Day 4- Tomato, Rotini and Veggie soup.

I started my morning off with a trip to the local grocery store. Time was ticking away and I still had not purchased a turkey for Thanksgiving. I found a 13lb frozen turkey and loaded it into my grocery basket, along with a few other ingredients that I needed for stuffing and my soup of the day.

The walk home made me very "un-thankful". It is hard to be thankful when you have to walk 3/4 of a mile carrying 13 pounds of frozen turkey flesh (which really felt like 20lbs), three bags of groceries, and oh yeah, I had my dog with me too. Huffing, puffing and cursing under my breath. I knew I was in for trouble when my dog spotted two other dogs she wanted to play with. I yelled "Musha, can't you see I have a god damn 20lb turkey in my hand?" Clearly she did not, nor did she care. But she must have sensed the simmering rage, because she eventually stopped pulling on the leash and walked beside me again.

Before I started working on my soup, I decided to make a batch of savory biscotti. The other day I came across a recipe for Parmesan and Black Pepper Biscotti on a blog called Food and Whine, when I was searching for soup. Apparently, we also share the same love for soup, as she had recently done 7 days of soup in September.

I decided that I would just wing it for my tomato soup, instead of using a recipe. I was excited to be using a different base besides my ever reliable chicken stock. This time I used beef stock, tomato and wine. I was very satisfied with the way it turned out, and I loved the pairing with the biscotti.



Tomato, Rotini, and Veggie soup
by Krystal Ford

4 cups beef broth
1/2 cup of white wine
1 turnip cubed
1 medium carrot cubed
1 medium onion diced
2 celery stalks diced
1/2 yellow pepper diced
1 tsp of Herbes de Province (or you can use Italian Spice Mix)
2tsp of garlic powder
1 can of diced tomatoes (14 1/2oz)
1 can of crushed tomatoes (12oz)
2 cups of cooked pasta
Salt and pepper to taste
small sprig of rosemary for garnish (optional)

Directions

Bring beef broth to a boil and add wine. Add turnip and carrots and boil for 5-7 minutes. Mean while, boil pasta in a separate pot until al dente. Rinse with water and put aside. Add onions, celery, peppers, garlic powder and Herbes de Province to broth. Simmer until vegetables start to soften. Add both cans of tomatoes, and adjust the seasoning. When vegetables are cooked to your liking, add the pasta to soup and continue cooking for a couple more minutes.