Serving Size: 8                                    Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 cups                              Fresh spinach, or kale or Swiss chard
• -                            (lightly packed and to torn into small pieces)
• 2 medium large              sweet potatoes peeled and cut in 1″cubes
• 1/4 cup                             Olive oil
• 3                                        onions, finely chopped
• 4                                        garlic cloves, minced
• 2                                        celery ribs,sliced
• 8 cups                               vegetable broth or water
• 1 1/2 cups                         chopped canned tomatoes (Use large can) — with juice
• 1                                         carrot sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon                    nutmeg
• dash cayenne and salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat, add onions, garlic and celery, and saute stirring often for 10 min. Stir in all the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the greens.

Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue stirring occasionally for 45 min, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove 2 cups of the soup and puree it, then return it to the pot.

Stir in the spinach, or other greens, and cook about 5 min. until the greens are tender.

Recipe By: Joyce

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Ingredients

• 3 pound              Kabocha Squash or any pumpkin like squash
• 1 large                 carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
• 1 medium           onion, chopped
• 1 large                 rib of celery, chopped
• 2                          cloves garlic
• 1                           small bunch of parsley
• 1                           bay leaf
• thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste

For the broth - heavy cream, or whatever. I’ve even used evaporated milk (skimmed!)

Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds. Put the cut side down on a board and cut narrow slices, narrow enough for a paring knife to remove the tough peel in one swipe. Cube the squash, about 1″ cubes and put in a stock pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, NOT THE CREAM, cover with broth or water, just enough to cover the ingredients, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer until everything is well cooked. Remove Bay leaf.

AFTER removing the bay leaf, process or blend until the mixture is smooth. Add broth as you do this, but not too much, because you’ll finish the soup with cream. Add a grating of fresh nutmeg, reheat the soup adding the cream, don’t boil. Use more fresh nutmeg as garnish to serve the soup. Cayenne is good as well.

NOTES : This is an adaptation of Barbara Crowe’s pumpkin soup. It was always on the menu at the Belham Valley Restaurant in Montserrat.

Recipe by : Linda McBride

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Serves : 6

Ingredients

• 4 3/8 oz                         butter
• 4 3/8 oz                         flour
• 3 large                            chopped shallots
• 1 3/4 oz                          mushroom stalks (pied blew, shitake, oyster or cepe)
• 1 head                             celery, core removed and chopped
• 1                                       carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1                                       leek, chopped
• 7 1/8 oz                          fresh apricots, blanched, peeled and chopped
• 7/8 oz                             fresh ginger, grated
• 4 grates                          nutmeg
• 2 1/8 tablespoons        wasabi powder (start with 1 tablespoon)
• 1 1/4 quarts                   light chicken stock or veggie stock
• 1 2/3 tablespoons        white wine vinegar
• 1 1/8 cups                      creme fraiche
• 2 sprigs                          thyme
• 2 1/8 tablespoons        sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

1. *Sweat off the shallots, mushroom stalks, celery, carrot, leek, ginger and apricots for 5 minutes.
2. Add flour and cook until you get a blonde roux. Moisten with stock and cook for 20 mintues.
3. Finish by adding all the remaining ingredients. Cook again for 20 more minutes. Put the soup in a blender and then pass through a sieve or chinois and finally through a wet muslin.

Serve with garnished Stilton croutons.

* ‘To Sweat’ is a technique by which ingredients, particularly vegetables, are cooked in a small amount of fat over a low heat. The ingreidents are covered directly with a piece of foil or parchment paper, then the pot is tightly covered. With this method, the ingredients soften without browning, and cook in their own juices.

NOTES : See Parmesan Croutons and substitute stilton cheese for the parmesan. Also, I blended and sieved the soup, but did not pass it through wet muslin. This recipe leaves something for the imagination, but notworry, it should taste great no matter what.

Recipe by : The Lifeboat Inn

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April, 1999, we had a brief stay in Norfolk, England. We stayed at a hotel owned by our friends, Tom and Lucy Granke, Le Strange Arms, in Old Hunstanton. They were to meet us there, but at the last minute, couldn’t. We went anyway because we had heard so much about the hotel, and surrounding area that we didn’t want to miss it. This part of our trup was so wonderful that we wanted to stay longer, but our schedule was too tight. Tom was nice enough to give us some direction about what to see and do and he insisted that lunch at the Lifeboat Inn was a must. It’s a little restaurant with accommodation on the North Sea and is several centuries old. The original character has been retained, which makes it very charming and inviting.

The soup of the day was celery and Apricot Soup.  Jack loves celery soup, but he balked at the apricot in the tittle. I, being adventurous foodie, ordered it. The soup was delicious so we requested the recipe there and then. The chef who made it was gone for the day,. We were disappointed to leave empty handed. When Tome heard about our failure to get the recipe, he made it his mission to get it for us. He was successful, thank you Tom, and everyone else involved.

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Serving Size :  8                                           Preparation Time : 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2                                      hot house cucumbers halved and seeded, not peeled
• 3                                      red bell peppers , cored and seeded
• 8                                      plum tomatoes
• 2                                      red onions
• 6                                      garlic cloves, minced
• 46 oz                               tomato juice
• 1/2 cup                           white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup                           good olive oil,  (not that much)
• 1 tablespoon                  kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons             pepper, freshly ground

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onion into 1 inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped . Do not over process!!!!
After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

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NOTES : Try Parmesan Croutons on top. Garnish with chopped avocado and sour cream or yogurt. Pass some hot pepper sauce.

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Serving Size : 10

Preparation Time : 30 min                  Cook time     : 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2  lbs                       Asparagus, tips reserved, stalks cut into 1-inch lengths
• 1/2 lb                      Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2  tablespoons       unsalted butter
• 3  medium              leeks, white and tender green parts only — thinly sliced
• 2 1/2  cups              chicken broth(stock)
• 2  cups                     water
• 1 large                      thyme sprig
• 1 1/2 cups                milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons      salt
• 1/4 teaspoon          white pepper, freshly ground

Chive oil (recipe separate)

In a saucepan of boiling salted water, blanch the asparagus tips until crisp-tender, about 1 min. Drain the asparagus tips in a colander and refresh under cold water. Pat dry, halve the tips lengthwise and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan (pot). Add the leeks and cook over moderate heat, stirring until softened, about 5 min. Add the asparagus stalks, potatoes, stock, water and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 min.

Discard the thyme sprig. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender and then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the milk, salt and white pepper. Let the soup cool to room temp, then refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and drizzle with Chive Oil. Garnish with the asparagus tips and serve.

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Suggested Wine: Sauvignon Blanc–1999 Caymus Vineyards or 1999 Silverado

NOTES : This creamy soup is the best the next day, after the flavors have gotten to know each other. Season generously before serving.

Recipe By      : Bon Appetit

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