No Soup For You

As of late, I've been giving a considerable amount of thought to food -- savory, hot food. Before you break into a chorus of pregnancy jokes, I don't know that I've been eating a lot of food -- just thinking about it. Every so often I get on a cooking binge where I read lots of recipes, savor new ingredients, and get a little crazy in the kitchen. Nothing too terribly exciting has come of it this time around, other than some pretty decent vegetarian chili (and a non-vegetarian version for some friends), a rice dish with these tasty green garbanzos that a clerk at Trader Joe's conned me into buying, my own made up recipe for veggie fajita enchiladas (because I wanted to use the Mexican Red Sauce that another Trader Joe's employee talked me into) that needs some tweaking, and a rare treat for my husband -- a pork loin complete with TWO side dishes: carribean black beans and sweet potatoes. (Meat AND side dishes in the same meal. And it's not even his birthday!)

Maybe I've been more productive in the kitchen than I realized.

My thoughts of food led me to stumble on this today, and while I'm not likely to invite a bunch of people over to exchange soup, it did, of course, lead me to thinking about soup ...mmmm...delicious soup...

So in the spirit of "Soup Swap 2007", I offer you a recipe for an easy soup we like that even the picky toddler will eat some of (if she gets to sprinkle the cheese on top herself)....

Spinach Tortellini Soup
(Disclaimer: I'm not a very precise cook)

A few cloves of garlic minced
Some onion chopped
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
Italian Seasoning Herbs -- dried or fresh
Salt/Pepper
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
2 cups of chicken or veg. stock (1 Can)
1 Package of Dried Tortellini -- Fresh Tortellini would probably be good too, I'm just cheap(or dried mini-ravioli from Trader Joe's - NO employee persuaded me to buy them :)
A few handfuls of fresh spinach (no stems)

1. Saute onion and garlic in oil.
2. Season with herbs, salt, and pepper
3. Add tomatoes and stock -- bring to boil
4. Add pasta -- cook until soft (add more liquid if necessary or if you like it
really soupy)(You could also cook the pasta separately if you like)
5. Add spinach a bit at a time and stir until it wilts

Add parmesan cheese as garnish if you'd like.

It's good -- healthy -- and quick to make. Its not very soupy, but you can make it so by adding more broth and/or water.

The moral to all of this?
1. Trader Joe's employees can be pushy in spite of their extreme friendliness.
2. I'm working real hard on getting big quick. Send me or post something else to cook before I burn out and resort back to grilled cheese and potato skillets.