Heaven in a Chocolate Bar: Chocopologie

As I am sure is apparent, I am crazy for good chocolate. Add some sea salt to it and it's even better. Put in some burnt caramel and I am in heaven. So I had to try this Chocopologie Burnt Caramel and Sea Salt Bar, I found at R. Fields Wine Co., a gourmet store tucked into the corner of a couple of branches of a local grocery store chain here. My best source for the more exotic ingredients I sometimes shop for, they carry unique products including specialty chocolates. 

Chocopologie Bars, are made by Knipschildt Chocolatier, located in Fairfield County, CT. The bars are named after Cafe Chocopologie, the cafe/retail store started by founder and maître chocolatier, Fritz Knipschildt. (Who was once on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay). Designed to capture the "essence" of the cafe, there are three other bars; Mocha Coffee, Fresh Mint and Rosewater. They all looked and sounded good, but I had to buy this one because it features "Rich 71% Ecuadorian Single Bean Dark Chocolate filled with Burnt Caramel and Hawaiian Sea Salt." 

How was it? This is a delicious and high quality chocolate bar. It is beautifully made with the 12 individual squares of dark chocolate, and a burnt orange color towards the center. The chocolate is dark and smooth and has that pleasing snap to it that good chocolate has. There was a very thin layer of soft caramel, and the salt was sprinkled throughout. There was a bit less caramel and a bit more salt than I expected but the flavors came together well. It is definitely a bar for the salt/sweet lovers. The bars sell for about $10.00, ($9.00 on their website). It is pricey, but a "splurge-worthy" buy. With the quality of the chocolate and the rich combination of flavors, it is a bar to be savored and a little bit at a time will satisfy. 

Incidentally, Knipschildt Chocolatier makes what has to be one of the most indulgent and expensive truffles in the world, La Madeline au Truffe, where a rare French Perigord truffle is in the center of Valrhona chocolate and creamy ganache and each one is nestled on a bed of sugar pearls in a silver box tied with a ribbon. It will set you back $250.00 for ONE! Even being a chocolate lover, I find that one hard to justify.

Max, lurking on top of the pillows on the back of the couch, picks tuna rather than chocolate as his snack of choice.

Happy Weekend!

Salmon in a Couscous Crust for Tyler Florence Fridays

With the optional Ultimate Fish Tacos recipe, this is a two-Tyler recipe week, and since my regular TFF pick this week is salmon, it's a two-fish week as well. I chose Tyler's Salmon in a Couscous Crust because it is healthy and has some of my very favorite ingredients; pine nuts, capers and lemon. Tyler is a genius at combining flavors and textures and this recipe is no exception. You can find it on the Food Network site here.

Salmon in a Couscous Crust

How to boil Water, Tyler Florence

(Makes 2 servings)

1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped green olives
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups couscous (see note)
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets skinned
2 cups water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the parsley, raisins, olives, capers, pine nuts, olive oil, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper; stir in the couscous to moisten completely and season generously with salt and pepper.

Put the salmon in a single layer in a smallish buttered gratin dish or baking dish (bottom measured 10 by 7 1/4 inches; 2.8 liter); the fillets should not touch one another. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.


Now spoon the couscous mixture over the top of the fish so that it completely covers them and fills in the whole dish at the same time.


Pour over the water. Drizzle with olive oil. Put the dish in the oven and bake 25 minutes. Use a large spoon to spoon out the salmon and the couscous.


Note: 1 cup couscous plus 1 1/3 cups water is a better quantity to serve 2 if you have a smaller gratin dish or baking dish (remaining quantities are the same).

Notes/Results: Delicious! Wonderful flavors and textures with moist fish and slightly "crusty" couscous, what could be better?! The salty tang of the olives and capers with the sweetness of the raisins and the nuttiness of the pine nuts is great together. One thing, there is WAY more couscous than is needed. (I probably should have read the bottom note and the recipe reviews that said to reduce the couscous BEFORE making this). As the recipe is written, you end up with couscous for four and fish for two. No matter, I love couscous and will use it up. I did end up using a whole wheat couscous--might as well get a little additional fiber in. I reduced a bit of the olive oil but really this is a healthy dish as is. In the future, I will leave the pine nuts whole (the recipe says to chop them), as I would rather have a touch more crunch from the larger pieces. Since the grain and protein are in one dish, a side of veggies or a salad are all you need. I served mine with sauteed broccolini. It is not the most gorgeous recipe to plate but it is really good--another winner from Tyler.

You can check out what wonderful Tyler recipes the other TFF members made this week and what they thought of them by going to the Tyler Florence Fridays site here. 

Happy Aloha Friday!

Sauteed Broccolini--Barefoot Bloggers Optional Recipe

Since we seemed to have missed a bonus recipe in February, March has two optional recipes for Barefoot Bloggers. The first one, Sauteed Broccolini, selected by Mary Ann of Meet Me in the Kitchen, I actually made twice. I didn't make it twice due to a great love of broccoli-like vegetables, (to be honest, broccoli is not a good friend of mine, despite it's health value), but because, broccolini is not easy to find here. My first attempt led me to broccoli rabe, so I tried that with my Chicken Picatta last week (picture below) and it was a bit too bitter for my taste. 

This week I happened to find some baby broccoli (also marked "asparation") at Whole Foods. Surfing the net, I found conflicting information on whether broccolini and baby broccoli are the same thing. So, for the ruling, I am going with my favorite resource, The New Food Lover's Companion which says that broccolini is "the trademarked name for a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale. This bright green vegetable  has long slender stalks topped with a bouquet of tiny buds reminiscent of a miniature broccoli head. The flavor is sweet with a subtle, peppery edge; the texture is slightly crunchy. Also called baby broccoli."  

With my broccolini, baby broccoli, asparation, or whatever you like to call it in hand, I tried the recipe again and had much better results. It was much less bitter and for me it had a better flavor than the broccoli rabe. The only changes I made, (the same changes I made for the rabe last week), were subbing out the butter for just a tablespoon of olive oil and adding a bit more lemon juice and black pepper. With the garlic and lemon, I actually kind of liked the broccolini, (Although I doubt I will search for it and pay Whole Foods prices for it again).  

This recipe is from the Food Network website here:

Sauteed Broccolini

Barefoot, Contessa, Ina Garten

(Makes 6 servings)

1 bunch broccolini
kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Blanch the broccolini in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water. Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the lemon zest and garlic and stir. Drain the broccolini and add it to the garlic mixture and heat for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, and toss well before serving.

Thanks Mary for a great recipe pick that got me to try cooking a couple of vegetables that I would not have tried on my own. You can see who else made this optional bonus recipe and what they thought of it by visiting the Barefoot Blogger's "Whose Turn Is It?" page, here. 

Our second recipe for this month, Brownie Pudding is in the following post.

Brownie Pudding--Barefoot Bloggers Optional Recipe

Our second optional Barefoot Bloggers recipe for March, is Ina's Brownie Pudding, picked by Tia of Southern Eh?  Brownie Pudding is not something I can make healthy, but I have been pretty good so we will focus on small indulgences. I made half of the recipe, and made it in small ramekins for portion control and sharing. After all, a girl can't live on broccolini and quinoa alone!

This recipe can be found in Barefoot Contessa; Back to Basics (page 218) or at the Food Network site, here.

Brownie Pudding

Barefoot Contessa; Back to Basics

(6 Servings)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed for 5 to 10 minutes, until very thick and light yellow. Meanwhile, sift the cocoa powder and flour together and set aside.

When the egg and sugar mixture is ready, reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla seeds, framboise, if using, and the cocoa powder and flour mixture. Mix only until combined. With mixer still on low, slowly pour in the cooled butter and mix again just until combined.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared dish and place it in a larger baking pan. Add enough of the hottest tap water to the pan to come halfway up the side of the dish and bake for exactly 1 hour. A cake tester inserted 2 inches from the side will come out 3/4 clean. The center will appear very under-baked; this dessert is between a brownie and a pudding.

Allow to cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Notes/Results: Rich, chocolaty and very decadent, this one is for the extreme chocoholic and a bit too rich for me, I think. I used a dark, Valrhona Cacao Powder that a friend gave me, and I think that made it even richer. I put my half recipe into three ramekins, baked them about 30 minutes and they had the perfect gooey center and chewy, brownie-like edges that Ina promised. I loved the texture but I couldn't quite finish mine, it was just too much. The small scoop of vanilla yogurt I served with it, helped a bit, but for me, I am happier with just a small piece of good quality choclate to splurge on. 

Thanks to Tia for picking a decadent, indulgent chocolate treat that was fun to try. You can see which Barefoot Bloggers made this optional recipe and what they thought about it on the "Whose Turn Is It?"  page here. 

Blog Party #44--Brunch: Aloha Sunrise Power Bars and Juice Shots

It's Blog Party time again, time to come up with an appetizer and drink that represent the monthly theme. This month, our terrific hostess Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness is revisiting one of her favorite themes: "Brunch: Worth Getting Up Late For...Again".


Although visions of mini-Eggs Benedict or corn-beef hash were floating through my head, I decided to go with a healthier option and make some Hawaii-inspired "power bars". These are similar to the Sunshine Power Bars I made a few months ago, but I made some changes in ingredients to make them even better and more tropical. To go with them I plugged in my juicer to make some delicious, healthy juice shots mixing fresh papaya, carrot and pineapple. Together they are better for you than "eggs benny" and the perfect start to a morning, or for a long night of Blog Partying.

Aloha Sunrise Power Bars

4 cups crisped brown rice cereal
1/2 cup coconut flakes or chips (I used a large coconut "chip")
1/3 cup almond slivers
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/3 cup dried papaya, diced

1/3 cup dried mango

1/3 cup dried pineapple
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds

2 Tbsp wheat germ
2 tsp ground cinnamon 
1 1/2 tsp Hawaiian Red Alaea salt
1  1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup almond butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut in a single layer on a pie plate and almonds and mac nuts in a single layer on another plate. Toast, stirring as needed, until coconut and nuts become golden brown, (About 6-7 minutes for the larger coconut chips and 8-9 minutes for nuts). Spray a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray. Pour crisped rice cereal into a large mixing bowl and add coconut, nuts, chopped dried fruit, and ginger and mix together. Add flax seeds, wheat germ and Hawaiian red salt and toss to mix well.

Combine cinnamon, brown rice syrup and almond butter in a small saucepan, over medium heat and stir constantly until smooth and bubbling. (about 4 minutes).

Pour syrup mixture into cereal mixture and stir carefully to ensure it is combined and the syrup covers all of the cereal mixture. Scoop sticky cereal mixture into pan, spray hands with cooking spray (so mixture doesn't stick to them) and carefully and thoroughly pat mixture evenly into pan, pressing down lightly but firmly so everything sticks together.

Allow to cool and set about 1 hour then cut into bars, whatever size you desire. Wrap bars individually in wax paper. 

Notes/Results: Delicious! Chewy and flavorful, these bars are the perfect breakfast or snack. I used a crisped brown rice cereal this time for added crunch. I was able to find low-sugar dried papaya, pineapple and mango in the bulk foods section of my natural foods store, which is nice as it cuts a bit of the sugar. With the fruit, mac nuts, and some dried ginger, they have a definite tropical vibe. I added some slivered almonds, ground flax seeds and wheat germ for extra nutrients. For the bit of salty, I crave in a power bar, I added a bit of Hawaiian Red Alaea Salt, and can I say yum!?!  With every bite you get some sweet fruit, a bit of spicy ginger, the toasted taste of the coconut and nuts and that bit of salt; all in a crisp, chewy base. Of course there is a fair amount of sugar in these bars but it's from primarily natural sources and there are lots of vitamins and minerals in them too. (A bonus--they are gluten-free). Wrapping the bars individually in wax paper and putting them in an airtight container, keeps them fresh and ready to grab on the go.

Papaya-Carrot-Orange Juice Shots

No recipe here, I just drag out my juicer and throw a little of each ingredient in. Mix them together and pour into shot glasses. Papaya, carrot and orange is one of my favorite combinations; tangy and refreshing but a bit sweet too. You get some vitamin C, beta-carotene and enzymes that aid in your digestion from this blend, so you better have a few shots!

Thanks to Stephanie for another great Blog Party gathering. If you want to join in the fun you have until Friday to RSVP. The round up with everyones' brunch tidbits will be posted at Dispensing Happiness, after the weekend.

Tyler's Ultimate Fish Tacos Made Ultimately Healthier

March's Optional Bonus Recipe for Tyler Florence Fridays is Tyler's Ultimate Fish Tacos. Big applause to Megan for selecting an easier recipe this time, as I am still recovering from last month's gnocchi-making! I make fish tacos fairly often, so I was anxious to try Tyler's version. Tyler's recipe does come with additional salsa and chili mayo recipes but everything goes together easily and fairly quickly, especially if you prepare the salsa and chile sauce ahead of time. I have a definite "no deep-frying rule" going on at my house so my goal with the challenge was to "healthify" Tyler's recipe quite a bit. Baking the fish and a few ingredient changes such as swapping out yogurt for the mayo and sour cream in the chile sauce, etc., made these tacos lighter, much healthier but still delicious.  

Tyler's Ultimate Fish Tacos

Tyler's Ultimate, Tyler Florence

(Yields 8-10 servings)

2 pounds mahi mahi (skinned, boned and cleaned) cut into 1-ounce strips
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons water
2 cups panko bread crumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 head savoy cabbage, finely shredded
1 bunch cilantro, leaves picked
1 bunch chives, chopped
3 limes, cut into wedges for garnish



Pink Chile Mayonnaise:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
3 chipotles in adobo, plus 2 tablespoons of adobo sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper



Mango-Radish Salsa:
2 limes
2 mangoes, diced
4 to 5 red radishes, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the fish. Cut the pieces of fish into 1-ounce strips. Set up a breading station of flour, lightly beaten eggs with water, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Season all with salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces of fish in flour, egg then bread crumbs. Once all the fish is breaded deep-fry in small batches in (375 degrees F) oil. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Prepare the pink chile mayonnaise. Put the chipotles in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, adobo sauce and lemon juice and continue to process until the mixture is consistent and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the mango-radish salsa. Remove the peel and pith from the limes and cut between the membranes to remove the segments. Put these "supremes" into a bowl and squeeze over the juice from the membranes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Season and refrigerate until ready to use. You can also place all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree for a smoother salsa.

To serve, set up the tacos "family-style". Assemble the fish in a pile on a plate; the pink chile mayonnaise in a bowl; and mango-radish salsa in another. Set a pile of shredded savoy cabbage, cilantro leaves, chopped chives and lime wedges next to the fish. Toast the corn tortillas lightly over an open flame (on your stove top) and serve.

Notes/Results: Once again, Tyler does a great job in combining flavors and texture; the crunch of the cabbage, the sweetness of the mango, the spice of the chipotle, the tang of the lime all come together in harmony. Since the recipe makes quite a lot, I cut it down to about half. I made a few ingredient substitutions and preparation changes below. 

• For the tacos: no savoy cabbage was available so I used a purple cabbage instead. According to the nice fish man at Whole Foods, fresh, local mahi mahi is not at it's best at the moment and they were not currently stocking it. He led me to some local swordfish "shutome" instead, for which I could kiss him because it was perfectly tender and buttery as he promised. To bread my shutome, I used whole wheat flour, egg whites and panko (I couldn't find my favorite whole wheat panko so I had to use regular). Instead of deep-frying the fish, I heated a pan in the oven, set to 450 degrees. I brushed the heated pan with a bit of olive oil, placed the fish on it, sprayed the tops lightly with my olive oil mister and baked them about 5 minutes per side. They were perfect! You don't get quite the crunch factor baking them, but I was happy with them and the panko, combined with a bit of olive oil gives them some crispness. I used whole grain spelt taco shells and added some avocado, because in my book, you can't have fish tacos without avocado.

• For the Pink Chile Mayonnaise: I substituted non-fat Greek yogurt (which I strained overnight to give it more thickness), for the sour cream and mayonnaise. Still spicy, creamy and delicious.

• For the Mango-Radish Salsa: I lightened the oil a bit, finding one tablespoon for my 1/2 batch to be plenty. Local mangoes are a little stringy right now and my local limes were a bit small and hard so my salsa isn't that pretty, but the flavor was great.

Tyler's fish tacos require a bit more effort than the ones I usually make and I tend not to bread my fish, just spice and grill, but the flavor and texture make Tyler's tacos worth an occasional change from the norm.  

Thanks Megan for a fun and less labor intensive recipe this month. If you want to cook your favorite Tyler recipes each week or join in on the optional challenge, you can visit the Tyler Florence Friday site here to get all the details. A challenge round up will be posted at the end of the month so you can see what the other participants thought of these tacos.

Lemon Rasam for Souper Sunday

This week's soup comes from Vegetarian Times Magazine. Since I made a hearty, soupy Beef Noodle Bowl already this week, I was looking for something light and spicy and this Lemon Rasam soup caught my eye. 

The magazine says; "Rasam, a thin, lemony soup made with toor dal, a type of split pea, is served as a starter in South Indian households. Purhase toor dal in Indian grocery stores and online, or look for gold lentils in natural food stores. Curry leaves are worth seeking out for the remarkable flavor they add."

Lemon Rasam

Vegetarian Times, March 2009

(Serves 6)

2/3 cup dry toor dal (split pigeon peas)

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (from 1-inch piece)

2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced

1 (14.5-oz) can plum tomatoes, drained and diced

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ghee

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1/2 tsp asafetida powder

1 red Kashmiri chile (dried red Indian chilie), or any hot dried chile, halved

10 curry leaves, optional

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cup lemon juice

chopped cilantro, for garnish

Combine toor dal with 4 cups water and turmeric in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer 45 minutes, or until toor dal is soft. Transfer to blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. Measure, and return to saucepan. Add enough water to make 5 cups.

Stir in ginger, serrano chilies, tomatoes, and salt, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 5 minutes to marry flavors, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, heat ghee in skillet over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, asafetida powder, red chilie, curry leaves, (if using), cumin and pepper. Cover and heat 1 to 2 minutes, or until mustard seeds begin to pop. Pour into soup. Remove soup from heat, and stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Nutritionals (Per 1 1/2 cup serving): 116 cal, 6g protein, 2g total fat, (1g sat. fat), 19g carbs, 3mg chol, 419 mg sod, 5g fiber, 2g sugars.

Notes/Results: Light, tangy and spicy, this soup is exotic, flavorful and good. Since the local natural foods co-op I belong to stocks both the toor dahl and curry leaves, as well as asafetida powder in bulk, it was easy to make. I wasn't all that familiar with asafetida powder (the powdered gum resin of a plant that has a strong onion-garlic flavor; see more here) so the option of buying just a teaspoon or so to try out was perfect. I used a touch of olive oil rather than ghee to cook the spices and left out the final dried chilie (the two serranos still gave it plenty of spice for me). 

I served the soup with some Savory Chick Pea Pancakes, courtesy of VegNews Magazine. Made with pureed kale, zucchini, sweet potatoes, mint and herbs, they are a great little snack or pupu.

VegNews says: "Fresh mint plays a cooling cameo in these savory green pancakes. Serve with chutney for a light snack or appetizer."

Savory Chickpea Pancakes

VegNews Magazine, March/April  2009

(Serves 4 or more as a small appetizer)

3 1/2 cups water, divided

2 cups kale, roughly chopped

1 medium zucchini, diced

2/3 cup sweet potato, diced

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh mint

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro

2 cups chickpea flour

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground fennel

1/2 tsp salt

3-4 tbsp olive oil, for frying

In a pot over high heat, boil 3 cups of water, add kale and cook for about 2 minutes. Drain kale and rinse with cold water. In a blender, puree boiled kale, zucchini, sweet potato, mint, cilantro, and 1/2 cup water.

In a medium bowl, combine chickpea flour, turmeric, coriander, cumin, fennel, and salt. Add vegetable puree to flour mixture, and mix until the consistency is slightly thicker than pancake batter. 

In a pan over medium heat, heat oil. Spoon 2 Tbsp of batter into pan and spread. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown, then place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Continue this method until all the batter is gone. Serve hot or warm.

Notes/Results: Although they won't win any beauty contests, these little pancakes are savory, taste good and are a different way to use up some of the weekly kale I get in my CSA box. I swore I had chickpea flour, but when I went to make these it was coconut flour. I thought about substituting since I didn't want to go to the store to buy some, but instead I decided to make my own chickpea flour with some dried garbanzo beans in my VitaMix blender. It worked like a charm and although I haven't done a price comparison, it must be more economical grinding up bulk chickpeas than buying pre-packaged specialty flour. Plus I feel so domestic grinding my own flour, like a natural foods Martha Stewart!  ;-)  Rather than cook these in a lot of oil, I used some olive oil pan spray and it worked fine. I found the pancakes a bit easier to make using one small ice cream scoop, (about a heaping tablespoon), of the batter and flattening them out. The smaller size is easy to work with and works great for pupus. They are particularly good with a bit of non-fat Greek yogurt and some chutney on top. 

Let's check out the Souper Sunday Kitchen and see what delicious soups await:

First up is Kim from Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet. Having a hectic week at work didn't stop Kim from making a big pot of soupy goodness, her Turkey Rice Spinach Soup. Creamy, and hearty, the soup inspired Kim to come up with three words to describe how the soup makes her feel; comforted, soothing and lazy, longing for a day to herself. Lets hope she got one this weekend.

It is recipes like The Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Vegetable Soup that make Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies want to either be Ina Garten or to be adopted by her. Natashya says this soup is "rich, warm and veggie-licious" and "the perfect balance of tasty, filling and healthy." If you are wondering how her soup got that gorgeous color, it is the beets that she substituted for the parsnips called for in the recipe. (She's almost through her giant bag of them!)

Donna from My Tasty Treasures is back with a soup she adapted from The Joy of Cooking, "Soup Paysanne" or Vegetable Soup. Donna calls this one "healthy, tasty and a breeze to make" and encourages everyone, especially those without a favorite vegetable soup recipe to try it. Served with a Reuben sandwich to her fire-fighter husband, it was the perfect hearty, simple and delicious meal.

A new face at Souper Sundays, please help me welcome Kathleen from Pots and Plots, who joins us from Mississippi. Kathleen received a bag of mixed dried beans, the kind with "every bean imaginable", so she created this 15 Bean Soup with Sausage. With smoked turkey sausage, garlic and creole seasoning, it is hearty and flavoful. Glad you could join us this week Kathleen!

Ulrike from Küchenlatein is back this week with a hearty soup; Chickpea with Rosemary Pesto (and Fish Fingers). Ulrike's boys will not touch fish and will only eat it as fish fingers. In this recipe she took a hearty base of pureed chickpeas and garlic, topped it with a savory pesto of rosemary and parsley and then added "croutons" of fish fingers. Sounds like a tasty way to get some fish into her sons!

Heather from girlichef likes a good fagiol, one that simmers for a few hours or when pressed for time, one than goes together quickly and easily from pantry and fridge staples like the Pasta e Fagioli she made this week. It is full of veggies, bacons, pasta and beans of course, and is garnished with an olive oil drizzle, freshly grated Parmesan and black pepper. Heather says it is "simple, tasty and easy"--everything you could want in a soup!

Another blogger new to Souper Sundays this week is Amanda, from Odd Ball Ovenmitt, who comes to us from Central Florida. Looking for an economical dinner, made up of pantry odds and ends, Amanda adapted this Stuffed Cabbage Stoup by Rachel Ray. Liking a long simmer, she put her soup in the slow cooker and made her rice separately, which is good because her husband believes "soup isn't a real meal" for dinner so maybe he won't think of this as soup! Happy to have you this week Amanda!

Filling up a box of books for $3.00 at a church book sale (how lucky is that?!) led Christine from Kit's Chow to a copy of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Simple Cusine. Full of recipes for her favorite type of cooking; healthy and fast, Christine quickly became a fan, and found this recipe for Mushroom Broth which she adapted. She found this to be a light broth with deep flavors and very tasty. A bonus, it is South-Beach Diet friendly too.

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Another week's worth of delicious, warming bowls of soup. Thanks to everyone who participated and welcome to our newest bloggers. You can of course find the recipes and more details on all of the soups featured here on their respective blogs. If you want to share a soup or soup-like creation of your own, click on the Souper Sunday logo on the sidebar for all of the details.

Have a great week!