Day 22 - Red Pepper Soup

The alarm went off at 6am this morning. It took some real commitment for me to pull myself out of bed at that time, and even more knowing that I would be heading out into the cold.

In order to qualify for the 2009 New York City marathon, I had to run 9 races and volunteer at one race in 2008. Of course, I left my volunteering to the last minute, and this was my only chance to volunteer at a race before the year was out.

Dressed in a turtleneck, hoodie sweatshirt, long jacket, winter boots, gloves, and headband, I ventured out in the 25F/-5C dark Saturday morning. I was going to be working in the baggage area at the Holiday 4 mile race in Central Park. We had to be there for 6:45am but baggage didn't open until 7:30. We volunteers were freezing outside for 3hours. My toes and fingers were frozen, and I kept thinking of coffee, hot chocolate, and soup.

Bouncing up and down trying to keep warm at 7am on Saturday in the blustering cold, while talking to the other volunteers about running, I realized that we runners really are driven people. If you haven't figured it out yet, I thrive on challenges.

This red pepper soup had a hint of spice and it tasted really great with garlic bread. The original red pepper soup recipe was given to me by a lady who works at the Saturday market. I told her about my soup plan's, she brought me the recipe the following week. I am not sure where she got the recipe, but I modified it quite a bit, so it has become my recipe now.

Red Pepper Soup
Source: Krystal Ford

3 Medium red peppers
1 Medium onion, chopped
1 Carrots, chopped
1 Celery rib, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, mince
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of white wine
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1 tsp Italian spice mix
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
Roasted red peppers or roasted tomatoes for garnish (optional)

Directions
Saute onions and garlic. Add carrots, peppers, and celery and continue cooking until tender. Add wine, broth, tomato sauce, Italian spice mix, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes. Puree until smooth with blender or immersion blender.
Garnish with roasted peppers or roasted tomatoes.