Make the perfect soup NOW (from Isa Does It)

I have a tendency to collect cookbooks. Maybe I should say I 'amass' cookbooks, instead of 'collect'. I mean, I'm not a cookbook hoarder or anything, but I do find them a little irresistible. The problem is I seldom use them, though I think about them a lot. Recently, I wrote a review of Isa Does It where I mentioned that I could hardly keep my hands off the book, which could just mean that I look at it a lot but don't use it, but no, it doesn't. Both my husband and I use it constantly. And we really like the results.

This past weekend my husband made a large pot of harira, which was fabulous. We loved it, and I think you will, too. Harira is a traditional Moroccon tomato, chickpea and lentil soup that is frequently served to break the fast at sunset during Ramadan. It’s fragrant with spicy ginger, pepper, and cinnamon, as well as fresh herbs like celery, cilantro, parsley and onion.

Isa also adds angel hair pasta to her recipe — cooking it right in the soup — which makes it a filling, complete meal. So, do you own a copy of Isa Does It, yet? You should, you know. But if you don't, lucky for you I found the recipe online in a review on The Taste Space. Go there and get the goods because this is a soup you want to make.

I also recommend making wild rice soup with browned seitan strips. OK, so I used soycurls instead of seitan, but I seasoned them extravagantly, and browned them well in my wok, and they tasted fantastic with the soup.

One other little thing I did was to use half wild rice and half white Basmati, and I took Isa up on her invitation to add more veggies. I threw in a boatload of shredded savoy cabbage. Delicious! Sorry I can't be more useful and provide you with a recipe link, but just get a copy of the book. You won't be sorry.