Ten on Tuesday: Soup Edition

Carole picked a timely topic this week! To further simplify my meal planning, this year, at the beginning of each month, I’m scheduling the type of meal for each day. The schedule in January is:

• Monday: pasta w/salad
• Tuesday: pierogies w/vegetables (usually broccoli)
• Wednesday: soup
• Thursday: veggie pie w/salad
• Friday: homemade pizza w/salad
• Saturday: steak (for Neal), baked potato (sweet for me), and salad
• Sunday: free for all.

This bit of planning saves me time when I do my Sunday meal planning. It’s flexible, of course, and I have a number of recipes for soups, veggie pies, pasta, and pizza that equate to plenty of variety. An additional benefit: almost all of these meals result in leftovers, perfect for the next day’s lunch.

Back to Ten on Tuesday, huh? Soup. I really like making soup, even if I have, in fact, burned the soup. Here’s my list of top ten favorites to make (and eat), with recipe links when possible.

1. My very favorite is Creamy Tomato soup from Jack Bishop’s A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. It takes a bit of doing, but the layers of tomato goodness make every step worthwhile. For the record, there is no cream in this soup.

2. Butternut Squash soup. I’ve been making this recipe since it first appeared in Real Simple. It is a winner. The croutons are good, too.

3. Feel Good Soup. Like most delicious soups, improvisation improves this one, which is, as its name suggests, meant to make the diner feel good. Simmer chopped veggies in some clear veggie broth, and a few minutes before serving, add some pasta. Since I don’t eat chicken noodle soup, this is my I-have-a-cold substitute.

4. Gazpacho. Next summer I may have to freeze a few batches.

5. Cholula Vehicle Lentil Stew. Okay, that’s not the official name, but I make this stew in order to top it with my favorite hot sauce.

6. Julia Child’s Potato Leek soup. I rarely get this just right, and after my trip to Paris, I know why: the leeks are better in France. Oh, I don’t mean the farmer’s market leeks, but those aren’t always available. I mean the sad excuses for leeks that are in the grocery store when I want this soup the most. They have so little leek to them, and so much green, that I often get the proportion of leek to potato wrong. It’s important to use a less-starchy potato, too, or it just tastes like potato soup.

7. Tuscan Bean Soup. I don’t have the recipe online, but it’s a broth-based soup with loads of beans, kale, carrots, and celery. It’s great with crusty bread.

8. Corn and Quinoa Chowder. I haven’t made this recipe yet, but doesn’t it look good?

9. Vegetarian Minestrone. The soup for this week! I use this recipe as a rough guide, but I put in whatever looks good from the produce section.

10. Spinach and Tofu soup. I don’t make this one; I order it from a local Thai restaurant. It’s a simple, clear soup with bits of, well, spinach and tofu in it. It tastes very nice when I don’t feel like making soup for myself!

How about you? What’s your favorite soup? Bonus points for linking to a recipe in the comments!