Cooking Fresh: Winter Vegetable Soup

Our recent move has allowed me the time and space to explore another passion of mine outside of fashion.  That would be cooking. I find that after a long day of being a designer, creating and sewing, cooking relaxes me.....  And I think, more than anything, knowing exactly what I'm putting in my body makes me the happiest.  Cooking satisfies all of my senses.... it's so beautiful!

So I joined a group on Facebook that has a challenge of "No Sugar in November". Although I am going on 3 years sober from this drug, I thought I could be support for someone else. There is clear and validated evidence of how sugar causes all sorts of health issues. I know personally how my body started breaking down because of SUGAR!  Since I have left it behind my body appears to be getting younger. Lol.  Eliminating sugar from someones diet is not always easy because it's in almost everything that is conveniently packaged. I realized that as I started actually reading the nutritional labels at the grocery store. And that's when I decided not to deprive myself,  rather find healthier options. And a chef was born......well at least a wannabe chef!

It's been getting cold and once the warm air is out-  I immediately start to think of warm foods....specifically soups. Today I made a delicious vegetable soup using root vegetables and loaded with lots of herbs! Now I have to admit that I don't use measurements (except when baking).  I've always been inspired by people saying they don't measure and since I wanted to be like that one day that's how I practice! ......And plus I feel like people know what they like so add as little or as much as you like!!  Don't be scared.  It's about getting in there and having fun!  Tweak the recipe for next time. 

I like to prep everything before I get started. It helps me not to forget anything:

I started with cutting up sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots into small cubes.

Then I diced the onions, garlic, one jalapeño (I kept only a few seeds). 

I also chopped fresh parsley, oregano and rosemary.

 Next I prepared the fresh green beans by cutting off the ends....

diced a few tomatoes and washed a bunch of fresh spinach. 

In a large sauté pan heat a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat 

 

and add the sweet potatos, parsnips carrots, onions and jalapeño. 

I added salt and pepper and sautéed them for about 5-6 minutes. 

I was looking to get a little browning on the vegetable. I added  the garlic in last as it tends to burn if it's sautéed too long. After another 4-5 minutes I added the fresh herbs making sure to keep everything moving in the pan. 

Another 5 minutes and in goes the fresh tomatoes and since I didn't have the juice of the canned tomatoes I added a little homemade chicken stock. 

I let every thing simmer for about another 5 minutes.  The kitchen smells so good at this point! Next I tranfered everything to a big stock pot and added water -enough to cover everything plus a little more since I will be adding more ingredients towards the end and a few dashes of worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. How much water depends on you. Do you want a more hearty soup or broth-y? {And don't forget to salt and pepper along the way. I find that when cooking fresh you need not be stingy with salt (unless your monitoring your sodium). I use kosher salt and it does make a difference when I'm cooking.}. 

Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, partially cover and let simmer for about 45 minutes making sure to stir along the way and check the seasoning.

 Now it's time to drop in the green beans, spinach and garbanzo beans. 

I brought the heat back up to medium and continued to cook the soup until the green beans were tender. 

Your done. This is how much I made. I froze 3 jars and enjoyed one tonight. 

I enjoyed my winter vegetable soup topped with fresh parsley and a homemade pretzel twist. 

Enjoy!  

If you make it let me know how it turns out!