Chef's Corner: Minestrone Soup for the Soul

The forecast is finally starting to behave like fall is here, and nothing says fall like soup. I love soup, so I thought I would share some great recipes that fill you up and keep you going. And thanks to cafeteria microwaves, they all make a great, cheap lunch!

Corn Chowder
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 / 2 cup chopped onions
1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn
1 cup milk
1 / 2 green pepper, diced
1 / 2 green bell pepper, minced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 / 2 cup shredded cheese
1 tablespoon dry sherry (optional)
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
1 / 2 teaspoon dried parsley

Melt butter slowly. Add onions and sauté 3 minutes. Add flour, salt, pepper, sherry, cayenne, and parsley, and mix thoroughly. Add milk and cook until thick, raising heat if necessary. Add cans of corn, peppers, and grated cheese. Let simmer on low for at least an hour.

My Dad's Minestrone Soup
My Dad CANNOT cook — I once watched him take an hour to open up and heat a can of soup and make a sandwich to accompany it. But I gave him this recipe and he adapted it to his liking and now it is a household favourite. I hope that you like it as much as we do!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, diced
1 (29 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can Romano beans
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
1 (15 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 small zucchini, sliced 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1 pinch dried basil
1 pinch dried oregano
1 pinch Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves4 Chicken OXO Cubes
1 pinch cayenne pepper

In a large 4 to 5-quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Mix in garlic, onion and carrots. Sauté the vegetables until just tender: approximately 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice, cannellini beans, and kidney beans to the saucepan. Fill each can with water, and add the water to the saucepan. Mix in green beans and zucchini. Sprinkle parsley, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, chicken-style seasoning, and cayenne pepper into the soup; stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover, and let simmer 30 minutes. Dad says it goes better with lots of red wine! (Mind you, he says that about just any kind of meal…)

Goulash Soup
My mom's housekeeper swears by this when someone is ill — needless to say, I have eaten a LOT of it this summer

2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
2 onions, chopped
2 quarts tomato juice
1 bunch celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 (14.5 ounce) can green beans
1 (15 ounce) can carrots, canned
1 (15 ounce) can peas
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans

Place the beef stew meat and onions in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until evenly browned. In a large saucepan, place the meat, onions, tomato juice, celery, green beans, carrots, peas, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 4 hours. Stir in the kidney beans. Cook 15 minutes longer and serve warm.