Monthly Mingle 'Soups' - The Round Up

As Meeta's guest host for the November-December Mingle I suggested soups for my theme, Fall and Winter being the best time to enjoy these. I was inundated with a whole load of tasty soup ideas - Thank You! If you are cold just take a cue from these pictures, make yourself a fire and enjoy a bowlful of soup! They are heart warming and nourishing.

I received an entry from a non-blogger, Soma, and her recipe alongwith a delicious photograph is at the end of this post. If you would like to leave any comments for her please do so in this post. I am sure she would love to hear from you all. The bowlfuls of warmth I received this month from fellow bloggers are presented below in alphabetical order. If I have missed out yours do leave a comment or re-send your email to sunshinemomsblog[at]gmail[dot]com.

Abbhirami Rajagopal of Soulful Creations (USA) - Soup-O-Mania

Aliena Verghese of What's Cooking Today (India) - Carrot and Coriander Soup

Ambika Venkat from Ambika's Kitchen (USA) - Eggplant soup with Rice in a breadbowl

Anshika of Cooking Pleasures - Vegan Minestrone Soup (Updated on 24.12.09)

Basheera of Easy Recipes (Saudi Arabia) - Hot Veg Soup

Ben of What's Cooking? (USA) - Pinto bean and roasted garlic soup

Bhagyashri of Taste Buds (UK) - Hot, Sweet & Sour Veg Soup

Cham of Spice Club (USA) - Roasted Bell Pepper And Basil Soup

Deeba of Passionate About Baking (North India) - Mushroom Soup with Baked Croutons

Deepti Thete of My Kitchen's Aroma (USA) - Rustic Italian Vegetable Soup

Dershana of The Footloose Chef - Simple Spinach Soup

DK of Chef In You (USA) - Baked Onion And Garlic Soup

Foodlovers sent in their very first entry in their blog of the same name! (USA) - Tomato Soup

Jaya Wagle of JayaSpace (USA) - Gingered Tomato Carrot Soup

Joanne from Eats Well With Others (USA) - Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup

Kalva of Curry In Kadai - Spicy Tomato Soup Flavoured With Coriander And Mint

Kamala Bhoopathy of Cook@Ease (India) - Diet Cabbage Soup

Kanchan from Kitchen Gossip (India) - Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup

Lata Raja of Flavours and Tates (Ghana) - Capsicum Macaroni Soup (Updated on 23.12.09)

Madhuri Kumar of Cook-curry Nook (India) - Creamy Corn, Onion and Barley Soup

Meeta of What's For Lunch Honey? - Yellow Bell Pepper And Fava Bean Soup

Muskaan Shah of A2Z Vegetarian Cuisine (USA) - Sweet & Spicy Almond WheatflourSoup

Nags of Edible Garden (Singapore) - Cheddar Cheese Soup

Nirmala of Amma's Special - Murungakai Rasam / Drumstick Soup

Nupur of One Hot Stove (USA) - Zucchini Soup

Pavani of Cook's Hideout (USA) - Zucchini Soup

PJ of Ginger and Garlic (USA) - Hearty Lentil Soup

PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds (China) - Spring Onion Soup

UPDATED ON 31.01.2010:
Quinn of Quinn's Cooking with Love and Passion! had sent me a warm bowl of cauliflower soup from Australia, which I had missed while forming the round up. Please make sure you have a spoonful when you are here again!

Rahin from Lazzat (USA) - Sweet Potato Soup

Rajani of A Vegetarian In The Middle East (UAE) - Rice Dumpling Soup/Pidi

Samahita Kabra of Sam's Recipes (India) - Chilled Corn and Coconut Soup

Sarah of Maison Cupcake (UK) - Spicy Chickpea Soup and Coriander Chappati

Saveur from Taste Space (Canada) - Miso-Butternut Squash Soup with Soba Noodles and Spinach

Sayantani of A Homemaker's Diary (India) - Root Vegetable soup with Chilli Infused oil

Shabs of Shab's Cuisine (UK) - Potato and Cauliflower Soup with Cheese

Sheeba of Art, Food and Travel Chronicles - Coconut Flavoured Tomato Lentil Soup

Shri of Tasty Touch (USA) - Carrot Soup

Soma Rathore from eCurry (USA) - Garlicky Mushroom Soup

Sowjanya of Ruchika Cooks (USA) - Clear Tomato Soup

Stephanie Gallagher, Cooking for kids at About.com (USA) - Creamy Carrot Soup without the cream

Sweatha of Tasty Curry Leaf - Minty Peas Soup

Tigerfish of Teczcape - An Escape to Food - Loofa Luffa Tomato Soup of the Day

Usha of Veg Inspirations (USA) - Creamy Peanut Butter Soup with Northern Beans

Yasmeen of Health Nut - Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Greek Yogurt

and mine, Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers......

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Soma is still contemplating whether she should start a blog. Meanwhile she sent a wonderful looking borscht along with the recipe. Soma, this picture is so inviting, I am sure you should start your food blog soon! Her recipe follow the picture in her own words.

Borscht: The Russian beet soup

"For a girl from Calcutta, India, the winter here in Maryland, US, can be pretty harsh, so, a bowl of hot steaming soup and some fresh bread makes a heartwarming meal on a chilly, snowy evening. My passion for cooking started a few years ago after I came to the US. My husband and I love to try different cuisines. The United States is really a melting pot of people from different cultures and if one wants, it is very easy to learn cuisines from other countries. Personally, I try to take every advantage of this opportunity. This recipe for borscht (a hearty beet soup) is from my Russian colleague Elena, who emigrated to the US after having grown up in the former Soviet Union, so it is as authentic as can get. Borscht is more like a stew than a soup and can be made hot or cold. I made the hot variety as I like hot soups and it fulfills the “heart-warming” criterion of the event."

The recipe:

Ingredients:
Beets (2 or 3, medium-large) usually sold as a bunch with stems and green leaves
Celery sticks, 3
Onion, 1
Carrots, 2 medium
Red pepper, 1
Tomato paste, 1 smallest jar
Canned, low sodium vegetable broth. Absolutely no regular broth cubes!

Spices and additives: (use them in combinations)

1. Salt as per taste (you could use regular salt, or any variety of flavored salts, like Lawry's salt, celery salt etc.). I used regular salt.
2. Peppers (black or white and depend on how spicy you want)
3. Few bay leaves
4. 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar of any kind, or juice from pickles is added to make the soup sour and to keep the beets red.
5. Sugar or Splenda is added to mask the sourness.
6. Salsa, or any picante sauce.

Preparation:

1. Boil the unpeeled beets in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes or in a regular big pot until soft and ready (about 1-1.5 hours). Note: Beets must be fully submerged in water, so cover lightly. Cool down, peel. Shred (or finely chop).

2. Rinse the stems and the leaves thoroughly, as they always have a lot of sand. Chop or dice to small pieces of the beet stems, the celery sticks, and the red pepper. Put in the regular big pot. Add water to the final volume you want (you may want to substitute part of the water with the broth). Add the tomato paste, stir. Add salt(s) and spices. Bring to a boil, and cook on medium heat until you like the stems and the chopped celery: not raw, but not overcooked (about 15 min.)

3. Chop the onions. Peel and shred carrots on a big shredder. Fry the onions in vegetable oil till golden. Add shredded carrots and mix, till carrots become intensively orange.

4. Add the shredded beets, and the onion/carrots mix to the soup. Bring to a boil. Turn off.

In Russia it is actually a beef based soup. To make it really Russian, cook a piece of pot roast beef with spices till it is soft and ready, and then go to step 2 (no need for broth then).

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot. Add fresh parsley or dill in the plate. Some people may like to add sour cream.

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If your entry is not listed above, please re-send your mail so that I can include it here. Thanks to all who participated.

Wish you all wonderful Holidays, Christmas and New Year!