You won’t impress anyone with this soup.  There’s no fancy ingredients, no crazy technique.  It’s just a basic, classic, vegetable soup.  A really delicious one.  Despite the name, none of the ingredients in this soup actually came from my garden.  It’s more like Farmer’s Market Vegetable Soup.  But you get the idea.  I think the key to getting such great flavors is using fresh seasonal veggies.  I don’t recommend scrimping and going frozen on anything – including the corn – it’s worth it to use the real thing.

I’m heading off to Wisconsin for a few days – I’ll be back with more blog posts next week!

Garden Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups chopped leeks, white part only (from approximately 3 medium leeks)
• 2 tablespoons finely minced garlic
• Kosher salt
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds (approximately 2 medium)
• 2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
• 2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 quarts vegetable broth
• 4 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
• 2 ears corn, kernels removed
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup packed, chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 to 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the parsley and lemon juice. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Serve immediately.

Gazpacho shooters, tuna tartar, a barbecue bar, and even a milk and cookies station.  All these delicious dishes, and plenty more, were served at Canteen Catering’s showcase event at the Space Gallery off Santa Fe.  Canteen Catering specializes in kosher catering in the Denver area.  These guys did an great job putting on the event – all the food looked fantastic.  I’ll admit to stealing cupcake for the road.  It was quite delicious :)

Have a Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Seeing as so many couples plan weddings from out of state, it just seems like a good idea to have as much information as possible on the internet.  That includes photos of the products I offer.  I posted some photos of my Designer Series Album earlier this year, and now here are some photos of my Parent Album.  Parent Albums make excellent gifts.  The pages lay flat with a small center seam, and there are a variety of cover options to choose from.  For more information about album pricing, visit the album page of my website.

Happy Thursday!

I’ve thrown down a challenge to John.  Out of 36 weeks of soups, he has yet to make one all by himself.  He’s appeared as a guest taster and seasoning assistant, and even made his own version of split pea to compete with mine.  But he’s never been the one in charge.  While I realize this was my challenge for the year, I think it’s only fair to get one week off – don’t you?  So I challenged him to take on a recipe this year and do it alone.  I didn’t get a definitive yay or nay on that one, so we’ll see where it goes.

While John did not make this week’s soup, he did provide the recipe.  He found it in a copy of the Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin in 2006, tore it out, and has kept it in a drawer somewhere since then.  It was the first soup he ever tried to make, and apparently it was a hit when he made it back in 2006 (he’s not made it since then.)  I’d have to agree that this recipe is a keeper.  It has a pretty basic flavor, but it’s both pleasing and filling.  If you can’t find fennel bulb in the store, use anise instead.  Happy Wednesday!

Carrot and Fennel Soup

Ingredients

• 4 Tbs butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 lb. carrots, grated
• 1 Tbs cumin
• 1/2 lb new potatoes, diced
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Directions

1.  Melt butter in large pan and add the onions, fennel, celery, carrots, and cumin.  Saute until onions are translucent.

2.  Add potatoes and chicken stock and boil till potatoes are soft.

3.  Add cream and pureee the mixture with either a hand-held immersion blender or by transferring small batches to a food processor.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4.  Serve in bowls, garnished with parsley and a touch of cream.

This boudoir shoot turned out amazing.  Miss H had some fantastic outfits, and the great idea to do a bubble bath shot with loads of bubbles.  Very cool.  Not everything is blog appropriate, but here are a few favorites, posted with permission.

Feeling inspired?  Sign up for the October Boudoir Marathon!

“It was like watching a couple of high school kids falling in love,” the best man teased in his toast.  Clearly beyond the years of high school romance, Jim and Lois looked at one another, laughed and rolled their eyes a little.  But I’d assert that the best man was onto something.

Jim made cracks throughout the day about miscellaneous well-wishers assuming he was the father of the groom, rather than the groom himself.  Lois laughed with friends about the 8 grandchildren she was inheriting.  But despite the jokes about their ages, the energy running between Jim and Lois was similar to that of young love – giddy, happy to be married, and excited for what’s to come next.

I photographed this wedding at the Brown Palace with Frances Marron.  I thoroughly enjoyed the evening spent with these two and their families.  Now that they’re both living in Colorado, Lois and Jim plan to fly around the world together – literally.  They’re both pilots, and share a passion for aviation.  I wish them many safe travels together in their future as a married couple :)

People have been pushing me towards gazpacho.  I do not like gazpacho, and I do not want to make it.  I’m sticking to my guns on that one.  But I do see the merit in expanding my horizons into chilled soups.  To that end, I thought nothing could be better than chilled Avocado Chipotle Bisque.  I love avocado.  This should be a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, the ickiness factor of this recipe is alarmingly high.  It’s consistency reminded us of the remnants of John’s cold (gross, but true), which made it highly unappealing.  It also boasts a high oddity factor – for some strange reason this soup tastes like bacon.  Something to do with the smokiness of the chipotle and the oils in the avocado must produce this flavor, and it’s slightly off-putting coming from a cold green soup.  Especially for a vegetarian.

In the end, neither John nor I could take more than three bites of this one, and it met it’s fate in the garbage disposal.  I mourn a bit for the delicious avocados that went into this recipe.  They could have been put to many, many better uses.

Avocado Chipotle Bisque

Ingredients

• medium avocados, diced (2 cups)
• 1 Tbs olive oil, hemp oil, or avocado oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 Tbs. white miso paste
• 1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary or
• 2/3 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
• chopped tomato or red pepper for garnish

Directions

1. Place all ingredients and 3 & 1/2 cups water in blender or food processor, and purée until smooth.

2. Divide Bisque among 4 bowls, and top each serving with 2 Tbs. diced tomatoes and 2 Tbs. diced bell pepper.

I’ll be honest, I laughed.  When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to photograph a couple of plumbers for Garvin’s, the response I got was “don’t get any crack in the photos.”  Kind of a lame joke, but it did make me laugh a bit.  No crack.  Just smiles from two of their friendly guys. :)

As a couple, Kaitlin and Adam have charisma.  Kaitlin has an adorable southern accent, and a genuine curiosity about people that’s hard to resist.  Adam’s passion for biking and skiing comes through so clearly in his speaking that it’s impossible not to get excited right alongside him as he tells stories.  In short, they’re just an enjoyable pair to be around, which made my job that much easier.

Kaitlin and Adam won last month’s Engagement Contest (despite having been married for the last two years – I bent the rules. :))  We spent an evening in Riverfront Park downtown for their session, meandering through the park and then back into the city.  The resulting images had a nice blend between city and nature, which makes this an fun place for a portrait session.  Many thanks to these two for entering the contest, and for being such a joy to photograph :)

You can see it on his face the minute he tastes it.  For just an instant he looks as if something sour has touched his taste buds, then his features turn to consideration as he tries to figure out what that icky flavor is.  He describes it as earthy, dirty and perfumey, looking at me as though I’ve fed him dirt.  It’s one of the few things that John doesn’t like: thyme.

Discovering this is huge – John likes damn near everything.  The only other food item I know he doesn’t care for is bleu cheese, and he’ll even eat that on occasion.  Now I can officially add thyme to that tiny list, and I suppose try to avoid future soup recipes that feature it.  If I’m feeling nice :)

In the case of this soup, I think the thyme is excellent.  In fact, this whole soup impressed me.  I thought it sounded good because I love roasted peppers, but the thyme and fennel give it another savory dimension.  After that first taste it was clear John wanted nothing to do with this soup.  That’s fine with me.  This recipe makes a small batch, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to finish it off without his help :)

Rainbow Roasted Pepper Soup