Soups On!

It' s hard to believe it's February already. Wasn't it just Christmas? Why does time goes so fast the older you get? Easter is so early this year! Lent started this week and with that comes the challenge of meatless Friday's. One meal we like to prepare is a vegetarian tortilla soup. I came across the original recipe from Epicurious. com. I have tweaked the recipe to my liking. It tastes like an enchilida soup. It's easy to prepare, its filling and its a light soup. All good things!

I also came across this lovely soup. Do you remember the Seinfield episode about the soup nazi? Well this is the guy the story was based on.

I read he is famous in New York and people line up for a long time to get his soups. I found this beauty at our local supermarket. We have tried the Seafood bisque and it is fantastic! They have other soups like clam chowder, Italian wedding soup and tomato basil. You don't get tons of soup, enough for 2 servings and the price is a little high, but O'my it's good. There are hunks of lobster, clam, mussels, shrimp, crab and scallops! I am a soup nut and this is fantastic for not being a homemade soup.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

4 cups canned vegetable broth

4 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 6-inch diameter corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes( when not in season, used good quality canned tomatoes, I like Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes)

2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed & drained

1 1/2 Tablespoons minced, seeded jalapeno

Add Olive oil into saucepan and heat on medium. Add onion and garlic; cook over medium-low heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin and chili powder. Add broth and 2 Tablespoons cilantro; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes.

Add tortillas, tomatoes, beans, jalapeno to soup. Cover, simmer about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tablespoon cilantro.

This soup would be great with any number of mixins: Add hominey or corn, use pinto beans instead of black. The combinations are endless. I do like to serve this with some shredded cheese and sour cream. YUM!