Everything But The Kitchen Sink Soup

For the past few days I’ve been suffering from a terrible cold, to the point that I can’t smell or taste anything — awful for a foodie like me! And if you remember my post “Eat With Your Senses,” you’ll remember that your sense of smell is closely tied to your sense of taste, which lets you enjoy your food.

Well, I decided that I needed some soup to cure me. Not having the energy to shop for soup ingredients, I decided to take my inspiration from what was in the apartment, which is what led to this “Everything But The Kitchen Sink Soup.” Basically it includes everything I could find: heirloom tomatoes, bok choy, cabbage, green peppers, and garlic from last week’s CSA delivery; onions, baby carrots, celery, chicken broth, and spices from our fridge and pantry. This soup is simple and easy to prepare because it requires no measuring and little thought – perfect for those days when you’re feeling a little foggy! Here are the basic directions:

1. Heat some olive oil in a large stockpot.
2. Throw in sliced onion, whole garlic cloves (peeled), coarsely chopped tomatoes with their natural juice, coarsely chopped cabbage and bok choy, and sliced carrots, peppers, and celery.
3. Add about 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (more if you want to make more soup) and white wine, if you have a bottle open, until you have enough liquid. Bring to a boil.
4. Using an immersion blender, blend soup to your desired consistency (I recommend leaving some chunky vegetables in the broth).
5. Let soup simmer, stirring occasionally.

I always like how soup tastes after it’s been resting for a while, so if you can wait a bit let it cool and then reheat it before slurping it up! And for additional protein you can add beans (to keep the soup vegetarian) or chicken.

Here’s what the soup looked like in the process of cooking and when served:

Not only is this soup delicious, but it’s also inherently nutritious, made up of mostly fresh vegetables. Stay tuned for the nutritional benefits of the vegetables incorporated in the soup.