It’s not like the north where I’m from, but down here in Tennessee it gets cold. And after being here about 7 years I don’t handle the cold as well as I did growing up and living in Michigan. Anyway, it seems like another weekend and another soup to warm the soul. Vegetable soup. Soulful soup. Something about the comfort of having a big pot of soup (or chili) on the stove for not only for bowls, but also a spoonful out of the pot throughout the day.

This past weekend it was no different. What vegetables are in the fridge? Any leftovers that need to be used or eaten? A nice vegetable soup will do nicely. We had some leftover sautéed zucchini with Mediterranean spices along with some dandelion greens with garlic and tamari. We also had some Brussels sprouts that would do nicely. So with that I started. Typically I go by taste and feel when I’m creating some soups.

Today’ Soulful Soup Recipe

1. First step is to sauté a couple onions. This is a key to any soup or even refried beans. Sauté them up until they’re browned. By getting them to the brown stage unleashes some great flavor depth which adds an underlying richness to anything you’re making.
2. Near the end of the browning I toss in some minced garlic. We love garlic so it was probably 5 or 6 cloves.
3. From there I added maybe 8 or 9 cups of vegetable broth (I use vegetable Better than Bouillon).
4. I bring that all to a slight boil then add in the vegetables – first another 2 chopped onions
5. I let that simmer for a few minutes then added in my leftover vegetables (zucchini & dandelion greens)
6. Then some chopped Brussels sprouts.
7. I added in some more Mediterranean spices, tamari, black pepper and a little this and that to taste.

And that is it. Pretty simple but some great flavor tones. Overall a comforting and soulful soup.

Do you have any soups or special recipes you’d like to share?