Soup, soup-a-doop, soup-a-doop, sooup-a-doop-a-doop-a-doop!

So I am once again indulging in my homemade soup obsession. I could eat soup nearly everyday and be completely satisfied. I love soup. Love love love the soup. I am not picky, I love soups of all shapes, sizes, ingredients, quantities (though often the more the better, nom). As we are in the middle of a New England summer, many would say that I need to wait until fall to return to my soup cooking tendencies, but to them I say "Open your eyes! Use your imagination!". Or I can tell them to purchase this fabulous new book that I tracked down recently. I decided it was time to get serious and stop looking at Real SImple recipes whenever I actually remembered to, so I searched the cookbook stacks until I found teh perfect book for my needs:





Holy Cannoli! Or maybe I should say Holy Minestrone! This book has such a wide variety of soupy deliciousness for my belly. I like to make a point to cook something new on Sundays, so this book catered to that idea as well. I'm such a sucker for marketing. However, this really has been worth the money. The book is split into seasons,both to fit the weather and the seasonal vegetables. I love being able to head to the local produce store and pick up large tasty veggie or fruit for a healthy and scrumptious meal. The book recommends breads and sides that compliment the soup. Basically it is heaven in a book.

Something I really love about soups is that they are simple, but they can be very impressive. People become so stuck in their chicken noodle/miso/tomato/french onion, that adding a few simple ingredients can suddenly make the meal seem more grand and creative... but it's still so easy! Maybe I shouldn't have admitted that. Oops.

So far I have tried two of the recipes from the Summer section. Today was the Summer Squash Minestrone with Pistou. Lighter than it's winter counterpart, this soup features zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and a handful of pasta. I made a homemade provencal pesto that was stirred into the soup. We ate this with toasted sourdough bread. Mmmmmmm. My first attempt was Chilled Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & fresh Dill. This soup was perfect for the warm summer days we have been (um) blessed with lately. The bacon is added in at the end so this recipe is vegetarian friendly. We paired this with a crusty wheat loaf and a salad of arugula, tomato, avocado, and homemade vinegarette. James has already said that he is sad there are so many, because they are so delicious but he knows there is not enough opportunities to repeat them. I then challenged him to remember his favorites and surprise me with them after work during the week. :) Maybe I forgot to mention... in exchange for spending money on this book, I have to commit to making them on my own every week. However, he does the dishes, so I got the better end of the deal. Booya!

Ok. I have yabbered on enough. I encourage any soup lovers out there to buy this book ASAP!