We've got a great recipe for a sweet potato/cabbage/peanut butter spicy soup. I'll post it when I get home later today.

Ooh, I made really good potato soup last time I was soup-inspired. Of course, I have no idea now where I got the recipe. I will wrack my brain and get back to you.

I like a nice cream carrot soup -- I stir-fry half of the carrots in a wok with sesame seed oil and a bit of turmeric, I scald the other half in boiling water, I purée them all and add them to a big rich pot of vegetable stock. let simmer, add turmeric powder (again), until it gets to a rich creamy juicy soup. you can replace turmeric with ginger, but turmeric is delicious

oh, yeah: I add a bit of ground black pepper in the end

I made the cook's illustrated butternut soup the other day. One medium sized butternut squash, half a stick of butter (yes, it needs it), couple shallots. Fry the shallots in the butter, scoop the seeds and stringy bits into the shallots (this is the key to the intense flavor), fry the strings and seeds until the butter is golden and strings start to brown. Add water (NOT stock), put steamer basket over the whole mess, chop squash to manageable pieces and steam over its own guts. Cool, scrape squash out of skin, strain steaming water, puree the whole mess in a blender and add salt and additional water to taste. They add cream in at the end but I don't think it needs it.

This is the BEST ---> Greek Lemon Soup (Avegolemono)

Ingredients:
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 cup water
3 Tbs. lemon juice
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup hot cooked long grain rice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
6 lemon slices

Instructions:
Heat broth and water in medium saucepan over medium high heat. Gradually add hot broth broth mixture and lemon juice to eggs, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat until slightly thick (about 15 minutes), stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in rice, salt and pepper. Serve with a lemon slice. Beware of Moonbird crashing through ceiling, snorting best soup in the world up nose.

Ginger, orange zest, and hot peppers can all profitably be added, separately or in combination, to squash-based soups.

My thick, spicy, slightly creamy Tomato soup is one of my favourites, and very simple.

Ingredients:
Crushed tomatoes
chicken stock (or boullion)
heavy cream (a little carton is way more than enough)
Garlic
hot pepper flakes (the kind you put on your pizza)
salt and pepper to taste

Get yourself some crushed tomatoes. I usually use those fancy Pomi brand ones that come in a box. As this is the base, you want some good quality stuff, not no nasty Del Monte crap. Buy as much as you want soup, I usually go with 64 oz, as it's usually just me and my girlfriend eating.

If you want the soup smoother, ie without tomato chunkies, either buy tomato puree instead or puree it in the blender.

1. Put the crushed tomatoes in a stockpot and bring to a simmer.

2. Put a quarter head (4-5 cloves) of garlic in the food processor or grate it by hand, Either way, put it in the pot with the soup. Remember, the longer you cook it, the less pronounced any spices you put in will be, so if you want it more garlicky, put it in later.

3. Add stock until you get the consistency you want, for me, it's usually about a quarter or less of the amount of crushed tomatoes. If you're using boullion, add a couple cubes and some water.

4. Shake a lot of crushed red chili flakes in! (to taste)

5. Add cream until the soup is the color you want.

6. Fin. (Eat!)

For a little extra flavor, you can cut up some fresh tomatoes and toss them in with the soup when you serve it.

Remember to taste frequently while cooking, soup is more art than science.

oh wow.. I'm copying every one of these. I hope the sweetpotato peanut butter recipe shows up;


here's a Green Chile Stew I like to make when I have all the ingredients on hand.


2 to 2 1/2 pounds pork stew meat, or lean pork, cut in 1" cubes
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
3 tablespoons oil (olive is ok, peanut is delightful)
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 cups cooked pototoes. mash half of them with a fork
2 or 3 roasted green chiles (such as Anaheim, or what you like), diced, or 1 can (4oz)
2 cups Tomatillo salsa (salsa verde). Anaheim chiles aren't very spicy, but tomatillo salsa varies, so take this into consideration.
1 teaspoon brown sugar


Put the flour, cumin, pepper, salt, and sage in a plastic bag; add pork cubes and shake to coat thoroughly. Brown pork in hot oil in batches; remove when browned and set aside. With heat still on, add the vinegar to the skillet, scraping up brown bits, reducing the vinegar.

Put the onions, chiles, potato chunks, salsa, broth, brown sugar, pork ,any leftover "shake" flour, and the vinegary scraped bits from the skillet in a 5-quart pan (a crockpot works really well).

Stir and cook, covered, on low 8 to 12 hours, or on high 4 to 6 hours (careful, watch it closely if you do this). Add the mashed up potatoes to thicken the soup.

Make a batch of cornbread to serve with it.

Well, huh, I guess I really like to make soup.

After some rummaging around I found this recipe that I'd typed up awhile back & figure it's only fair to share. Thanks for the recipes, guys - much appreciated!

Greens and Garlic Soup (from The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas)

With a good bread and maybe some hummous, it’s a meal. For best results, use 2-3 kinds of greens, mixing stronger flavors with milder ones.

1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 T fruity olive oil
1 bunch (12 oz) each:
young kale & chard or escarole, spinach, rapini, Napa cabbage, etc
1 ½ lbs potatoes, diced
2 cups water
salt and pepper
8 cups vegetable broth (she offers low salt chicken broth as an alt, but I thinks it’s much better with veggie broth, Trader Joe’s has a great one if you don’t make them from scratch.)
¾ cup white wine
3 T rice vinegar

garnishes: additional olive oil
hot red chile pepper flakes
feta cheese, crumbled

Sauté the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a large non-stick pan until they begin to color. Wash the greens, trimming away any tough stems and ribs, and shred the leaves with a sharp knife. If you’re using one of the sturdier greens, add it to the pan when the garlic starts to turn golden, and sauté them together for a few minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile, combine the diced potatoes, water, salt and pepper to taste, and vegetable broth in a soup pot and bring to a boil. When the potatoes are tender, add the garlic and onion mixture, all the shredded greens, the white wine, and the rice vinegar. Simmer everything together for about 30 minutes, then taste and correct the seasoning, if needed.

Put on the table a carafe of good green olive oil, some dried chile flake flakes, and a bowl of crumbled feta cheese, then serve steaming bowls of soup. The best way is with a little of everything: a tiny drizzle of oil, a sprinkle of chile, and a spoonful of feta in the middle. ______________________________________________________________
A few notes

In the recipe, she suggests blending milder and stronger greens, but I avoid the mild greens and go straight for flavor and texture, using kale, chard, collard and mustard greens, sometimes garnishing it with watercress if it’s handy/cheap. I also leave out the potatoes, but only because I usually make a huge batch and freeze it and potatoes don’t do well after being frozen. Finally, I also substitute fresh lemon juice to brighten up the flavor when I don’t feel like having it spicy.

I want to cook soup like my mom. She doesn't use recipes, she just puts stuff together and it's good. None of those fancy dancy nouveau cusine soups, but just good ole homemade mom soup. I cook with her, but when I try it at home it never works the same. Must be one of those mysterious mom things.

Ok. As promised, here is the aforementioned potato/pb soup (stolen from the Moosewood Rest. Simple Suppers book)

1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger root
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (to taste)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups chopped cabbage (1/2-inch pcs)
2 1/2 cups diced sweet potatoes (approx 1 pd)
1 quart vegetable broth
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
mung bean sprouts (optional)
chopped cilantro, scallions, mint, Thai basil (opt)

In a soup pot on medium heat, cook the ginger, garlic, and cayenne in the oil for a minute before adding the onions and salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cabbage and sweet potatoes. Add about 3 1/2 cups of the broth. Cover and increase the heat to bring to a boil. Then reduce the head and simmer for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and the remaining 1/2 cup of broth until smooth. Add the mixture to the soup with the tomatoes and soy sauce. Simmer covered until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Serve each bowl topped with sprouts, cilantro, scallions, mint and/or basil.

(we didn't make the topping... probably nice but not necessary. we used closer to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne and it was nice and spicy)

Here's my recipe for 16 bean soup.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, soup.

Here's one of my favoritest clear soups ever, from Cook's Magazine:

≡ Click to see image ≡

Leek and Onion Soup

2 leeks / 1 onion / 1 small tomato / I small yellow bell pepper / 1/2 lb. of bacon / salt and pepper / 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme / 3 cups chicken stock
____________________________________

Trim the leeks (leaving a couple of inches of green), quarter them lengthwise, and wash thoroughly, then chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Dice the onion and tomato, Char the bell pepper over a gas flame, on the grill, or under the broiler 'til the skin is blackened and blistered, then peel, core, seed and cut into thin strips.

Cook the bacon until crisp, then chop, saving 3 tablespoons of the fat. Add the leeks and salt and cook for three minutes, then add the onion and cook 'til soft, stirring frequently (about another 13 minutes), and stir in the thyme.

Add the stock, season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer for five minutes. Add the bacon, bell pepper and tomato to the soup and cook over low heat until just heated through.

(four servings)

Another fast and easy heartwarming soup is Corn Chowder: the measurements are not extremely important, so I'll just give you a thumbnail of how I make it:

Begin sauteeing small chunks of thick bacon or chopped smoked ham in olive oil, then toss in a large chopped onion, one each diced red and green bell pepper, and a clove or two of diced garlic*, and continue sauteeing until soft. (I do this directly in the soup pot.)

Throw in a large bag of frozen corn kernels, and two diced potatoes and add water (however much looks right for the soup - maybe a couple of quarts?) and salt, pepper, and marjoram. Simmer at medium until the potato is cooked, then turn the heat to low and stir in some cream or canned milk and cook for another ten minutes or so.

* Actually, I like to add garlic paste, made by sprinkling the salt on the garlic and crushing with mortar and pestle until a paste is achieved.

PS: Paging iconomy! I know you have something to add to this, little girl, so get in here, stat!

East African Sweet Pea Soup. You can use frozen peas. Serve with French bread and a salad.

Also, if you are making a lot of soups that require pureeing, an immersion blender is a great investment.

Friday I did arse_hat's pumpkin soup!!! It was really good, but I think it needs the turkey, which I didn't have, but I added it the next day. For a non-cook it was a yummy success. Thank you arse_hat! Although how do you get the pumpkin effectively out of the pumpkin? Mellon baller? I thought I was going to cut off a finger.

Yes ma'am, taz! Whoo hooo I loves me some soup. Right now my absolute favorite is Black Bean, and it's soooo easy to make if you start with canned beans, or you can soak black beans in water all day if you want.

Black Bean Soup

2 large cans black beans, including the liquid
*shields bunnyfire's eyes* - 1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro, or 1 tsp dried
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp dried cumin
the juice of half a lime - at least 2 tbsps
salt
pepper

Just put everything together in a blender, puree it, and simmer it through until thoroughly heated. It really could not be any easier. Sometimes I take half the beans of one can and leave them unpureed, and just add them to the pot when I put it on the stove, for a little bit of texture. Usually I like it totally pureed though.

For garnish - optional - sour cream, toasted tortilla strips, tortilla chips, shredded cheese