Immerse yourself

I LOVE my immersion hand blender. It was a gift from my mom and step-dad. They had won it in a Holiday Gift Exchange and had it for a while and never used it. I have almost worn it out.

Right now it's raining, and one of my favorite things to do when the weather is like this, is to make a big pot of soup. This recipe is from Martha (Stewart.....who else?).  The recipe is ridiculously simple and delicious. I made a salad of fresh greens with a light vinaigrette, and I also roasted some yukon gold potatoes with fresh rosemary, thyme, olive oil and s&p (this recipe calls for ONE small yukon gold, so I always buy a bag of them and roast the ones that are left out of the recipe).

Here's the link to Martha's recipe page:
Martha's Parsnip Soup

I did, of course, make a couple of wee changes. The recipe calls for 3 1/2 C water. I used 3 C water, and 1/2 C chicken stock.  Also, instead of 1/4 C heavy cream, I used 1/2 & 1/2 to bring down the fat content a bit.  To serve, I gave it a short swirl of olive oil and a dash of parsley along with sliced almonds. OH....and the "Immersion" change is this: Instead of taking the soup out of the pot and putting it in a blender......just use your handy immersion blender, right in the pot!

I like to cook a "vegetarian" meal once or twice a week to moderate the animal fat in our diet. I think it's a healthy option for those who don't want to give up completely on beef and chicken. Enjoy!