Summer Soup

It's been a bit on the rainy/cold side here lately, so when I saw this recipe over at Angry Chicken, I knew it had to be made. And soon.

You can go there for the recipe, but I did make a few changes.

I found arecipe in a Cooking Light book for "Chicken and Root Vegetable Pot Pie" and since this already had a few root veggies of it's own, and the veggies were very similar to the ones I'd use for the pot pie, I decided Iwould just add the rest of the vegiies from the pot pie recipe, and divide the cooked veggies in half, saving them for pie, which I'll probably make on Sunday.

Does that make sense? Maybe it will in a sec.

So here's how it goes:

Chop many veggies, including onion, leeks, turnip, parsnip, carrots, radishes, and potatoes (did I miss any?) and garlic

Saute those veggies (except garlic and potatoes) until they're soft and sweaty, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and potatoes, and cook for another 2-3 minutes to get the garlic going.

This is where I pulled out about 1/3-1/2 of the mixture and saved it for my potpie. Then I'll just have to add chicken and liquid and 1/2 of the work of the potpie is already finished.

Add the tomatoes, and cover with water. Actually, I covered it in chicken broth because I wanted this to be more Justin friendly, and meat flavors always help the veggies go down :)

Simmer it for an hour or so, or until the potatoes are soft. Just before serving, add the corn and herbs. I added rosemary, dill, parsley, and a bit of oregano. I think you can put in whatever you think is yummy.

I really really liked how this turned out. I thought it was a bit fun to use some of those root veggies you don't normally eat, and it was super yummy!! It was perfect for this rainy day, and very satifying but not too heavy at all. I ate it with some baguette and butter, and it was oh-so-good.

This also reminds me of one of my very favorite childhood books, The Bunnies' Get well Soup. All of Mrs. Bunnie's bunnies come down sick, so she decides to make a soup for them. I forget exactly how it goes, but she realizes that everyone else in the neighborhood is sick as well, so with a contribution from each household, she manages to make enough get-well soup for everyone. It's kind of a better version of stone soup, one that doesn't involve putting rocks in your food, which I never thought was a very good idea :)