We spent last week at the beach with my parents and god-parents. It was a lot of fun, if not relaxing, and we ate well. The kitchen at the rental house wasn't exactly nice, but it was sufficient and my mom cooked a lot of good meals. We also had a couple of good meals out, and enjoyed our annual trip to Dairy Queen (and Charlotte's first ice cream!). One of my favorite parts of going on vacation, though, is always coming back home and cooking in my own kitchen. I never quite realize how much I miss it until I'm back doing it again. Because our meals tend to be on the heavier side when we're away, I usually plan some lighter, vegetable-heavy meals for our return. This soup recipe and a panzanella (which I'll write about for CCC), seemed like the perfect summer meal for our return.
When I actually got out the book and read through this soup recipe I was underwhelmed, to say the least. I like minestrone in the winter, but this sounded like an unexciting version of a summer minestrone. It also sounded totally confused. There were way too many ingredients. But, like the good rules follower that I am, I made the recipe (almost) exactly as written. The only changes I made were omitting the carrots (I forgot mine at the beach) and increasing the corn and green beans to compensate, using whole wheat pasta (it was all I had), and not bothering to peel and seed the tomatoes (I just don't see the point). This came together easily, and as soon as we put Charlotte to bed Paul and I went out on the patio to eat our dinner. He tasted the soup before I did and was like "wow, this is really good soup." I took a bite. It was really good. Dorie was right again. The vegetables are simple, but the homemade pesto (and chicken broth) really make the soup. I loved the bright, clean flavors. It really was the perfect welcome home meal. The best news? We gave it to Charlotte for lunch and she actually enjoyed it too! This may even make a repeat appearance before summer is over.
Bright, clean flavors are the very words to describe our soup!! I enjoyed this too!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I loved it, too, but Bill was looking for meat in his! More for me :)
ReplyDeleteI had the same feelings going into this soup and was really surprised by how much flavor was packed in at the end. It looked like diet food and tasted more like comfort food. I will make it again.
ReplyDeleteThis soup didn't strike me as all that exciting either, I was also surprised at how tasty it was. I really think the pesto made it special and I liked the corn too.
ReplyDeleteI have gone crazy cooking in rental houses. A few times I spent half of our first day on vacation cleaning and rearranging the kitchen (which my husband always thought was insane) in order to feel good cooking in it. Glad your experience was pretty good. Haven't had DQ since I was a kid, I don't see it anywhere around here in NY.
I enjoyed this soup, and was surprised at how tasty it was! My hubby was not so thrilled with it, he thought it needed meat and less zucchini!
ReplyDeleteI always love coming home and cooking in my own kitchen! Happy Friday!
I seem to have a penchant for desserts:) We enjoyed this soup too made with chicken broth. I loved the fresh flavors. Glad you had a nice vacation.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this soup and sorry I cut the recipe in half. I think you can just sort of sub some veggies for others as you did, and it would still be a winner.
ReplyDeleteYour description of this soup is perfect. Yours looks delicious. I thought this was really great too, and was happy that I actually made it (It's hot here...). Incredibly flavorful for a bowl full of veggies!!
ReplyDeleteLove it when the kids love it as much as you do!! How was her first ice cream?? Do you have all sorts of fun pictures?? : ) It sounds like you had a great soup even if you forgot the carrots! I completely left out the tomatoes, and we loved it! (I didn't see the point of peeling them either... LOL)
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way when I read the recipe, but I was so pleasantly surprised. It was so summery without being heavy (though it was kind of hot to eat the day I served it). I love panzanella, so look forward to hearing about your version.
ReplyDeleteI think the words I have been searching for are "bright, clean flavors". That's exactly what makes this summer soup so delicious. Many of us felt like you about making a "complicated" soup in the summer. But, it wasn't complicated although I was nervous about following the ten-minute rule and what goes in where or something. In the end, it wasn't complicated and since I really rode the easy train, I bought my pesto in a jar. The idea of serving it with Panzanella (which I also made) is a good one. So, of course Charlotte had to meet DQ. When my girls were little and went to visit their grandparents who lived in Iowa, they got to have Buster Bars from DQ every single night. My parents were really not into nutrition. That is one of my girls' best memories.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte approved? As a parent, if my kids like something, I feel like I've summited a mountain!
ReplyDeleteRental house kitchens can be an adventure.
I've always loved soup au pistou, though the versions I'd had before are simpler than this one. This one was outstanding, though.
ReplyDeleteI finally managed to post about this soup, so I'm finally managing to get around to everyone else's posts, too. This would have been a great accompaniment for panzanella.