The Snowmageddon Snowpocalypse snow storm that passed through has kept us mostly indoors for the past couple days. We were totally prepared with a fully-stocked fridge, freezer, and pantry. Cold weather like this calls for soup, and I have been meaning to try this particular one ever since I saw it in boxed form at Whole Foods.

Ingredients:

• 2 poblano peppers
• 2 jalepeno peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 3 tbsp all-purpose unbleached flour
• 3 cups vegetable broth (use bouillon if needed)
• 5 or 6 small white potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 tsp cayenne
• salt and pepper to taste
• cilantro for garnish

Instructions:

1. Roast the poblano and jalepeno in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove stem and seeds, dice them and set aside.
2. In a skillet, sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Stir frequently to avoid burning the garlic.
3. Stir in the flour and sauté for another couple minutes.
4. Stir in the vegetable broth and add the cream, potato, and peppers.
5. Simmer on low for 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.
6. Scoop out 3 cups worth and blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return to pot and mix well.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. We use a salt and a pepper grinder so 4 twists of each was perfect.
8. Garnish with cilantro.

I adapted this from a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com so it makes 4 large or 6 small bowls of chowder. To make this vegan, you can substitute the cream with a cup of water or unsweetened almond milk.

Keri and I recently bought a crockpot so we could do a bunch of slow cooked meals this winter. Lately I have been craving a good split pea soup like my Mom used to make. My recipe is slightly different. She uses an entire jar of peanut butter whereas I only use a few tablespoons. If I weren’t watching my weight I would use a whole jar too.  The recipe below makes 4 large or 8 small bowls of soup.

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound dry split peas (1/2 a bag)
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 teaspoons Seitenbacher low cal vegetable bouillon
• 3 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 3 cups water
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Soak split peas overnight in water then drain.
2. Add split peas to pot.
3. Dice the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic.  Add to pot.
4. Add the water, bouillon, and bay leaf.
5. Cover and turn the crockpot on to high. Allow to cook for 6 hours or until split peas have broken down.
6. Add salt and pepper to your preference.

Notes:

You don’t have to use a crockpot to cook this soup.  To make it without just add all ingredients to a soup pot and bring it to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Stir often to prevent burning. Cook until the split peas have broken down.

 

Tomatoes! We’re getting close to the end of the growing season and the final harvest is comping up quick. Our last couple trips to the garden yielded quite a bit of tomato and peppers and with the cooler weather it was time for some soup!

Spicy Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds ripe tomato, blanched
• 2 Anaheim peppers, diced
• 1 Jalepeno pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup basil
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• salt and herbs
• olive oil
• 1 cup water

Instructions:

1. Blanch the tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Fill a large bowl with cold iced water.
2. Crosscut and remove the stem core from each tomato.
3. Add tomatoes to boiling water and let them boil for 30 seconds. Remove each and place in ice water bath.
4. Skins will loosen immediately. Peel each and put tomatoes in food processor. Blend with basil.
5. In a skillet, saute the onion and peppers in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute or two. Don’t burn the garlic.
6. Add everything to the food processor and blend well.
7. Transfer to a soup pot and bring to boil then reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.
8. Add salt and other herbs to taste.