Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Autumn Daze and Purple Soup

So, there you have it. Summer has officially come
to and end. On the calendar anyway. I however plan on taking just a bit of summer with me through at least the first couple of weeks of autumn. As long as the tomatoes last and the blackberries keep ripening. Ah, the tastes of harvest. I think fall might actually be my favorite season. Well, my favorite weather anyway. I have rhapsodized about the spring thaw and championed the cause of those lazy summer days, but really the autumn with its crisp, clear mornings and warm, bright afternoons is a delight almost incomparable. Take time to notice. This is one of our last nice days for a while. The high tomorrow is supposed to be 45 with some rain and snow. Therefore, this will be a short post, so I can get out on the porch with my book. Ok, you caught me...bookS! What I really want to share is the fun I have been having experimenting with all those yummy veggies that are so abundant right now. When mom said, "eat your greens!" she left out a whole rainbow amiable esculents. I have discovered that... Asparagus is heavenly in omelets. Tomatoes go
with everything. Zucchini is probably the hardest working veggie out there. Broccoli is yummo cooked, raw and everwhere in between. You can grow eggs in the garden. And kids have a really
hard time eating purple hashbrowns now matter how good they taste.
Last night we had purple soup for dinner. See these adorable purply spuds! Ok, so I do not have a recipe because I really cook better on the fly and the rules are more like guidelines anyway, right?
Seasonal Purple Soup
So, I started with a pot of boiling broth and water. Added some salt and pepper. Threw in cubed purple potatoes, shredded purple cabbage, and a big chopped up leek. Added a couple of cloves of garlic (which happened to also have purple skins) and a sprig of fresh rosemary cuz I had it in the garden. I let that cook down until the potatoes were soft. Then I pureed about two cups of the soup and added it back in for some thickness. It was purple. We ate it with some whole wheat flatbread and a tomato sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. Seriously, does not get better this time of year. I think the soup would be good with left over chicken or even a bit of a quality sausage if you like things spicy! Go to the market and see what is fresh, then just start throwing things together. You might be surprised at how much you like this way of cooking. Happy eating...
Quote of the day: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread; places to play in and pray in; where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."
--John Muir naturalist and explorer

17 comments:

  1. The soup sounds yummy, although I have never even seen purple spuds before. I am just a little jealous that it is soup weather for you. We are still in the 100's but I hear a storm is coming that will lower our temps down to 90 by the weekend! :-) And I agree that fall is the best. Growing up in Utah that was always my favorite season.

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  2. We ate some purple potatos awhile back. I too had a hard time getting past the purple. :) Fall is my FAVORITE time of year. I am so dreading what the upcoming week has in store for us.

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  3. I hope that oneday my garden will be blessed with lots of blues and purples! :)

    I Love the colors, they make me happy, and the soup could warm my soul with the cold weather we've been having!

    Great post!

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  4. I'm a spuds girl myself, but I've never had purple soup~ sounds tasty with the addition of the cabbage :-)

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  5. These are so creative! I'm not sure I'm big on purple food.

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  6. Your soup sounds delicious and perfect for a crisp cool day.I love purple cabbage!
    I know you will enjoy my post Nature Girl --and I have a John Muir quote in it! :) I have such admiration for all he did!

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  7. The soup would be perfect for the fall. The purple shade would make it really fun to look at.

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  8. Oh yum!! Sounds so delicious!! Can I just move to your house? Your dinners sound better than mine!

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  9. I love purple potatoes....love it...bkm

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  10. ok, strange but YUMMY! I love your quote of the day as well!

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  11. I quite think I shall fancy myself some purple soup! Loving the recipe.

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  12. Well, I haven't cooked with purple potatoes but I have made a potato and cabbage soup before. Yours looks quite yummy! I puree mine so it is creamy. Forgot all about it until I read about yours. Great fall soup!

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  13. As long as the tomatoes last and the blackberries keep ripening.

    I love that line!

    One year I grew every color of potato I could find - purple, rose, yellow, an almost blue one. I made soup. Ummm.... not an appetizing color at all.

    If I do it again I will stick with just purple. Sounds quite intriquing and delicious.

    Thanks for such a fun link on our little journey through Rainbow Summer School.

    A+

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