Soup du Jour

First, just let me say that soups are not photogenic, at least for me, so there are no pictures to go with this post.

Soups were a staple in our house all winter, and even though the cold weather is finally making its exit (fingers crossed!) we're still continuing to enjoy them.  They're just such an easy way to use up some of the strange vegetables that make their way into my kitchen via Boston Organics (rutabega? kale? cabbage? turnips? what do I do with these?!).  I actually used to be intimidated by making soups, but now I have no idea why because they're just about as easy as it gets - throw everything in a pot and simmer until you want to eat it.  And, soups are versatile - don't have one ingredient?  No problem!  Substitute something similar or leave it out altogether, and the taste is usually not impaired.

Below are two wonderful soup recipes from my soup Bible, Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.  I don't usually try to tackle dairy soups because I'm afraid of recipes where I have to heat milk or cream, but this one uses cream cheese and is just delicious.


Moroccan Root Vegetable Stew
Grade: A!  I was wary about this combination of spices, but it's so awesome!  A crowd pleaser, and an excellent winter recipe for when root vegetables abound.


Creamy Potato Cabbage Soup
Grade: A-  This is my latest solution to my cabbage problem (the heads just keep coming!) and it's a delightfully creamy soup with great natural flavor.  Would be great with some homemade croutons.

Dinner for the in-laws

I had fun putting together this menu, and everything was made with things already in the house, since I had no car to go to the store anyway.

Appetizer: Rutabaga, broccoli and cheddar cheese knishes
     Grade: B- (very time consuming to prepare, and the flavor is not that remarkable)

Salad: Chopped spinach with apples, oranges, and raspberry vinaigrette
     Grade: B+ (very easy to prepare and quite tasty, but the dressing has a short shelf life) 

Side: Mashed potato and rutabaga casserole with carmelized onions
     Grade: A! (not much more work than making regular mashed potatoes, but much tastier!)

Main Dish: Sauteed pork tenderloin and pears in mustard-port sauce
     Grade: B+ (not too hard to prepare, but the flavor was a little dull) 

Desert: Blueberry pie
     Grade: A! (very easy to make - not your usual pie crust - and absolutely delicious!)



Appetizer: Rutabaga, broccoli and cheddar cheese knishes
Adapted from: 1001 Jewish Recipes, by Faye Levy
Caution: This is a very time consuming dish to make!

Dough:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks butter
~5 tbsp ice water

Mix flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter (cut into ~1/2 inch pieces) and process so mixtures becomes crumbly.