Beet and Merlot Soup

Yield: 6 servings

6 med/large cooked, peeled, and chopped beets)
8 shallots, chopped
1 c merlot
1 sprig fresh thyme
3T butter
1 qt vegetable stock
1/2 c heavy cream
12 1"x1" pieces gruyere cheese
12 sourdough croutons
6 t greek yogurt, thinned with about 2 t milk

Caramelize shallots in butter. Add red wine and reduce by ½. Add beets and thyme sprig, and broth, partially cover pot, and simmer slowly for about 30 minutes, or until beets are very soft. Puree soup in a blender. Add cream and bring soup back to a simmer. Season with salt,pepper, and a touch of lemon juice if more acid is needed. (If an even smoother texture is desired, strain it through a medium-mesh strainer.)

Take your sourdough croutons and melt the gruyere on top (oven, toaster oven, microwave: your choice)

To serve, ladle soup into 6 bowls, top with a spoonful of the yogurt and two gruyere-topped croutons.

Note on the croutons: I made mine by slicing a thin Grace Bakery sourdough loaf very thin, brushing with melted butter, and toasting in the oven until light brown and crisp. These are bread slices, not the cubed kind you put in salad.

Beans and Greens Soup

This soup was unexpectedly good, especially considering I did not think about what I was doing when I made it and was on the phone leading a meeting.

1T olive oil
2 shallots, cut in half rings and caramelized in olive oil
3 large mushrooms, cut in ½" cubes, sautéed and slightly browned
2c veggie stock
¾ can cannelli (white) beans
3T minced Italian parsley
1c curly kale, cut in strips

Sautee shallots and mushrooms in olive oil until brown and squishy and caramelized
Add veggie stock and cannelli beans
Bring to an almost boil (just very hot)
Add parsley and kale, season and serve right away.

It made enough for me (but I ate a lot) and took 7 minutes.

Yellow Gazpacho

Soup:
1-1/2 c chopped yellow heirloom tomatoes (only the best, ripest, sweetest ones!)
3/4 c chopped yellow bell peppers
1/2 c chopped yellow onion
1 c chopped English cucumbers (peeled and seeded)
1/2 c french bread (white part only) cut into small pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t ground cumin
4 T white wine vinegar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1 sprig of fresh thyme
Salt and Pepper

Garnish:
1/4 c chardonnay (frozen)
2 t red tomato, seeded and cut into brunoise
1t chives, finely minced
1/2 t jalapeno, seeded and cut into brunoise
Hawaiian alaea sea salt


1. Pour chardonnay into a bowl and place in the freezer to make ice.
2. Place all soup ingredients except thyme, salt, and pepper into a food processer and blend until liquified. Pour mixture into a non-reactive bowl, add thyme, then salt and pepper(You'll want to undersalt it a little because you'll be garnishing with sea salt later. If you skip the sea salt, then season to taste).
3. Cover and place in refrigerator for a few hours or until cold.
4. While the mixture is cooling and macerating, prepare garnish by chopping tomato, jalapeno, and chives and mixing them together.
5. When ready to serve, force mixture through a fine-meshed seive
6. Garnish with 1t chardonnay ice, 1/8 t Alaea pink sea salt, and 1 t of the brunoise "salsa." Serve cold.

Makes four 1/2 cup servings