Creamy Lettuce Soup

Delightful springtime flavor in a quick and easy soup

Springtime means lettuce at its freshest. Hence this soup.

The name says “creamy,” but that doesn’t mean heavy. We add just a touch of cream (which you can omit if you want). So this is almost a diet dish!

Because if it’s spring, swimsuit season is just around the corner. Enough said.

Cream of Celeriac and Celery Soup

 A flavorful but not-too-rich winter starter

Need a cream soup that’s not a calorie bomb? We’re here for you. Our Cream of Celeriac (aka Celery Root) and Celery Soup is hearty but not overly filling.

Which means you can enjoy this as a first course, and still have plenty of room for the main and dessert.

Perfect for warming up your guests.

Pumpkin-Spice Pumpkin Soup

Deep flavor with a hint of chipotle heat

Autumn is near in our part of the world. That means soup – and pumpkins.

So we decided to combine those two autumn affiliates into one slurpy dish. It’s easy to prepare and makes a stunning starter.

This soup mingles sweet and zesty in a smooth mix. Because pumpkin spice isn’t just about cinnamon. Pumpkins can take the heat.

Cuban-Style Black Bean Soup

Chase away winter with this warming soup

Here in the US, arctic weather has elbowed in. Time for hot soup!

This Cuban-style black bean soup is particularly tasty and nutritious. And you can make a vegan version, so no one gets left out in the cold.

Summer Pea Soup with Mint

This warm-weather starter is great hot or cold

It’s summertime where we live, and that means garden-fresh produce. We’re starting to harvest from our own backyard, and the stalls at our local farmers’ markets are overflowing.

This time of year, one of our favorites is sweet peas. When freshly harvested, they barely need cooking. And this is one veggie you want to eat as soon as possible after it’s picked. Wait too long and the flavor starts to fade.

But even if you don’t have fresh peas available (likely, because their season is far too short), you’re still in luck—they freeze extremely well. What you buy in the frozen-food aisle can often be as good as (sometimes even better than) what you find in the produce section.

Fresh or frozen, sweet peas taste great in this minty soup. So what the heck, go ahead and use frozen. Your guests will think you slaved away in the kitchen, shelling mounds of fresh pea pods. We won’t tell.

French Potato Salad

The Mother of All Potato Salads

One nice thing about potato salad is that it’s, well . . . a salad.  And the classic French version is a very basic salad indeed.

Think of the classic green salad.  The formula is uncomplicated and endlessly adaptable:  Take lettuce, toss with oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper.  Perhaps add shallots or other aromatics for flavoring (fresh herbs go well).  That’s it.

Now, replace the lettuce with warm sliced potatoes and you have — French Potato Salad.  Simple, easy, and quick to prepare.

What’s more, once you know how to make this classic recipe, you’ll have the foundation for every other type of potato salad out there (mayonnaise, mustard, whatever).  The basic technique is always the same — you just add layers of flavoring and additional ingredients.