Soul-Fed Mama: 3 Easy Soups for Autumn
This week in one of my Facebook groups, someone wrote about processing her harvest of pears into sauce, butter and jelly and how that work leaves her feeling deeply nourished.Her comment reminded me again that self care can look like so many different things. So often we think of self care as taking a nap, or getting a pedicure or calling your best girl friend for a long chat. And that might be the exact self care you need.But you might also need an hour standing at the stove stirring a big pan of pears. You might need to be getting dirt under your fingernails in the still-warm twilight. You might need a blank page and a fast-flowing pen. You might need to snuggle under a blanket with your child to read a book together. You might need your camera pointed at the stunning red leaves as they circle down around you.Right now, as the weather suddenly shifts to chilly in my town this week, I have been needing to cook. Preferably soups that simmer away for a while, scenting the house wonderfully and warming me to my bones when we sit down to the meal. [Tweet "Sometimes the thing that is self-care for you can nurture others, too."]If you are feeling similarly, here are three easy autumn soups that have been given the big thumbs up by my family.Zuppa ToscanaI found this soup in the Pinned It, Did It series on Liz Lamoreux’s blog recently. I made it last night for dinner and it was a big hit. Bean ate four servings! I just noticed that I left out the cream at the end in my version and I can attest that it isn’t necessary. I’ll try it that way next time!Garden Tomato SoupThis recipe is one I invented after eating an amazing tomato soup at the Cafe de Jaren in Amsterdam many years ago. I was there in September and the earthy warmth of the soup was the perfect balance for the brisk wind blowing off the water at that time of year. I love it with fresh tomatoes but you can substitute a large can of chopped tomatoes instead. As I note in the original blog post, I’m bad about following recipes exactly, so use that as your inspiration to riff on this soup to suit your family’s taste. I’m thinking I might make a pot of this using the 1/2 cup of pancetta I have left over from another recipe. Try serving it with a thick slab of bread toasted with cheese.Avkolemeno Chicken SoupThere is a Greek restaurant in town that used to serve Avkolemeno soup as their Wednesday night special. It was so good I had to learn how to make it myself so I could eat it more often. This is now my go-to chicken soup. I make it when one of us is sick, or when it is cold, or later in the week after I’ve roasted a chicken. Whenever the subject of soup comes up, Bean says, “I like chicken soup,” and this is what she’s talking about.This recipe is a pretty close approximation of the version I make, which I’ve never written down. I skip the onion, use orzo instead of rice and use pre-cooked chicken. I prefer the bite of Eureka lemons in this soup (2 lemons to 3 eggs) but sweeter Meyer lemons will work for a mellower flavor. The only tricky part is that you have to warm the egg-lemon mixture by adding warm broth as described, or the eggs will curdle when you add them to the hot soup. It will still taste good if that happens, but it isn’t as pretty!For more soup recipes, check out my Pinterest recipe board!Do you have a favorite soup recipe? Share it in the comments!