Sunday soup: North African Couscous Soup

This soup is really fast, and contains pretty much only ingredients that I keep in my pantry.  It could be a weeknight meal, thrown together in about 20 minutes. We had to play with the flavorings a bit, because it was initially a bit bland.  After a bit of tweaking, though, it was good enough for Joe to have a second bowl!

North African Couscous Soup:

3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. finely chopped celery or fennel, with some leaves or fronds
1 T Za'atar (a North African spice blend of dried herbs, sesame seeds, and dried sumac) or 2 teaspoons cumin (which is what I used)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 c. couscous, preferably whole wheat
3 T tomato paste (I forgot to add this before cooking the couscous, which might account for some of the bland flavor)
2 quarts vegetable stock (make your own by simmering water with a quartered onion, a couple of celery stalks, and a bay leaf)

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan with a tightly fitting lid over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 2 minutes.  Add the za'atar or cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir constantly to keep the spices from burning, until just fragrant, about a minute. Add the couscous and continue stirring and cooking until the couscous begins to toast and darken, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock and tomato paste, and stir to dissolve the paste.

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook without disturbing until the couscous is cooked, 5-10 minutes.

As I said, ours was initially a bit bland. We salted it, but it still needed something (other than more salt). Joe suggested lime, so we gave that a go (success!). We also added a bit of Sriracha (thai chili sauce) for kick.  As I type this, I'm thinking about going back for a little more....mmmm....

This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.  This is a new one for me (I bought it for my sister for Christmas, but so did my mom, and she got mom's copy first.  Then, mom and dad bought us a cookbook that we already had, so they "bought" it from us. Therefore, I decided not to return Abby's cookbook, since I like the non-vegetarian version so much). Enjoy!

Sunday Soup: Butternut squash or "Thanksgiving in a bowl"

I'd like to thank Carrie, long time friend and author of Sunshine and Fresh Cut Grass, for the Sunday Soup shout-out, and the inspiration for this week's recipe!


Joe and I headed over to Ann Arbor for the football game between our Alma Mater and his current school, The University of Wisconsin.  Sadly, Big Blue lost (and NO, Joe was NOT cheering for the Badgers!). We hit the road early this morning, but still came home to lots of work to do to get ready for the week ahead.  Because of that, I needed a soup recipe that required few ingredients, all readily on hand.


I've been sitting here, planning the menu and shopping list for my family's Thanksgiving celebration, which will be held in Door County, WI (northern Wisconsin), in a couple of rented condos.  So, not only am I planning the menu and doing the shopping, I will be schlepping all of the essential cookware with me! It's looking pretty delicious...but a lot of work. I'm thinking that there is a big shopping trip in my near future, like tonight.


But I digress...

Photo from Carrie's blog post, above

This week's recipe: Butternut squash soup or "Thanksgiving in a Bowl"


1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 small sweet potatoes (because the regular potatoes were all sprouty, whoops!)
1 onion, chopped
1 quart veggie broth ('cause that's what's in the pantry, you could also use chicken broth or make your own veggie stock by simmering a quart plus a little extra water with a carrot, celery stalk, onion, and bay leaf)
1/2 to 1 cup whole milk (I'm stirring together some 2% and some half and half, since I don't have whole)


- preheat the oven to 400 F
- toss the squash and potatoes with olive oil and salt/pepper in a baking dish; bake for 45 minutes to an hour while blogging until tender
- transfer veggies and any juices into your favorite soup pot; add the broth and simmer over medium heat
- remove from heat and use an immersion blender, if you've got one, to puree the soup until smooth; or in batches in your regular blender (being careful to keep that lid on tightly!). As always, I like to leave a few chunks for texture.  
- stir in the milk to your desired thickness; season with salt and pepper.  


And since I know Joe will say, "You know what would make this even better?" I'll fry up some chopped bacon for a garnish.

Sunday Soup: Lemony chicken and rice

Tonight's Sunday Soup was chosen for its comforting qualities, as I contracted a little bit (ok, a lotta bit) of a tummy ache over the weekend.  Also, it was easy and quick, which was necessary since we got home at about 4 from being in Michigan all weekend for Joe's Grandma's funeral.

The nice thing about this one, as well, is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples, so I had them all on hand without taking an extra trip to the store.

Lemony Chicken and Rice soup

32 oz Chicken broth (the amount in one of those resealable boxes, or two regular sized cans)

2/3 c. white rice (probably could use brown or some wild rice, but this is easy on the tummy and quicker to cook)

1/2 c. cooked chicken, chopped to 1/2" pieces

3 eggs

1/4 c. lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the broth and rice in a largish saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer (not a boil).

Cook 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is done. Add chicken.

While the rice is cooking, beat the eggs until frothy (I used my trusty Kitchenaide here, but I'm sure you could do it by hand). Whisk in the lemon juice. Ladle 1 c. of broth from the pot, then slooowly wisk this in (not too fast, or you could scramble the eggs, bleh).

Whisk this mixture into the rice/broth/chicken mixture. Cook on low-medium heat for 4 minutes (boiling here could lead to curdling of the eggs).

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley if you've got it.

Joe recommends serving in a bread bowl (his request for our future renditions of this recipe).