Sunday Dinners: Soup's on--Part 1

Two things inspired me to make soup on Sunday:  1) my crazy schedule this week, and 2) the weather.

First,  crazy schedule: Those of you who know me, know that I am not go-to-work-go-home-forget-about-work kind of person; my job—as college administrator and teacher—is totally woven into my life. Because of this attribute/defect, it’s especially hard for me to separate on weekends, during which, my thoughts and deeds bring me back to working. Seriously, when the semester starts, it really does feel like a 24/7 job. So, this brings me to soup: cooking soup on Sunday can help me during the week. When I get home at 9 pm, the last thing I want to do is to make dinner (the first thing I want to do is to have a glass of wine!).  Having a bowl of soup and some fresh bread is the ideal late night dinner.

Second, the weather: we are starting to feel it here in New York—and beyond!

As soon as I feel the kiss of fall, I think about soup; I love the smell of it in my home, and the steamy joy of sipping it.

Soup is beautiful for  many reasons, but one of my favorite attributes of this “dish” is its flexibility—especially this week, when I was also thinking about using the stuff I had in my fridge/pantry. And here’s what I had:

2 red peppers

red onion

a bunch of carrots

white wine

cherry tomatoes

vegetable broth (had about 2 quarts from Trader Joe’s)

cooked rice

some cilantro

Here are the instructions for the soup I made:

Heat some olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers and sauté, stirring frequently, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and cherry tomatoes. Add a splash of wine and let cook, stirring from time to time, for about 5 minutes or until the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then lower the flame, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the carrots soften. Turn the heat off and add the cooked rice. Let the soup sit and, just before serving, reheat and add cilantro. Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Starting the soup-

The finished soup (veggies aren't floating!).