Gypsy Soup

I had to share this beautiful and delicious soup with you guys. I made this from one of my favorite cookbooks, the classic 'Moosewood Cookbook' by Mollie Katzen. This is called Gypsy Soup, for the unusual variety of ingredients, and it just looked so lovely in my bowl that I took a picture and now here is the recipe. So good for these cold snappy days.

Gypsy Soup

The vegetables in this soup can be varied. Any orange vegetable can be combined with any green. For example, peas or green beans could replace-or augment-the peppers. Carrots, pumpkin, or squash could fill in for the sweet potatoes. Innovate!

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2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes 1 tsp. turmeric

2 Tbs. olive oil 1 tsp. basil

2 cups chopped onion a dash of cinnamon

3 medium cloves of garlic, crushed a dash of cayenne

1 stalk celery, minced 1 bay leaf

2 cups peeled, diced sweet potato 3 cups of water

1 tsp. salt 1 medium bell pepper

2 tsp. paprika 1 1/2 cups cooked chick peas

1. Heat a medium sized saucepanful of water to boiling. Core the tomatoes and plunge them into the boiling water for a slow count of 10. Remove the tomatoes and peel them over a sink. Cut them open; squeeze out and discard the seeds. Chop the remaining pulp and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a kettle or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, celery, and sweet potato, and saute' over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and saute' five minutes more. Add seasonings and and water and simmer about 15 minutes.

3. Add tomato pulp, bell pepper, and chick peas. Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes, or until all the vegetables are as tender as you like them. Taste to adjust seasonings, and serve.

(Takes about 45 minutes to prepare. Chick peas need to be cooked in advance, canned is OK. Yield: 4-5 servings)