Soups on

It's cold, and snowy. The wind is blowing and only on a good days does the sun seem to peak from behind the clouds. To top it all off, it is only half way through January and here we have many more weeks of this to go before the snow starts to melt and the temperature warms up.

So depressing, the winter blahs. At least it is a good excuse to make and eat lots of soup. Here are a couple of recent ones from our kitchen:

Potato, Leek and bacon soup:

• half pound bacon, roughly chopped
  
• 4-5 medium leeks; cleaned, dark green part removed, and sliced thin
  
• 4 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubbed
• 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
  
• salt and pepper, to taste

In large pot, cook bacon until starts to turn golden, but not crispy. Add leeks and stirring occasionally, cook until soft, approximately 20 minutes.

Add potatoes and broth to pot. Increase heat to medium-high in order to bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer approximately 45 minutes, or until potato is tender.

Remove from heat. Either using immersion blender, or blender, puree soup until smooth. Slowly stir in heavy cream, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

For a vegetarian option, omit bacon and use 3 tbsp of butter to cook leeks in.

Enjoy!

Italian Turkey soup: (Original recipe courtesy of Epicurious)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
  
• 1 small onion, chopped
  
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  
• 6 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
  
• 1 large zucchini, diced
  
• 2 carrot, diced
  
• 1 9-ounce package fresh cheese tortellini
  
• 2 cups diced cooked turkey

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion, garlic, basil, and crushed red pepper and sauté until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth. Cover pot and simmer 10 minutes. Add zucchini and carrot. Cover and simmer until carrot is almost tender, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to high and bring soup to boil. Add tortellini and boil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook just until heated through, about 1 minute. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Enjoy!