September Soup

by Laura Frerichs, Tastemaker in Residence

September is here, the MN State Fair is over, kids are heading back to school, and the first maple leaves are coloring and falling off the trees. Autumn! It's a favorite season of ours on the farm for cooking while we still have one foot in the lovely summer crops (at least until the first frost comes) and the fall crops trickling in as well. Plus the days are getting shorter and so even if we wanted to go out and do some work outside after we put the kiddo to bed, it is already dark, and instead I steal my spare moments in the kitchen baking, cooking, or preserving while the bounty is still in. This is the time of year in the nothern U.S. when sweet peppers are finally turning their sweet red, orange, and yellow colors and we have a brief window of our own locally grown amazing sweet bell and italian peppers. September Soup (or Zuppa di Settembre) is our family's favorite soup, and without fail we make it the first week of September, after the last late-August heat spell has passed. We served this with a side of roasted broccoli and sundried tomato foccacia for a truly sumptious September meal.

September Soup (Zuppa di Settembre): http://www.loonorganics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/September-Soup.pdf

Roasted Broccoli with Lemon and Parmesan: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/roasted-broccoli-with-lemon-and-parmesan