Sunday, December 31, 2017

"Lucky" New Year Noodle Soup (Hey, It Can't Hurt!) for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

A delicious soup to wish you a Happy New Year. This New Year Noodle Soup is full of Persian flavors and lucky ingredients to set you up for a great 2018. If that wasn't enough, it's also topped with caramelized onions, sour cream and toasted walnuts.


For a lot of reasons, too numerous to mention, 2017 was not the best year, so I am not too unhappy to see the end of it. Although some great things happened, for myself and for my family and friends and the world, there were a lot of trying times. I have hopes that 2018 will be better and to help it along, I wanted to cook up a "lucky" soup. I could have made up a recipe of my own but Heidi Swanson had a delicious-looking one on her website that contained thin noodles (long life), lentils (wealth and prosperity), and spinach (more wealth and prosperity) and I subbed in black-eyed peas (considered lucky in the South) for the borlotti beans for an extra luck boost--hey it can't hurt!.

This is a recipe from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks Blog, which she says is Adapted slightly from the Ash-e Reshteh / New Year Noodle Soup recipe in Saraban, by Greg & Lucy Malouf


Heidi says, "If you don't have beans that have already been cooked you can use canned ones. Or you can soak the garbanzo & borlotti overnight, and add them after the broth comes to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes, then stir in the yellow split peas/lentils. This way the beans/lentils should be done cooking around the same time. The original recipe calls for fresh borlotti beans, which aren't in season. I used dried borlotti that I cooked a couple weeks back, then froze until now. And, on the noodle front, I couldn't help but add more than what the original recipe called for. You can actually use more/less noodles - even when it seemed like too much, they always manage to get slurped up in a soup like this." 

New Year Noodle Soup
Slightly Adapted from Heidi Swanson via 101 Cookbooks Blog
(Serves About 4)

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 long red chili OR green serrano chili, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (I used 1 tsp)
1 tsp ground cumin (I added 1 12 tsp)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

8 1/2 cups good-tasting vegetable stock
3.5 oz yellow split peas or brown lentils
2 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed if using canned
2 cups cooked borlotti beans (I subbed in black-eyed peas)

fine grain sea salt to taste 
8 oz thin egg noodles, fresh or dried (I used Italian spaghetti)
3 1/2 oz fresh spinach leaves, finely shredded
1/2 cup finely shredded cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
juice of one lime


Toppings:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 oz  sour cream or creme fraiche
scant 2 ounces of toasted, chopped walnuts

Heat the oil in a large, thick-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and the chile and cook until they soften, a few minutes. Add the spices and cook for another thirty seconds, just long enough for them to toast a bit, then stir in the stock. Bring to a boil and add the split peas/lentils to the pot. Cook until they are just tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and borlotti beans. Once the beans have heated throughout, season with salt to taste.

In the meantime, you can prepare the toppings. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat along with a couple big pinches of salt. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized, at least 8 to 10+ minutes. Set aside.

Just before you're ready to eat, add the noodles to the simmering soup and cook until al dente. Stir in the spinach, and cilantro and dill. Add a big squeeze of lime to the pot or serve wedges along with each bowl of soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Serve right away, each bowl topped with a big spoonful of caramelized onions, some sour cream or creme fraiche, and a sprinkling of walnuts.


Notes/Results: This is such a tasty soup--especially if like me you love cumin and beans and fresh cilantro and dill, oh yeah...lime... and noodles.... and don't forget the caramelized onions on top and the sour cream...there is just so much going on but in the best way. The beans and pasta keep it satisfying. I think the spaghetti noodles I bought were a bit wide but it does help it hold up to the beans. Because the longer the noodles, the luckier, a fork can be helpful for eating this soup. There are a few steps to making it, but it goes together easily and relatively quickly if you make your toppings while the soup is simmering. The mix of flavors together is wonderful--if you like Persian food and flavors, you will like this soup. Use dairy-free sour cream and vegan butter in the onion topper and it is vegan, and swap in gluten-free pasta if you want it gluten-free. For me, I'm just going to have another bowl tonight, and a couple tomorrow on New Years Day. Maybe it won't change my luck, but it's good enough that I feel lucky eating it.


It's Potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs so I am linking up this Heidi Swanson adapted soup. Check out the picture links on the post to see what everyone made. 

 
It's another quiet holiday week in the Souper Sundays kitchen but my friends Debra and Tina are here keeping me company--let's have a look at what they brought.


Debra of Eliot's Eats shared Curried Black Bean, Butternut and Spinach Soup and said, "I whipped up this delicious soup with what was on hand for an impromptu lunch. It’s funny what comes to light when families are together over the holidays.  Skeletons in the closet can be let loose to wreak havoc.  Our revelation this holiday season is apparently that no one likes curry. ... My sister and I loved this soup and she even told me it was “restaurant worthy.” Supreme compliment!  (We were the only ones who ate this soup, but that was fine with us!)"



Tina of Squirrel Head Manor made Avocado Chickpea Salad Sandwiches and said, "So, today I wanted to share a nice chickpea and avocado based salad that makes a dynamite sandwich. It's that time of year when people start thinking about eating healthier. If you like vegetarian based meals you will probably like this little recipe. We've been on the mostly vegetarian meal plan for well over a year (this time) and I can say, lunches can be problematic when  there aren't any leftovers. I try and pack our lunches every work day as it's healthier as well as economically sound. This sandwich spread, this salad, makes a filling lunch and it's made in under 2 minutes!"


Mahalo to Tina and Debra for joining me at Souper Sundays this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:


  • Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.
and 

On your entry post (on your blog):
  • Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
  • You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).




Have a happy and healthy 2018!
 

Friday, December 29, 2017

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Hearts for Food 'N Flix December Pick: Clueless {#FoodnFlix} {#JaneAustenBites}

It's deadline day for this month's Food 'n Flix event and as usual, I am dashing in under the wire for no reason other than I procrastinated until the very last moment. Our movie, selected and hosted by Food 'N Fix's founder, Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen (see her announcement post here), is the 1995 film, Clueless


Although I am a decade and a half or so from being the target audience of this movie, it is a favorite, partly due to my love of all things Jane Austen and it being a fabulously done remake of Emma and also because even if you don't know and appreciate the original work, it's a sweet, fun, and funny film on its own merits. I liked it so much I bought the book about the making of the movie (although it sadly sits in my TBR pile--one of these days I'll get to it.)


Alicia Silverstone stars as Cher Horowitz, a Beverly Hills teen, a bit spoiled and superficial and frankly, pretty clueless when it comes to most things. After successfully bringing together two of her teachers for the purpose of making them happy enough to give better grades, Cher enjoys the feeling of a match well done and starts in on the new girl, Tai, (Brittany Murphy) with her best friend Dionne's (Stacey Dash) help. Cher also falls for the new guy at school and undertakes other "do-gooding" projects as her cute stepbrother Josh (Paul Rudd) looks on in amusement. 


If you haven't seen it, it is well worth a watch for the funny and quotable lines, good performances, great music and fashion, and as it turns out... for the food. There is a decent amount of food in Clueless from the product placement (Diet Coke, Starbucks, Minute Maid, Special K, McDonald's, Godiva Chocolates, Snapple, Snickers...) to the lunch and dinner scenes where glimpses of different foods can be seen--iced coffee drinks, fresh squeezed orange juice, carrots, salads, fruit and yogurt, the makings of a turkey sandwich, bread sticks, school lunch with broccoli and potato, chicken, pie, milk, a slab of cookie dough burning in the oven, chips, cereal, a bunch of canned goods and red caviar. 


For my film-inspired dish, I decided to go with chocolates. In a plan to gain the attention of the new boy in school, Cher send herself flowers and a box of Godiva chocolate offering the advice; "Anything you can do to draw attention to your mouth is good." I made some dark chocolate hearts with assorted fillings last year for a book review and my favorite were the ones where I placed a fresh raspberry inside. Simple but so fresh and delicious.


The raspberries with their bright color, capture the pink that I associate with this film and I decided to add some bling by melting a white chocolate with strawberries candy bar and drizzle it on top of my hearts. It did end up a bit globby (although more Jackson Pollock splatters than Monet "She's a full-on Monet. ... It's like a painting, see? From far away, it's OK, but up close it's a big old mess.") ;-)


Dark Chocolate Hearts with Fresh Raspberries
By, Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes about 1 Dozen filled chocolates--depending on the size of your molds)

8 oz dark chocolate (I used a local Waialua Estate 70% cacao from Whole Foods), chopped
1 Tbsp coconut oil
fresh raspberries, washed and drained--patted as dry as you can get them
chocolate molds or silicon molds--clean and completely dry
1.25 oz white chocolate (I used half of this bar with strawberries

Place chopped chocolate and coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl or microwave safe large glass measuring cup and heat for about 45 seconds. Stir carefully and repeat heating in 20 second increments, stirring in between until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. (Alternatively you can melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove top.)

Once chocolate is melted, carefully pour a small amount into the bottom of your molds (fill about about 1/3 to 1/2 of the mold--depending on the size). Carefully tap your mold on the counter a several times to make sure the chocolate covers the bottom part completely and there are no air bubbles.

Place your raspberries into the half-filled molds--using a toothpick to push them down towards the bottom if needed. (I used one raspberry per heart mold.)


Using a small spoon, carefully add the remaining chocolate to each mold, covering the raspberry filling. Once all chocolates are filled and covered, carefully tap the mold against the counter a few times again, allowing the chocolate to settle and completely cover the filling with no air bubbles. If chocolate settles, add additional chocolate as needed to ensure each mold is filled to the top evenly. Carefully tap the mold a few more times. The melted chocolate should spread itself out fairly smoothly with the tapping, put you can smooth it out with the back of your spoon if needed.    

Place filled molds in your refrigerator for about 30 minutes for chocolate to harden. When chocolates are almost firm, melt white chocolate bar (if using) in a small microwave-safe bowl--using the same process as for the dark chocolate.
 
Once chocolates are completely firm, carefully remove them from the molds. The chocolates pop out pretty easily from the silicon molds; you may have to sharply tap plastic chocolate molds on the counter to loosen the chocolates.  

Using a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate over the dark chocolate hearts in a random pattern. Place the chocolates back into the refrigerator for about 15 to 20 minutes until white chocolate has firmed up. 

Store chocolates, tightly covered in the fridge. I lay paper towels in an airtight container to absorb any moisture. Chocolates containing fresh berries will keep best for just a couple of days--if they last that long.


Notes/Results: With the exception of my drizzling could have been better--I should have thinned the white chocolate a bit--these turned out really well. And I'm going to pretend there is a certain charm in the drizzle. ;-) The pairing of fresh, sweet but just a bit tart, raspberries with good-quality dark chocolate--it is just so good. The white chocolate drizzle with the touch of strawberry flavor and slight crunch from the strawberry crisp in the bar adds additional flavor and sweetness. I deliberately made a small batch of these (one dozen) because with the fresh fruit, they are best eaten within a couple of days--something I shall strive to do. I will happily make these again. 


As mentioned, the deadline for this month's Food 'N Flix is the end of the day, today--but if you like food, movies, and foodie movies, join us for January where our film pick is Wreck-It Ralph, hosted by Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures

 
Heather is also hosting this month's Fandom Foodies event where the theme is #JaneAustenBites -- food inspired by Jane Austen's books and movies or books and movies inspired by Austen--so I am linking these chocolates up there. (See Heather's post for the linkup and details!)

And I will am linking up this review and recipe to the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.


Happy Aloha Friday!
 

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Creamy Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Fried Basil Croutons for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Since it's Christmas Eve, a cheery red soup seems festive--especially when it a Creamy Red Pepper & Tomato Soup and it gets garnished up with fried ciabatta bread croutons with fried green basil leaves peaking out. I kept the soup simple--all pantry items so the soup is pretty low-effort and makes a nice light lunch or a starter for a holiday meal.


The soup is made with coconut milk, so it's vegan. The topping is optional but it takes a good soup to great and is quick and easy to prepare. Make extra though because you will find yourself nibbling the croutons as you fry them up. They are inspired by an Ina Garten recipe for her Pappa Al Pomidoro soup, but made without pancetta and on the stove top--because sometimes I just don't want to turn on the oven.


Creamy Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Fried Basil Croutons
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 6)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper or Aleppo pepper
1 large jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

1 28 oz can or box chopped tomatoes
1 28 oz can or box crushed tomatoes
1 cup good vegetable stock
2 tsp sugar or agave syrup
2 cups full fat coconut milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fried Basil Croutons for serving, optional (recipe below)
 

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium and saute onions, garlic, and herbs until tender and onions start to turn translucent. Add red peppers, tomatoes, vegetable stock, and sugar/agave and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Puree the soup in blender in batches then return to pot. Add coconut milk and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes--until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Serve hot in bowls with a generous helping of Fried Basil Croutons on top.  


Fried Basil Croutons
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

4 tablespoons good olive oil, separated
4 cups (1-inch or so ) diced ciabatta cubes
1 small bunch fresh basil leaves (about 28-30 leaves), larger leaves chopped

sea salt and pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil a large frying pan over medium heat. Add croutons and basil leaves, drizzle with the remaining two tablespoons olive oil and stir--so the bread is well-coated. Cook over medium heat, stirring and tossing frequently, for about 10 minutes--until basil is crispy and croutons are nicely browned. Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.  

Serve warm on top of soup. 


Notes/Results: The soup is excellent--creamy, sweet and full of great flavor (and it's packed with vitamin C if a cold has found you this holiday season) but let's be real--it's the topping that truly makes this soup. Put those warm and crispy cubes of bread and savory basil leaves on top and you have a party. If you can stop eating it long enough to top the soup. It's worth the splurge in olive oil--use the good stuff and good ciabatta bread too. I will happily make the soup and the topping again.


It's a quiet holiday week in the Souper Sundays kitchen but lovely Tina is here with me--let's have a look at what she brought.


Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared these tasty Black Bean Burgers and a Black Bean and Rice Soup she made from the leftovers when her not-so-bean-loving husband was out of town. She said, "You know what else I like?  Black bean burgers.  That's not on the list for never-again-foods but it's not his favorite so.....this last trip I had two black bean burgers.  And, because beans are an important part of a 95% vegetarian diet - I made a soup with leftover rice, black beans, tomatoes and onions."

 
Mahalo to Tina for joining me at Souper Sundays this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

  • Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.
and 

On your entry post (on your blog):
  • Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
  • You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).


 
Have the happiest and healthiest of holidays!
 

Friday, December 22, 2017

Greek Mezze Platter with Marinated Herbed Feta

Ina Garten is known for throwing store-bought dishes and ingredients into her meals, something that helps during this busy time of year when you want to minimize your time spent in the kitchen. At I Heart Cooking Clubs our theme this week is A Helping Hand!--Ina recipes and meals that get a helping hand from any source we like. I decided to make her Greek Mezze Platter with most all store-bought ingredients that get a few special touches and are "artfully arranged" (we must use 'good' ingredients and arrange them artfully when cooking with Ina!). Since I just made a Greek-inspired soup Lemony Chickpea and Noodle Soup this week, I had leftover thyme, pita bread and some homemade hummus that I could put to good use.


I made a few very small changes to Ina's platter besides reducing the size by about half. She calls for store-bought hummus and I had homemade, she calls for olives with pits and I bought pitted olives from the deli olive bar, and she toasts her pita into chips and I'm a warm, soft, grilled pita fan so I just toasted mine over my gas burners to warm, soften and mark it just a bit. In the feta, she calls for crushed red pepper flakes and I have become fond of Aleppo pepper for it's slightly tangy flavor and more moderate heat. Otherwise I left things the same and it made for a quick and tasty light dinner.


Greek Mezze Platter
Slightly Adapted from Ina Garten via FoodNetwork.com
(Serves 8)

Marinated Herbed Feta (recipe below)
6 roasted red peppers, store-bought
8-10 stuffed grape leaves, store-bought 
1 cup hummus, store-bought (I used homemade)
1 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
good olive oil
toasted pita chips for serving (I used grilled pita bread)
4 sprigs fresh thyme

Artfully arrange the marinated feta, red peppers, stuffed grape leaves and a small bowl filled with the hummus on a platter. Sprinkle the pine nuts over the hummus and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place the pita chips on the platter and arrange the sprigs of thyme over the red peppers, for decoration.

-----

Ina says, "Most marinated feta consists of cubes of feta swimming in a large jar of olive oil, which I think makes the feta oily. Instead, I slice it and sprinkle it with thyme, fennel, crushed red pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. The flavor is much cleaner and brighter. Serve this with toasted pita triangles or on a Greek mezze platter with hummus, olives and stuffed grape leaves."

Marinated Herbed Feta
from Ina Garten, via Food Network.com

1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme 
1/2 teaspoon dried fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used Aleppo pepper)
1 1/2 pounds Greek feta, drained and sliced 1/2-inch thick 
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup green olives with pits, such as Cerignola (I used pitted green olives)
1/2 cup good olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the dried thyme, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Lay the feta slices overlapping on a 9 × 9-inch square serving plate.

Sprinkle the feta with the entire herb mixture. Nestle the fresh thyme sprigs and olives among the feta slices. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve at room temperature. 

Got a hankering for marinated feta? Both Diana Henry and Ottolenghi have terrific recipes as well. 


Notes/Results: This platter is practically effortless and is perfect for a holiday appetizer or a light meal or starter. Both of my nearby grocery stores have fairly extensive olive bars that carry stuffed grape leaves, roasted red peppers, and olives of all sorts, and there are so many great brands and kinds of store-bought humus--although is is hardly any effort to make your own. I never think to toast pine nuts to serve on top of my hummus and it adds so much great nutty flavor and texture and "curb appeal" to a dish, I'll try to remember to do it. Between that and leaving time to marinate feta (I used a nice sheep's milk feta) a few hours or the the night before, it makes the store-bought ingredients feel special. I reduced the amounts of ingredients to feed 3 to 4 instead of 8 and it made a great dinner for a couple of evenings noshing. 


Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's A Helping Hand theme--where we make Ina Garten dishes that get a hand from store-bought ingredients or other helpful things that lessen the fuss and holiday cooking time.

   
I'm also sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.
 

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Lemony Chickpea & Noodle Soup with Feta, Served with Homemade Hummus & Pita for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was craving a simple soup and chickpeas and wide egg noodles so I combined them for this Lemony Chickpea & Noodle Soup. A little feta on the top is always welcome and I doubled the beans and the starch by serving it with homemade hummus and warm pita bread. 


Hearty and satisfying for supper on a cool night, the lemon keeps it from feeling too heavy.


Lemony Chickpea & Noodle Soup with Feta
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 8 Servings)

2 cups uncooked chickpeas
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
8 cups good vegetable stock, separated (I used a combo of no-chicken soup paste + homemade garlic broth)
6 oz wide egg noodles
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To Serve: feta cheese, chopped fresh parsley and hummus & pita bread, optional

The night before you make the soup: Rinse and sort the chickpeas, removing any foreign objects. Soak them overnight in plenty of cold water, draining and rinsing them well. 

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and add the onion, celery, and carrots, cooking about 5-6 minutes until the onion turns translucent and the veggies start to soften. Add the garlic and dried herbs saute for another minute or two. Add the chickpeas and 6 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours, stirring occasionally--until beans are tender to your liking. (My dried beans were from Whole Foods and despite soaking took about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to the texture I like.)

Add the additional broth and bring to a rolling boil. Add noodles and cook about 10 minutes, or to package instructions. Add lemon juice. Taste and add sea salt and black pepper to taste. 

Serve hot with feta cheese and chopped fresh parsley on top and with hummus and pita on the side if desired.


Notes/Results:  This soup is thick, creamy and is more stew-like than a brothy soup. Cooking the chickpeas longer and the noodles helped suck up the broth, so the extra two cups I added helped. You could also cook the chickpeas separately until almost cooked, then add them to the soup, or use cooked, canned chickpeas (quicker if you are in a hurry) but I like a thick texture, so it worked for me. The feta on soft softens and adds to the soup with its salty burst of flavor. If you want a vegan soup, just omit the feta and try some fried capers or chopped pepperoncini. Actually that sounds really good, I may have to fry up some capers for my leftovers. For the hummus. I just whipped up a batch of simple hummus. Here's a nice lemony hummus recipe. I was happy with my dinner and would gladly make this soup again. 

 
We have some great people and dishes awaiting in the Souper Sundays kitchen--let's have a look.
 
Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen shares Pomegranate Molasses, Bulgar, Chickpeas, Red Chard, and Seitan 'Lamb' Salad and said, "The pomegranate molasses gave that sweet twang. chickpea always give nuttiness, but so did the Bulgar. Its nice warm, but its also good at room temperature as a salad, but do keep the mock lamb sitting on top, so not to go too soggy from the red chard, which by the way is from the garden plot."


Amber of The Hungry Mountaineer is here with Gorgonzola Gnocchi Soup and said, "Normally I would never to think to make a delicious soup in July but on a rainy day as thunderstorms rock the house in Big Bear, a big steaming pot of gnocchi stew sounds truly amazing."
 
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor brings Creamy Vegetable Soup and said it "was inspired by necessity - the need for a hot lunch to carry to work. The ingredients were  selected from a nearly bare vegetable tray in the fridge. Creativity was required 😼 It’s simple.  You look in the fridge for orphan vegetables, quantities too meager to produce a good side dish at dinner. I had onions (I always have copious quantities of onions), three garlic cloves, mushrooms, two carrots, one yellow squash and a handful of green beans."


Mahalo to everyone who joined me at Souper Sundays this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here.
 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

  • Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on the post you link up to be included.
and 

On your entry post (on your blog):
  • Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back on your post, it will be removed.)
  • You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).



Have a happy, healthy week!