Sundays Are My Day for Making Soup
EatingWell
Two summers ago, I started doing a little bit of meal prep on Sundays. I spent an hour building a salad bar in the fridge (hat tip to David Burtka for the brilliant idea). My process went a little like this: I washed a couple of heads of lettuce and mixed them together, tucking them into sealable bags with paper towels to wick away moisture. I shredded beets, carrots and radishes in my food processor. I made a homemade dressing or two (my fan favorite recipe for Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette was frequently shaken up). It made assembling salads at lunchtime a cinch—and both my husband and I dramatically increased our intake of vegetables. But when it started snowing, we craved something warm.
That's when my husband, Dan, said, "Why don't we start making a big batch of soup on Sundays?" And that, my friends, is when Soup Sunday was born.
One Bite of This Soup Transports Me Back to Julia Child's Vacation Home in France
Each element of this soup—the sunset color, the silky texture, the smoky undertone—evokes winter in the south of France, inspired by Julia Child's kitchen.
I'm sure we're not the first people to do this, but, boy, is it a good idea. I make a giant batch of soup almost every Sunday afternoon. Sometimes we eat it for dinner that same night but sometimes we don't. Since I make such a big batch, there's always enough soup to eat for lunch for a few days. And on particularly busy nights, we might even have it for dinner. If there's a lot still in the fridge by Thursday or Friday, I'll tuck a jar or two in the freezer, which my future self is always grateful for.
Making Chowder Is My Favorite Way to Reduce Food Waste in the Kitchen
This clam chowder recipe is a great way to use up broccoli stems.
And guess what? I make a lot of EatingWell recipes on Soup Sunday. I worked in the EatingWell Test Kitchen for more than a decade so I've tried my fair share of soups, and even developed a lot of the recipes myself. What I like about our soup recipes is that they frequently lean heavily on vegetables, so it feels like a good swap for our summer salad habit. Plus many of our soups are bean-based, which means we're getting a dose of filling fiber midday—which helps keep us full.
Ania's Zupa Grzybowa (Ania's Mushroom Soup)
In Poland, foraged mushrooms, notably boletus, are prized for their flavor and are often dried and used to make this soup.
Slow-Cooker Spiced Lentil Soup with Vegetables is a favorite at our house. And since it's made in a slow cooker, I'll sometimes make it during the week since I don't have to attend to it. Lemony Lentil & Chard Soup is one I created, based on a soup that was served in the Lebanese restaurant I used to work in. We have a big garden, so each year I use our bounty of carrots or butternut squash to make a batch of Thai-Inspired Curry Carrot Soup (I even have some in my freezer from this past fall). I often make a really simple chicken soup, very similar to our Classic Chicken Soup recipe. Pro tip: If you make a big batch, cook your noodles separately. That way they don't get super mush-tastic (i.e. absorb all the broth and start to fall apart) while the soup sits in your fridge.
Mom's Minestrone
Of all the skills Noah Galutan's mom taught him, learning to cook was the most important.
I understand that Soup Sunday isn't for everyone, but making soup on Sunday is always a good idea. Maybe next time, you'll make an extra-big batch.
