A Gilt Nutmeg

All summer I was thinking, “Man, I should be making vegetable soup.”  Of course now it’s September and I never got around to making vegetable soup.  And then Real Simple dropped this recipe in my inbox last week and I thought: “it’s a sign!”  So I went to the co-op and sorted through the last of their summer veggies and I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised at how quickly this soup was thrown together.  Just slice it all up and throw it in the pot and it’s ready in 10 minutes!

I added a few spices to the recipe I received-the original had only the fresh dill.  First and foremost, I added cayenne which is my all time favorite spice to add to vegetable soups.  I feel like some veggie soups’ flavor can just glide over your tongue and disappear as soon as you swallow.  Just a little cayenne gives it a just a touch of heat that keeps the flavor lingering on your tongue.  I also added garlic powder because it grounded the flavors.  A toasty bit of garlic bread would have made this a perfect complete meal to close out the summer!

End-of-Summer Vegetable Soup
Adapted from Real Simple
Serves 4

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large zucchini (or 2 medium), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 large yellow squash (or 3 small-medium), cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 pound green beans, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups corn kernels (cut from 2 ears, or frozen)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup fresh dill springs

1. In a stock pot or large sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil.
2. Add all of the vegetables and spices except for the dill and turn the heat down to medium.
3. Let everything simmer for about 10 minutes until the veggies are soft.
4. Stir in the dill and serve with crostini!