Minestrone Soup: Cooking from your pantry and freezer

In these winter months, I feel less like hopping to the grocery store. Instead, these months call for using up the foods stocked in both pantry and freezer. Warm comforting soups or fulfilling dishes with little effort are on the menu.

Minestrone fits the bill perfectly. Made in one pot and most ingredients can be found in your fridge and pantry.

Any vegetables can be used in this soup. Peas, broccoli, potatoes... each will lend a different flavor. But use what you have! There is no need to make an extra trip to the store.

The carrots and green beans can be fresh or frozen. I like to buy large bags of organic carrots and chop or grate them and freeze for future uses. A little preparation goes a long way in the future. Also, you can use canned beans or equivalent amount of soaked and boiled beans. And you can even use frozen tomatoes! Gracious Granny freezes her tomatoes (whole but de-seeded) every summer to make sauces and soups later on.

 

Minestrone Soup
4 28 oz cans of diced tomatoes
2 organic yellow onions
3 large garlic cloves
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups cut green beans
2 cups brown rice macaroni (gluten-free)
6 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
3 cups beans (I used one can each kidney and garbanzo beans)
1 TB grapeseed oil
1 bay leaf
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

1. Chop onions and add to pot with 1 TB grapeseed oil. Sautee on low for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Mince garlic and add to pot. Turn up to medium high for several minutes until garlic becomes fragrant and browns a little (don't burn).
3. Add broth, chopped veggies, bay leaf, and remaining herbs. Boil veggies until softened. About 15 minutes (from boil).
4. Add tomatoes, beans, and noodles. Bring to boil and cook noodles until done (8-12 minutes depending on type of noodles - look to their directions when buying gluten-free noodles).
5. Serve with olives and enjoy!

I usually wait until it's completely cool and freeze one or two servings for Witty Husband who loves a bowl of soup and bread for lunch or dinner.

Sweet Potato Fennel Soup

With 3 ingredients, this blended soup is comforting to the soul and easy in the kitchen. Fennel adds a lovely herb flavor to these beta-carotene rich potatoes.

{Pin it}

Initially, I wanted to make a soup that would be nourishing for new moms. My sister and a few friends have had new babies this Fall. It must be the season! And I wanted something that would be delicious and comforting to these ladies and their bundles of breastfed blessings.

Fennel (as mentioned here) is really great for digestion. As an added benefit for new mommies intent on breastfeeding, it can also help calm fussy babies (as carried in the breastmilk). Cinnamon, heavy spices and dairy can be extra-aggravating for breastfed infants but thankfully herbs like fennel can be soothing.

Having a surplus of sweet potatoes in my pantry and fennel on the brain (from another recipe I hope to post soon), I knew these flavors were destined for one great soup and was I ever right! I brought this soup with a lentil salad to my sisters and the next day she called for the recipe.

It also travels well. When using the bouillon cubes, I use three cups of water when blending and store in large mason jars. When reheating, add another cup of water to the jar and swirl around to get the extra soup clinging to the sides.

{Pin it}

Sweet Potato Fennel Soup
4 sweet potatoes (which I think are technically yams if they are bright orange in color)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds, whole *
2 cubes Rapunzel vegetable bouillon with herbs** + 4 cups boiling water
      or 4 cups vegetable broth

1. Roast sweet potatoes in preheated 450 degree oven for 45-60 minutes or until completely tender.
2. Scoop the sweet potato out of the flesh and add to high speed blender with fennel seeds and broth. Blend and serve!

Enjoy!

*This soup may also be made with fennel bulb for a richer fennel flavor. Roast the fennel bulb with the sweet potatoes and add 1/4 tsp fennel seeds instead of the 1/2 tsp.

**I've bought Rapunzel vegetable bouillon from Azure Standard and Vitacost (here's a $10 credit for your first purchase). I buy my fennel seeds from Mountain Rose Herbs.

I'm finishing up shopping and DIYing for Christmas. We just do stockings at our house and it's been fun to find healthy stocking stuffers. If you're looking for some more stocking stuffers consider checking out your local health food store or shopping online at amazon. Some fun and healthy ideas are Arnica Gel(which is only $4.67 when coupon is clipped below price listed - almost half the price of your local drug store), Cranberry Tablets, Astragalus Root Capsules (thankfully this comes in a pack of four so can fill many stockings), Rescue Remedy, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil(comes in pack of 2), and soy candles.

Week of Love: Roasted Asparagus and Red Potato Soup

As I was rifling through my old blog, I came upon this old number and knew I had to re-post it! This was from my origianl week of love recipes - all of which I named in French names (not that I'm a romantic or anything). I still make this delicious soup and my husband still requests it!

I thought about re-doing the photography but I actually enjoy the old photos (I just removed the old watermark). This soup has a soft little spot in my heart as it was one of my first recipes (that we both enjoyed and was entirely my own). And as you read, remember this was two years ago! Oh, how time flies!
 

The soup du jour is Soup du Sex (Witty Husband came up with that one) also known as Potato Asparagus Soup.

According to Whole Living: Body+Soul in balance, Asparagus "may aid in the production of histamine, which is necessary for acheiving orgasm - making asparagus's legendary aphrodisiac powers not quite so far-fetched." That's right, ladies and gents, that green, skinny vegetable is one of God's gifts to mankind.

For our anniversary back in May, my husband and I went to a delicious little place on 4th Street called Angelo's Ristorante. For a starter, they were serving potato asparagus soup which was to die for! It was my husband and I's favorite part of the meal. Today, I sought to replicate that delectable number and now you can too!

Roasted Asparagus and Red Potato Soup
Ingredients:1 lb of asparagus, washed thoroughly and snapped at tough parts
6 small red potatoes, cut up into 1/2 inch pieces.
1/2 onion, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup coconut milk (I use So Delicious unsweetened)
salt and pepper and olive oil


1. Cook garlic and onion in a skillet until onions are almost clear.
2. Meanwhile preheat oven to 390 (or 400 degrees F if pan is lighter colored), spray pan with a little oil, and bake asparagus for ten minutes, turning halfway through.
3. Add potatoes and chicken broth to stockpot. Add onions and garlic. Boil until potatoes are tender. At this point, I used my immersion blender to blend it up a little.
4. Cut up asparagus into 1 inch pieces. Add to stockpot with coconut milk. Simmer for ten minutes. At this point, you have the option to completely blend the soup with the coconut milk if you like a more smooth texture. I chose not to last night but today when I reheated it for lunch, I did blend it for 30 seconds on low and preferred that texture (which is what you see below).
5. Serve with love.

I hope you enjoyed this older recipe!