Five Happy Things

Soup Season!

Spread a little joy today! Pass this along to someone who’d love it. 🥰

Snow! We got snow!

Snow makes me want to bundle up in front of the fire with a steamy mug of soup, so today I’m sharing my favorite soup recipes. Split pea soup never looks very good in photos (at least mine doesn’t) so I drew a picture instead. 😂

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1. Parker’s Split Pea Soup from Barefoot Contessa - I know this one will be controversial because people have feelings about split pea soup. I adore it! I’ve tried many recipes, and this one is the big winner. She adds half the split peas in the beginning, and then adds the other half after 40 minutes, so the first batch cooks down into the broth, and the second half holds its shape. Yum! Sometimes I replace half of the chicken stock with ham stock (technically, Better than Bouillon ham base). Honestly, it’s delicious both ways.

2. Creamy Potato Kale Soup from Pinch of Yum - Delicious! I’m a freeze-my-leftovers person, so I skip the milk and add some extra broth instead, then add a splash of heavy cream when I serve it. (I find that soups with cream or milk tend to separate when they thaw. They still taste fine, but they don’t look as nice, so this is my workaround.) I almost always eat this with cheese and either sliced tart apples or a green salad.

3. Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Soup from Epicurious - This soup is very orange, and it looks (and tastes) gorgeous with a dollop of this deep red cranberry chutney on top. (I gave that chutney a shout-out in this collection of favorite cranberry recipes.)

4. Thai Green Curry Lentil Soup from Kitchen Treaty - this soup comes together in about thirty minutes and it uses ingredients I always have on hand. Do use green lentils. People keep trying to tell me that regular brown lentils are “earthy,” but I just think they taste like dirt and need a LOT of additional spices to make them taste good to me. 😂

5. Not-a-Recipe Tomato Soup - I love tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches, and it’s so easy I don’t even have a recipe. Use a can or two of fire-roasted tomatoes. Add an equal amount of chicken or vegetable broth or a mix of both. (Again, Better than Bouillon is your friend.) Blend it up, and add salt and pepper until it tastes good. Serve with a splash of heavy cream if you want, or maybe some slivered fresh basil - or both! I make my grilled cheese sandwiches with provolone and cut the finished sandwiches into sticks for easier dipping. Yum!

If you have a favorite soup recipe, please share a link in the comments so everyone can give it a try!

You can find past newsletters with recipes here.

Enjoy!

Best,
Wendi
❤️

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In an effort to have fewer email providers chop my emails in half because they’re so dang long, I’ve moved my inspirations (book recommendations, favorite recipes, and awesome artists) to their own newsletter every Wednesday. Think of it as a quick way to fill your cup in the middle of the week. 🥰

If you’d rather not receive these Wednesday emails you can turn them off and still receive the regular Monday news and Friday archives.

1. Click this link.

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Easy peasy!