Home Is Where The Soup Is!

We recently discovered that there was a National Homemade Soup Day. It immediately took us back to our Tea Room days when we started each day by making a big bowl of hearty soup. Over the years, we gained a fair bit of fame for our many Soups. Our collection grew so large that in any given month, we did not need to repeat a single soup. We collected recipes from magazines, newspapers, customer suggestions and, of course, our own home recipes. I would often begin by trying out a new soup recipe at home and then adjusting it for commercial use.

Over the course of 18 years, we amassed quite a following and customers would routinely call in the morning to find out what the Soup of the Day was. Alas, we closed our Tea room in the Spring of 2018 but our love of Soup continues. Most are quite easy to make, all are vegetarian and are made from scratch. Like all recipes, adjust to your own taste and needs. We thought it would be fun to share some of our most popular Soup recipes with you.

Chick Pea & Cannellini Minestrone
Serves 12

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions
2 bay leaves
28 oz. can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
4 ribs celery, chopped
16 cups vegetable broth
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped ( about 2 Tbsp.)
6 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. can chick peas, drained & rinsed
2 medium carrots, peeled & finely chopped
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 lbs. kale, trimmed & coarsely chopped
2 cups ditalini pasta, uncooked
salt & pepper
grated cheese for serving

Directions:

Heat large soup pot & add oil, rosemary, onion, garlic, and bay leaf, sauté for 2 minutes.
Add all of the beans, carrot, celery, tomatoes, broth and kale to the pot. Season with salt & pepper, bring to a boil.
Stir in raw pasta and return to a boil.
Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender and pasta is cooked.
Adjust seasonings.
Serve with grated cheese on top.

Download this Recipe HERE.

Golden Vegetable with Green Lentils
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic, finely chopped
1 lb. young green cabbage, cored, quartered & thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
6 1/4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, halved & thinly sliced
14 oz. can diced tomatoes, in juice
2 bay leaves
7 oz. lentils
salt & pepper
cilantro or parsley to garnish

Directions:

In large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, garlic and carrot. Cook 3 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions starts to soften.
Add cabbage and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, thyme, 1 bay leaf, and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer gently, partially covered, for about 45 minutes, until vegetables are tender.
Meanwhile, put the lentils in another saucepan with remaining bay leaf and water. Bring just to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes until tender. Drain off any remaining water & set aside.
When the vegetable soup is cooked, allow to cool slightly, then transfer to blender or food processor and puree until smooth, working in batches if needed. If using a food processor, strain off the cooking liquid and reserve. Puree the soup solids with enough cooking liquid to moisten them, then combine with the remaining liquid.
Return soup to the pan and add the cooked lentils. Taste and adjust the seasoning and cook for about 10 minutes to heat thru.
Ladle and garnish with cilantro or parsley.
Depending on the type of lentils you use and choice of vegetables, this soup may visually be green or yellow. Either way, it will taste wonderful!

Download this recipe HERE.

Here are a few more customer favorites that you can download or print.