A sweet start to the new year—Sweet Potato Soup

A heartwarming first course for any meal—or a meal in itself, as it was for Hubby and me—that’s our appraisal of Sweet Potato Soup. Golden, smooth, and comforting, this dish truly bowled us over, just as the recipe in the magazine stated it would for diners.

A couple of large sweet potatoes, some chopped onion, and a cup of apple cider, along with reduced-sodium chicken broth, formed the basis of this creamy soup. Some sour cream with fresh lime juice added were swirled into the soup for a finishing touch.

Hubby adores anything featuring even a hint of sweet potato, so when I told him this dish was about to be placed in front of him, his anticipation of dinner got kicked up significantly. We served it with crescent rolls spread with cranberry butter, a past creation. All this made for a great early January dinner.

Sweet Potato Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 1/2 cups reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth

2 pounds (about 2 large) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 cup apple cider (I used light apple juice)

1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat-free sour cream)

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion and sauté 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Stir in broth and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Process mixture with a handheld lender until smooth. (If you don’t have a handheld blender, cool mixture 10 minutes and process, in batches, in a regular blender until mixture is smooth. Return to saucepan and proceed with next step.) Cook potato mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in 2 tablespoons lime juice. Whisk together sour cream and 2 teaspoons lime juice. Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle each serving with sour cream mixture. (I added a sprinkle of crushed red pepper as a garnish.) Makes 8 cups. (Source: Southern Living December 2012)

Sweet summer corn and potatoes join forces for a celebratory soup

An increasingly fewer 50th anniversaries of anything are observed any more, since so much is transitory. Recently a friend from my early teens and I gathered to celebrate the fact that 50 years ago this fall we first became acquainted (how can that be since we’re both only 29 right now?) We mused about the fact that when we first met during junior high, the hot topics of our discussions centered around the next new shade of lipstick we’d purchase. Now we compare notes on grandkids when we and our spouses plan retirements. What a life!

At our ladies’ lunch that I prepared for our observance, we began with a first course of Summer Corn Soup, with the recipe springing from the latest (September 2011) issue of Prevention magazine. One often doesn’t think soup in the middle of the tormenting summer heat, but my friend, Mary Ann, and I agreed that we’re up for soup most any time of the year. This recipe was special because it used some of that great sweet corn that’s overflowing in our supermarkets’ produce areas right now.

The prep time on the stove is brief, to avoid heating up the kitchen with an overly warm stovetop—only 20 minutes to simmer in the first stage (note: the recipe calls for leaving the corn cobs in the boiling broth to make the stock more flavorful) and 15 minutes after the potatoes and corn kernels are added. One seeded and chopped jalapeno added just the right amount of sizzle to the recipe.

The corn was sweet and tender and the potatoes mellow for this dish that also could be a main course—Hubby and I certainly enjoyed it as a stand-alone when we consumed leftovers that evening after the lunch.

My friend and I don’t look or feel as though we’ve (or our friendship has) been around a half-century, but the Summer Corn Soup to kick off our celebration helped frame the half-century part in a cheerful perspective!

Summer Corn Soup

6 ears fresh corn

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 large fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped

3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup half-and-half (could use skim milk)

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Cut corn kernels from cobs. Reserve cobs. In large pot melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add broth, 3 cups water, jalapeno, and reserved corn cobs. Simmer 20 minutes. Remove cobs and discard. Add potatoes and corn kernels. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in half-and-half; season to taste. Ladle soup into bowls; top with green onions. Makes 6 servings.

Unlikely combo of leeks and salmon makes a hearty soup that kicks off Physical Exam 2012 prep

My fascination with leeks began last month when I began using them in such recipes as the ones for Fresh Mushroom Burger Topping and Fiesta Green Beans. I discovered how much flavor this oversized version of a green onion can bring to a mixture. I couldn’t believe how piquant a recipe became with the addition of one simple fresh veggie item.

Once I ventured into leek-ville, then, recipes that feature them began cropping up all over the place. A recipe for Leek and Salmon Soup in my Celebrating a Heathy Harvest booklet just begged to be tried because it called for fresh salmon. Buoyed by my recent physical exam report that showed a drop in my cholesterol reading from one year ago, I was eager to keep up the intake of such omega-3 foods as salmon and other fish, nuts, and oatmeal so I could already start the countdown to next year's physical and an even better report. So the soup that combined leeks with cholesterol-lowering salmon seemed as though it was a good idea. Potatoes, with their skins on, also went into the mixture, thus guaranteeing some fiber.

Unlike a lot of soups, this one was a quick-fix and could be served instantly (although, as with many mixtures, it became even more flavorful as it settled in overnight.) Only one step even slightly complicated it: the requirement to remove half the vegetables and puree them in a blender or food processor before returning them to the soup and reheating. However, that pureeing step gives a nice, thick texture to the soup; adding low-fat evaporated milk makes it creamy. Salmon and leeks together made for a nice combination.

Hubby gave Leek and Salmon Soup an A-plus; when I arrived home from babysitting our little grandmunchkin earlier this week, he already had the kettle out and had it warming on the stove, he was so eager to try it again. Physical Exam 2012, I’m already prepping for you by chowing down fish, fish, and more fish, along with my healthy "5 to 9".

Leek and Salmon Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 large leeks, including green parts

2 potatoes, diced, skins on

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

3 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 1/4 cup fresh salmon, cooked, drained

1/2 cup low-fat evaporated milk

salt (or salt substitute) and pepper to taste

Remove the leeks’ outer leaves, wash, and cut into think slices. In a kettle over medium heat, heat the oil. Add onion and leeks; cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the potato, broth, water, and bay leaf. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes; remove bay leaf. Remove half the vegetables and puree them; return them to the soup; reheat. Add the salmon to the soup. Cook about 5 minutes. Add evaporated milk; serve.

Whoever thought of putting peanut butter in a pumpkin soup? But it works marvelously.

Brewing up a pot of pumpkin soup was high on my fall cookery wish-list. But just as I was about to gather the ingredients, in breezed a new pumpkin soup recipe from a most unexpected source.

The monthly newsletter or the organization from which Hubby and I draw our retirement pensions is a delightful read; we always look forward to receiving it for its tips on money-management and grandparenting, its jokes, and its recipes.

This month's newsletter featured Peanut Butter Pumpkin Soup. Besides peanut butter and pumpkin it also called for the addition of sweet potato. What a marvelous combination--some of my favorite ingredients! To get the sweet potato addition I merely popped one extra-large sweet potato in the microwave; when the cooked potato was cool, I scooped out the innards and mashed them to achieve my pureed pumpkin ingredient.

The aroma of this wonderful dish as it bubbled on the stovetop was one of those unforgettable autumn smells that inspires poets to rapturous verse. The delicious, easy-to-make dish was divine with warm crusty bread, cheese, and fruit. And ever-resourceful Hubby even reclaimed the scooped-out sweet potato skins and used them in one of his creative smoothies that consisted of orange juice, orange sections, pineapple juice, peanuts, and sweet-potato skins. Fiber City--think about it!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Soup

1/2 stick butter

4 cups fresh pumpkin, cooked and run through the food processor to make smooth. Consistency in this soup is important.

2 cups pureed cooked sweet potato

1 cup smooth peanut butter

6 cups low-salt chicken stock

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

snipped fresh chives and low-fat sour cream for garnish

In a large pot over medium heat melt butter. Add pumpkin, sweet potato, and peanut butter. Mix. Add chicken stock, pepper, and salt. Stir until smooth. Reduce heat to low and cook for approximately 20 minutes. This soup can burn easily, so keep an eye on it! Serve warm with chives and sour cream for garnish.