I didn’t plan it this way. Really. It was just about the nippy weather, a hankering for veggies, and a quick stop through Whole Foods with $12 in my pocket.
What did I end up with?
Purple soup! And with a decidedly rainbow twist, not to mention more than enough for the entire week and that oh-so good feeling when cooking is quick, tasty, healthy, and on budget.
Must I admit that eating healthy foods most of the time leaves me less guilty when the cravings for Reeses set in – and I give in?
As for the color?
Just lucky I guess… though I had the distinct impression I was channeling Bridget Jones and her “Blue Soup.” But where is Colin Firth to sample it?
So are you ready for some chopping?
Ingredients
I poked around the kitchen, and other than garlic and a half red onion, there wasn’t much to choose from. I went for all the vegetables that appealed to me, including red cabbage which is the source of the beautiful violet color.
- 1/2 red cabbage
- two handfuls of mushrooms (your choice)
- 2 carrots
- 1/4 to 1/2 red onion
- 2 stalks of celery
- 4 medium red potatoes
- 3 tomatoes
- two cloves of fresh garlic, minced
- fresh dill
- bay leaves
- 2 32-oz. containers of organic chicken broth
- salt, pepper, seasonings of your choice
Directions
Have a pressure cooker? No? Get one! (Why did I go so many years ignorant of the power of the pressure cooker?)
Here goes. Very challenging.
(Not.)
Start with whatever you would like. I began by chopping cabbage and then potatoes, in case I was feeling too lazy to continue. I could have added broth and seasoning and called it a day with a delicious cabbage and potato soup. But I soldiered on. The vegetables this time of year are gorgeous!
- Wash everything.
- Chop everything.
- Throw it all in the pressure cooker.
- Pour in both containers of broth.
- Add whatever seasonings tempt you.
- Enjoy a glass a wine while you’re working.
Don’t drink? No worries. Put on music, relax, and enjoy the process.
As for spicing things up, I didn’t go too wild. I added Herbes de Provence, fresh ground black pepper, bay leaves, and fresh dill which was too enticing to pass up.
- Put the pressure cooker on high heat.
- When it starts to steam, let the soup go for 10 to 15 minutes.
- This varies with the pressure cooker.
- (Mine takes 10 minutes to get to that point. Then I allow another 12 minutes.)
Total time? 45 minutes. (I’m a slow chopper.)
Total cost? $11 and change.
The broth was approximately $4. I spent $7 on the vegetables. I’m still eating the soup and it’s been nearly a week!
And look how purple it is when it comes out of the pressure cooker. Strangely gorgeous, isn’t it?
Serve with a dollop of light sour cream if you like, and a sprinkle of parsley or more dill. (The top picture is what the soup looks like when you open the pressure cooker.)
Purple pumps, optional.
More “soupes sauvages” – with a little of this and a little of that? ”Tis the season:
- Fireside Love Potage
- This, That, and Julia Child’s French Onion Soup
- Soupe Hercule Poireau (Potato Leek)
I go the opposite direction and use a slow cooker. Do all your chopping in the morning (or lunchtime, or night before), throw it all in and let it go. And anytime you can match your shoes to your supper that’s a fine thing.
🙂 Thank you, Laurie. For the reassurance that I’m not too far gone, matching my footwear to my menus… I never did the slow cooker thing. I wonder if we all tend to cook the way we saw our mothers do it?
Looks yummy. My Grandma used a slow cooker, but she was always frightened of it, so I’m frightened of mine as well! I put Bill in charge of it, he understands how it works… I’m such a chicken.
I hear you, Shelley. I was chicken about the slow cooker, too. And the pressure cooker, until someone explained to me how much safer / easier they are now!
Oh thank goodness I am not alone. But nonetheless be prepared to roll your eyes at me: I got rid of our 60€ SEB pressure cooker because it scared the bejeezus out of me! Oops. Remi is appalled. I now also go the opposite route and throw everything in the Le Creuset and let it cook for hours. And I will definitely try this soup, thank you. I do believe this is the first time I have seen a post on food from you–more please! 🙂
I’m not rolling my eyes, Heather. (Okay, I am.) But I was scared of the pressure cooker, too, until I got used to it. Now I love it! (But I do cook in other ways…)
Actually, I have quite a bit on the site about healthy eating, food (and food-related politics), and yes – recipes! I find cooking (creatively) very relaxing especially now that it is no longer a parental requirement on a schedule with Bottomless Pit Teenagers! Just check out the Food & Recipes category. (And the soups have fab footwear suggestions to accompany the meal. Somehow, I think you are not surprised at that one!)
Not at all! You have so very much to offer here that I KNOW that I need to dig around more, thanks for the pointer et bon fin de weekend. 🙂
Wolf,
I could always use a new veggie soup recipe. We are fans of the pressure cooker (much of my Indian cooking involves using lentils in the pressure cooker).
Love the new web design too!
It was veggie soup day here yesterday too. (Ours was potato-leek, plus whatever else lurked in the vegetable drawer.) Yours looks equally delicious, but much more beautiful.
For spending so little on a complete meal from Whole Foods, you deserve not only a Michelin star, but also a Nobel Prize in Economics! 😉
Virtually all the recipes I dabble in rely heavily on organic / fresh / grass-fed foods – either from the Farmer’s Market or Whole Foods. I actually purchase more than you might think from Whole Foods. If you choose judiciously – even on a tight budget – you’d be surprised what you can do. All the soups I make largely rely on produce from Whole Foods, and their 365 broths of various sorts. And I always include the total $$ spent. (I’m now also including the shoes… they don’t come from Whole Foods.) 🙂
First of all, may i say I’m impressed that you even ventured into Whole Foods with only $12.00. Did you ever watch the video about Whole Foods Parking lot? So funny (I love Whole Foods but can’t remember the last time I got in and out of there for less than about $30).
Secondly, thanks for this recipe – the purple is so unusual but looks good, very autumnal, and I love soups when the weather turns cool. Diane Sawyer, I’ve read, makes lots of soups – creamed vegetables – pours them into zip lock pint size bags, freezes them, and presto, pulls one from her freezer on any given day and brings to work to heat up for lunch. And what a beauty she is.
Love this story of Diane Sawyer bringing her own soups to work! I never saw the Parking lot video. (Do you have a link?)
You know, for years, I never went into Whole Foods. Everything was so beautiful (irresistible) and my impression was that it was also uber-expensive. It can be, but… there’s a great deal which is on a par with the local supermarket and their generic products are very reasonable. You just need to learn what you can and can’t buy there, depending on your budget. I find I can buy quite a bit there, especially when making a sizable pot of soup that lasts week, filled with gorgeous veggies.