Acquiring food habits

Every day Soup (Soupe de tous les jours)

Lulu most likely does not like pineapple because I rarely buy or serve it–I actually don’t like pineapple.
On the other hand, my children both enjoy soup because I prepare pots filled with all sorts of soup.

Food habits travel from me to our children, I can see that.

It’s a great thing because there’s a ton of nutrition that goes in a bowl of soup. Maybe one day I will revisit the idea of pineapple, and then change the food habit in the family!

But for now we are still looking at soups and these days, ours still have a wintry flair.

Each one of my children has a preference for one soup versus another too. While Lulu likes the soups I prepare with butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes (hello orange!), Rémy eats any kind of soup right now–and hopefully he will continue. They can be green, orange, white, or red; vegetarian, silky in texture or chunky; with rice or noodles; or loaded with pieces of fish and meat.

Toutes les soupes!

As long as they continue to eat soups, I am fine with it.

What fascinates me about Lulu is that while it can be hard to say what goes in a soup by just looking at its color (I invent a lot of soups with whatever vegetables I have handy in the fridge, so colors can be a surprise), Lulu is able to pin point at some ingredients I use.

This weekend, I made a soup with leek, carrots, fresh garlic, and potatoes and as I was ready to purée it, I decided to add a handful of frozen peas with baby spinach leaves in it. The color of the soup turned green with a subtle hint of orange.

Tu as mis des petits pois ?” Lulu inquired after the first spoonful.

I looked at her, surprised, and then smiled. I love that my girl is developing a palate and can guess what goes in a dish.

I like to add peas in many dishes, some of which appear more unusual than others.

Tartine végétale

Going back to our soup, it is really easy to make and loaded with good vegetables for my growing children. It’s also a dish fast to make. In fact, I rushed to prepare it while still wearing my running clothes after a late morning run. Lulu was out with her dad, Rémy, and Philip’s Irish cousin David who was visiting, and I only had 40 minutes to prepare lunch before everyone returned home. I scanned the fridge and created that.

I am glad to report that this soup was a hit on our lunch table (I made it again yesterday so that I could take a quick picture for you, and this time I used butternut squash in place of carrots, because that’s what I had).

I also had a rind of Parmesan cheese handy (I keep them refrigerated in a ziplock bag for spontaneous uses like this one), so I added it to the pot of simmering vegetables to give extra body. In many ways, this soup is reminding me of a classic soupe poireau/carotte/pomme de terre (leek/carrot/potato soup) my mother made often when I was a kid.

Serve the soup with homemade croûtons (I flavor mine with olive oil and parsley) and a generous dollop of crème fraiche.

Bon appétit !

And by the way, like in the first, I have a lot more soup recipes in book number 2.

Every Day Soup

You need:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 small leeks, green and white parts, chopped (or 1 fresh white onion and 1 leek)
  • 1 garlic clove (I used a stick of fresh garlic), minced
  • 1 pound (450 g) carrots or butternut squash (peeled), diced
  • 10 1/2 ounces (300 g) potato (peeled) and diced
  • Sea salt and pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 large rind of Parmesan cheese
  • 4 cups water
  • 3 1/2 ounces(100 g) spinach leaves
  • 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces or 120 g) frozen peas
  • A few twigs parsley, and chopped parsley to serve
  • Crême fraiche, to serve
  • Croûtons, to serve
  • Extra Parmesan cheese, shaved, to serve

Steps:

  • In a large Dutch oven dish (or whatever you like to use to make soup), heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. When warm, add the ground coriander and leeks. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, without browning.
  • Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.
  • Add the carrots (or butternut squash) and potato. cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add the water, bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until he vegetables are cooked.
  • Add the frozen peas and spinach leaves and a few twigs of fresh parsley; leave to rest for 1 minute. Purée the soup in a few batches. Season with salt and pepper and serve with crème fraiche if you like, chopped parsley, shaved Parmesan and croûtons.
  • 14 comments

    1. We have similar children:) My daughter love soups. But I do not, because soup is not dish for me. Lot of work and nothing to eat:)

      In Estonian cuisine we are cook more ” transparent” soups: broth+ different vegetable/meat combination. Pyree soup is not so frequent.

      But thank you, I got lot of ideas 🙂

      http://www.estoniancuisine.com

    2. So the first photo is the soup after being puréed, and the last is what it would look like if you didn’t purée it?
      Your soups are the best! While I love cookbook 2 I find myself often making the Celeriac soup from book 1, and the soup which comes from the sea (?) from the blog. Your recipes never fail to be easy to make and delicious.

    3. I am so happy you are back to posting. I own both of your books and your soups and muffins are (at least) weekly occurrences in our house!

    4. Yes Lisa. That’s the soup you will get! 😉 The key is to flash cook the peas and spinach, to keep the nicer brighter green color. So glad to hear you like the recipes! Thanks for the feedback!

    5. I totally agree that our children grow their tastes based on what we like, cook and buy. As someone who grew up in Brazil, I love all tropical fruits! (including pineapple LOL) and they are my kids’ favorite, as well. Food is love and I really enjoy cooking for family. Have a great day dear!

    6. You used at least 8 times the garlic in your ingredients list? I love garlic but that’s seems like garlic soup, not a pistou of childhood memories.

    7. Hi Martha, I am referring to fresh garlic and not a head of garlic cloves, which is different. I made a wording mistake. Thanks for catching it! Will amend.

    8. Oh que j’aimerais manger de la soupe tous les jours! Ici on a le rituel du bouillon de légumes les mercredis et dimanches soirs…

    9. Pingback: Acquiring food habits | French Cooking

    10. My children also love soup so much. Your soup looks delicious. I did not make this type of soup before. Will try one soon….. Thanks for giving new recipe idea.

    11. Love this post as soups are my favorite food. Just saw this and am delighted you’re still posting. There’s something so delightful in your posts. Gentle and gracious living. Yet truly authentic.

    12. HELLO, I am so happy to hear from you again. For some reason your posts fell off the ‘radar’.
      Happy spring!