Soup Club
WINTER 2016
BERGAMO MONTESSORI
Lentil Soup
I hope your kids had tons to share with you regarding our first day of soup club.
It was an eventful first day with the children learning about the “tear” effect of
cutting fresh onions and how to improvise after a food processor doesn’t work.
As you know, today’s recipe was lentil soup. The children chopped carrots, garlic,
celery, and onions. We also had some fun with fractions as we doubled the recipe
and determined we needed a total of 2 1/2 cups of dry lentils. But then, all 10
children wanted to measure the dry lentils. So, we broke up the 2 1/2 cups of dry
lentils into 1/4 cups so more children could have the opportunity to pour the dry
lentils. More fraction work! I’ll tell... It was an interesting process to keep track of
how many 1/4 cups had been poured in already.
While the children waited for the lentils to cook, they washed dishes, cleaned
their work area, set the table, created name tags, and talked about their favorite
Thanksgiving foods. Once the soup was ready, the children tasted their creation
and talked about the many other delicious variations of the recipe such as adding
cubed potatoes, spinach, leftover green beans, or leftover turkey or ham (for the
meat eaters.)
Yum... I’ll certainly be trying some of these variations at home with Aidan.
Every child took the recipe home with them in case you guys want to make it
together.And why not as part of your Thanksgiving feast next week? It can be a
nice first course.
I hope you all have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon Canola oil
1 medium celery stalk, small dice
1 medium carrot, peeled and small dice
1/2 medium yellow onion, small dice
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juices
1-1/4 cups lentils (any color except red), rinsed
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves (dry thyme also works)
2 ounces spinach or kale leaves (about 1/2 a bunch)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. H
eat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering,
about 3 minutes. Add the diced celery, diced carrot, and diced onion and
cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 10
minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Season with several generous pinches of salt and pepper.
2. Add the vegetable broth, canned tomatoes with their juices, dry lentils,
bay leaf, and thyme and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a simmer,
about 15 minutes. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and continue
simmering, covered, until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 15
minutes more.
3. Taste and season with more salt or pepper as needed, then stir in the
vinegar. Add the fresh spinach (or fresh kale) and stir until wilted. If you
prefer a creamier texture, purée half of the soup in a blender and add it
back to the pot.
Recipe courtesy of chowhound.com
Corn Chowder
As I’m sure you heard from you children, last week we made corn chowder. As
it was with our previous cooking session, the children were busy with their hands
chopping onions, peeling potatoes, blending corn with heavy cream, and crisping
up bacon.While we waited patiently for the potatoes to cook, we talked, tasted
Kosher salt, cleaned up our work area, washed dishes, and set up some to-go
containers for those kids who had to leave at 4:30pm.
By the way, it’s official: we need better knives to prevent accidental cuts. So my
friend (and soup club volunteer) Chris Thiltgen is generously donating 10 knives.
I’m delighted to share that we’ll be having better knives in our last cooking session
(to be held on December 16th). :-)
Thank You Chris for your generous donations.
And thank you Chef Kari for sharing your time
and expertise with us! :-)
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces thick-cut bacon (about 3 slices), small dice
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (thaw if frozen)
3 cups whole milk
1 pound russet potatoes (about 2 medium), peeled and medium dice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1/2 cup heavy cream
Finely chopped chives, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Place the bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven
over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 7
to 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a small paper-towel-lined
plate and set aside.
2. Add the onion to the bacon fat, season with salt and pepper, and stir
to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place 1 cup of the corn and 1 cup of the milk in a blender
and blend until smooth; set aside.
3. Increase the heat to medium high, add the corn-milk purée, remaining
2 cups of corn and 2 cups of milk, potatoes, and measured salt and
pepper. Stir to combine, then bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low
and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are just
cooked through and the soup has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the cream, stir to combine, and return to a simmer. Taste and season
with salt and pepper as needed. Serve garnished with the chives and
reserved bacon.
Recipe courtesy of chowhound.com
INGREDIENTS
Carrot Soup
Our Soup Club Fall 2016 session came to a close on December 16th, 2016.
A warm thank you to all the children who were eager to join us this fall. My heart always warmed up
each time I (Andrea) got to the playground at 3:30pm, with aprons in my hand, and saw the children
enthusiastically stopping what they were doing (including playing four-square). It was also heart warming (but also hard) to see other children who weren’t signed-up for the soup club hovering around and
asking if someone was absent and if they could join us that day. Gotta love children’s spontaneity!
Our last day of soup club (Dec 16th) was inspired by Skylarr’s family’s generous donation of beautiful
carrots: purple, white, and orange.We made two separate batches of carrot soup: a batch using the purple
carrots and a batch using the orange/white carrots.
The children peeled and chopped lots of carrots, chopped onions and garlic, tasted the raw ingredients
along the way, and talked - talked a lot.
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or parsley
5 cups chopped carrots
2 cups water
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, *no-chicken” broth
or vegetable broth
½ cup half-and-half (optional)
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat butter and oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until the butter
melts. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened,
4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme (or parsley); cook, stirring, until
fragrant, about 10 seconds.
While the soups were cooking, some goofed around, others cleaned up, others quietly sat down to handwrite the recipe into their notebook, and Chris Thiltgen showed some upper el children how to make a quick
& simple carrot salad using shredded carrots, raisins, a little mayo, and salt & pepper to taste. Once the
carrot salad was done, more tasting and food talking went on! We also ended up with so much soup
made that the children went for seconds and thirds, and some even packed soup in to-go containers.
2. Stir in carrots. Add water and broth; bring to a lively simmer over high
heat. Reduce heat to maintain simmer and cook until very tender,
about 25 minutes.
We hope your children will be teaching you that cooking is much better when done in a ludic way and
a great medium for connecting with others. Messy? Yes.Time consuming? Yes. Rewarding? Absolutely.
3. Puree the soup in batches in a blender until smooth. (Use caution when
pureeing hot liquids.) Stir in half-and-half (if using), salt and pepper.
The Soup Club will be back next year (see recent email sent by Richelle with a list of clubs & classes.)
We wish you all a peaceful and restful winter break!!!
Make Ahead Tip:
Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Andrea Pantoja Garvey (Arancia Parent)
Kari Millette (Marrone Parent)
Chris Thiltgen (Community Volunteer)
*Chicken-flavored broth, a vegetarian broth despite its name, is preferable
to vegetable broth in some recipes for its hearty, rich flavor. Sometimes
called “no-chicken” broth, it can be found with the soups in the natural-foods section of most supermarkets.
Recipe courtesy of eatingwell.com