Soup Links—A weekly rundown of soup in the news

There has been quite a lot of soupy action going on this week. Check out some of exciting things in the world of soup, including voting for a soup created by yours truly —seriously:

• The Gift of Soup. Congrats, you just had a baby! Now, here's your soup. Maybe this will take some time to take flight, but the recent article in the San Francisco Gate by Amanda Gold is surely a proponent for this novel idea. Entitled The Gift of Soup, the article illustrates how the gift of frozen soup can be a creative way to comfort new parents, while providing them with a nourishing meal, which is much-needed during those sleepless early days. Gold also goes one to give some rules for the preparation and which soups can be frozen. Now, I'm not much for rules when it comes to soups, but Gold's suggestions are very helpful, especially when she discusses what ingredients last in the freezer (vegetables, meat and beans) and those that should be eaten in a few days (mushroom). Additionally, she includes handy tips for the thawing out process and recipes, along with wine pairings for each individual soup. Not sure if these soups would even make their way to my freezer, especially the Winter Ribollita and the Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, but I really enjoyed this step-by-step style article. You can check it out at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2010/01/10/FDCJ1BC0JJ.DTL#ixzz0chC8nJwn
  

• Roasted Chestnut Soup with Crème Fraiche. So, I have become a little obessed with chestnut soup. And this is not because I have been savoring this soupy, but have been seeing it everywhere since I have been trying to find this rare ingredient (at least in my neck of the woods) for my Christmas soup. Although it worked out for the best with my Sweet Potato and Cranberry Soup, I can't help but grit my teeth in frustration at not being able to create it myself. This week I stumbled upon yet another chestnut soup creation with a Roasted Chestnut Soup with Crème Fraiche recipe from Ceramic Canvas. I immediately loosed my jaw, as it dropped in amazement at the sight of the gorgeous food pictures taken by the author, Reginald, and then of course there was the recipe. Loosely based on a recipe from Metropolitan Home magazine, this recipe incorporated seasonal ingredients such as fresh chestnuts, onions, thyme, and crème fraiche (my other nemesis). You can find the recipe here: http://ceramiccanvas.com/2010/01/roasted-chestnut-soup-with-cream-fraiche/ and hopefully you will have more luck on your quest for the chestnut.
  

• Spicy Roasted Corn Soup. And now on to the shameless self-promotion part of the evening.... I recently entered the food52 "Best Home Alone Dinner" challenge, which asked contestants to submit a recipe based on meal that they would create if they were having a meal for one. Of course I opted to create a soup and decided since I was home alone (in fantasy world, of course) that I would keep it sort of simple by using what I had in my house (corn, parsnips, onions, some spices, etc). Rather than boiling the corn, I decided to roast the corn with garlic, salt, butter and olive oil, which blackened the corn a bit. I then transported it into a soup pot to cook for another 15 minutes or so with a minimal amount of water, some lemon, and spices. What resulted was a chunky soup with tons of flavor that started out sweet from the corn and ended with a slight kick from he spices. I would even opt to increase the spice a bit next time, but that's up to you. Check out the recipe here: http://www.food52.com/recipes/2659_spicy_roasted_corn_soup_for_one and don't forget to vote for me!

Seriously Soupy Serena

Soup Links-A weekly rundown of soup in the news

Another soup-tastic week (yes, I said that) and boy do I have lots planned for this month-International feats, turning meals into soups, and trying my hand at cold soup, to name a few exciting things that will be appearing on Seriously Soupy. Until then check out what is going on in soup across the web, including National Soup Month (who knew?), soup in a cart, and another variation of a detox soup.

• National Soup Month. Apparently January is National Soup Month. I did not receive a memo about this, but then again it was created by Swanson, so I guess I can see why. Although I am a fan of eating  soup 365 days a year, I appreciate Swanson's effort to encourage people to eat more soup, including their suggestion to celebrate with a soup party. Um...sounds like something I discussed in the "How to Throw a Soup Party Series," (check out: part one and part two).The article also discusses all the wonders of soup such as how broth-based soups are less caloric, how soup be frozen for multiple uses, and how even kids love soup! There is also a basic vegetable soup with garlic drizzle and split pea recipe to kick off National Soup Month. Read more about it at http://blogs.babble.com/nibblers/2010/01/06/beautiful-soup-january-is-national-soup-month/

• Detox Soup. A popular concept after the New Year, chezus.com also created their own variation of a cleansing and detoxifying soup. Very different from my own, the chezus.com recipe is loaded with veggies such as leeks, kale, carrots, rutabaga, and beans to fill you up without feeling deprived. Chezus also notes that the soup can be savored for days by simply adding more veggies or broth when the soup lessens-a pretty simple concept, but one that is definitely useful, especially when you don't want that pot of soup to end! I also love how they included a listing of the ingredients in the soup and their health benefits. Check it out at http://www.chezus.com/vegetarian/detox-soup/

• Soup on the Street. Now when you need soup you need to look no further than a cart on Park Avenue (that is of course if you live in the NYC area). Recently, the Herb International Soup Factory located in Queens has been selling nine varieties of their soups in a food cart. Ranging from lentil, pumpkin with veggies, beef shank, and rice with chicken, the soup is available in 12oz, 16oz, and 32oz containers, which can also be sampled before purchased. Read more about the cart at http://midtownlunch.com/2010/01/07/queens-based-herb-international-soup-factory-opens-cart-on-park-ave/ or pick up a soup at the NW corner of 53rd & Park Avenue.

Soup in the News

Hope everyone had a full and productive week filled with creating and testing new soups. If not, this week's rundown complete with soup robots, trendy soups in NYC, and classic winter staples is sure to inspire you for a productive soupy experience next week, until then...

• Super Bowls, featured in New York Magazine and written by Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite, this soup-tastic article cover the best winter soups, which as the authors note is "a bona fide culinary religion." The piece also features the 50 best soups in NYC, along with soups in rundown of soups in in New York, Boston, Philly, LA, and Chicago, and a review of the best canned soups. A must-read for soup lovers who want to check out some of the latest and greatest in the world of soups. Check it out at http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62643/.

• Spotlight Recipes: 6 Easy Soups, written by Dana Angelo White, the article covers the easiest soups to prepare in the winter. White, who didn't write the recipes herself gave a summary of the best of the best in winter soups including such classics as tomato basil soup, Tuscan vegetable soup, split pea, and speedy soup, which is essentially a chicken soup with some spinach. White's organization of the recipes from the food network can be found at http://blog.healthyeats.com/blog/2009/12/14/spotlight-recipes-easy-soups/.
  

• Cooky robots will make soup for you, won't clean up afterwards, written by Donald Melanson, the article discusses how a research team is crafting robots that are programmed to make soup. Robots making soup? Not sure I get it why we need that, but according to the piece these soup-crafted robots are programmed to collect items, mix them together, and put them in a pot as they make soup based on your recipe. Not completely replacing us yet though since these soupy bots have some kinks — you have to label ingredients for the robot and program it to understand how long your soup should cook. After all that does the soup actually taste good? According to the piece, the robot soup "appears to be edible," but I think this is one area that should still be left to us humanoids. Check out this bizarre piece at: http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/15/cooky-robots-will-make-soup-for-you-wont-clean-up-afterwards/