Tomato-Macaroni Soup, Quinoa Soup again, and the cat!!

This has definitely been a "soup" sort of week.


Not only have I been running in a thousand different directions with overtime work, classes and activities with my kids, but we've also had several nasty storms that have knocked down power lines and trees.

Fortunately we didn't lose electricity or trees at our house, though both my kids' school and the one where I teach were without for periods on Thursday and Friday, and this old tree down the street finally gave in to the winds...

OK, so...Soup, in my book, has to be quick and easy, or something that re-heats well. I'm not one for standing and stirring and simmering for hours...
First up is this stupidly simple "Tomato Macaroni" soup.

Some years back, I'm not too proud to admit, I had to make occasional visits to the neighborhood food-bank. One of the items we always received, not sure why, was several quarts of tomato juice. Maybe it was government surplus, just like the cheese?

Who knows. At any rate, at a loss for what to do with weekly quarts of tomato juice, I created this soup.

It's definitely nothing fancy, but it's quick, easy, cheap (obviously) and filling comfort food. As a bonus, my kids LOVE it and still ask for it often. Hey, tomato juice is actually good for you, you know? Lots of good stuff, including 21957 micrograms of lycopene in every 8 oz. and you KNOW that's good!

Tomato Macaroni Soup

1 large onion, chopped fine and sauteed in a tsp of oil in the bottom of a stockpot
6 - 8 cups water
2 med. baking potatoes cut into smallish cubes

Bring the above to a boil.

Boil for 5 minutes and add:

1 cup elbow macaroni (you can use whole-grain pasta here)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pickling spices tied up in a cheesecloth or put in a teaball - yes, odd, but these MAKE the soup!

Cook the above at a good boil until potatoes are soft. Remove spice bag.

Add:

1 pint tomato juice, taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt or pepper if needed. Stir until heated and serve.

We sometimes add a swirl of soymilk to cool it down and make it creamy.

Next up, my "Quinoa Peanut Soup" (which I think I posted here before). I originally posted this over at Veggieboards.com, and I was pretty impressed when Nava Atlas asked if she could include it in her latest "Soups..." cookbook. Way cool!

Still one of our family favorites, I love that it re-heats so well. My littlest sprout loves the curly-Q "tails" that the quinoa grains leave in the soup and in typical 8-year-old style, she gets a morbid kick out of freaking out her classmates at school when she takes this soup in her thermos (they're not little worms, I swear, though you might want to warn unsuspecting people...).

Quinoa-Peanut Soup

2 Tb margarine

1 chopped onion or 2 med. leeks sliced (I prefer leeks, use all of white and tender part of green)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed (I use more because I'm a garlic fiend)

1 fresh jalapeno, minced (Again, I use more)

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 diced celery stalks, with leaves (I usually leave this out, cause I don't care for celery much)

2 small diced zucchini

1 large sweet potato, yam or peeled butternut squash, diced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

4 cup vegetable stock (I use the "non-chicken" style broth)

1/2 cup quinoa, (some brands say to rinse and drain before using - I never have..)

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 dash cayenne pepper or to taste (I use more!!)

1/2 cup chunky organic peanut butter, no honey or sugar

Wear rubber gloves to prepare fresh jalapeno pepper if you need to - or just be careful.

In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, melt margarine over medium-high heat. When margarine is hot and bubbly, add all veggies, and cumin and oregano. Saute 10 -15 minutes, or until vegetables are softened.

Add stock, quinoa, black pepper and cayenne.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.

Simmer until quinoa is cooked and veggies are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.

I know it looks done at this point, but go ahead and add the peanut butter, using a wisk to blend in completely, and simmer another 10 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings. (Personally I use a little more salt than listed, but do what you like)

I almost always throw grated fresh ginger in there somewhere but it's not necessary.

Last, but not least, the ever-fearless, but curious cat has taken to "supervising" cooking in a new and slightly worrisome way.

If given the chance, he perches on the range hood, high ABOVE the bubbling, boiling, splattering pans... which scares me more than a little!!
We usually try to keep him far from the kitchen whenever we're actually cooking!! (Maybe it's the liquor bottles hiding in the cabinet that fascinate him, eh?)