Soup's on.

I'm not really much of a soup person. I like it when I eat it, but I very rarely crave it and make it pretty infrequently. I do get a bug up my butt on occasion and want it, make it, and eat it. Last week, I wasn't planning to make soup, but a suggestion on Facebook got me thinking.

A quick sidenote to mention that I'm part of a super fun group on FB called "what the hell is for dinner?" - it's a public group, so I recently discovered that all my dinner posts show up in all my friends' feeds, so I wonder how many people have since blocked me? Ha! Regardless, it is super fun to share ideas and get tips and feedback with friends and friends of friends.

I was having a corn craving, and Hillary's mom suggested I try the Depression Era corn chowder she'd been thinking of making. Seemed easy, and included corn and potatoes, which I was looking to use up, so I decided to go for it. I made a few tweaks based on some reviews I read - I cut the liquid some but also added a splash of cream, and the condensed milk I had was fat free. I also threw in a jar of pimentos for fun and sprinkled some paprika and a ton of salt and pepper.

And what goes perfectly with corn soup? Cornbread, of course! With cheddar and jalapenos.

This soup was great. Simple, quick, hearty - if one was meat inclined, I'm sure bacon would be a great addition. As one who is seafood inclined, I am positive a dollop of crab or smoked fish (trout or whitefish) would be amazing on top. Next time! Note, of course, that as with most soups, this tastes even better the next day!

Strangely enough, I again craved some soup a second week in a row, so tonight I made a quick and easy pumpkin soup that I have made in the past. I made this sometime in the last year when I wasn't blogging much, so luckily I had printed the recipe and left handwritten notes on how to bump up the deliciousness. I swapped out half the water for apple cider, swapped out 1/4 cup of the milk for cream, and hammered it like crazy with spices - salt, pepper, ginger, nutmeg, and crushed red pepper. I kept it on low heat and simmered it for close to an hour.

On top, some sprinkles of Gorgonzola. Because it is delicious.

Unfortunately, I haven't figured out the perfect amount of red pepper yet....

"Too spicy in my mouth!"

I agree the fire could have been toned down a notch, but I still found it to be super delicious. I find with a lot of homemade soups that the taste of the broth is incredibly overpowering, so I like that this one foregoes broth for water, cider, and milk. I'm excited for these leftovers tomorrow, and I was extra excited to use the funnel I bought years ago and never used...

Flecks of fire.

On an unrelated note, I won't be hosting Thanksgiving this year - for the first time since Brad and I have lived together! I'm half relieved, half bummed, but I'm sure it'll be a lovely day nonetheless. I decided to take advantage of the free oven space and make a from-scratch stuffing to take to the in-laws', and I'll also be making two pies, so I'll be keeping myself somewhat busy. Hoping everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving!! xo