Summer Squash Surprise!

Back to the hot soups.I'm also trying out something new with more exciting soup names! And more exclamation points! Like that episode of Seinfeld about exclamation points! Okay, enough of that, that would get annoying. In all seriousness, I'm working on more creative names. Soup is pretty boring, not as boring as toast, but not nearly as exciting as ice cream or tacos or cupcakes. Hence, this week's Summer Squash Surprise.  What's the surprise you may ask? Well there really isn't one, but that's as creative as I get after a work day of looking at data and solving "crises". This is actually adapted from a Cooking Light recipe from years ago.

For this masterpiece, you will need: a few cloves of garlic, an onion, fresh rosemary and oregano, some zucchini and summer squash, a splash of red wine, two cans of chick peas, two cans of diced tomatoes, some broth, tomato paste, crushed red pepper flakes and bay leaves.

First, go collect your fresh herbs from your garden. No garden? Well plant one. It's worth it. It will save you money. No yard? Grow your herbs in small pots in front of any window in your house/apartment/condo. Pesky cat that knocks everything over? Well I can't help you with that. My herb garden is outgrowing its undersized garden box. The oregano was the first one jumping out into the pine straw. Resourceful little herb that oregano is.

Now, back inside out of the oppressive heat. I started by mincing 4 cloves of garlic and dicing one large onion.

Then I minced, chopped, obliterated the rosemary and oregano until I could no longer really tell what they were.

Next, I diced one zucchini and 3 summer squash. How cute does summer squash look in a yellow bowl? It's like summer on my countertop. Also, rinse and drain both cans of chickpeas and one of the cans of diced tomatoes.

Now, for cooking. In your large soup pot, heat a bit of oil over medium heat then throw in the garlic, onions and chopped herbs.  Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.

Next, throw in the squash and a splash of red wine.  Get a little bit worried when the wine turns everything in the pot pink, but then take a big swig of wine and forget about it. Let all this cook for about 10 minutes.

Now, in go the drained chick peas and tomatoes.  I'm trying something new with the camera these days. I call in 'food - in action!'. When I was in undergrad I was notorious for taking action shots of things that were actually standing still. I attribute this to the shoddy quality digital camera I was using, because, after all, it was 2001 and digital cameras were not what they are now. However, this food actually is in action, so all those people that made fun of me for action shots of things that weren't moving can go sit outside in the 100+ degree heat and think about what they've done. Regardless, this shot is pretty awesome.

Stir all this up and add the can of non-drained tomatoes.  Again, these are in ACTION! Though it sorta looks like the can is throwing up the tomatoes. Whatever. Clearly I need to perfect this skill.

Now the broth, also in ACTION! I'm giving some serious though to asking Pacific Natural Foods for some sort of endorsement. I am an excellent advertiser for thier product (MSG free and low sodium, super).

Lastly, throw in a palm full of crushed red pepper flakes, 2 bay leaves, as much salt and pepper as you desire and a bit of tomato paste.

Increase the heat, bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Before serving remove the bay leaves. I had some yummy homemade garlic bread leftover from the carb-load pre-Peachtree 10k dinner Brian made the night before, and thought that was a nice addition to my soup lunch. Enjoy!