Five Favorite Greek Soups for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays

I have had the workweek and weekend from hell and so Sunday finds me laying about and not in the kitchen. Because I Heart Cooking Clubs' theme this week is Go Greek!, I am going to bring you five favorite Greek Soups from our IHCC Featured Chefs.

Tahinosoupa (Tahini Soup) from Tessa Kiros is a classic from the Cycladic Islands

Tessa's Soupy Bakes Chickpeas aren't technically a soup, but they are soupy so I am counting them. 

Jamie Oliver takes his Greek Salad and whirls it in the blender for this Greek Salad Gazpacho, excellent on hot days.

I have featured Ruth Reichl's Avegolemono Soup a couple of times all ready, but it's a classic.  

And Mark Bittman's blender-frothed Avgolemono Soup is an easy way to enjoy this favorite. I made mine with pearled couscous instead of orzo. 

You can't go wrong with any of these, or check out Tina from Squirrel Head Manor's Greek Lentil Soup from Tessa Kiros which I don't know how I have escaped making but will remedy soon.

Linking up with IHCC and the Go Greek theme this week. 

Now let's check into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here. 

Melynda of Scratch Made Food shares another 3 dishes this week, starting with her BBQ Chicken Salad for Sandwiches. She says, "This is a delicious sandwich! BBQ Chicken Salad is crunchy, not too sweet, and delicious between a couple of slices of bread, or open-face style. Be sure to add some bread and butter pickle slices and a few black olives, on the side!"

Her second dish is Moroccan Carrot Salad which she says is a "another delicious non-lettuce salad to enjoy. With good quality organic carrots available year-round making this salad is so easy! Feel free to adjust the spices listed to satisfy your own tastes."

Finally she shares her Green Bean Soup, saying that it "might sound unusual, but...it is easy to make, delicious, and light! Also perfect for the warm autumn days ahead as well as the cold winter on the way. This delicious recipe uses green beans from your own garden, or from the local Farmers Market!"

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shares two dishes this week, first up a tasty Side Salad of "Vine ripe tomatoes, sliced green onions, red onions, lettuce, cucumber and fresh corn. A bit of salt and pepper and your preferred dressing."

And the Lentil Soup from Tessa Kiros, saying, "From Food from Many Greek Kitchens I made a lentil soup chock with carrots, garlic and onions. The longer it simmers the thicker it will get. A bit of flour can help with that too."

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared Leek, Chickpea, and Spinach Noodle Soup, saying "Noodle soup is one of my favorites, and I love it in this healthy combination with leeks, carrots, spinach and chickpeas. The soup is simple, flavorful, and nourishing. It feels cozy on a cool night and can satisfy as a meal in a bowl for lunch. 

Thanks to Judee, Tina and Melynda for joining me this week! 

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.
• Although we are pretty wide on what defines a soup, sandwich or salad, entries that are clearly not in the same family (ie: desserts, meats, random main or side dishes that aren't salads, etc.) are meant for another round up and will be deleted. 

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!

 

An Easter Day Round Up of Avogolemono Soup (Greek Lemon, Egg and Rice Soup) for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Happy Easter! I took the day of from soup-making because it was a long week and I was feeling lazy and wanted to stay out of the kitchen. Still, with over 600 soups on this blog, I think we can always share some favorites. 

Easter makes me think of Greek Avogolemono Soup. Maybe it's the egg, or the lemony rice vibe that smack of spring. Either way, here's a few avegolemono soups I have made over the past 13 years of blogging. I actually thought there would be more than seven--it seems like I eat it more often than I post it, but here are a few for any kind of eater that I think you will enjoy!

Ruth Reichl's Avgolemono is a favorite, so good I made it in March of 2017:

And then again in October of 2018:

Mark Bittman's Avegolemono Soup (With Pearled Couscous) from July 2020

A couple of vegan versions like Greek Creamy Lemon Rice Soup ("No" Govlemono) by Terry Hope Romano from December 2012. 

Another vegan soup is Vegan Avgolemono (Creamy Lemony-Rice Soup) from February 2015 from Shape.com

Here's a twist: Creamy Lemon-Rice Soup with Mini Meatballs from March 2010 from Sunset Magazine. 

Greek Avgolemono Soup from December 2009 from Vegetarian Times Magazine

Let's see who is here in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week: 

Simona of briciole took inspiration from our recent round of Cook the Books and made this pretty Roast Beet, Avocado, Blood Orange and Daikon Radish Salad, saying "To me salad bowls are experiment benches: I mix and dress, toss and taste and tend not to repeat twice. For the photo op I kept the ingredients separate, but then everything is tossed and eaten in the purple juice of red beet and blood orange. The citrus (agrumi) offset beets' sweetness and the blue cheese (formaggio erborinato) gives the salad a bit of a tang, while the daikon adds some zest."  

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shared Black Eyes Peas and Tomatoes in Peanut Sauce called Kunde and said, "Kunde is the Swahili word for black eyed peas. It's suggested in the book to eat it with rice, but we just had it as is - like a beany thick soup.  It was lovely; ad to be honest, after eating the Kunde, we were rather full and not in need for more food for the rest of the day."

 

Thank you to Simona and Shaheen for joining me this week!

 

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 Have a healthy, happy week and Happy Easter!

 

Herby Feta Dip and a Book Review for the #YouAreNotAloneParty

It's time for another blog party! This one is to celebrate the paperback release of You Are Not Alone, a psychological thriller by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Hosted by my friends at The Book Club Cookbook, a group of bloggers are getting together to make recipes inspired by the book.

Here's the Publisher's Blurb:

From Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, the authors of the top ten bestseller The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl, comes You Are Not Alone – a gripping novel about a group of women who appear to have the perfect lives, but all is not what it seems . . .

You probably know someone like Shay Miller. She wants to find love, but it eludes her. She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end. She wants to belong, but her life is becoming increasingly isolated.

You probably don’t know anyone like the Moore sisters. They have an unbreakable circle of friends. They live a life of glamour and perfection. They always get what they desire.

Shay thinks she wants their life.

But what they really want is hers.

Publisher : St. Martin's Press (February 2, 2021)
432 pages

My Review: 

I have not read this author duo's first two books, although I have An Anonymous Girl in my TBR stack. I think I need to move it up the stack based on how much I enjoyed this one. I love a good psychological thriller, dark and twisty, that keeps me turning the pages and not wanting to put it down. You Are Not Alone had me tense as I tried to guess what was going to happen next. I had some of it right, but not all. 

Shay, the main character is not the usual unreliable narrator, but she's a quirky one. She keeps a data book full of little facts she picks up, which makes her perfect as a market researcher. Unfortunately when we meet her, she's been downsized and is looking to find a job, her best friend is busy with a new baby, and her best male friend and roommate (who she is secretly in love with) is getting very serious about his new girlfriend. Shay is feeling vulnerable already when she witnesses a suicide on the subway and she finds herself caught up in learning about the woman--who looked somewhat like Shay herself. She meets the Moore sisters, the dead woman's friends, and the suns that a tight-knit group of friends orbit about. They take Shay under their wing but she soon finds her new friends have some dark secrets. 

It's made clear to the reader that these women aren't the friends Shay thinks they are and it's just a matter of Shay figuring out and finding out what the end game was. This was more suspenseful than it sounds and made the book a nail biter. I admit to yelling at Shay quite a bit for some of her choices and the things she missed, but I found myself rooting for her too. There are some potential trigger warnings for suicide, violence and sexual assault, but if you like domestic thrillers centered around the darker side of women's friendships, you'll like You Are Not Alone.

-----  

Author Notes: 

Greer Hendricks spent over two decades as an editor. Prior to her tenure in book publishing, she worked at Allure Magazine and earned her Masters in Journalism from Columbia University. Her writing has been published in the New York Times and Publishers Weekly. Greer lives in Manhattan with her husband, two children, and very needy dog, Rocky. 

You can reach her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram

Sarah Pekkanen is the internationally and USA Today bestselling author of several novels including The Wife Between Us. A former investigative journalist and feature writer, her work has been published in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many others. She is the mother of three sons and lives just outside Washington, DC.

You can reach her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram

Connect with St. Martin's Press at @stmartinspress on all social media

-----

Food Inspiration: 

There was plenty of food inspiration in You Are Not Alone. Mentions included coffee, eggs, croissants and strawberries, almond milk, iced latte, Chinese foods, homemade cookies, Perrier, cheese and crackers, three-bean chili, guacamole and skinny margaritas, quesadillas, a cheese board, tea sandwiches, granola bars, butterscotch cheesecake, lemon bars, Reese's mini-peanut-butter-cup, beer and a burger, gnocchi, Pinot Grigio, microwave popcorn, falafel from a favorite Greek restaurant, peanut butter sandwiches, Blue Moon beer with an orange, sangria, sauteed spinach, vodka tonic, extra lime, banana-and-almond-butter smoothie, a turkey sandwich, apples and pretzels, crepes, grilled cheese sandwich, Pepsi, fruit, yogurt, and bread, jasmine, rose hip and camomile tea, Moscow Mules, chocolate, Dover sole and asparagus, spaghetti and meatballs, chocolate-frosted cupcakes, homemade pureed vegetable soup, ginger ale, vanilla pudding, salad, ziti, frozen veggie pizza with cauliflower crust, Korean barbecue, margarita-flavored Popsicles, rose and a cheese plate, caramel brownie bites, chocolate-chip cookies, strawberry-rhubarb pie with homemade crust, pizza with mushrooms and peppers, dark roast coffee, delivery sushi, a hummus plate with veggies and pita, lemon poppy-seed muffins, cream cheese brownies, fresh baklava, iced tea, meatball sub, a BLT, mashed and sweet potatoes, banana and a slice of toast, Cup-a-soups, protein bars, soda pop, roast chicken and green beans, and scrambled eggs, 

I debated making a few different book-inspired dishes, like the falafel Shay loved from her local Greek restaurant or her regular banana-and-almond-butter smoothie. This is the second book I have read lately with Moscow Mules in it, so I was tempted to make one in my new-ish copper mug. I was going to go with the hummus plate with veggies and pita Shay enjoyed while checking out her dating app, but I just made hummus the other day. I ended up staying with a Greek appetizer theme and making a Herby Feta Dip instead of hummus. I think it's something Shay would order out or make at home. And it looks pretty on the plate. My only regret, I forgot to grab a cucumber to dip in the lemony, herby feta dip. I did toast pita bread for chips and open a package of carrot sticks. 

Herby Feta Dip

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes about 2 Cups)

6 oz feta cheese, broken or crumbled

8 oz cream cheese, slightly softened

1 heaping tsp Lord of the Fries Brew Pub Fries Seasoning or garlic salt 

1 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp chopped fresh dill

2 Tbsp fresh parsley leaves

juice of 1-2 lemons (I used 1 1/2 Meyer lemons)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil + extra as needed

 sea salt and freshly ground pepper

pita bread, pita chips, & vegetables of choice to serve

Place the crumbled feta cheese, cream cheese, garlic seasoning, herbs, sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice and 1/3 cup olive oil  together in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, and creamy, adding additional olive oil if needed and scraping down the sides of the food processor to ensure everything is blended together. Season to taste with black pepper, salt and additional lemon juice as needed. 

Serve with pita bread, pita chips, and vegetables as desired. You can make this dip a day or two ahead but allow dip to sit at room temperature to soften before serving. 

Notes/Results: Rich, creamy and lemony, if left alone, I could probably eat the whole bowl of this dip. It hits all the right spots--salty, tangy, creamy, herby, savory and is delicious on the crunchy fresh pita chips (I just brushed them with olive oil and toasted the pitas on the rack in my toaster oven, then sliced them with a pizza cutter) which are so much better than store-bought. This dip/spread would be great on a veggie sandwich. I will happily make it again.

Check out this link for the #YouAreNotAloneParty at The Book Club Cookbook to see the other bloggers taking part and their delicious recipes!

Mahalo to St. Martin's Press and The Book Club Cookbook for the review copies of the book and for hosting this fun event. I received no compensation for my participation and, as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Find The Book Club Cookbook here:

Facebook: TheBookClubCookbook

Twitter: @bookclubcookboo

Instagram: @thebookclubcookbook

Pinterest: @bookclubcook

 

Avgolemono (Egg & Lemon) Soup with Pearled Couscous for Soup (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

This is not the soup I intended to make today but life got in the way of soup making and I switched to a quicker recipe, this variation of Greek Avgolemono Soup from Mark Bittman. It made the most of local eggs and locally-grown lemons, dill and a carrot. 

I was most intrigued about using a blender to "froth" the egg, certainly a nontraditional take on this classic soup. My other changes based on what I had on hand are in red below. 

Avgolemono Soup
Adapted from How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman via Woman'sDay.com
Serves 4 

6 cups chicken stock (or non-chicken stock)
1 medium carrot, thinly-sliced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/2 cup orzo (I used pearled/Israeli couscous)
2 cups chopped chicken (I omitted & added a can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed)
2 large eggs
3 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
(I added 1 1/2 tsp fresh dill)
salt and pepper

Bring 6 cups of broth to a near boil in a large soup pot, then turn down until it's just bubbling. Ass carrot and celery and cook about 10 minutes, until vegetables are getting tender. Add 1/2 cup orzo (or couscous or other small pasta shape) and cook until pasta is tender, another 8-10 minutes. Add 2 cups chopped cooked chicken if using, or chickpeas and add the dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, put eggs into blender and blend briefly. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and pulse again. Then, with the blender running, slowly add two cups of the soup (moslty broth) and blend until it is frothy and creamy looking. Pour it back in to the pot with the rest of the soup and heat for a couple of minutes without boiling. Taste and add additional salt, pepper and lemon juice as desired. Serve and enjoy. 

Notes/Results: A quick and simple soup that is comforting and light with lemony goodness. I'm not sure the looks were improved by using the blender to blend and froth the lemon-egg mixture but it was quick and easy to do and once the froth had settled in the bowl, it looked better (at least to me!). I liked the pearled couscous, although rice or any small pasta shape would work as well. The lemon flavor of the soup makes it light for the summer and warmer weather. I'd happily make it again. 

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where we are celebrating Farmers Market and Local Produce this week.

Let's see who is here in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week:

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen brought Broccoli and Ginger Soup this week saying, "I had planned to make a bookmarked Broccoli and Ginger Soup, but instead found myself adapting the last Broccoli Soup recipe that I shared on the blog.  ... Though it does not look that exciting,  i felt nourished. it felt healing to eat. I loved the ginger and it warmed my throat with its natural fire and the blended greens was goodness in a bowl." 

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brings a sweet and cooling Creamy Strawberry Soup saying, "I'm addicted to this light delicious chilled soup that I've been enjoying in this hot humid weather. I know there are many people who just can't wrap their finger around the idea of "chilled soup". I used to be one of them. I guess it's an acquired taste and concept. Call it a smoothie if you don't like the idea of "chilled soup."'

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor made the most of a Fettuccine with Summer Vegetables by adding protein and turning it into Summer Vegetables and Steak Soup. She says, "Well, all I did was saute onions and once soft, added the leftover vegetables. Snip the remaining fettuccine noodles into smaller pieces and toss in a pot. We had a few strips of steak we couldn't finish one evening a few weeks ago and those had been in the freezer, awaiting a casserole or soup concoction. I added a tiny bit of broth, a few other orphan veggies and more salt and pepper. That's it. Use up all the leftovers in any way you can. No waste :-)"

Thank you to Judee, Tina and Shaheen for joining me this week!

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Lemony Chickpea & Noodle Soup with Feta, Served with Homemade Hummus & Pita for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was craving a simple soup and chickpeas and wide egg noodles so I combined them for this Lemony Chickpea & Noodle Soup. A little feta on the top is always welcome and I doubled the beans and the starch by serving it with homemade hummus and warm pita bread. 

Hearty and satisfying for supper on a cool night, the lemon keeps it from feeling too heavy.

Lemony Chickpea & Noodle Soup with Feta
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 8 Servings)

2 cups uncooked chickpeas
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
8 cups good vegetable stock, separated (I used a combo of no-chicken soup paste + homemade garlic broth)
6 oz wide egg noodles
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To Serve: feta cheese, chopped fresh parsley and hummus & pita bread, optional

The night before you make the soup: Rinse and sort the chickpeas, removing any foreign objects. Soak them overnight in plenty of cold water, draining and rinsing them well. 

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, celery, and carrots, cooking about 5-6 minutes until the onion turns translucent and the veggies start to soften. Add the garlic and dried herbs saute for another minute or two. Add the chickpeas and 6 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally--until beans are tender to your liking. (My dried beans were from Whole Foods and despite soaking took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to the texture I like.)

Add the additional broth and bring to a rolling boil. Add noodles and cook about 10 minutes, or to package instructions. Add lemon juice. Taste and add sea salt and black pepper to taste. 

Serve hot with feta cheese and chopped fresh parsley on top and with hummus and pita on the side if desired.

Notes/Results:  This soup is thick, creamy and is more stew-like than a brothy soup. Cooking the chickpeas longer and the noodles helped suck up the broth, so the extra two cups I added helped. You could also cook the chickpeas separately until almost cooked, then add them to the soup, or use cooked, canned chickpeas (quicker if you are in a hurry) but I like a thick texture, so it worked for me. The feta on soft softens and adds to the soup with its salty burst of flavor. If you want a vegan soup, just omit the feta and try some fried capers or chopped pepperoncini. Actually that sounds really good, I may have to fry up some capers for my leftovers. For the hummus. I just whipped up a batch of simple hummus. Here's a nice lemony hummus recipe. I was happy with my dinner and would gladly make this soup again. 

 

We have some great people and dishes awaiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen--let's have a look.

 
Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shares Pomegranate Molasses, Bulgar, Chickpeas, Red Chard, and Seitan 'Lamb' Salad and said, "The pomegranate molasses gave that sweet twang. chickpea always give nuttiness, but so did the Bulgar. Its nice warm, but its also good at room temperature as a salad, but do keep the mock lamb sitting on top, so not to go too soggy from the red chard, which by the way is from the garden plot."

Amber of The Hungry Mountaineer is here with Gorgonzola Gnocchi Soup and said, "Normally I would never to think to make a delicious soup in July but on a rainy day as thunderstorms rock the house in Big Bear, a big steaming pot of gnocchi stew sounds truly amazing."

 
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor brings Creamy Vegetable Soup and said it "was inspired by necessity - the need for a hot lunch to carry to work. The ingredients were  selected from a nearly bare vegetable tray in the fridge. Creativity was required 😼 It’s simple.  You look in the fridge for orphan vegetables, quantities too meager to produce a good side dish at dinner. I had onions (I always have copious quantities of onions), three garlic cloves, mushrooms, two carrots, one yellow squash and a handful of green beans."

Mahalo to everyone who joined me at Souper Sundays this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!