A Lenten Journey Through 40 Soups: Not by Bread Alone

By Nicole A. Ruiz

All Are Welcome! During Lent, my Parish hosts a Friday Lenten Soup Supper. Parishioners and friends gather, bringing together their own recipes of meatless soups during Lent to share a meal together. We talk and pray, and after dinner we all go pray the Stations of the Cross afterwards. It has been a tradition during Lent that I have come to love. Unfortunately, in 2020, COVID hit and put an end to our Lenten Soup Suppers. So in 2021, I decided that for Lent I would make 40 soups in 40 days. I asked friends and family to provide me with soups they loved so I could research and create the very best soup recipes. I then spent all of Lent, (and a few weeks after) perfecting 40 different soups everyone can enjoy. It was a Lenten Journey I will never forget and one that brought peace to my heart while filling the stomachs of those I love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664181731

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Copyright © 2021 by Nicole A. Ruiz. 828542

All rights reserved. No part of this book may

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and retrieval system, without permission in writing from

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Xlibris

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www.Xlibris.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021912808

Rev. date: 06/28/2021

I want to dedicate this book to my amazing mother and beautiful children.

Thank you for all of your love and support. Love, Mom

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

…for nothing will be impossible for God.

LUKE 1:37

There are endless possibilities when it comes to soup. My 40 soups in this Lenten journey is, by no way, meant to be a complete compilation of all of the different soups out there. These are simply the ones that either I wanted to try, my family wanted to try, or my friends recommended. I have organized the soups for you as it made the most sense to me, and I truly hope you enjoy these soups as much as I have, not just during Lent but all year round.

GENERAL TIPS/TRICKS

Spices

Your Soup Toolbox

Vegetable

Carrot-Ginger

Cheesy Broccoli

Classic French Onion

Cream of Artichoke

Cream of Cauliflower

Harvest Butternut Squash & Pumpkin (Vegan & Dairy Free)

Hearty Vegetable

Leek and Brie

Low Calorie Cabbage Soup

Minestrone

Rainbow Ratatouille

Roasted Red Pepper & Cauliflower (Vegan & Dairy Free)

Roasted Tomato

Wild Rice and Mushroom

Chicken

Chicken Noodle

Italian Chicken and Gnocchi

Lemon Lemon Chicken

Mum’s Chicken & Rice

Slow Cooker Green Enchilada (Chicken)

Southwest Chicken Tortilla

Pork

Italian Sausage & Orzo

Loaded Baked Potato

Oktoberfest Bratwurst Stew

Pork Chili Verde

Sausage & Tortellini

Zuppa Toscana di Salsiccia

The Soup Solution© Ham Bone

Seafood

Crab & Asparagus

Lobster Bisque

New England Clam Chowder

Shrimp & Crab Seafood Gumbo

Asian

Hot and Sour

Pork & Prawn Wonton

Beef

Beef & Barley

Traditional Beef Stew

Hungarian Goulash

Italian Wedding

Papa’s Homemade Chili

Taco Tuesday

Kosher

Classic Matzah Ball

GENERAL TIPS/TRICKS

The way of fools is right in their own eyes, but those who listen to advice are the wise.

PROVERBS 12:15

During my Lenten journey, I found that making soup is one of the most calming and relaxing cooking experiences I have ever had. The more soup I made, the more little tools and tricks I picked up to make the experience even easier and thus more enjoyable. I want to share with you some of the things I learned to help you though your cooking experience and make it as fun as possible.

1. Music/Timer – You would think that my first tip would be cooking related, instead it’s going to be something to lift your spirits, make you tap your feet a bit and just sing along while you are cooking. Some of these recipes can take an hour or more to put together. Silence can be daunting, so play some uplifting Christian music, (KLOVE or any other music that lifts your heart), and just sing and dance away in the kitchen. It will change your cooking experience, I promise. I have an Amazon Alexa in my kitchen and it acts as a timer too.

2. Read Recipe Thoroughly - Reading the instructions from start to finish before you begin a recipe is critical. Understanding the complete process from start to finish can help you to prepare from one step to the next. So read the entire recipe from start to finish one entire time before you begin and then start the process. You will not regret the extra five minutes you spent.

3. Dutch Oven Cleaning - I am going to give you a little tip when using your Dutch Oven. The more you use it, the more apt you are to getting stains and such on the inside of the white ceramic that will drive you crazy trying to get out when you are cleaning it. Do not worry! I have a little tip for you – Take your Dutch Oven and over a high heat (boiling) add 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide and 2 tablespoons of baking soda (up to 4 depending on how bad the stains are). Let it sit and boil for a few minutes (no more than 3-4 I would say, depending on how badly it is stained) and just watch the stains disappear. Its almost like magic. Rinse and dry and you are good to go. It is like a brand new pot after that.

4. Chopping v. Dicing v. Fine Dicing – Throughout the recipes you will see certain vegetables and other things that say chopped or diced or finely diced etc. There is a good rule of thumb I use. Chopped = large chunks, typically the vegetable is a ½ x 1 in size. Diced = medium chunks, typically a ½ x ½ cube in size. Finely diced = small chunks, a ¼ by ¼ cube in size (however for onions its even smaller if possible).

DICED.jpgFINELY%20DICED.jpg

5. Fresh v. Frozen v. Canned Ingredients – I repeat myself many times throughout this book to use fresh ingredients. I cannot stress that enough. Do not buy frozen veggies, or canned – use fresh and take the time to cut them up. The flavor alters drastically, and so can the texture and consistency.

6. Serrated Knife v. Straight Edge Knife – Personally, I have things that I think are chopped better using different knives. My straight edge knife is perfect for dicing and slicing and giving clean cuts. However, it doesn’t work well on all items. Here’s my list of what I use with what. Serrated knife – onions, tomatoes, poultry, red meat; Straight Edge Knife – peppers, carrots, celery, other vegetables.

Spices

You are the salt of the earth. But if loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?

MATTHEW 5:13

Evangelical Christian and poet, William Cowper, wrote Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all it’s flavour. I am