September 30th: Chili Verde

The Chili Verde (or White Chicken Chili, if you prefer) is a whole different take on chili. Lighter and fresher than thick red chili, this stew-like selection showcases three green chili peppers. Made with jalepeno, Anaheim & Poblano peppers, the flavor profile is completed with diced onion, cumin & ground coriander. Ground chicken and white beans add lean protein. Additional beans are pureed with homemade chicken broth to add body to the chili.

This was the final soup for September. If you are interested in subscribing for October, the rate is $56 (2 quarts per week) or $32 (one quart per week).

Next week: Creamy Turkey & Wild Rice

10/14: Split Pea with Ham

Munchers loved my Gazpacho!

(apologies for the horn-tooting)

On Sunday we attended a reunion/10 anniversary picnic for the Star-Ledger's Munchmobile.

I was in the enviable position of being a Guest Muncher ("Campus Eats") in 2005, and then featured for our Fourth of July picnic in 2006.

Attendees were asked to bring a dish to share. Since it was the last day of summer, and we have had such gorgeous produce, Gazpacho was my dish of choice. Sitting on the roof of a parking deck in Newark in nearly 90-degree heat, it was a welcome dish, and I got many compliments.

Check it out on the Munchmobile blog HERE.

September 23: Paul's Southwestern Squash

The Southwestern Squash soup will deliver today. It's a really nice variety, smooth and sweet with a little heat from the cumin and chipotle. A dollop of soup cream or plain yogurt will cool it down if you find the spice too much.

The acorn squash were organically grown by Paul Sipos at a farm on Bissell Road in Tewksbury, and they are fantastic. You can shop his farm stand on Thursday afternoons from 4:30-6:30 until frost.

Next week is the last soup for September and will be White Chicken Chili (a.k.a. Chili Verde). Please confirm your order no later than this Friday, September 26th. I am in the process of developing the October schedule, so if you have any requests, please let me know!

September 16th: Classic Minestrone

Classic Minestrone is a chunky soup loaded with fresh local veggies, including zucchini, green and yellow beans, spinach and tomatoes. It's in a healthful, vegetarian broth redolent with the aroma of Parmesan cheese, and finished with cannelini beans and pesto.

Next week will be a new soup: Paul's Southwestern Squash soup. Very similar in concept to my Roasted Root Vegetable, this soup features organic acorn squash grown here in Tewskbury by Paul Sipos. They are roasted and pureed with organic chicken stock. The southwestern flavors come from cumin, onion and chipotle peppers. Please confirm your orders by Friday.

The soup for 9/30 will be Chili Verde (a.k.a. White Chicken Chili).

September 9th: Cheddar Corn Chowder

It's September and the corn is sweet and fresh, and the nights are cool.

Just the time to enjoy a quart or two of soup!

The first soup of the season is my personal favorite: Cheddar Corn Chowder. Sweet yellow onions help to bring out the flavors of locally-grown organic yellow corn and red potatoes. The soup is finished with organic chicken broth, half-and-half and shredded cheddar cheese.

Summer Soups: Gazpacho & Gumbo

Owing to an abundance of top-quality organic local produce I will be making Gazpacho this week and Gumbo next week.

Both soups will be available on the normal Tuesday schedule.

The new soup season will begin on September 9th. The first soup will be Cheddar Corn Chowder. If you have requests for your favorites, do let me know as soon as possible!

August 6th: Light & Healthy Creamy Zucchini Soup

The soup contains fresh, organic, LOCAL zucchini, plus sweet summer onions and a touch of garlic sauteed together, then simmered and pureed with organic chicken broth. You can garnish it with some fresh herbs for a real punch. With just 125 caolries per serving, this is a great healthy choice for summer.

You can enjoy this soup warm or cold. If you want to eat it cold, you can add a couple of tablespoons of milk and have it as a vichyssoise.

Nutritional Information: (per 8 ounce serving)

CALORIES 125(25% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 0.5g,mono 1.7g,poly 1g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 45mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.2g; SODIUM 558mg; PROTEIN 5.5g; FIBER 3.4g

June 17th: Avocado Lime with Green Chili Salsa

The last soup for the month is Avocado Lime with a green chili salsa. Given the recent troubles with tomatoes, I opted to not use them in my salsa. Instead I used a purchased green salsa, to which I added fresh cilantro, scallions and green bell peppers. It's fairly spicy, but it suits the soup, adding a little heat and crunch to the cool creaminess.

The soup contains fresh Haas avocados pureed with low-fat yogurt, low-fat milk, organic chicken broth, lime juice, salt, garlic and cilantro. This soup should NOT be frozen.

Due to the nature of avocados, there is a possibility that this soup may discolor somewhat. This will not affect the quality or flavor! I have attempted to reduce this by making it in small batches just prior to your delivery time as well as covering the soup (in the container) with a little plastic wrap. If you are not going to use a whole quart at once, you may want to put the leftovers in a smaller container to reduce oxidation.

We are leaving for vacation this Friday (6/20) and will be back in town on July 3rd.

June 9th: Roasted Yellow Pepper

The Roasted Yellow Pepper soup is ready for delivery. It starts with a base of sweet Vidalia onions, flame-roasted yellow peppers and organic chicken broth. All are pureed into an almost fat-free soup that is great served warm or cold.

This soup should freeze beautifully!

Next week with be Avocado Lime soup with green chili salsa. Low-fat yogurt adds a light creaminess and is evocative of guacamole. Please confirm no later than Thursday morning, as I have had significant interest in this one.

June 2nd: Gazpacho

The Gazpacho features chunks of fresh, vine-ripened tomato, crunchy, sweet red pepper plus Vidalia onion and cucumber in a seasoned tomato broth. You should serve it very cold, with a drizzle of good olive oil on top. If you would like to add a little "bite" add some Tabasco or some freshly-ground black pepper.

I strongly discourage trying to freeze this one, as I think the vegetables would turn to gush.

Next week will be a smooth soup of roasted yellow peppers with organic chicken stock. It can be enjoyed warm or cold. Please confirm by early Friday morning. The Avocado-Lime soup (with green chili salsa) will be the following week.

Also, if you are renewing for the month of June (3 soups) your payment is now due.

May 27th: Spring Pea

Today's soup is a gorgeous spring green color. The peas were simmered with organic chicken broth and a little minced onion, then pureed. The whole sugar snap pea pods were blanched and added to the pureed soup. It is light and healthy!

You can enjoy this soup warm or cool. If you do serve it cool, you may need to adjust the seasonongs with a little more salt. You can also swirl in a little dairy (in the form of half & half or sour cream) and add some fresh mint.

Next week: Gazpacho
A cold tomato soup loaded with fresh, chunky vegetables.

May 20th Cheddar Corn Chowder

The Florida sweet corn is available and delicious!

Next week: Spring pea: Englisgh sweet peas simmered with organic chicken stock and pureed, finished with whole blanched sugar snap pea pods. Non-dairy.

May 13th: Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper

Slow-roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the tomatoes, onions and peppers. They are pureed with a combination of homemade chicken stock and tomato juice.

Next week: Cheddar Corn Chowder

May 6th: Creamy Turkey & Wild Rice

Next week: Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper

April 29th: Beef & Bean Chili

Sometimes the weather cooperates when I make a rich, spicy soup!

The chili is great with a little shredded cheddar and sour cream. I love having it with some tortilla chips and a green salad on the side. If you find it too spicy for your palate, you can add a small can of diced tomatoes and let it simmer on the stove for 15 minutes.

Next week: Creamy Turkey & Wild Rice

Remainder of May: Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper, Cheddar Corn Chowder and probably a spring pea soup (with pureed green peas and whole sugar snap peas).

Please confirm your order by end of day Thursday.

April 22nd: Italian Wedding Soup

I used a different brand of sausage, and tried something a little different; instead of chopping and then sauteing the sausage as I did previously, I rolled it into mini-meatballs and baked them on a rack set over a sheet pan. I hope that you will find this to alleviate a little of the fat in the soup. I also increased the amount of escarole. If the pasta absorbs too much of the broth, you may need to add a little more liquid.

Next week will be Beef & Bean Chili and for my meatless friends I am going to offer a no-meat, pureed variation which consists of red beans, tomatoes, onions and the same basic chili flavorings. It will be both high protein and low-fat. I'll try leaving it chunky if you would prefer that. Please let me know if you want the meatless variation and we'lll work from there.

The chili freezes so well, and I will not be making it again until autumn, so consider stocking up. It's great for chili dogs in the summer!

The schedule for May is still in the works, but will likely include Cheddar Corn Chowder, Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper and Spring Pea soup. I will tighten this up in the next week.

I will be continuing soups definitely through May and into June. I realize that this is the time of year that people start easing off soup, so please keep me informed. I expect that the June soups will include several cold soups such as gazpacho and cucumber soup. If you have suggestions, let me know!

April 8th: Black Bean & Ham

Spring is a funny time: cold and raw one day and bright and sunny the next. The Black Bean is the perfect soup for days like today. If you find the seasoning too assertive, top your soup with some diced avocado or low-fat yogurt/sour cream. If you like a little more bite, add a squeeze of lime juice, or some diced onion or cilantro.

Next week: Mushroom Barley. This is an adaptation of a recipe from "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest" which was authored by Mollie Katzen, who also wrote the Moosewood Cookbook. I will be using homemade, low-sodium chicken stock, unless there are requests for store-bought vegetable broth (which I find to be much sweeter). If you are looking for a richer soup, you can add a little milk to make a creamy soup.

April 1: Carrot Soup (three ways -- no foolin'!)

I love when a recipe is so versatile it can be tweaked in different directions with minimal effort! This week's carrot soup exemplifies this.

If you are interested in a soup but would like to edit or modify an ingredient you should always ask and I'll do what I can.

Some of you will receive the Carrot Dill with Orange. The organic carrots are simmered in homemade chicken stock with sauteed leeks, dill and orange zest until tender. They are then pureed and finished with a little more dill and a splash of orange juice. A little plain yogurt (as seen above) would be a beautiful finish.

For the Carrot Ginger, I simmered the carrots with sauteed onions & fresh ginger, and finished it with a little ground ginger and black pepper. It would be great topped with crunchy Chinese noodles, or chopped scallion.

The Curried Carrot is finished with curry powder.

All are very low fat and low sodium. I welcome your comments!

Next week: Black Bean & Ham (as always, meatless by request)
April 15th: Mushroom Barley?

March 25th: Beef Vegetable Stew

This is kind of a cross between a classic beef vegetable stew and a beef bourguignon. Big chunks of meat, veggies (onions, carrots & parsnips) and potatoes, a little bacon and thyme, reduced red wine and beef stock, thickened with a little flour. You might even add some mushrooms.

This is the last soup for March. As there are 5 Tuesdays in April, if you are interested in subscribing please make your check out for $40 (1 quart per week) or $70 (2 quarts per week). That way, May will be back to a 4 week month.

March 18th: Irish-style Potato Leek

The Potato Leek today is enhanced with the sweet nuttiness of parsnips, which are a cousin to the carrot, and used a lot in Irish and British cooking. A healthy soup, the potatoes, parsnips and sauteed leeks are pureed with organic chicken broth, and finished with a touch of low-fat milk.

Next week: Beef Vegetable Stew