To say, "this is soup weather".... would be an understatement.

After a beautiful weekend, celebrating a family wedding in balmy South Carolina,  it is difficult to be back in Missouri - where the the temperature today is peaking at 10 degrees.  This weather calls for soup.  And, since we're coming off of a weekend full of rich food in the southern tradition,  a vegetable soup is just what we need.

 

 

photo courtesy of House Beautiful

I stumbled across this recipe for Soup au Pistou in House Beautiful several years ago, and it has become one of our favorites.  We've all had versions of this soup as kids, but I never enjoyed it nearly as much, until I learned about the "Pistou".  Pistou is essentially pesto, pure and simple, without nuts or cheese. The spicy bite of raw garlic, and brightness of fresh basil are a perfect compliment to the gentle taste of vegetables that have been cooking for hours in a rich stock.

photo courtesy of David Lebovitz

There are different variations of this soup, and you can play with the ingredients a bit. David Liebovitz, famous author and food blogger, knows a thing ( or 200) about french cooking, and includes a beautiful version of this soup his own blog.

photo courtesy of 101 Cookbooks

Another contribution, from the ever stellar 101 Cookbooks, by Heidi Swanson demonstrates the versatility of this soup, without losing its true essence. Heidi's recipes are some of my favorites due to the purity of her approach, and her dedication to quality and authenticity. 

I want you to have this recipe RIGHT NOW,  so I'm bringing it to you directly from the House Beautiful website, or feel free to play around a little bit, and tell me what makes your Soup au Pistou special.

i made pizza, and then i got distracted....

Sunday night's 'pizza for dinner' plan is quickly becoming a household tradition.  It's so easy, and it always hits the mark:  little to no prep, short cooking time, scrumptious results, minimal cleanup.   Tonight's version consisted of the obligatory Udi's Gluten Free Crust, homemade pesto ( recipe to follow),  sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and parmesan reggiano.  Everything except the fresh basil, which I used in the pesto, was already stocked in my pantry/ refrigerator/ freezer.  It doesn't get much easier than that.
My husband, Thor,  opened a yummy bottle of wine and that was that.  These are some of my favorite evenings.

As it always does, our conversation drifted quickly - from pizza crust,( Thor doesn't like gluten free) to french cookbooks. Eventually we found our way to Henri Babinski, an french engineer turned cookbook author.  He is better known in foody circles by his nom de plume, Ali Bab, under which he published the  Gastronomie Pratique, Etudes Culinaires, or as translated, the Practical Gastronomist - culinary studies.   In an effort to be brief,  I'd love to suggest a visit to fellow blogger's Lost Past Remembered, for both a more in depth account, and a beautiful recipe for Veal Chop with Paprika Cream......

As for me and my house,  we ate pizza, and puttered around until bedtime.