Wednesday night was book club, with an evening of dense fog and a light drizzle after a day of welcome rain. I always bring something homemade to our gatherings, and try to make it gluten and dairy-free for one of our members. After taking stock of what was in the house, I discovered that I had everything to make a vegetable soup – perfect for our mountain weather! While it takes some cooking time, it is easy to put this soup together. It is chock full of fresh vegetables (carrots, onion, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, snap peas) and has a delicious, rich and chunky tomato broth. Typically, cooked pasta is added to vegetable soup, but I used garbanzo beans (chickpeas) because of their great flavor and nutritional value – they were a big hit. This is a versatile recipe and even better with spinach; had there been some on hand it would be in the soup. Other substitutions are frozen vegetables, or angel hair or ditalini pasta (Mary and Nada enjoyed their soup with a bed of angel hair pasta). A flavor secret: the longer cooking time allows for a parmesan rind to melt into the soup, giving it a rich deep base. This batch was sans the cheese rind for Sybil, and grated parmesan cheese was served on the side.
What books have we been reading, you ask? Wednesday night we discussed “Someone Knows My Name” by Lawrence Hill, which was September’s selection. And for October, we are reading “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.
For more information about these thought-provoking reads, click on each image.
One of the benefits of being in the kitchen: The cook always gets to do a taste test! 
And of course I had to make something crispy to top the soup – a whole grain boule from our freezer was the perfect candidate for some homemade croutons. They are so much better than store-bought and only take a few minutes to make. Any type of bread will do and I use my trusty toaster oven for the task, but the broiler will work just as well. If the bread is frozen and you have a paper sandwich bag, it can be harmlessly defrosted in the microwave (see recipe for details). For salads, the croutons are even better if you brush the bread with your favorite vinaigrette recipe – the same as what you are using to dress the salad. Along with some freshly grated parmesan cheese, the croutons are a delectable garnish.
What good books have you read lately? We’re always looking for interesting novels to read, so please leave a comment and pass on any of your favorites. I would love to hear your thoughts. I am hosting book club next month and look forward to sharing the love, direct from my kitchen!
Eat well and share the love!
Vegetable Soup with Homemade Croutons (print recipe)
Recipe: Melissa Schenker/Foodie for Two
For Book Club: Makes enough for 6 servings, or 12 small servings
Recipe can be reduced by half for a smaller portion
Ingredients:
Olive oil
½ medium sweet onion, diced into ¼ inch pieces
1 large zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
Large handful of sugar snap peas, chopped
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence OR Italian herbs
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 medium garlic clove, minced
28 oz. can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
5 cups vegetable broth (or water)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and beans well rinsed
1 small rind of Parmigiano Reggiano, or Parmesan (substitute: 2-inch piece of parmesan)
Croutons
4 to 5 thick slices of any good bread*
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Garnish
Homemade Croutons
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a 6-quart Dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium-low heat. Add the vegetables along with the herbs de Provence, ¾ teaspoon salt and a good pinch of pepper; stir well, cover pot with the lid and sauté for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are soft.
Add the minced garlic, stir well and let cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, vegetable broth (or water) and garbanzo beans along with ¾ teaspoon salt, another good pinch of pepper and the parmesan rind or piece of cheese. Increase heat to medium and let simmer gently, uncovered, for another 1 to 1½ hours.
Croutons: Brush both sides of bread with olive oil, season lightly with salt and pepper, toast or broil until both sides are lightly golden. Rub one side with the garlic clove and dust both sides with grated parmesan cheese. Return slices to toaster oven or broiler and toast again until both sides are golden brown, let cool slightly and cut into bite-size pieces.
Serve the vegetable soup hot, and garnish with a few croutons and some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
* Croutons – To defrost frozen bread in the microwave: Place bread in a paper sandwich bag, fold down top to close and microwave (on half power) for 1 minute increments until just starting to defrost, about 2 minutes for a whole boule. Use a serrated knife to cut into slices.
- More vegetables to add, fresh or frozen: Bell Pepper (red, yellow or orange), Green or Yellow Green Beans, Steamed or Blanched Cauliflower florets, Spinach (add with liquids).
Last Sunday we took a drive to see the changing colors of Fall……. Murphy and I followed in the SUV (I imagined it was a Porsche 911 while driving through the curvy mountain roads, keeping up with the bikes) while David and friends rode their motorcycles through some of Colorado’s high passes. It’s beautiful here!
This week I hosted book club and was happy to share the food love. For inspiration, I turned to one of my newer cookbooks, Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen by Joyce Goldstein. I have been eyeing the Salsa di Noce recipe for several weeks, not sure how to use this scrumptious sauce. It is a combination of Italian salsa verde (see emmycooks for a tasty version) and a Sephardic nut sauce, and is full of flavor. The author describes it as “fragrant and voluptuous” – anytime the word voluptuous is used to describe food you know it has to be good. Judging by the almost empty bowl at book club, I think it was a hit. Toasted, chopped walnuts are combined with fruity olive oil, parsley, garlic, hard-boiled egg yolks, kalamata olives and capers to create a flavorful and rich sauce that is worthy of spooning on anything. For book club I served it with roasted carrots, parsnips and potatoes along with some hard-boiled eggs. The Salsa di Noce would make a seared halibut filet very happy as well. Or use it as a tapenade on a pan bagnat sandwich (see bobvivant for her recipe adaptation). The recipe makes a generous 2 cups, but for two foodies I would recommend reducing the recipe by half as a little goes a long way.
Foodie for Two 