CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

Cream of Tomato Soup--Lynne Snyder --I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Internet and now I can't find it to give them credit.

Today was a rainy October day and I wanted a good homemade soup so I fiddled with a recipe I found online. It was very tasty. Phil said, "This is a keeper," and Elizabeth said it was good too. It was a good way to use up surplus tomatoes.

2 medium or 1 large onion, chopped

6-8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

lots of ripe tomatoes--I didn't measure but I think there were at least 8 to 12 cups

4-8 cups broth of your choice, depending on how many tomatoes you use--I used water and the "Better than Chicken" base sold at Costco, I probably used at least 2 tablespoons, maybe a bit more

1 Tbs. of olive oil

1 Tbs. butter

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

white or black pepper, if desired

the original recipe said 4 cloves. So I put four cloves in but later wondered if they meant four cloves of garlic as they also said "One onion slice" which I thought probably meant one onion, sliced. So did they mean 4 cloves? I added them PLUS garlic and took the cloves out at about 3/4 of the cooking time. You can put them in or not. I did not blend them with the rest of the soup.

1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese

Saute the onion and garlic a few minutes, add tomatoes, broth and salt. Simmer thirty minutes to an hour or until you can tell it will be a good consistency when blended.

At this point the mixture needs to be put through a food mill or a blender but be careful if using a blender and only do a couple of cups at a time and use a thick towel to hold the blender lid on. I used an immersion blender but there were bits of tomato skin which Phil didn't mind, but I did. I later used a food mill so the soup would be smoother.

Return soup to the pot and add one tsp. of sugar, taste and add other teaspoon if it needs it. Add pepper if desired.

Add an eight ounce block of cream cheese and stir until melted. Next time I would add half of the cream cheese to the soup and mix the rest of the cream cheese with chopped basil, put a spoonful in each bowl, and pour the hot soup over. OR you could eliminate the cream cheese and add whipping cream to each bowl, even canned milk would do in a pinch.

KALE AND BEAN SOUP-- THE MOST PRACTICAL AND MOST USED RECIPE IN THE WHOLE COOKBOOK

This is a simple and yet delicious soup. It can be on the table in less than half an hour. We love it. See here.
KALE AND BEAN SOUP--adapted from the Internet

8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced. I used the bottled kind because I was lazy.
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cups chopped raw kale. I will grow kale every year from now on just for this soup recipe.
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth--I used the paste, concentrated broth, plus water. Pictures below.
2 (15 ounce) cans beans, such as cannellini , navy, pinto, un-drained. I have used white beans but my favorite are pinto*
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1-2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning. I used maybe 1 tsp. plus a bit. You can always add more but can't take out.
Salt and pepper to taste. I've never had to add salt but use quite a bit of pepper.
1 cup chopped parsley. I don't have any parsley in the garden, I've used basil but the last two times I've skipped this step as I was freezing the bulk of the soup.


In a large pot steam garlic and onion in a bit of water until soft. Add kale, broth, beans, tomato, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Mine was too hot to eat so I added an ice cube. Phil toughed it out without one.I have used this vegetarian broth paste a lot and like it.This one is from Costco. I've used it a lot, too.

*As the kale continued to grow and I made more and more soup I started using dried pinto beans. I would make a huge stock pot full of soup and freeze it. We will use it all up before the kale is growing again and we will be sad. We may have to buy kale from the grocery store to make this delicious "peasant" soup. Those peasants know how to eat.

VEGETABLE AND RED LENTIL SOUP

This is adapted from a recipe in the February, 2008 Good Housekeeping magazine, page 154

1-2 Tbs. Olive oil

4 medium carrots, chopped

1 medium or large onion, diced

Tomatoes of your choice: I used 4 large Roma's, the original recipe called for a can (14.5 oz.) of diced tomatoes

Some kind of tomato sauce--I had some V-8 so used that but next time I will add a can (8 oz.) or even two, of tomato sauce--the original recipe didn't use this but I thought it needed it for a good flavor

Cabbage, optional. I had some so I chopped about a cup and a half and added it.

*Veggie broth, your choice: I used a powdered veggie broth but the original recipe called for a can (14-14.5 oz.) of veggie broth. I used about a Tbs., maybe more of the powdered broth powder--of course I added water

1 tsp. cumin

1 cup dried red lentils

1 bag (5 oz.) fresh spinach

salt to taste

pepper to taste, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.

Water as needed--I added quite a bit, at least 5 cups, maybe more

Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil for 4-6 minutes--I was talking on the phone and burned some of the onions and carrots and had to pick them out--until lightly browned--not black, like mine. Add cumin and cook one minute. Add tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, lentils, and water and simmer, covered--oops, I simmered uncovered--until lentils are tender, about 10 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Add spinach, remove from heat and serve.

*Bryanna Grogan, a wonderful cookbook author, has a powdered veggie broth recipe. Recipe is here. She is the most gracious and generous cookbook author I know. I have several of her cookbooks and love them.

Here is another site where she posts recipes, answers questions and gives help so freely. I used to post on that site all the time with questions or to share recipes. I guess I should start again. I posted as Natashia--of Boris and Natashia fame.

BLACK BEAN SOUP—Donna Jones

Very easy and good—I made this about 5 times last winter

1 (8 oz.) can corn, drained (or fresh or frozen corn)
3/4 cup green onions—use part of the green stem
1/2 cup coarsely shredded carrots
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can tomatoes, diced
2 (15-16 oz.) cans drained and rinsed black beans
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional) (I use ¾ of one)
2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
salt to taste
water if needed (I use ½ to 1 cup)

Sauté onion, carrots and pepper in a little oil. Stir in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP--Lynne Snyder

They sell this soup in our favorite Pizza restaurant and I think I cloned the recipe. In fact (don't tell anyone) this recipe may be better

Chicken breasts or thighs
Onion, chopped
Garlic, chopped or pressed, lots
Lots of water
Noodles, homemade style (“Country Pasta” this USED to be sold at Costco. It is available in the grocery store but we bought a different brand with shorter pasta noodles and we liked it better, they were still nice and thick noodles.)
Carrots, peeled and chopped
Celery, chopped
Parsley
“Chicken Base” to taste (available at Costco--or at a grocery store. This is a thick paste. Be careful not to add too much because it's salty.)
Flour, dissolved in water

Boil chicken, onion and garlic in water until chicken is done. Remove chicken, cool and chop. Boil carrots and celery in separate pans until almost tender, drain. Put noodles in chicken water and boil until tender—this takes a long time, almost 30 minutes. Add chicken base to taste—it takes quite a lot, and a bit of parsley. Thicken with flour and water, boil about three minutes to cook the flour. Add vegetables and chicken. Serve.

LENTIL SOUP—Lynne Snyder

We practically lived on this soup when we first went alkaline.

1¼ pound lentils, divided (¼ pound optional)
Water
1 to 2 onions, chopped or minced
1 head garlic (yes, a whole head)
1 ½ tsp. Real Salt or to taste
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. pepper (optional)
1 to 2 pounds spinach, chopped
Cold pressed olive oil

About three days before serving this soup soak ¼ pound lentils in water overnight. Drain and rinse lentils three times a day until sprouted. This is an optional idea. By using sprouted lentils you are getting live lentils (with active enzymes) with the cooked ones.

Prepare garlic: Cut off root and remove as much of the paper-thin white outer covering as possible. Cut the top off the garlic head, exposing the individual cloves of garlic (you should cut right into each clove). Cover lentils, onion and whole garlic head with water and bring to a boil. Boil until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove garlic from broth. Holding the bottom of the garlic head with a folded paper towel squeeze garlic—the cooked garlic cloves will pop out. Mash them well with a fork and return garlic puree to the pot. Add salt, cumin and pepper. At the table put chopped spinach and a handful of sprouted lentils into each individual soup bowl. Top with hot soup and some olive oil.