Lots of last minutes changes, but it keeps things interesting. There's still room for three people if anyone else wants to join us.

I looked over my Mexican soup recipe today and realized it had zucchini in it. Being that it's not a good time for zucchini, I opted to make Butternut Squash soup since Gooseberry isn't coming and was going to bring it originally. While editing the RSVP list, I noticed I had written Tortilla Soup and Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. It should have said "or" not "and." I really don't have the time to make the gumbo, so squash soup it is.

The pear soup is cooling and smelling very good, but I'm still dubious about the aniseed. I'm not sure it should be so crunchy.


Aniseed prices:
1.75 ounce jar McCormick brand, $8 at Dominick's.
3.5 ounce bag house brand, $1.89 at Jos. Caputo's.

LAZ wrote:

Aniseed prices:
1.75 ounce jar McCormick brand, $8 at Dominick's.
3.5 ounce bag house brand, $1.89 at Jos. Caputo's.

Amazing, isn't it.

The roasted tomato soup that I will be bringing turned out pretty well. The recipe has been posted in the soup recipe thread. http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26318&p=289241#p289241

Many thanks to Ms. Ingie for hosting this gathering. I'm looking forward to it.

Or when it's really blustery,
we can do chilis and stews
YUM
sit by a fireplace....hmmm

feels nice just writing it.

What a lovely afternoon, filled with delicious soup, bread, pastries and great fellowship and discussion. I was the only one with a camera and most of the time the photos were an afterthought; who wants to stop and take pictures when there's food to be eaten? I did manage to take a few shots:

We started with my Butternut Squash Soup. As you can see, we had already eaten it by the time I remembered that I should be taking pictures, so you've got a pic of the pot.



Next we tried mrsm's Roasted Tomato Onion and Black Bean Soup. The tomatoes and onions were roasted in the oven and the entire mixture was pureed. Topping choices included chopped red onions, cilantro, smoked hot sauce and sour cream. Darn, I forgot to take a picture. Oh, I remember why, LAZ and RheS arrived at that time.

Have soup, need bread. Cookie Monster provided us with a Roasted Potato and Organic Onion bread and a Sourdough Seed Bread that was Vegan, sugar and cholesterol free and used no yeast. RheS made baguettes and the round loaf using high-extraction, organic bread flour. All of the bread was phenominal.



Soup number three was provided by mrsm's guest Ruth. She made a vegetarian Black Bean Soup. Interesting fact is that an orange studded clove sat in the soup while it simmered. The same toppings used in mrsm's soup were made available to add to Ruth's soup. Photo below (yay!)



Soup number four was irisarbor's "Amazing Ham and Green Split Pea Soup." She used the bone from a spiral sliced ham and added some sherry to the mix. It made for a slightly sweet and delicious treat.



Cookie Monster made a lovely Cream of Fresh Pea Soup. It was delightful. We all decided that you could add some mint and serve it cold with some creme fraiche. Once again, so busy eating, forgot to take a picture. The soup was a lovely shade of light green. At least we had a photo of her bread.

Time for dessert. LAZ brought Birnensuppe, or a cold German Pear Soup; it was filled with golden raisins and had just the right amount of flavoring from anise seeds. She used less than the recipe called for and strained them out since she didn't like the crunch factor. Her husband disagreed, but he was outvoted by the rest of us. It was so good that some of us went back for seconds, even though we were complaining about how full we were.



In addition to the dessert soup, we were treated to some Orange Olive Oil cakes, topped with orange peels and gold leaf, by Cookie Monster. Oh my, were they good.



Everyone went home with leftovers and smiles on their faces.

Thanks for being such a wonderful hostess, Ms. Ingie! It was a lovely event, and RheS and I had a great time. (I'd actually brought a camera and didn't think to take pictures at all, so I'm glad you did. Great write-up, too.)

All of the soups and baked goods were terrific. Thanks to all the participants -- I'm looking forward to the leftovers. And I definitely think it would be worth repeating in the wintertime.

For those who asked, the high-extraction flour is Gold 'n White from Natural Way Mills. Heartland Mill sells a similar product called Golden Buffalo. I hope those of you who bake with it report your experiences.

The baking books we spoke of were Secrets of a Jewish Baker by George Greenstein and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. Here's my article about the Artisan book, with the super easy baguette recipe that launched RheS on his baking career.

I was very gratified that people went back for seconds on my soup. The recipe is here.

I wanted to thank the hostess for a wonderful and tasty event.
The soups were delicious and the warm bread made them even tastier.

I want to echo Cookie Monster's sentiments.
This was a wonderful relaxing afternoon.
Thanks to Mrs. Ingie for your hospitality,
and thanks to all the participants for their tasty treats!
I did post my (ridiculously simple ) recipe in the other thread for anyone who is interested.