Monday, November 7, 2011

Fall Food Love: Savory Soups

Along with the classic essentials – changing leaves, comfy boots and cozy sweaters – one of my favorite things about fall’s increasingly chilly days is the chance to enjoy more savory foods. Hearty and often healthy, flavorful soups – from black bean to pumpkin to roasted red pepper and more – definitely top my list of seasonal favorites, whether they're homemade, store-bought or served in a restaurant. Here, a few recent picks I especially love.

Pumpkin


To kick off the weekend, Stephen and I headed out Friday evening to Columbia Firehouse in Old Town Alexandria, which is known for its rustic chophouse feel, charming bay windows and incredible glass ceiling. To my delight, their fall menu also featured an amazingly thick and creamy pumpkin soup topped with walnuts, cranberries and sweet butter. It was absolutely delicious and definitely the perfect fall appetizer. 

If you like pumpkin soup, be sure to check out High Heels City Streets, where blogger Kim recently posted a vegan recipe that sounds incredibly healthy and tasty. In fact, it was that very post that got me craving pumpkin soup in the first place!

Spicy Black Bean


On Sunday night, we kept things low-key at home with a batch of spicy black bean soup served in sourdough bread bowls from Panera. The recipe we found at Epicurious.com calls for generous amounts of cumin and jalapeno, giving the mixture an especially hot and flavor-filled kick. 

Lemongrass Chili & Bangkok Curry


Only $1.25 each, these Thai-styled soups are healthier and much tastier than the similar-looking Cup of Noodles standbys that so often sustained me throughout my college years. Each Thai Kitchen kit contains rice noodles and seasoning, which can be heated and eaten as is or combined with your favorite meats and veggies for a heartier mix. And since these soups cook up in the microwave in less than three minutes, they make the perfect lunch fix on a busy day. 

Roasted Red Pepper, Butternut Squash, Cashew Ginger Carrot & Thai Sweet Potato


A soup-lover's delight, Pacific Natural Foods offers tons of tasty choices, all extremely flavorful and easy to microwave or heat on the stove in hardly any time at all. The Thai Sweet Potato blend is new, and we’re looking forward to trying it out at dinner one night this week.

Do you have any favorite soup recipes, and which foods do you most look forward to eating during the fall season? 

15 comments:

  1. My favorite soup recipe is "Cream of Mushrooms", it's so easy and delicious, can't go wrong with it!

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  2. Thanks for the shout-out, Heather! I love soup and chili during the fall. Your black bean jalapeno soup looks amazing - I'll definitely have to try it out. Pumpkin soup is definitely my favorite, but I'm a huge fan of Asian ramens and pho also :)

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  3. Oh I LOVE fall soups! We just had a delicious winter soup filled with most everything from our fridge. I've never made pumpkin soup - but that's next on my list to try!

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  4. Made my butternut squash soup (that I linked to on my blog) last night and it was delicious! Love soups, even if I think weather in the 60s is just too cold and I need soup :)

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  5. Once fall comes around I start making soups constantly. I dont really have a favorite I think to try all different kinds. xo

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  6. Love bean soup and chicken tortilla. And Italian chicken soup

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  7. Chicken noodle soup during the fall and winter is a MUST.

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

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  8. I absolutely love spicy black bean soup! Pumpkin soup is good too, and I saw Kim's recipe for the vegan version! It's hard to cook for one...and really hard if you cannot cook to save your life...aka me!

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  9. Wow these all look amazing! I actually just did a guest post over at EatBreatheBlog about soups for fall and im excited to try one in our slow cooker. My friend just made a potato soup for her Pampered Chef party that was really good. I would love to try those Thai Kitchen soups that are like Cup of Noodles...well I like Roman noodles better!

    I hope you had a great day!

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  10. Ooh yum - great selection here! I am making a roasted tomato soup tonight because I'm not feeling too well ;( Perhaps I should have pumpkin soup tomorrow!

    xoxo,
    Chic 'n Cheap Living

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  11. This looks so good! Thanks for sharing. Soup is so
    Soothing on warm days isn't it?!

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  12. MMMM I love fall soups, I wish Groomzilla liked them more because when I make a whole pot of it, its far too much for me!! Looks soo yummy!

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  13. pumpkin soup sounds delicious! i'd also love to try black bean in a bread bowl :) my favorite fall treats is a squash soup my mom makes and hot & sour thai soup.

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