Soup's On!

I have always loved soups--they're definitely one of my favorite foods. And they come in so many varieties! After talking with my flatmate Shira about how much we love soups, we decided to have a soup potluck party with a group of girl friends. All together, we had 8 (!) different soups. To accompany the scrumptious soups, we had two types of homemade bread (with the help of a bread maker), oat and whole wheat, as well as an assortment of wines, and brownies for dessert. Some keys to throwing a successful "soup soiree" (as my dad cleverly called it):

• since soup is filling, if you are having a lot of different soups, use small bowls
• to be environmentally friendly and make the meal relaxed and smooth, between soups, have each person comes into the kitchen, rinse their bowl, and serve themselves the next soup
• it is good for everyone to know ahead of time what types of soups others are bringing so that you don't end up with soups that are the same or too similar
• you may want to suggest that everyone bring their recipe to the potluck or email it out after
• for kosher potlucks, specify in advance dairy or meat (we went with dairy)
• to cleanse the palate, consider serving sorbet in small glasses every few courses
• most of our guests brought their soups cold in the pot, and we warmed them up on the stove

The delectable soups we enjoyed were: red lentil, mexican cheese and veggie, gypsy, curried apple, sundried tomato butternut squash, carrot dill, pumpkin and corn chowder, and strawberry

Here are recipes of two delicious and very different soups we enjoyed:

Sun-dried Tomato Butternut Squash Soup - Leia

1 package of pre-cut butternut squash

1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil

6 cups vegetable broth

1 onion

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Place butternut squash on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle squash with salt and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into your soup pot. Chop onion and saute in pot until it is caramelized. At this point add sun-dried tomatoes and saute for about 15 minutes on low heat. Add four cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Remove softened squash from oven and add to pot. Let simmer on low heat for 30 minutes and blend with immersion blender. Add final two cups of vegetable broth and serve. (Soup can be made at least two nights in advance of serving)

Strawberry Soup - Shira

2 cups strawberries

1 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

2 cups orange juice

Blend strawberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth. Chill. When ready to serve, add juice. 4 servings