Soup

This is a new(ish) family favorite. The best part, it pleases all. My husband and I love soup and my kids love pasta. The marriage is perfect. This Tuscan tortellini soup is a fantastic slow-cooker meal that is mostly effortless. A tomato-based soup is a great go-to option for me year-round. Tomatoes provide a great […]

I have always loved paprika. My first exposure to it was the light dusting on the top of my mom’s deviled eggs that she frequently made when I was a kid. To six-year-old me, paprika made the simple eggs look elegant. I liked that, even way back then. For anyone who is unfamiliar, paprika is […]

This is not healthy food and there are no shortcuts; but boy is it worth it. French onion soup is probably my favorite soup. It is an indulgence. I don’t eat it often and when I do, I want it to be worth it. This recipe is worth it. In fairness, it’s not the soup […]

Thanksgiving is so close I can almost taste it. All those wonderful, familiar, harvest comfort foods together on one table. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far, centered around what I love to do most: cook and eat. Thanksgiving first began in 1621 with a shared meal between the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians. It […]

My featured Changemaker this month is Robert Surles, more commonly referred to as Chef Bobo. Bobo is a New York City chef leading the charge in helping make and keep kids healthy. In 2002, The Calhoun School, my alma mater, hired Chef Bobo–previously the personal chef to NY Yankee legend Derek Jeter— from the French Culinary Institute […]

Nothing says summer to me like chilled soup. As I mentioned in a post last year, my family lives on gazpacho. I make my quick gazpacho year-round, as it is a family go-to even when the weather turns California cold.  In the summer, I make double batches. Any time of year, it is a wonderful, healthy go-to snack […]

Holistic Health Coach Jennifer Joffe is my featured Changemaker this month.  I lived near Jennifer for almost 3 years, but we did not get introduced until she had moved to Portland, been certified as a Holistic Health Coach, and launched Project Healthy Body. “Health Coach” is a term that has been popping up a lot lately. […]

My family loves Japanese food. Miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup based on a stock called dashi. It is believed miso was first introduced to Japan in the 7th century by Buddhist monks.  According to Japanese mythology, miso is a gift to mankind from the gods to assure health, longevity, and happiness. In Japan, […]

Pho, pronounced “Fuh,”  is everywhere these days.  Pho is a popular Vietnamese street food and is now considered the national dish there.  Truthfully, Pho is a relatively simple noodle soup, that has captivated many by its overall simplicity but rich, memorable flavors.  Pho consists of broth, rice noodles called “banh pho,” herbs, and meat, typically […]

Minestrone is considered one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine.  Historically, minestrone was a humble soup, made primarily from leftovers with the addition of whatever vegetables were available, often with the addition of pasta.  This soup was inexpensive, easy to make, filling, and could feed large groups.  It was a soup intended for every day […]

This is my mother-in-law’s pumpkin curry soup, and it is fantastic. The first time I had this was at Thanksgiving dinner when my husband and I were merely dating. I loved it from the first sip.  It is a simple blended soup, but the sweet curried onions elevate this soup to a whole new level. […]

Do you love soup?  I sure do.  More than most other foods, I think that soup often has memories attached to it: like being nursed back to health with some homemade chicken and dumpling soup prepared by my mom.  My mom’s soup somehow always did the trick. I’m not sure the soup healed me, but […]

There is a growing trend toward vegetarianism and veganism among young people.  I recently read that in the past several years, vegetarianism has increased substantially among those under 25 years old.  My anecdotal experience is similar.  My friend’s eleven-year-old decided to become a vegetarian at the age of six, despite no one else in her […]

To me, hearty soups are good all year round, not just on a rainy winter day.  Soups are comforting and soul-healing, they say.  They are also not all that hard to make. The word “soup” comes from the French “soupe” (meaning “soup” or “broth”), which derived from the Latin word “suppa” (meaning bread soaked in broth) and also from a […]

Gazpacho is a raw vegetable soup served chilled.  Gazpacho is believed to have originated in the Southern Spanish region Andalusia but is commonly seen all over Spain and Portugal (where it is known as “Gaupacho”).  Historically, the most well-known versions of gazpacho (or “soup-salad” as it has been called) come from Seville and Córdoba.  Traditional ingredients […]