Soup's On

It's soup season at Sophie Junction and I have found a few new recipes to add to my collection of perennial favorites.  Here are eight from my list of go-to recipes for soups.

When I get into soup-making mode, I always start by pulling out the slow-cooker and making vegetarian stock. Having some delicious stock on hand is the first step to yummy soup. There is no doubt when you are cleaning/chopping these colorful veggies, that the result will be tasty, healthy goodness:

Diabetic Vegetarian Stock

The same day I make the stock, dinner will be a simple soup that uses it, based on what's in the fridge–it's usually French onion soup. This recipe is an easy one.

Carmelized Onion Soup

Lately I have tried two others that were made because of what was in the fridge–I love finding recipes with ingredient search–and they were both pretty good and worth making again (and again).

Curried Carrot Soup (photo from Allrecipes)

Cashew Cream Kale Soup

I've also been cooking a couple of old-favorites that I've blogged about before:

Spicy Tomato Lentil Soup

Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup (photo from Fatfree Vegan)

Ever since ordering some creamy, sweet butternut squash soup in a restaurant in Lansing, Michigan, I have been a fan ... and willing to try almost any butternut squash soup recipe that crosses my path ...

For Thanksgiving, I tried a new-to-me, slow-cooker recipe from a new-to-me foodie blog with a great funny name, Gimme Some Oven.  I was wary it might be too sweet because of the added apple, but the sweetness was balanced by the cayenne and other spices.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup (photo from Gimme Some Oven)

On Sunday, I mentioned my ingredient scavenger hunt as part of an afternoon of running errands–I was on the hunt looking for preserved lemon, dried apricots and fennel. I needed them for a recipe spotted on the New York Times, I wanted to try.

Moroccan Chick Peas with Chard (photo from NYT)

Even though I can now count how long it has been since I lived in the south of France in decades, I still remember how many of the cafes served Moroccan dishes as the plat du jour on Thursdays ... so,  although the combination of ingredients in this one was curious, I have to say, they had me at "Moroccan."

Sometimes, you just have to suspend disbelief and take a chance.  I'm glad I did exactly that with this interesting combination of ingredients and spices. It will be lunch for me a few times this week.

Do you love soup at this time of year as much as I do?  Please share YOUR go-to favorites in the comments ... because I DO love to find something new to sample and maybe add to my list.