Soup & a slice: 20151119

What caused the hole in the side of this cucumber? (Nothing is wrong with the color. This cultivar is called Silver Slicer.) This week’s question is a review from a post Tom Bilbo wrote recently about pickleworms.

I invented this soup for lunch. I should say now that the only reason I weighed everything was so that I could write the recipe down for you – left to my own devices I just bung things in.

News that Tesco now sells frozen avocados provoked a mixed reaction amongst the people I know, but it’s true that avocados are pesky things when it comes to food waste. Unripe one second, practically past it the next, it’s hard to time their consumption correctly to get them at their best.

I’ve seen a few tweets recently from scientifically-minded people, essentially sneering at people who avoid ‘processed foods’. Their point is that almost all foods are processed, including beer and bread, and lots of things that the average person on the street would consider both healthy and delicious.

When I was a kid, I really didn’t like soup. I especially didn’t like soup that came out of a can (I still don’t, really), but I did like Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup. Not obsessively or anything, but it was quite nice. But as an adult I developed a cow’s milk intolerance and so cream of tomato soup was off the menu.

This is one of a series of posts looking at what we might eat on Mars, where most food would have to be shelf-stable, tinned or freeze-dried. You can find other posts on this topic under the Martian Meals tag.

Growing Tomatoes from Tomato Slices is the easiest way to have your own specimens. The best part is, you can do it from store brought tomatoes and then relish fresh harvest right at your home!

From trying cottage cheese ice cream to adding protein powder and bananas to morning coffee, the internet is ablaze with protein hacks lately—but Trader Joe’s just announced a bit of extra protein in its Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup that you may not want to try.

Cold Winter days call for warm, comforting soups. This is one of my family’s favorite on a cold Winter’s day! Roasting the vegetables helps to bring out their flavor, allowing for minimal added fat and salt, while not compromising on flavor. This recipe makes a hearty vegetable soup thick with tomatoes, onion, green bell peppers, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, and barley. You can add additional broth if you prefer, and the soup also freezes well. To learn more about the safe handling of vegetables, check out HGIC 3517, Safe Handling of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. Enjoy!

It may be cold outside, but you can help take the chill out of winter with a warm bowl of your favorite soup to enjoy with your family and friends.

To enter to win a copy, simply scroll down to the comments and tell us how you like your spears. Type a whole recipe right into the comment box, or just a link to a recipe on your blog or another’s, or perhaps a tip instead about what you like asparagus served with (Anna says dill and lemon come to mind, for starters).The backstory: I met Anna Thomas when “Love Soup” came out last fall, and promptly stocked my freezer with double batches of several of her recipes made from my winter squash and sweet potatoes and kale and the like, and stocked up on copies to give as holiday gifts. Now a whole new season of homegrown vegetables has begun, and I’m working my way through “Chapter 9: First Tastes of Spring,” and on to “Chapter 10: Green and Greener.” Heaven. Vats of Asparagus Bisque, here I come.Thismust-have cookbook features 160 vegetarian recipes for soups and all the extras, from b

Now I have a third way to put up my annual bounty of parsley (the first two are here): three “bunches” will go into each batch of “Parsley Soup” that Thomas says is like “a rustic leek and potato soup that’s been taken over by a gang of parsley, but in the nicest way.”A double batch of “Green Soup With Sweet Potatoes and Sage” (top photo, in the bowl on the right) is already in my freezer; a whole section of “green soups” (using leafy greens as a key ingredient) is a particular delight, since I seem to have mastered their growing this year and have more than I thought I could ever otherwise use.T