Sweet Southern Symphony: April 2013

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Spring Soup

Spring has sprung! so I just have to share with you this soup my husband made this week. Inspired by our abundant crop of spring onions this year, his first thought was to find a french onion soup recipe, but found this one instead (from SippitySup):

Spring Onion Soup

This soup is made with fresh spring onions and not much else. Because it doesn't need it.

Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil very good extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 pound onions spring onions, bulbs, leaves and roots, chopped
1 pinch salt and pepper each salt and white pepper
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock low-sodium chicken stock
2 cup water water
1 clove garlic garlic, peeled and minced

Directions

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add all the onions and garlic, cook stirring occasionally until translucent, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper. Add the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the soup from heat, and let for a few minutes. Use an immersion belnderto puree until smooth. Divide soup among 4 bowls, drizzle with more oil, and serve.

This recipe, as stated, is pretty much just spring onions, and little else. So if you LOVE spring onions you will love this. My husband loved it, both my girls loved it (totally surprised!!) and I honestly wasn't that keen on it, but ate it knowing how much goodness was in this was totally worth it!

Spring onions are one of the SUPERFOODS! like spinach, and berries. They are so good for you if you have a cold (anti-bacterial properties in it help to fight against cold and flu). And they certainly add a jazz to a spring or summer salad.

Our garden is awesome again this year, maybe because two people put a lot of time and effort into it :) This has become the bonding activity for my husband and his dad. They talk about it, plan it, fix it, weed it, worry about it, and harvest it :) And the harvest is the best - perfect spinach, delicious spring onions, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, cabbage, tomatoes, etc.

Here is just a small portion of our Spring Onion harvest. It was a bonza (Australian for excellent) year!! Oh, and the spinach this year was so awesome - the best yet!

The real benefit of the garden and the game my husband provides is that we know where our food comes from. Our children are being raised on lean healthy venison and striper (fish), turkey and wild hog, and organically grown vegetables. About 90% of our meat supply is provided by my husband's hunting efforts. We will occasionally buy chicken or salmon. About 60% of our vegetable intake is from the garden - mostly 95% during the spring/summer growing months. My father-in-law also cans, pickles, and makes jam (from fruit from his trees or the neighbors). Now all we need are our own chickens (I currently buy pastured eggs), especially considering how many eggs one little girl will eat - they are her favorite food!

It is a lot of work, but when you are passionate about it, and when you yield these beautiful crops, it makes it all worth it.

Healthy food grows healthy kids :)