Tuscan Bean Soup

Apple blossoms, tulips and daffodils

We arrived from our trip to find a paradise right at home. It was breath taking!

To say the least, we were behind in all our spring work. 300 trees had arrived on Earth day waiting to be planted and the blog needed to be posted. We had setup with Souper Dave, Mario, and Spencer, our California family to Skype and make Tuscan Bean Soup.

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Here is the bio that Dave wrote for the blog - "I guess you can call me the "Souper" lawyer from Los Angeles, and the son of the Souper family of New York. I learned from Souper Sarah to make mental notes when I have a dish I really enjoy when dining out so that I can try to make it at home. That is how I came to this Tuscan Bean Soup recipe. I have enjoyed this kind of soup at a place I regularly go for lunch and set about to make it at home. After looking at a number of recipes, I finally found one that I thought was close, and then I modified it to create what I had in my mind's eye (or tastebuds!) After some refinements, I have arrived at a recipe that Mario, Spencer and I all love! And we all loved our cooking adventure with you today".

We both made the soup, Dave in LA and us here on the farm. It was fun getting our computers set up, so we could check on each step and see the process. Spencer (with his cars) and Mario would appear to be helpful for Dave! When it came to cover and cook for a couple of hours, Eric and I went out to plant blue spruces and then we were really ready for this satisfying soup. It was so delicious and such a hearty soup with the savory flavor of sage and rosemary capturing all the flavors of Italy!!!

Tuscan Bean Soup

Souper Dave/Souper Sarah

This classic Mediterranean soup is creamed with its own ingredients - no outside thickeners. The beans and vegetables gives it a sweet and earthy taste.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 6-8

1 lb of cannelloni beans, picked over, soaked overnight (or 24 hours) in water and a tablespoon or so of kosher salt

2T Olive Oil

1/2 lb pancetta cut into 1/4 inch dice

1 medium onion chopped (small, but not quite a mince - I use the food processor)

2 medium carrots chopped (small, but not quite a mince - I do these in food processor with onions)

6 medium sized cloves of garlic minced

1 T fresh rosemary (from our front yard!), minced

2 T fresh sage chopped finely

1 bay leaf

8 C chicken broth

1 to 2 tablespoons of tomato paste


Directions:
- Soak beans for 12 to 24 hours; drain and rinse

- In large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat, and brown the pancetta until lightly crisped (about 10 minutes)

- Add onions and carrots and saute until softened (about 8 minutes)

- Add garlic, and saute for another couple of minutes

- Add rosemary, sage, bay leaf, beans, broth and tomato paste; increase heat and bring to a simmer

- Cover and cook for a couple of hours, until beans are tender. (Can also put in a 275 degree oven and cook as well, but when I have done this, a bit too much of the liquid dissipated, although the flavor was good and with a little water, leftovers made a very nice soup!)

Adjust seasoning, if needed, add fresh ground pepper and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

I like to serve it with slices of baguette for dipping!!

Setting up for Skype

Soup ingredients

Beans soaking in salt water

Carrots and onions

Processed carrots and onions

Pancetta cut 1/4 inch dice





Browning the pancetta







Saute until soft






Bring to a simmer



Blue spruce seedlings





Digging hole for seedling






Soup is ready!









LA style







Farm style

Eating our soup together

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We had a great time making soup with Dave,Mario & Spencer, even though we were many miles away. I thinkg Skype is a wonderful tool and I love seeing and talking to our family!!! I like the flavor of the pancetta and did not realize it was unsmoked bacon. We did not have to adjust the seasoning in our soup, I think soaking the beans in salt over night did the trick. I have not done that before when soaking beans, but will from now on. I’m learning new techniques every week!! This soup taste even better the next day as the flavor have more time to mellow and marry. Thanks Dave you are a great cook, as always it is so much fun to cook together and the soup was superb.

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Happy Birthday Spencer

The thought for the week - The quality of your connections with other people will carry you further than you think.

Happy souping until we meet again!

Souper Sarah

Avocado Soup

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Concord Point Lighthouse

Havre De Frace, Maryland

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In our recent travels we climbed up to the top of this beautiful old lighthouse at Havre De Grace, MD. This lighthouse served as a beacon at the point where the Susquehanna River meets the Chesapeake Bay for over 180 years. The waters from the Tioughnioga River (which is on our land) flow into the Susquehanna then into the Chesapeake and I find that so fascinating! If you haven’t been to this part the country, you should plan a trip. I love the Delmarva Peninsula and we made many interesting stops along the way to Virginia Beach.

The soup we made before we started on our trip was Avocado Soup with Cilantro, Coriander, Cumin, and Lime from the 10 Things You Need to Eat cook book on eating smart, getting healthy and living long by Dave Lieberman and Anahad O’Connor, not to be confused with Dave Letterman and Conan O'brien! One of the things we all should be eating is avocados. This soup conjures up the flavors of Mexico with all the bright and flavorful ingredients. The Hass avocado has a silky, buttery and velvety taste on the tongue. This is an easy soup to make and perfect for entertaining.

Avocado Soup with Cilantro, Coriander, Cumin, and Lime
Dave Lieberman and Anahad O'Connor

Souper Sarah
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You can serve this soup chilled, but the flavors are much more pronounced and vibrant if you keep it hot.
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INGREDIENTS
Serves 8

1 large leek
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled, and mashed
juice of 1 lime
salt and cayenne pepper
1 small bunch of scallions, finely chopped
1 small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
fromage blanc

1 – Trim the root end of the leek, cut off the tough green leaves, cut the leek in half lengthwise, and rinses well to remove any grit. Roughly chop the leek.

2 – Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the leek, celery, and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.

3 – Add the bay leaves, stock, coriander, cumin, avocado, and lime juice and simmer for about 10 minutes.

4 – Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

5- Ladle into bowls and serve topped chopped scallions and cilantro to taste.

Cooking leeks, onions and celery until soft

Cilantro, Hass avocado, limes and scallions



Mashed avocado




Simmer soup for 10 minutes

Herbs ready for garnish

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Serve topped with scallions and cilantro

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This soup was so delicious and had a delicate freshness to it. This is a perfect time of the year to enjoy it!

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Here are some of the things I learned from this book about avocados:
It is a fruit
Fat can be good – especially monounsaturated, which cannot be overstated
Acts like arterial drain cleaner, keeping blood vessels clear and reducing harmful deposits
Contains no cholesterol
High level of fiber – about 30 percent of the recommended daily amount in a single cup – the most of any fruit
Half an avocado has only 150 calories
Contains about 60% more potassium than bananas – potassium is the blood-pressure-reducing mineral

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Is there any doubt that we all should eat lot more avocados!!

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Souper Eric's comment - "Don't eat too many or you will have avocado foot!!!"

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The thought for the week - "Friends are the Flowers in the Garden of Life" - Unknown (came in a church letter)

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Happy souping until we meet again!

Souper Sarah

Harvest Moon Squash Soup

Hubby Eric rototilling with our new toy "Husky"

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Grandson Andy working the soil

Planting the early seeds -

peas, radishes, spinach & scallions

Every seed carefully spaced!

Our new tiller “Husky” arrived and we put it to good use in the garden, with our grandson Andy. The planting is early this year, thanks to Andy, who planted the seeds – peas, radishes, spinach and early scallions. Our guest Soupers - Laura & Jim, are part of our blended family and are gardeners, too. Laura takes pleasure in her flower beds and Jim enjoys growing food for the table from his vegetable garden. Laura has a free spirit and when she makes soup, you never know what will result. They both enjoy cooking and you can tell that in the pictures. Their Harvest Moon Squash Soup has a vegetable base and the chunkiness of the vegetables in the pureed squash has amazing rich texture which makes it very filling. I loved this soup!! Melanie, Laura's sister, brought the pumpkin seed oil from Austria and if you never tried it, you are in for a treat. The pumpkin seed oil has an intense nutty taste and is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids(”Wikipedia”). Once you have tasted this soup you will want to buy the oil, check out this site www.pumpkinseedoil.com.

Harvest Moon Squash Soup

Souper Laura & Souper Jim

Souper Sarah

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This is a wonderfully hearty and satisfying soup, no matter what the weather is. The stunning pumpkin seed oil enhances the flavor and gives it an elegant taste!

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INGREDIENTS
Serves 6-8

2 butternut squash (6 cups), cooked and pureed
1 cup celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, sliced about ¼ inch thick
1 cup parsnips, diced
1/4 teaspoon gram masala
1/4 teaspoon tarragon leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
32 oz vegetable broth
4 oz sour cream
pumpkin seed oil - kernol

1­ – In a stock pan, add pureed butternut squash, gram masala¸ and 8 oz of vegetable broth; simmer while other vegetables are cooking.

2 – In a soup pan, add rest of vegetable broth, celery, onion, carrots, parsnips, tarragon leaves, and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are soft (not crunchy and not mushy). Add parsley and cook for 2 minutes.

3 – Mix the squash from stock pan into the vegetable mixture and season to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Thin soup if too thick.

4 – Add 1/3 cup of sour cream, mix and let rest for 3 minutes.

5 – Serve the soup hot and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a swirl of Kernol – pumpkin seed oil.

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Pureed butternut squash

Laura chopping onions

Laura & Jim stirring the pots

Chopping the fresh parsley

Vegetables simmering in broth with parsley

Mix together the pureed squash and vegetables

Tasting the results!






Serve with a garnish of sour cream,
pumpkin seed oil and parsley

Laura and Jim, thank you both for sharing your creative cooking skills with us. The soup was simply delicious!!! They say food brings people together and I’m glad we had this time together. You are fun people to be with!

The thought for the week-

Making real, lasting change is like plowing a path.

The more you use it, the easier it gets.

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Happy souping until we meet again!

Souper Sarah

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Here is Laura's bio that she wrote for me - I'm sure you will enjoy it!

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I grew up in Otisco Valley on 60+ acres of land which was my "play ground". I love the outdoors and love to roam around wherever my feet decide to take me. This ensures that no experience is ever the same, thus keeping my roaming adventures unique and exciting.
I tend to cook the same way. No soup has ever been made the same way twice. Instead of viewing as tried and true, recipes are used as guidance only. Just as with my nature walks, every creation is a unique variation on a common theme. Each is based on my intuition in the moment. I start out with a broad idea and a few basic ingredients in mind, but how they all come together, the quantities and ultimate flavor, is based upon creatively answering questions along the way. What base do I use?, what texture do I want?, what viscosity do I want?, what is missing?, what would enhance the flavor?, what is in my pantry, garden or refrigerator that would go well in it?, and is it complete or does it need one more thing? Each time the answer may be different and therefore the end result is never the same, providing our taste buds with an endless array of delightful experiences.

I also take pleasure in my flower beds - creating, designing, maintaining, and enjoying the display, beauty, and fragrance. It's no wonder Spring is my favorite time of year. My husband, Jim is the vegetable gardener. He enjoys planting, tending, watching, and harvesting his vegetables. He takes great pleasure out of being able to put food on the table without having to make a trip to the grocery store.

During the day, I work out of my home for Oracle, Inc in a finance roll supporting a sales team that sells into Higher Ed, Healthcare, and State & Local Government. I was employed by Sun Microsystems for 22 years prior to the company being acquired by Oracle. Jim also works from home. He is self employed as a money manager. He has had his business, Infinity Asset Management, LLC (IAM), for 7 years. Prior to that he worked for AG Edwards as an Investment Broker.

We both share the role of creative cooking in our household.

Our Harvest Moon Squash Soup was created in the kitchen of and with the assistance of Souper Sarah and her Souper Hubby, Eric. We created the recipe as we went along. The parsnips were added in answer to the question "what is in Sarah's pantry, garden or refrigerator that would go well in it? That proved to be a very tasty addition. The squash was baked in the oven instead of cooked on our wood stove as is our usual custom. Thus the squash was a little drier than normal yielding a thicker soup. For those of you who like a thinner soup, feel free to experiment by adding additional broth, milk, some half and half or some H2O if it turns out a little thicker than you like.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Happy Easter

Do you see the bee?

The temperature this week was so warm, close to the 80’s. Not knowing, our friend, Souper Rosalie volunteered to make soup and picked a perfect soup for the weather – Chilled Cucumber Soup. Rosalie belongs to many organizations, doing volunteer work for them. One of her favorite charities is the Red Cross and she recently became a board member of the Groton Library. RSVP has just honored her with the Volunteer of the Month award for March! She had this type of soup at Virginia Beach and liked its Mediterranean flavor, so she came home and made her own recipe! This soup is served chilled and the explicit and vibrant flavors are mouth-watering! It is a cooling soup.

Chilled Cucumber Soup

Souper Rosalie/Souper Sarah

This is an exceptionally refreshing chilled soup, using a traditional combination of cucumber and yogurt.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6

3 (7oz.) containers Greek yogurt
1 cup half and half (may substitute buttermilk)
2 English cucumbers, unpeeled, seeded and chopped
½ cup chopped red onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
6 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (4 lemons)
A bit more fresh dill and a few lemon slices for garnish
6 Pita Breads – warmed just before serving – and cut into wedges

1 – In large mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt, half and half (or buttermilk), cucumbers, onion, scallions, garlic, salt and pepper.

2 – Transfer the mixture in batches to a food processor fitted with steel blade. Process until the cucumbers are coarsely pureed – pour into another bowl. Continue until all is processed and pureed. Fold in the dill, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

3 – Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice – serve chilled, garnished with lemon slices and fresh dill, with the warm pita wedges.

Chopping scallions

English cucumbers



Chopped red onion





Mixed & stir cucumbers, onions, and dill





Process until coarsely pureed






Serve chilled - garnished with lemon slices & fresh dill

Souper Rosalie/Souper Sarah

Celebrating their April birthdays!

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Thank you, Rosalie for celebrating our birthdays and making this fantastic soup. Ralph (Rosalie’s husband), Eric and my Mom were here, too. We had fun at our birthday party! By the way, this soup is equally sensational the next day!

The thought for the week -

Rather than search for a single miracle food, strive for a varied and delicious diet.

Happy souping until we meet again!

Souper Sarah

Pizza Soup

Snow Drops

This first week of spring was warm and what a joy it was finding the snow drops. There are several different types of snow drops, each with a unique name. We only have this one at the farm. They have grown here for at least forty years and as of yet, I have not been able to find out their name. If anyone knows, please leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you.

I was missing all our families this week, especially our grandchildren. When we get together, quite often we have pizza. With that in mind, Souper Lynda’s Pizza Soup recipe came to my attention. She could not be with us, as she is the baking queen at Purity Ice Cream, does income taxes at H&R Block, plus is working on a master’s degree in her spare time!! She mentioned that not only did this soup have great flavor, but it was fun to make. We took Saturday afternoon, had a pizza party making the soup and wow it really does taste like pizza!! This soup is great for anyone over 60, under 10 and anyone in between. I know my grandchildren could even make this!

Souper Lynda - Purity's baking queen

Pizza Soup

Souper Lynda

Souper Eric & Souper Sarah

This is simple to prepare, yet full of that delicious spicy pizza flavor. The melted mozzarella cheese on top makes this soup.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4-6

½ log Pepperoni, quartered and cubed
1 medium onion, diced
3 large garlic cloves diced
1 can (10 3/4oz) tomato soup (condensed)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 cup dried macaroni, cooked and drained

8 oz shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon olive oil

oregano, parsley and basil

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1 – Heat oil in soup pan. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.

2 – Add pepperoni and simmer for 15 minutes until the mixture has softened.

3 - Add tomato soup, diced tomatoes, and herbs and simmer for 10 minutes.

4 – Add macaroni and season to taste. Heat and serve in hot bowls, with mozzarella layer on top.

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Cubed pepperoni





Simmering onions, garlic and pepperoni





Cooked and drained macaroni





Simmer until flavored through





Serve hot with mozzarella cheese

The next day the flavor of this soup was awesome! It just keeps growing the longer you have it. The next time you think of pizza, try this soup, I’m sure it will be a crowd pleaser! Thank you Lynda for sharing your great recipe.

The thought for the week -

When you commit your dreams to paper, you give them a place to take root.

Happy souping until we meet again!

Souper Sarah