colder weather

I am not sure about you all, but here in Concord, MA we are experiencing some colder weather.  Which makes me want to do this all day:

Henry’s on board!

Instead I am out doing some of this:

Working in full body rain gear and freezing all day long.  Even the greenhouse was cold!  My fingers where not happy. Cold, cold, cold!

The good news about colder weather is that there is a cure.  Soup!  Nothing warms me up quite like a bowl of tasty homemade soup.  And since this week is looking like it’s going to be cold and rainy all the time, I am happy to have lots of leftovers of this:

A little gypsy soup.  The perfect medicine!

If you are experiencing colder weather please make this.  I promise it helps.  And if you live somewhere warm and sunny I don’t like you. Just kidding. Maybe some gazpacho will help cool you down.

Recipe for Gypsy Soup: Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook

3-4 tbs olive oil

2 cups chopped onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup celery, chopped

2 cups chopped and peeled sweet potatoes.

1 cup shopped fresh tomatoes (or canned)

3/4 cup chopped sweet peppers

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (I also added some kidney beans since we had a can already opened.  It was great!)

3 cups stock or water (I used chicken stock)

Seasoning:

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp basil

1 tsp salt

dash of cinnamon

dash of cayenne

1 bay leat

1 tbs of chili powder

Instructions:

if you use raw chickpeas begin soaking them 3/1/2 hours before soup time.  Including 1 1/2 hours for them to cook. OR USE CANNED CHICKPEAS (I DID!)

In a soup kettle saute onions, garlic, celery, and sweet potatoes. in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Add seasonings and the stock or water

simmer covered for 15 minutes.

Add remaining vegetables and chick peas.  Simmer another 10 minutes or so, until the vegetables are tender as you like.