Carrot Ginger Soup

My friend Sarah Chute and I invented this recipe in Montreal.

ingredients
5 large carrots, sliced (more if you want it to be extra carrot-y)
3-4 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 t allspice (or a mix of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg)
2-3" fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
1 C cooking cream
salt and pepper

method
Put everything but the cream and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove the bay leaf, add the ginger and blend the soup in batches until smooth. Add the cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat it up a little if necessary.

notes
I love this soup with a warm baguette and black pepper Boursin or a nice brie or camembert.

Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili

Jordana gave me this recipe when I couldn't think of anything to make for dinner, and now it's one of our favourite dinners.

ingredients
1 T vegetable or olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 4oz. can diced jalapeno peppers (optional, makes it super spicy)
1 4oz. can shopped green chili peppers
2 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t ground cayenne pepper
2 14.5oz. cans or 3-4 cups chicken broth
3 C chopped cooked chicken breast
3 cans white cannellini beans
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapenos, green chili peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture for about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and beans. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in cheese until melted. Serve warm.

notes
I usually leave out the jalapeno peppers and halve the cayenne pepper or it's almost too spicy. I also leave out  the cheese and it's still delicious. I also use one small rotisserie chicken from the grocery store instead of the chicken breast, and it's the perfect amount for dinner and leftovers.

Cream of Pumpkin Soup

I made this for dinner tonight with some leftover pumpkin puree. It was good and tasted like fall. :) I got this from AllRecipes and made a couple changes from the reviews. I also didn't have time to make the croutons, but I definitely want to next time!

• 3 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 slices whole wheat bread
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F(200 degrees C). Combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread butter mixture evenly over one side of each bread slice. Place bread, buttered side up, on a baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until bread is crisp and topping is bubbly. Cut each slice of bread into 8 small triangles or squares.
2. Saute onion in butter in a medium saucepan until tender. Add 1 can chicken broth; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Transfer broth mixture into the container of a blender or processor. Process until smooth.
4. Return mixture to saucepan. Add remaining can of broth, pumpkin, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground pepper, and brown sugar; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally..
5. Stir in whipping cream and heat through. Do not boil. Add more salt or pepper to taste. Ladle into individual soup bowls. Top each serving with Cinnamon Croutons.

Celery Soup with Sourdogh Croutons and a Tarragon Swirl

This recipe sounds hard, but it's actually one of the most easy and delicious soups I've ever made! I found this on epicurious when I was searching for a recipe that would use up all of our leftover celery after Thanksgiving. I think it's my new post-Thanksgiving favourite, after leftover turkey, of course!

Bon Appétit recipe on epicurious

notes
The only change I made was that I used dried tarragon instead of fresh and it was still delicious. 1T fresh herbs = 1 t dry herbs, so use between 1/4 and 1/2 t of dried tarragon. This would be a great appetizer, but we ate more generous servings for dinner and it was quite filling.