Around the Kitchen Table: What’s Simmering on Your Stove? Plus 6-book #Giveaway!

 

MOLLY MACRAE: Do see the kettle gently bubbling on the stove? Does your nose catch the savory scents? Do you see the wisp of steam, like a finger, beckoning you closer? What’s in that pot? Something warm and cozy because soup and stew season is here!

Chickpea Noodle Soup

I’ve loved soups and stews since I was a kid. They're a great way to feed a lot of hungry mouths (we had 8 around our table) whether it’s homemade turkey soup with dumplings after the holidays, hearty beef stew, or a can of reconstituted cream of tomato soup served with a grilled cheese sandwich on the side. Yum!

Soup can also be elegant (lobster bisque, anyone?), surprising (you’ll never believe vegetarian chickpea noodle soup isn’t full of chicken broth), and triumphant (I finally found a vegetarian chili worthy of the name chili).

Worthy Vegetarian Chili

So, dear fellow cooks in our Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen, and dear readers, what’s simmering on your stove and filling your house with cozy aromas?

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KIM DAVIS: I love this topic Molly! While it’s been unseasonably hot here in Southern California—fall weather is nowhere in sight—I’ve still been craving soup. Especially after seeing everyone’s photos and recipe links here. Despite the heat, I’ve been contemplating turning the a/c down a degree or two and making a batch or two of our favorite soups. One of things I always do is make a larger batch than we need at the time, then freeze individual serving portions of the leftover soup for future lunches or quick dinners.
 
Our family prefers the heartier, chunky style of soups and stews. I’m more of a vegetable-heavy type of soup eater and especially love this Ravioli Vegetable Soup (sometimes substituting cheese tortellini for the ravioli).

 

And before cold and flu season hits our area, I make a huge batch of vegetable wild rice soup with chicken broth, and freeze so when I feel under the weather, I don’t have to make a grocery store run and spend time cooking up a bowl of comfort. Sorry, no recipe… I throw any vegetables that catch my interest in the pot and simmer, then season lightly with salt and herbs. I’ve found that pepper can irritate sore throats, so keep it really simple. 

My husband is the one and only beef stew fan in the family, and the kids love my Potluck Beans, so I will cook up a batch for each of them, then freeze leftovers for “freezer surprise” meals later on. One of the things I love about soups and stews is how versatile they are and so easily adaptable to suit tastes. Whatever soups and stews you eat, may the bowl of comfort warm you! 

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VMBURNS: Georgia hasn't gotten the memo that Fall is just around the corner. It's still hot down here. Yet, there is something about October that screams FALL!!! Instead of firing up the stove, I love to get out my crockpot. I especially love to dump a ton of ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and then come home hours later and have the house flooded with the smell of soup or chili. An easy favorite is my Chicken Pot Pie Recipe. It's a really easy recipe that gives the essence of a flaky pot pie without the work.

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VICKI DELANY: Fall is definitely in the air here in Southern Ontario. Although the days are still warm and sunny the nights are getting cool. It will soon be time to close the pool (she weeps), bring in the plants to overwinter, and clean out the remaining plant pots.  And yes, to start making those lovely soups. I love to freeze lots and lots of soup when the vegetables are at their peak to enjoy over the long winters.  This recipe for tomato soup is one I've featured several times here at Mystery Lovers Kitchen because it is such a favourite of mine, and I never tire of sharing it.  The picture shows the soup all ready to go into the freezer. 

Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Tomato and Red Pepper Soup From Vicki Delany

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ANG POMPANO: The same day Molly chose soups for our October Around the Kitchen Table subject, I received an email from Cuisinart with a recipe for Butternut Squash Soup, and Annette came home from the farm market with a beautiful butternut squash. I began to wonder if the universe was trying to tell me something. I always order butternut squash soup when I see it on a menu, so I figured it was time to make my own.

The Cuisinart recipe was for Curried Butternut Squash Soup. I’m not big on curry, but I decided to give it a try, and it was delicious! I did cut back on the curry powder and used only half a clove of garlic.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH COCONUT CURRY SOUP

Ingredients

1 small onion, cut into chunks

1 small jalapeño, seeded

½-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1½ to 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces, about 4 cups

1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk

Instructions

1. Place the onion, jalapeño, ginger, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse several times until finely chopped.

2. Sauté: Melt the ghee or butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped onion mixture, curry powder, and salt. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and fragrant.

3. Add the squash and coconut milk: Stir in the butternut squash and coconut milk. Bring to a gentle simmer.

4. Simmer: Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is very tender.

5. Purée: Remove from the heat and let the soup cool for a few minutes. Use an immersion blender to purée until smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, transfer the soup to a food processor in batches and process until smooth. Use caution when processing hot liquids.

6. Adjust the consistency: If the soup is too thick, add a little water or coconut milk. Taste and add more salt or curry powder if needed.

Adapted from a Cuisinart recipe

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LESLIE KARST: This time of year, my mind tends to go to winter squash like the acorn and butternut varieties. But since many of us buy a pumpkin or two for Halloween, why not use the squash we already have (soon after the holiday, and not if it has a lot of candle wax in it, of course) for a delicious soup? 

 

 

 We tend to think of pumpkins as only good for pie, but they have a marvelous flavor when cooked as a savory dish. And this recipe for pumpkin soup is simply divine, with the addition of brown butter and toasted pumpkin sees to bump up the flavor quotient.  

 

 

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MADDIE DAY:  Soups and stews, oh my! Great topic, Molly. When the mercury drops, the rain beats on the windows, and nobody wants to go outside, nothing warms the kitchen and the belly like a bowl of hearty soup. Over the years (and books) I have shared some favorite recipes here. Robbie Jordan made Italian Wedding Soup in Scone Cold Dead, the 13th Country Store Mysteries, and it's still a favorite in my kitchen.

I like to make a tomato-based Seafood Stew at this time of year. With my roots in southern California, I also enjoy Chicken Tortilla Soup and Posole. 

And when March rolls around, you can't go wrong with a hearty Beef, Barley, and Beer Soup to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, as Abe O'Neill created for the Irish cookoff in Four Leaf Cleaver.

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LUCY BURDETTE: My hub is recovering from hip surgery this week, so I've made two kinds of soup already, vegetable beef (lots of veggies and not so much beef) and chicken rice with vegetables. I'll be making more, split pea, lentil, seafood stew...But the recipe that comes up in my mind with a wash of nostalgia is the Tuscan tomato bread soup we made last year in a cooking class in Siena. So delicious and so much fun!

 

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON: Soup is one of my favorite things to make and enjoy!  I love all kinds.  Our weather is finally beginning to feel like autumn so I am looking forward to stirring up a big pot of something.  There are so many choices.  As a kid, my favorite soup was bean with bacon (Campbell's).  I never liked tomato soup (weird, I know) and bean and bacon was accompanied by crackers not grilled cheese.  Now I love experimenting with cold soups in the summer like gazpacho and hearty soups in the winter like split pea soup (or erwtensoep as the Van Velsen twins call it in my Cranberry Cove series), lentil soup, Tuscan bean soup.  I love any kind of bean soup.  There are so many ways to vary them.  I've made lentil soup Italian style with a recipe from Giada De Laurentis as well as this version with more exotic spices.

 

 
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DARCI HANNAH: What a great topic, Molly! I adore making soups, stews, and chili the moment fall comes rolling around. In fact, I've already made a huge batch of Chicken Chili for a chili cookout we went to last weekend. No, I didn't win the contest. There was some stiff competition there, but chicken chili is a favorite of mine and it's delicious. (I was going to remember to take a picture of it before it was all gone, and I forgot!) 

I love making soup for most of the reasons already listed on this blog. To me, when served with fresh baked bread, it's the perfect meal. One of our soup traditions my entire family insists upon, is the huge pot of turkey and wild rice soup I make after Thanksgiving. It's thick, creamy, and so delicious. We serve it over leftover stuffing, turning it into a rib-sticking meal. Of course, there are plenty of leftover pies to go with it! Again, I do not have a picture to share of this delicious soup. I guess I haven't been on the blog long enough to share a soup recipe. I'll have to change that soon! I do have a picture of a delicious beef and barley soup I made last year. I don't even remember what cookbook I found the recipe in, but it was one of the tastiest soups I've made. I'll have to dig up this recipe and share it!

 

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Soup season here in NW Montana, too! So far, I've only made Potato Leek Soup, but I made it twice, since I ended up with extra leeks!

When I wrote The Solace of Bay Leaves, the 5th Spice Shop Mystery, I knew the recipe section would be heavy on soup, since bay leaves feature in so many soups and stocks. I've made--and shared--a lot of tomato soup recipes over the years, but writing that book sent me searching for the Tomato Basil Soup I'd enjoyed so often at the deli in my Seattle office building that inspired Ripe, the deli run by Pepper's pal, Laurel. I never did find a recipe from that place, but Mr. Right and I sure had fun trying, and this one warms my memories as well as my tummy.

And I can't not share this Carrot Soup with Toasted Spices and Pecans, since I do write a spice shop series! 

Soup all but demands bread. I don't bake much bread--I'd just eat it--but trust me, this Rosemary Focaccia, moist with herb-infused olive oil is foolproof and the perfect companion to just about any soup!

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CLEO COYLE: This ONE HOUR CHICKEN SOUP (for the body and soul) is something I make often in the fall and throughout the winter. It's delicious, quick to cook, and (best of all) genuinely healing because the science is in, and our grandmothers were right. Studies have shown that properties in chicken soup relieve cold and flu symptoms. It not only contains immune boosting properties, but also has cold-fighting compounds that help soothe sore throats and clear nasal congestion. It's also incredibly nutritious, which is why I always feel better after slurping up a bowl of it. 

Click here for Cleo's One Hour Chicken Soup.

To download my recipe for One Hour Chicken Soup in a PDF that you can print, save, or share, click here or on the image above. Whether you make it for yourself or someone you care about, may it bring you good feelings and good health! ~ Cleo

GIVEAWAY!

Readers, how about you? What are some of your favorite soups and stews to make during the chilly fall season? 

Join our discussion with a comment below and you will be entered in our book giveaway.

All Shell Breaks Loose by Molly MacRae 

No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle 

Essentials of Homicide by Kim Davis 

Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder (ebook)
by Valerie Burns 

A Poisonous Pour by Maddie Day

Simmering Secrets (ebook ARC) 
by Ang Pompano

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Comments open through

Wednesday, October 7.

Winner will be contacted

via email, so be sure to leave 

your email address. 

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