Rainy Day Vegetable Soup - #TheBookClubCookbookCC

Spring may bring the flowers, colors and flavors that will develop into summer, but those rainy spring days can make me want to curl up with a good book, fresh baked bread and a hot bowl of soup.

This month for The Book Club CookBook Cooking Crew, Sarah from Things I Make (For Dinner) selected Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier for us to read. The accompanying recipe was for a lovely vegetable soup. I was both excited to start reading, as well as get all my groceries for a yummy pot of soup.

I was very optimistic when I went shopping...

...the reality was I couldn't find some of the vegetables described in the beginning of the book. When we first meet Griet, she is preparing a soup for her family. After her father's accident, they had fallen on hard times. The soup contained only vegetables...cabbages, turnips, leeks... Griet had laid out all the vegetables, not in the order they would go into the pot, but as wedges of a pie - divided by their colors.

My soup did not end up containing the turnips, we changed it up a bit to fit our tastes. Small red potatoes are always a hit in our soups! 

You can see Sarah's invitation for the month, and even read along with us when you have the time. Be sure to jump in this next month (where did April go?) for another fabulous book and more mouth-watering recipes from the group.

Here are all the other fabulous bloggers cooking with us this year:

A Day in the Life on the Farm      

Cheese Curd In Paradise               

Culinary Adventures with Camilla             

Life on Food       

Mostly Food and Crafts 

The Pajama Chef              

The Spiffy Cookie             

Things I Make (for Dinner)           

Tortillas and Honey         

ZooeySuff  

And the book? I didn't have a chance to read it when it came out, I did watch the movie with Scarlett Johanson. The description in the book is so good, it really is worth reading. It would make a great read for our next wet and gloomy spring weekend. Perfectly paired with a bowl of our vegetable soup!

I did try to lay out my vegetables by color, but gave up because it had so much green in it! Oh, well. I would have loved to see Griet's presentation as she created her soup.

Rainy Day Vegetable Soup

You Will Need:

• 1Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 ribs of celery, sliced
• 1/2 savoy cabbage head, sliced
• 2 c. baby red potatoes, halved
• 8 c. chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste

Slice and put leeks in a medium bowl full of water. Set aside.

In a large pan, saute the onion, carrots, and celery in oil. Strain out the leeks and add them to the pot. Saute till all are tender. Add the remaining ingredients and bring up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Giveaway

This month Sarah at Thing I Make (for Dinner), this month's host, is giving away a copy of the book.* Enter to win a copy of the cookbook so you can join us in future months, if you wish!

One of our lucky readers - US and Canada only! - can enter to win a copy ofThe Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, courtesy of Tarcher-Penguin. Giveaway runs from April 1st till April 30th at 6 o'clock PM, Pacific time. Please see terms and conditions in the rafflecopter widget below. Many thanks to Tarcher Books. You may find Tarcher: on the web, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Pinterest.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: Sarah received a complimentary copy of The Book Club Cookbook, Revised Edition: Recipes and Food for Thought from Your Book Club's Favorite Books and Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp as an opportunity to give a copy away. Opinions are our own. We received no further compensation for our posts.

Greek Meatball Soup (Youvarlakia Avgolemono) - From It's All Greek To Me, by Debbie Matenopoulos

I was sent a complimentary copy of this book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions and results are my own. #OneYrGreek

One of my all-time favorite favorite restaurants in town is a little Greek restaurant called Alexanders. You have to understand that I have never been to Greece and my dining choices in this small town are pretty limited. When this place opened up, I was in heaven!

Of course the flavors and fresh food is something I would love to bring home to share with my family, or use to entertain with when my friends come over. So I was very excited to join in on the first anniversary book tour for Its All Greek To Me - Transform Your Health The Mediterranean Way With My Family's Century-Old Recipes by Debbie Matenopoulos.

In fact, I flipped through and drooled over all the gorgeous photos when it first arrived. I knew it was going to be a challenge to pick one item to try.

Well, you all know how much I adore meatballs, so when I saw the Greek Meatball Soup, I was set. Not only did it give me a choice of meat (ground beef, pork chicken or lamb), but it was served in a lemon and egg broth, a flavor that I already love in an orzo chicken soup I make regularly.

The soup itself is slightly tart, smooth and full of flavor from the simmered meatballs.

For my own family dinner I also made Debbie's Horiatki Salata and Savory Cheese Pie, which you can find all in the cookbook. All three recipes were a huge hit. The instructions were easy to follow and they came out beautifully for dinner.

There are several small touches in the book that make it a real treasure. First there are both the Greek names for the dishes listed along with their English equivalent. The Greek Meatball Soup I made from the book is called Youvarlakia Avgolemono. It also has the pronunciation following the names of the dishes.

And besides all the photos of the delicious food, there are photos of Greece in all it's splendor and little bits of culture peppered throughout.

I am loving this cookbook and know I will be pulling it out many more times over the Summer months for entertaining and weekend meals. There are so many more recipes I have earmarked to try.

excerpt from the cookbook with permission

Youvarlakia Avgolemono (yoo-var-LAH-kee-ah ah-VGHO-leh-moh-noh)

Greek Meatball Soup

This seemingly simple dish is absolutely scrumptious! The Avgolemono acts as a soup in this recipe, making it a great way to warm your belly on a cold winter night. Serve it with Lahanosalata (page 94) for a perfect pairing.

SERVES 4

1 pound lean ground beef or lean ground turkey, chicken, or lamb

1/2 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed well and drained

1/2 cup coarsely grated onion

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley

2 large eggs, separated

11/2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 to 6 cups hot water, plus more as needed

6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 to 3 lemons)

Gently combine the meat, rice, onion, parsley, egg whites, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl with a large fork or impeccably clean hands. Mix until just combined but do not overwork, or your meatballs will be tough. Using your hands, gently form the mixture into balls about the size of a walnut.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot set over medium heat. Gently place the meatballs into the oil, arranging them in neat rows. Slowly pour 4 cups of the hot water over the meatballs to cover, using more water if necessary. Increase heat to medium- high, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 40 minutes or until the meatballs are tender and fully cooked. Add more water if less than 1 cup remains. You should end up with about 2 cups of broth in the pot when the meat is done.

Whisk the 2 egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl until smooth, then slowly whisk in the lemon juice. Temper the egg mixture by slowly pouring 1 cup of hot broth from the pot into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously until well combined. Slowly pour the egg yolk–broth mixture back into the pot with the meatballs, stirring gently to combine. Do not allow the broth to boil at this point or the eggs will scramble.

Gently shake the pot to coat the meatballs. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately, with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Even if you have never made Greek food before, this cookbook is a delicious place to start!

Check out these other tour stops for #OneYrGreek

Do you have a favorite Greek dish? Have you ever tired Greek cuisine before?

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

The cold weather may not have arrived yet in Oregon... and I am worried it never will! But the wet weather has started. It is the constant downpour that has sparked the jokes and sayings about Oregonians and webbed feet. For me it means I want to curl up with a warm blanket and knit as the constant raindrops on the roof provide white noise above me.

Who needs white noise here. We come by it naturally in this wet state.

It would be an understatement to say that my motivation is lacking. That and the constant coughs and sniffly noses of my family, and I have new reasons to fire up the slow cooker for a simple and hearty meal.

This Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup has actually made a few appearances on our menu plan in the past 2 months. I like to make a large pot of it and freeze half right away. This gives us a day or two of meals now and later. I don't mix the rice into our soup, I let everyone scoop their desired amount in a bowl and then pour the soup over the top. If you add the rice to the whole pot, as it sits in the refrigerator or freezer, the soup broth gets soaked up by the rice. Then all you have is a big bowl of rice mush...

I like broth to sip in my soup.

If you want to put some away in the freezer, you can either make the rice fresh when you serve the soup, or make it ahead and freeze it in a separate bag. Let both the soup and rice thaw in the fridge, heat and serve.

Start by getting out the slow cooker and browning up some lean ground beef.

Everything else in the recipe is a simple chop and place in the slow cooker. I like to use a variety of colored bell peppers to make the soup more colorful. You can go with whatever is available or on sale. I added the ground beef, onions, peppers, seasoning, garlic, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce to the pot.

It takes about 6 hours on low to cook. Towards the end of the cooking time, cook the brown rice in a rice cooker or pot as you like. To serve we place a scoop of rice in our bowl and ladle the pepper soup over the top.

The soup is delicious on it's own, but if you are going for the full stuffed pepper experience, go ahead and shred some sharp cheddar cheese over the top and dig in!

Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup

You Will Need:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large green bell peppers, large dices
• 2 large colored bell peppers, large dices
• 2, 14.5oz. cans of diced tomatoes, juice and all
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 2 tsp. Italian seasoning blend
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 c. cooked brown rice (divide in 6 servings)
• 1 c. sharp cheddar cheese shredded

Place all the ingredients, except the rice and cheese in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low. Towards the end of the cooking time, cook the brown rice as desired. Serve with a scoop of cooked brown rice and top with sharp cheddar cheese. 

Enjoy!

If you are looking to freeze this soup, let it cool and divide into freezer safe containers or zip topped bags. Do not add the rice or cheese to the soup you are freezing.  Lay bags out on a single layer on a cookie sheet to freeze and then stack or stand up in a deep freeze once solid.

Make a fresh batch of rice for serving, or cook and freeze appropriate servings of rice. Reheat both rice and soup and top with cheese for serving.

What is your favorite slow cooker soup for a rainy day?

Roasted Red Pepper and Tortellini Soup

Normally this time of year I would be cuddling up in front of the wood stove in the evenings. Armed with my favorite cup of tea and either a good book or a knitting project, that is how I relax at the end of the day. Sadly, our January here in Oregon has looked more like Spring.

I know, if you are currently snowed in, you have my sympathies. Feel free to ship a little of that to the West Coast.

I would love a little cold weather around here, a little snow on our mountains and a reason to break out my favorite soup recipes.

Well, despite the sunny warm afternoons, I am still determined to get my soup on. This week I wanted to dive right into a vibrant and flavorful Roasted Red Pepper and Tortellini Soup.

It is pretty simple, but ends up making a wonderful dinner soup.

The base is a simple roasted red pepper pureed soup.

Start with diced onion, carrot and garlic.

Then bring in the drained roasted red peppers, chicken stock, a bay leaf and a little salt and pepper. I like to save the rinds from my Parmesan cheese... and those may have jumped in the pot, too.

Really, who wouldn't want in on this little flavor party?

Once everything is softened and warmed through, I put it all through the blender. Don't forget to snag that bay leaf and anything left of the rinds.

Then I add more chicken stock, if needed, dump in the frozen tortellini and the baby spinach to wilt.

Then grab your spoons, because soups on!

Roasted Red Pepper and Tortellini Soup

You Will Need:

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 16 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• Parmesan rinds *optional
• 2 c. packed baby spinach
• 2 c. frozen or fresh cheese tortellini
• Parmesan cheese to garnish
• salt and pepper to taste

Start by sauteing the onions and carrots in butter in your soup pot. When the onions are translucent, add the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Add the stock, bay leaf, red peppers and optional Parmesan rinds. Let the soup come up to a simmer, turn off the heat.

Transfer the soup to a blender and puree. Return the puree to your soup pot and add additional chicken stock, if necessary, to thin out your soup. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Bring the pot back up to a simmer and add the spinach and cheese tortellini. Simmer until the tortellini is done (as directed by the package) and the spinach is wilted.

Enjoy! 

What is your favorite Winter soup?

Irish Leek and Potato Soup (Dairy Free)

It probably has something to do with being sick for the past two weeks, but  I have been scouring the internet and my cookbook collection for new soup recipes. Bonus goes to anything that I can make in large batches and freeze half of for later. Yes, my cold that started just before the holidays has overstayed it's welcome, and now I am looking for some good hot soups to help me mend.

The growing season around here is coming to a close and though our leek patch has already been picked through, there are a surprising amount of leeks still out there in the ground. I love using leeks in pasta as well as soups, so an Irish Leek and Potato Soup sounded perfect. This recipe is simple and utilizes some staples in Ireland, as well as around the British Isles, with cold tolerant Winter vegetables like leeks and potatoes. I also used Irish butter, which is from grass-fed cattle and has a superior flavor, and it really adds to the taste.

This soup is creamy and thick without the need for dairy. How? I puree up half of the soup and leave the other half so I still have some chunks of potato, onion and leek. Then it is topped with a little crisp bacon.

Mmmm....

The leeks were already picked through earlier in the season. These thinner leeks still make for an amazing soup and I have an abundance of them handy.

Now, leeks love butter, so I started out my soup by sauteing the diced onion and diced and cleaned leeks in some good Irish butter. If you can find it, it is so worth the extra money to get the creamy, rich butter.

Once softened, I added in the diced potatoes and chicken stock. Then it simmers until the potatoes are softened.

Then put half in your blender and puree. Add it back to the soup pot and you have a thickening agent that doesn't need heavy cream, flour or milk. This is the same way I make our corn chowder.

Then top your bowl of soup with a little crumbled bacon and you are good to go. Prepare to be warmed up from the inside out.

Has anyone else being feeling a little "soup-crazy" with the colder weather? Do you have a good leek soup recipe you enjoy?

Irish Leek and Potato Soup

You Will Need:

4 Tbsp. Irish butter (like Kerrigold)
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 c. leeks, sliced and cleaned
4 c. russet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
bacon, cooked and crumbled for topping soup bowls

In a large soup post, melt butter and add the diced onions and sliced leeks. Top with a pinch of salt and heat them on low for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and put the lid back on for 5 minutes. Then stir in the stock, salt and pepper. Let the soup come up to a simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Pour half of the potatoes and broth into a blender. Pulse up till smooth and then return to the soup pot. Stir and serve immediately topped with bacon.

Enjoy!

This soup also freezes well. I suggest pureeing up any soup you wish to freeze, since potatoes don't freeze well. To serve just thaw and add steamed or boiled cubed potato and top with bacon. I am in the process of restocking my chest freezer so meals like this I double so we can put away 2 meals and enjoy the soup for a dinner and lunch the following day.

What is your favorite leek recipe?

What is the Wonderbag? Cooking Slowly and Empowering Women

*Disclaimer - This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and WonderBag, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #Wonderbag http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

A whole new type of slow cooker was put to the test in my kitchen this past week. My new Wonderbag helped me make a lovely pot of Tuscan Bean Soup without the hassle of cords or electricity.

The holidays mean my oven, burner and counter space is at a premium. There is so much effort that goes into making holiday meals, the daily meals are often a scramble to prepare.  So I was excited to try out the Wonderbag. The whole concept was new to me. I usually use a plug-in slow cooker, and have tried to use more than one but I have blown a fuse on more than one occasion. The idea is food can be brought to a boil and then finish cooking in this insulated bag.

Mine arrived and my kids crowded around to see what the delivery man had brought. My daughter thought it was a pillow. The vibrant red batik fabric and was compressed down for shipping. All I needed to do was fluff it and let it sit to fully expand.

We all sat around and watched it grow and fill out.

The Fall chill has definitely settled in Oregon so I wanted to try out a soup recipe first. I just adore the simplicity of Tuscan Bean Soup.

I assembled my ingredients, sweated down the veggies, rinsed and drained the beans and kale and added it all to my soup pot along with stock and a large sprig of rosemary. Normally I would simmer everything on low for the flavors to meld - it usually takes 30 minutes or so.

But, I was grateful to have this portable slow cooker because the baby was crying, the kids needed my help, and I had to run to the market for a few other things. I normally could not have left the house while my soup finished simmering. Luckily, this insulated bag won't burn the food, it won't burn down the house, and it will continue cooking for up to 12 hours!

Off the stove I just set it inside the Wonderbag and pulled the drawstring closed.

With the Wonderbag came freedom. Freedom to walk away while the meal was still cooking, freedom to take a meal to go, or eat it whenever it was convenient. This product's clever insulation kept my soup hot all day.

I set up a little Fall picnic to enjoy our soup outside. I also have plans to take the Wonderbag on our next ski trip. Usually the ski club members share potluck style meals in the evenings, but since burner space is limited and the facilities are often rustic, it is often hard to get warm food to the table. This would allow me to make my dish earlier in the day and keep it hot and ready for when we all made it back to the cabin.

I also want to take my Wonderbag along with us on family camping trips and even day trips to the coast.

For every Wonderbag purchased in the US, one is donated to a family in need in Africa; Families in developing countries using Wonderbags can save up to 30% of their income they would have spent on fuel for wood cook stoves.

Though I enjoyed the convenience of the Wonderbag, this advancement is not just a convenience to some but a life changing gift. This slow cooker was created to give Women freedom to step away from tending cooking fires, the ability to spend less time gathering firewood and to spend more time with their families and helping themselves.

It can also decrease toxic fumes in the home created by wood burning. These fumes can affect and harm children through respiratory issues and smoke inhalation deaths.

The Wonderbag fits 2-9 quart pots with short handles. You can purchase the Wonderbag exclusively on Amazon.

Now, I want to share the delicious Tuscan Bean Soup I made in my gorgeous red Wonderbag.

Tuscan Bean Soup
You Will Need:

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 oz. bacon, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 cans of cannellini beans
• 7 c. Knorr Homestyle Stock
• 1 rosemary branch
• 1 bunch of kale, ribs taken out and torn small
• olive oil to drizzle over the top
• Parmesan for garnish

Melt the butter in a stock pot. Crisp up the chopped bacon and once crispy, add the onion to sweat down. Once translucent, add the carrots. Cook them till crisp tender. Then add in the beans and chicken stock. Bring the soup up to a boil then add in the rosemary and kale. Take off the heat and place into the Wonderbag to finish simmering for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours.

Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and garnish with fresh grated Parmesan to serve.

Enjoy!

Connect with Wonderbag on Facebook, @TheWonderbag on Twitter and on Instagram.

Campbells Slow Kettle Style Soups - #SlowDownAndSavor

I love soup!

There is nothing like being warmed from the inside out when eating a bowl of warm soup. Here in Oregon the weather can be pretty miserable for long stretches from Fall through the Spring. One way I cope is to curl up with a good bowl of soup.

Of course, the only thing to make it better is a soup I don't have to spend time chopping and stirring. Luckily Campbell's has introduced their Slow Kettle Style soups!

Maybe you grew up with a wide variety of Campbell's cans in your pantry growing up, I sure did! But, these are different. They are ready to be heated, full of savory and delicious chunks of real food in grown up flavors. I was sent an assortment of 3 soups to try: Kickin' Crab & Sweet Corn Chowder, Portabello Mushroom Madeira Bisque and Tuscan-Style Chicken and White Bean.

You can find all of these and more in your local grocery store in the soup aisle. I still have many other flavors that I want to try out.

Before my kids were born Campbell's launched those fabulous cup of soups, tomato and broccoli and cheese that I found so handy to heat up at work. These are so much better! The flavors are deeper and more complex with chunks of crab or beans, etc. depending on the flavor. They are just as easy and convenient to pop in the microwave for 2 minutes as their predecessors but these are closer to the soups I make at home.

I just have to rave a little more about the chunks. My favorite of the three was the Kickin' Crab and Sweet Corn Chowder. With flame roasted onions and cayenne pepper it was loaded with sweet chunks of crab meat and corn.

For vacation this Spring we headed to a water park. One of my favorite aspects of the hotel we stay at is they have mini fridges and microwaves right in the room. I took a few Campbell's slow Kettle Style Soups with us on the trip and they were the perfect way to warm up and relax between water slides. If you are a frugal vacationer like me, stock up on these soups for your big family trips this Summer!

The hardest part about these soups is getting to the bottom. Don't forget to lick your spoon!

This pregnant mama has had her ups and downs in the past month with more nausea, fatigue and general pregnancy "blahs"... but I have allowed myself time to #SlowDownAndSavor with a bowl of Campbell's soup. The nice people who sent me the samples also sent me these rockin' striped socks for my tired swollen feet. Wasn't that nice of them?

I want to know, how do you slow down and savor? Which flavor of the Campbell's Slow Kettle Style Soups do you want to try?

*Disclaimer - I received this product for free from Smiley360 in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and experiences are my own.