Mimi's Kitchen

Easy Gazpacho

1 (14-1/2 oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 1/4 cups V8 juice (regular or bold and spicy)
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup chopped and seeded cucumber
1/2 cup diced green or yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
3 tbsp. lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
olive oil

Combine all ingredients except salt, pepper and olive oil in a large bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup mixture for garnish and place remaining mixture into a food processor or blender and pulse until it is a coarse puree. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper and chill until cold. When serving, garnish with 1 tbsp. reserved veggie mixture and a drizzle of olive oil.

Since I love giving presents, it's time to pay it foreword and recognize other bloggers who inspire and entertain me. So (drum roll please)  I have chosen the following people/blogs to receive the Sunshine Award. Congratulations to the winners, please check out their wonderful blogs!

My Carolina Kitchen

Mrs. Southern Belle

Peel Me A Grape

A Cheese Curd in Paradise

Vintage Victuals

Bo's Bowl

TV Food and Drink

Chow and Chatter

Food Baby

Food Wanderlust

Off the Menu

Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

Congrats to the winners! And now, it's time for you winners to share the award and make somebody happy:

1.Put the award logo on your blog or within your post
2.Pass the award to 12-well-deserving bloggers
3.Link the nominees within your post
4.Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog
5.Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award

Thanks!
Mimi

Sofia writes: This is an old time favourite soup and a classic in Portuguese cuisine. There are a variety of recipes for this soup, but I still prefer the original one, which is as simple as can be. Caldo verde actually means green broth!

Ever since I was a little girl I remember having this "green broth" on cooler days. Having lived away from Portugal most of my life, I must say this soup must be THE one that brings back memories of us visiting my grandparents and running around on their farm. Every year when we went back, our bodies would change, our personalities too, yet the taste and craving for this soup would always be with us.

Today, I carry on the tradition from our home in Wisconsin, and make this soup often for my own husband and children, just as my Mother once did for me. And every year when we go to Portugal, we always reunite the family and go to a restaurant to enjoy Caldo Verde as well as other traditional foods.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Kale Soup)

4 tbsp olive oil
1 chourico sausage, sliced (chorizo)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Wash the potatoes, peel and cut them in thin slices.
Wash the greens, roll them up tightly and slice them as thin as you can (this is very important).
In a little hot water first quickly scald the greens - this will make the greens keep their colour.
Take 2 tablespoons of olive oil and lightly sautee the potatoes in a large pot.
Add the water and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are breaking apart.
Mash the potatoes or mix them thoroughly to create a nice minimally-smooth cream .
Let it simmer again for about 5 minutes then add the kale.
In a small frying pan lightly sautee the sliced chourico.
Just before serving, quickly mix in the leftover olive oil and the fat from the slices of chourico.
When serving the soup in bowls decorate them with the slices of chourico.

I have a special treat for you today in Mimi's Kitchen! For the Year of Soup Challenge Week 10 post, my friend Catherine from Half Hour Meals has graciously agreed to do a guest post! I am really excited about this because Catherine's recipes are awesome...everything of hers that I have ever made has been easy and delicious (check out my review of one of her recipes here).

So, grab another cup of coffee and pull up a chair while Catherine shares her recipe for Broccoli and Cheddar Soup with us. Please be sure to visit her wonderful blog, Living the Gourmet, and then try this soup recipe...you won't be disappointed!

On a cold January day I found myself sitting by the window looking out into a vast winter wonderland. I had a nice hot cup of coffee in one hand and an Eating Well Magazine in the other.


As I turned each page, a new and interesting recipe greeted me one after another. But my body yearned for something different from chicken or pasta- I needed something warm and comforting and only one dish would satisfy such a craving- soup!


I found this recipe that day and simply fell in love with it! Creamy, delicious and truly gratifying! After I read the recipe, I nearly jumped up from my seat and prepared all that was necessary.


Inka, my poodle and my sous-chef, watched as I excitedly prepared my soup. As I tasted this delicious bowl, all I could think of was Louis P. De Gouy, author of The Soup Book, who said, “Soup is cuisine's kindest course. It breathes reassurance; it steams consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability, as the five o'clock cup of tea or the cocktail hour.”


Ah success! Warmth from the cold winter weather all in a bowl of comfort food- nothing can compare to a scrumptious bowl of steaming hot broccoli cheddar soup!
---------------------------------
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Adapted from Cabot Cheese – Eating Well Magazine

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sweet butter
4 potatoes – cooked & diced with skin
1 onion – diced
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk
3 cups broccoli – cooked & chopped
8 ounces sharp or extra sharp cheddar – grated
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Ground black pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add potatoes and onion and cook, stirring, until onion in tender, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes longer.

Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk. Bring to low simmer. Add broccoli and simmer on low another 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Add Lemon juice and black pepper.

This soup is satisfying and tastes so rich and delicious!

Enjoy with love,
Catherine

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Mimi's Kitchen! St. Patty's day is a big deal 'round our house because I am married to an Irishman who is very proud of his heritage. DLH's great-grandfather Driscoll came to America in the early 1900's from County Cork, Ireland, with nothing but empty pockets and the dream of a new life. Now, a hundred-plus years later, traces of that hopeful, red-headed young man can still be seen in the strawberry-blond hair and Irish blue eyes of my husband and his four brothers.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and my husband's great-grandfather, I thought I'd do a recipe for an Irish Vegetable Soup for week 9 of The Year of Soup Challenge. Almost as thick as a stew, this tasty and filling soup was very typical mid-day fare for working men like Grandpa Driscoll, and was usually served with plenty of bread and sweet Irish butter.

Irish Vegetable Soup
1/2 cup pearl barley
5 cups chicken broth or water
4 large potatoes
2 carrots
1/2 medium turnip
2 sticks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 large cabbage leaves, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh parsley (or 1 tsp. dried parsley)
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp. dried thyme)
6 sage leaves (or 1/2 tsp. dried sage)

Place the barley in a large pot and cover with 5 cups broth or water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and wash the potatoes, carrots and turnip. Cut peeled vegetables into large (but bite-sized) pieces. Add all vegetables to pot with barley. Add salt, pepper, and herbs. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Serve with bread and butter.