced chillies, lemon and lime juices and zest, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and chopped coriander in the blender. Blend till smooth then add to the watermelon. Season with salt and pepper then check the seasoning, adding more lime juice and Worcestershire sauce as necessary.

Refrigerate for at least four hours. Garnish each serving with the reserved chopped capsicum and spring onion mix.

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Mr. Food (KFSN) -- Hearty yet healthy, our stick-to-your ribs Tuscan inspired recipe for Countryside Lentil soup is pure comfort in a bowl! Put out a basket of crusty whole grain bread and this one rounds out perfectly as a main dish meal.

Serves: 6

Cooking Time: 50 min

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups water
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (12-ounce) package dried lentils, washed and drained
3 carrots, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic 3 minutes. Add water, chicken broth, lentils, carrots, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 40 to 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender.REMOVE AND DISCARD BAY LEAF BEFORE SERVING.
Trust us! You'll want to have some fresh biscuits handy so you can sop up every lastdelicious drop!

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Warm up with classic pea and ham soup that's fragrant with thyme and topped with sour cream.

Preparation Time
10     - 15     minutes

Cooking Time
30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)
1 tbs olive oil
2 celery sticks, trimmed, coarsely chopped
1 large brown onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
250g sliced ham off the bone, cut into thin strips
1.25L (5 cups) salt-reduced chicken stock
600g (4 cups) frozen peas, thawed
90g (1/3 cup) light sour cream
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, extra
Sourdough bread, to serve

Method
Heat half the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook celery, onion and carrot, stirring, for 7 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, thyme and three-quarters of the ham. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until aromatic.

Add stock. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly reduced. Add peas. Simmer for 5 minutes or until peas are soft. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Use a stick blender to blend until smooth.

Combine sour cream and extra thyme in a bowl. Heat remaining oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook remaining ham, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until crisp. Place soup over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until warmed through. Season with pepper. Divide among serving bowls. Top with sour cream mixture and ham. Serve with bread.
Notes
To freeze: After blending the soup, place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

To reheat: Thaw in fridge. Place in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through.

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The inspiration for this recipe stems from a recent visit to San Diego that included a potato luncheon at Searsucker by chef Brian Malarkey, a "Top Chef" finalist. I opted to use Yukon gold potatoes in this soup because they lend a buttery taste. Even those who pass on dairy can rejoice as the recipe relies on coconut milk instead of cream.

Creamy Potato Soup Recipe for All

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups crimini or white mushrooms (about 1- to 8-ounce container), sliced
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 tablespoon butter (or dairy-free margarine)
1 celery stalk, sliced thinly
½ small onion or white part of leek, sliced thinly
10 medium Yukon gold potatoes (about 1½ pounds)
3½ cups reduced-sodium or organic chicken broth
1 bay leaf
3 parsley stems
7 ounces light coconut milk
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
3 turns freshly ground white pepper
3 medium sliced green onions, using dark green tops only

Preheat soup pot over medium-high and add oil. Add mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until water releases. Stir, lower heat to medium and brown for 3-4 minutes more. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and pepper and pour onto a plate for later use.

Place pot over medium heat to melt butter, stir in celery and onion. Cook gently for 14 minutes, stirring occasionally, and gradually lower heat as the vegetables shrink. Meanwhile, peel and cube each potato into eight pieces and submerge immediately into a large bowl filled with water to prevent browning. When vegetables in pot are limp, drain potatoes and add to pan. Pour in enough broth to cover the vegetables. Add bay leaf and parsley stems and simmer 30 minutes or until you can smash a potato on the side of the pan with the back of a spoon. Add coconut milk and simmer an additional 5 minutes to reheat. Swirl in vinegar, salt and pepper.

Remove soup from heat and discard bay leaf and parsley stems. Scoop half of the soup into a blender, cover and gradually turn up to high speed for 30 seconds or until smooth. Add more broth from pot if the mixture is too thick. Pour soup from blender into another container and puree remaining soup.

Mound warm mushrooms in the center of each serving bowl and pour soup around them. Garnish with green onions. Leftover soup may be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days and may be reheated in the microwave or on the stove top.

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Cary, NC – Cyber Monday for me is Turkey Soup Day. The leftovers have been eaten and all that remains is the turkey carcass- time for some homemade soup! In our house when we have any type of bird, we save the bones for making stock. Consequently the bottom section of my freezer is a morass of plastic bags filled with chicken wings and assorted bones. When we run out of chicken stock, its time to defrost the bags and get cooking! Thanksgiving is one such occasion. With such a large set of bones to dispose of, I immediately drag out my stock pot.

What you need:
Large Stock pot
Turkey bones
3 carrots
2 ribs celery
1 onion
herbs of your choice
1 bag egg noodles

Get yourself a large pot that will hold the bird, and allow water to fill and cover. Throw in a handful of herbs- I use “Herbes de Province” a fancy  name for rosemary, sage, thyme and marjoram mixed together. Add plenty of salt and pepper, cover and allow to come to a rolling boil. Lower heat and let the pot  simmer for several hours. This will make your house smell like you are a fancy chef.

Over a large bowl set a large strainer. Separate the liquid from all those solid bones. Save the good turkey meat (and set aside) and discard everything else. Make sure to seal this up in a tough garbage bag and immediately put outside in your bin. These bones will cause cats and dogs to choke and bleed internally if they ingest.

Now thinly slice about 3 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, and 1 onion. Add these to the pot and simmer for another 30 minutes. Ten minutes before you are ready to eat, bring to a boil again and throw in a bag of egg noodles. Cook for 8 minutes. Add back in the turkey meat. Serve with some great bread and a salad on the side. Bon Appetite!

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