Turkey Meatball Soup

If my Mom is reading this, she must be thinking how ironic it is for me to be posting something like meatball soup.  After all, at the age of 13, I announced I was a vegetarian.  I made this decision after catching a special on t.v. about cattle and chicken raised for slaughter.  It was graphic enough to have converted even the most meat loving man into a vegetable and tofu lover.  I'll admit it though, I fell off the veggie wagon my very first day.  Yep, it's true.  I couldn't last one day.  A friend brought me lunch that day and had picked up hamburgers.  They just smelled so good.  One more day couldn't hurt, could it?  Apparently not.  After that day, I stayed true to this cause for twelve years before deciding it was time for some protein in my diet again.  I now call myself a "recovering" vegetarian, and I couldn't be happier with this decision.  Don't get me wrong, that t.v. special is still vivid in my memory, but maybe time has lightened some of the more disturbing parts?  I can now eat chicken, turkey, a little pork, and fish.  Red meat still hasn't made it past my lips, but I'm okay with that.  Eating some meat has certainly made my life easier.  I get fewer weird looks, rolling eyes, and hippie comments.  There's more than one or two choices on restaurant menus.  And, no one feels like they need to make me anything special when I go to their house for dinner.  Oh, and, my husband no longer makes the "wasting away" comments he used to make when I was cooking only vegetarian!    


This recipe is from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious.  I skipped the sweet potato puree, but otherwise I followed it pretty exactly.  Staying true to my vegetarian roots, I think you could probably make this with ground soy protein, if you so desire.  The ground turkey was great though!  Also, the recipe says it serves 10, but those would be some pretty small servings!  I'd say this serves six or seven as a meal.


3 ounces whole wheat pasta shapes
Nonstick cooking spray
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (28 ounce) can chopped tomatoes, with the juice
1/4 Cup carrot puree (cooked carrots blended with a little cooking water)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 Cups reduced sodium chicken or beef broth
3 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 Cup sweet potato puree (optional, I skipped it)
1/4 Cup non-fat milk
2 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/4 Teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 pound ground turkey


Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until tender.  Drain and set aside.


Coat a large pot with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat.  When pot is hot, add oil, onion, and garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 4-5 minutes. 


Puree the tomatoes and their juice with the carrot puree in a food processor, then add to the pot along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Add the broth, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes.  


Meanwhile, put the bread in a large bowl.  Add the egg, sweet potato puree, milk, parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and paprika, and let soak until the bread is very soft.  Stir to break up the bread, add turkey, and mix until smooth.  Form into mini meatballs 1/2-inch in diameter.


Add meatballs to the pot.  Simmer, covered, until the meatballs are no longer pink inside, 12-15 minutes.  Stir in the pasta.  Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese and some cracked pepper. 

         

Carrot, Summer Squash, and Apple Soup

Andrew and I met in Ireland and spent a little more than a year living there together while I was in graduate school. Having grown up in southern California, the Irish weather was a bit of an adjustment. Don't get me wrong, I knew it rained a lot there. But my perception of a lot of rain, and the amount of rain there actually was that year, were vastly different. I mean, it rained every single day of February, March, and April for goodness sake and probably every other day for the rest of the months! The Irish have a saying that if you can see the hillsides, it's about to rain, and if you can't see them, it is already raining!

It probably goes without saying that the Irish make incredible soups. I know I feel like doing nothing more than spending the day cooking up a soup when it rains. But. while I have a mere few days a year to perfect my soups, the Irish have 300+. I've never had a bad soup in Ireland. In fact it was always my favorite lunch there. Any pub or restaurant would have a soup of the day and brown bread any day of the week. And it was ALWAYS delicious.

It wasn't raining today, but it felt like fall. The sun had shifted just so in the sky and the air was a little cooler and crisper. It was time to finish harvesting our last crop of summer squash and carrots. Looking at these vegetables I was inspired to attempt a soup reminiscent of something I would have had in Ireland. I think I did pretty well!

Serves 4

1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 an onion diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

2 medium fugi apples, peeled and sliced

1 large yellow summer squash (or 2 smaller ones), sliced and seeds removed

small handful of fresh thyme

2 Cups of vegetable or chicken stock

1/3 Cup Half and Half

Fresh ground pepper

Saute diced onion in olive oil 2 minutes. Then add carrots, apple, and thyme and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the squash and cook until carrots are tender, about 12-14 minutes. Add stock and simmer on low another 10 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Put in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to pot, add half and half and fresh ground pepper to taste. Garnish with thyme leaves.