Corn Chowder

This recipe was found in a soup cook book at my parents house. I carefully recorded the recipe, went shopping for ingredients, and then lost the recipe before I made the soup the next day. The soup became half improvised, which is always best, and had a ton of ingredients. Don't let the corn title distract you because it was so much more!

A selection of the ingredients before cooking.

The blending experience is always a fun one!

I have already had many a close call with the always possible blender explosion. This is particularly dangerous when you are impatient and decide to blend the soup while it is still hot. Don't overfill the blender and make sure there is a satisfactory liquid to solid ratio. My fancy Cuisinart blend (a gift) was partially ruined a few years back by some roommates who thought it could handle processing chick peas for hummus.

The final presentation (excuse the poor lighting).

This chowder was served with a spinach salad and a homemade mulled wine. It was followed by a delish rice pudding which I am tempted to post cause it was such a hit (but this is a soup blog after all)! All in all it made for a wonderful birthday dinner.

Tomato Dill and White Cheddar Soup

Diced tomatoes, leeks, fresh dill, sour cream, and white cheddar to top.  This soup came out well, with a nice texture and color. I added 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper instead of the 1/4 tsp the recipe called for in what turned out to be a happy mistake. I balanced it out with extra sour cream but the soup still had a kick. 

New Year's Resolution

Last year I developed an interest in cooking soups from scratch. After receiving a "Sunday Soup" cook book for Christmas I made a resolution to cook at least one soup a month. In this cookbook Betty Rosbottom organizes the soups by season, so I naturally started cooking winter soups. I even braved the cold weather and made it to the farmer's market to buy some of the ingredients. I started off strong, cooking three of the recipes during January:

1. Cold Weather Potato Chowder with Cheese
2. Tuscan Minestrone
3. Celery Bisque

I grew attached to leeks and made a veggie stock. I also decided these soups should be documented through pictures and words. A reflective soup practice must be developed.