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Two orange soups
I love making soup on Sunday afternoons. What better comfort food is there for a crisp fall day? Not that it has been crisp here. Summer arrived in San Francisco a bit late, and it was 75 degrees today without a wisp of fog. But still. My soup pot calls to me.
One of my all-time favorites, and probably the first soup I ever made myself, is Carrot and Ginger Soup from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. The two original Silver Palate cookbooks were the first cookbooks I ever owned. My mom gave them to me and I'm pretty sure they were duplicates of books already in her collection. Mom is locally renowned for her wall of cookbooks -- she has several hundred food and cookery books from all over the world. I have a pretty good collection myself, but it pales in comparison to hers.
Years ago my mom gave me a gift subscription to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, which is published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. These are the folks who got the FDA to require trans fat labeling in nutrition labels. They do good stuff, although it's pretty depressing to be reminded every month of how horrible processed food is and how everything we eat will eventually kill us. But every issue comes with a few tasty recipes. (And the Food Porn section on the back page alone is worth the subscription price. Oh, think of the google hits I'll get for posting that.)
The latest issue of NAH has a recipe for Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup, which is loaded with, um, I think antioxidants? And fiber, too. All sorts of good stuff. And it's delicious and very easy to make.
I use water and extra salt in place of chicken stock in both of these recipes. While they're excellent on their own, both soups are greatly enhanced by a dollop of light sour cream. (What isn't?) I find that the best way to puree soup is with an inexpensive stick blender. You can just stick it right into the soup pot instead of transferring hot liquid to a blender or food processor.
Carrot and Ginger Soup 6 tablespoons unsalted butter Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and saute for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the stock, wine and carrots. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered over medium heat until the carrots are very tender, about 45 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor fitted with a steel blade. Season with lemon juice, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot or chilled. Serves 6. (This cookbook is from 1984 and doesn't include nutrition info. I don't think anyone cared back then.) | Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup 1 tablespoon olive oil Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add the ginger, curry, cumin, nutmeg, and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the sweet potato, broth, water and pumpkin and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in the milk until heated through (don't boil). If you like your soup smooth, puree before serving. Ladle into bowls and top with 1/2 tablespoon sour cream. Serves 6. 110 calories, 4g fat, 1g sat fat, 4g fiber, 15g carb, 5g protein per serving. |
October 16, 2005 5:23 PM
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Three people have emailed me today's New York Times article about macaroni and cheese. I mentioned earlier that we served the Gourmet Cookbook version of mac and cheese at our New Year's Day party on Sunday, and it was for... Read More
Surely my mother, who only allowed us margarine (oh, the ignorance!), natural peanut butter, sugar-free candy, Tofutti, and skim milk (and whatever else that isn't coming immediately to mind) would take issue with you thinking no one cared about nutrition info in 1984... She was certainly in the vast minority, though, that's for sure.
sara, i think you forgot carob. my own mother regularly tried to pass that off as 'chocolate'. ha!