September Market Soup

It was chilly yesterday so I felt like something warm and hearty. Came up with this soup based upon the veggies in the kitchen from prior trips Christie had made to the Farmers Market as well as the bounty of end-of-season tomatoes from the garden. It reminded us of minestrone, although it did not get any basil or other herbs. We also used a grain medley from Trader Joe's which contains Israeli couscous, red quinioa, some orzo, and yellow split peas (or maybe split, baby garbanzos, channa dal).

The result was very hearty, warming and full of bright flavors. The couscous continued to suck up the scant liquid, so we ended up with a thick stew; perhaps less of this should be used. We made some toast out of Dave's spelt bread and enjoyed bowls of the soup, it really hit the spot after having had a chill all day.


The details:

This made a whole pile of soup, so if you follow along and make this on the weekend you'll end up with plenty of leftovers to have during the week, or you can freeze some for some night when you don't feel like cooking.

6 cups of water
1 package of liquid bullion/veggie stock concentrate (TJs)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large, red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 large carrots, chopped
2 large stalks celery, diced
1 cup chopped cauliflower florets
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 sunburst squash, diced
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup or LESS of TJs Grain Medley
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent, add salt and saute a little longer. Stir in water and bullion. Add in carrots, celery, cauliflower, red pepper, and tomatoes. Simmer and cover.

When carrots are starting to get tender add in the squash, the grain medley and the nutritional yeast. Continue to simmer until grains and split peas are cooked. Serve with salads or some toasted bread.


Notes

• Patty pan is another name for sunburst squash, we used a white one.
• Canned, diced tomatoes would easily work with this recipe, we used fresh because we are overwhelmed with ripe tomatoes in the garden!
• I think barley would be delicious with this soup! It should be steamed separately and stirred in at the end or even serve the soup over the barley.