Halloween Soup Ideas

Eyeball Soup with Bugs by Recipe Girl

Looking for an extra ghoulish soup this Halloween? Well, look no further. I scoured the web for the scariest sounding soups that also happen to be edible. From a dead sea soup to a eyeball and bug soup and even a graveyard soup, I'm sure you'll find inspiration to make your own horrifying soupy treat this Halloween.

Have a Happy, Safe, and Soup-tastic Halloween!

Eyeball Soup with Bugs - The perfect soup for Halloween, Recipe Girl adapted this eyeball soup with bugs from Martha Stewart Living that includes using kalamata olives, chives and fresh rosemary for the bugs and mozzarella balls and pimiento-stuffed olives for the eyeballs. As a soup itself, I love the combination of tomatoes, oregano, cream, garlic, white wine, and onions that can stand on its own as a delicious tomato soup - with or without the bugs. 

Teeny Tiny Graveyard Soup - This recipe by Soup Song involves some prep work and creativity to make a visual graveyard come to life via your soup bowl. The recipe starts by making a broth made of chicken legs, chicken feet, celery, carrots, and various spices, but no garlic (Soup Song says "you won't want to keep the vampires away.") The soup also calls for the creation of various body parts like hearts and blood, guts, fingers, and teeth that cleverly uses plum tomatoes, tagliatelle pasta, white asparagus, and white corn, respectively. After you make this horrifying soup, be sure to read Teeny Tiny and the Soup Bone (right below the recipe)- this one is a real hair raiser! 

Dead Sea Soup - Halloween is Here is all about frightful Halloween treats ranging from creepy coleslaw to brain cell salad to this dead sea soup. This recipe uses celery hearts, artichokes, chicken soup, and blue and green food coloring for the dead sea look. Try a bowl without the food coloring for a healthy Halloween treat.

Moldy Cheese Soup - This recipe on Perfect Entertaining is described as a "sophisticated broccoli and cheese soup" that uses food coloring to enhance the soup's moldiness. As a broccoli soup, this recipe sounds quite indulgent that uses three types of cheese (parmesan, gorgonzola, and fontina), heavy cream, butter, and white wine! A hearty seasonal treat, indeed. 

Even More Creative Halloween Soups:

Cauldron of Chili with Breadstick Bones - Recipe from Cooks Recipes
All Hallow's Eve Soup - Recipe from CD Kitchen
Parts from the Morgue Soup - Recipe from Divine Dinner Party

Tomato Soup with Goop - Recipe from Family Fun

What is your favorite Halloween soup?

Seriously Soupy Serena

Essential Soup Books for Every Soup Lover

Even though I love creating my own soup recipes, there are some days when looking through cookbooks and magazines for inspiration goes a long way. Whether it’s new recipes or trying to figure out how I want to vary the classics, these books are staples in my own personal soup kitchen.


1. 500 Soups: The Only Soup Compendium You'll Ever Need
By Suzanne Blake
Packed with 500 recipes, Suzanne Blake’s pint-size soup book by the same name is must-have book for the new and even the novice soup maker. Packed with International soups, classic recipes, broth, bisque, and chowder, the recipes are not only easy to understand but also ideas and tips as well as what ingredients can be use to vary every recipe. Its 10 chapters – sub divided into cooled and chilled; healthy and wholesome; smooth and creamy; meal in a bowl; 20-minute treats; sophisticated starters; Asian and fruity flavors – allow for almost soup to be covered from new recipes to classic. There are also stunning pictures that accompany every recipe and an informative opening chapter about how to prepare various stocks, garnishes, and suggestions for what foods can accompany soup. For a cheap find, this soup book has been on my shelf for quite awhile and I can’t imagine it not being there.



2. Sunday Soup: A Year’s Worth of Mouth-Watering, Easy-to-Make Recipes
by Betty Rosbottom
Sunday seems like it was almost designed for soup. The slower pace and time is just what Sunday’s are about and Betty Rosbottom, author of Sunday Soup talks about just that. Filled with 60 soup recipes (one for each Sunday of the year), the book and its soups are devised by seasons – in the approximately titled “Soup Calendar.” Perfect for the beginner, the recipes aren’t too intricate and Rosbottom tries to keep it simple; not even insisting on homemade stock or fresh herbs – citing the value and quality of store-purchased stocks. She does, though, have soup stock recipes when you are ready to make that leap and a list of "Soup-er Sides" to accompany this comforting meal.



3. The Soup Bible: All the Soups You Will Ever Need in One Inspirational Collection
Consulting Editor: Debra Mayhew
Another staple in my household, this colorful collection of soups includes from around the world recipes and the classics in Debra Mayhew’s The Soup Bible. Stunning pictures accompany the recipes that also include simple tutorials by Mayhew on how to garnishes and stock (fish, meat, chicken and vegetable) as well as how to make stock for Japanese and Chinese cooking. Each recipe includes a brief description and simple directions that are clearly devised into the following sections: light and refreshing, one-pot soup meals, hearty lunch and supper soups and special occasion soups with interesting selections like Indian Beef and Berry Soup, Beef and Apricot Swirl, Moroccan Harira and much more! With over 200 recipes, this book doesn’t get old.

 
4. The Best Soups in the World
By Clifford Wright
The title speaks for itself, and lucky the recipes in this comprehensive book that lives up to its name. Written by Clifford Wright, food critic and award-winning author of the James Beard Award, The Best Soups in the World covers the most popular soup recipes from across the globe. Not only about recipes, the book reads as a mini-history book –describing the historical and cultural relevance behind each regional soups – including an organized list of soup recipes in appendix B where you will find them listed by their geographic location.  The recipes, though, are the prize of the book. With over 250 soups, the recipes are organized into 14 chapters –  ranging from basic broth to chilled soups – leaving much to choose from like the Tanzanian Black-Eyed Pea and the Georgian Beef and Apricot Soup. Most of the recipes use somewhat exotic ingredients, but thanks to the helpful information in appendix A you can find out where to locate them online. I often turn to this book for some inspiration and out-of-the box ideas and after you take a quick look through it, I’m sure you will too.



5. Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen
By Deborah Madison
Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen is a must-have guide for anyone who wants to learn a thing or two or 100 about soups. Great for the beginner, the book covers the gamut of soup recipes from classic soups and their variations to original recipes, and those that are specific to a region. Written in 2006, the book specifically covers vegetarian-based soups such as how to make light broths, bean-based soups like black bean, lentil and pea, and roasted vegetable soups, along with two comprehensive appendixes that discuss how you can change certain ingredients to vary the flavor of your soup. The book is very easy to understand, that along with the gorgeous full-color pictures will get you excited to make a vegetable-based soup the next time you cook.

What are your favorite soup books?

Seriously Soupy Serena

Parsnip, Leek, and Apple Soup

Parsnip, Leek, and Apple Soup - Seriously Soupy

A simple soup recipe, this parsnip, leek, and apple soup was also the mystery soup at the soup party last week. Packed with fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants, this delicious and healthy fall soup is a great way to use ingredients that you likely have at home that also takes virtually no time to cook. The result was a silky and creamy soupy that is perfect for those crisp fall days.

If you happen to be in Brooklyn this weekend, be sure to check out the Prospect Farm Harvest Fest for an afternoon of music, games, tours and a soup cook-off!

One of Each Soup and Homemade Croutons

One of Each Soup Topped with Fresh Chives and Homemade Croutons by Joann Pan and Amanda Boyd

Guest Bloggers: Joann Pan and Amanda Boyd

Greetings, soup lovers of the world - and congratulations to Seriously Soupy for turning one! Guest blogging best friends Joann Pan and Amanda Boyd here ready to introduce you to a fun soup that is easy and takes under an hour to prepare and eat. We woke up Saturday morning and were craving something warm and hearty for cold, fall nights, as well as for our usually empty lunch boxes for work. We found it when we were scouring binders off of prized soup recipes—One of Each Soup. It’s one of the easiest soups you can make any day of the week when you are short on time—and only takes a short grocery list. The One of Each Soup calls for one of almost every ingredient. Once everything is collected and you’re ready to chop and measure, heat the vegetable broth (or broth of your choice) to a steady simmer. 

If you’re feeling apprehensive about the banana, make sure it isn’t too ripe or just use half instead. While Amanda thought the banana added a little something special to the soup, Joann thought it could have done with a little less banana. Taste as you go, and you'll find the right balance for your very own One of Each Soup.

Ingredients for One of Each Soup

Local Soup Lovers: Prospect Farm Harvest Fest

I am really excited to participate in this years Prospect Farm Harvest Festival. If you happen to be around on Saturday, here are the details for this soup-tastic event!

Details provided by Naomi Donabedian of Cantaloupe Alone

Prospect Farm has almost completed its first season. You are invited to our Harvest Fest + Soup Cook-Off to be celebrated on October 30th (raindate October 31st) at the Prospect Farm from 11am to 4pm. Please save the date for this fun day of learning about the Prospect Farm's work, member info, games, music, food, soup cook-off judged for prizes, raffle, and more.

Prospect Farm Harvest Fest + Soup Cook-Off

Saturday October 30th (rain date Oct. 31st)
11am - 4pm
@ Prospect Farm located 1194 Prospect Ave btwn Seeley and Vanderbilt Sts.
F Train to Ft. Hamilton, exit towards Prospect Ave/Greenwood

Event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141432882564501&index=1

Enter the Soup Cook-Off: prosectfarmbk@gmail.com
Contestants must make a soup to feed 8-12 and contain one locally sourced ingredient (within 100 miles) to be brought to the Fest and judged on the 30th of October. Soups will be made available for tasting to guests for $5. Prizes for the best 2 pots of soup include a $75 and $25 gift certificate from Grab Specialty Food and more. Judged by Foodie Brandon Maya and Chef Joesph Brancaccio.

Raffle! with prizes from: Brancaccio Food Shop, Crossroads Cafe, The Double Windsor, The Great Green Store, Juice Box Wines, Oak and Iris Cafe, Levy's Unique New York Tours, Namaste Yoga of Kensington, Sycamore Bar & Flowershop,Tally Ho Craft Beer, Third Root Community Health, Thistle Tavern. and more to be announced.

Volunteer for the Event: sign up to donate materials, or your time.