Many thanks to the dozens of my fellow soup enthusiasts from all over the world who cooked soup for Soup's On . Just like a good potluck, somehow our collection of soup recipes offers a soup for every taste and circumstance. The soups that take hours to simmer stove-top, the ones that toss together in minutes. The soups made from pantry staples, the ones with hard-to-find ingredients. Newly discovered soup recipes and the long-time family favorites. Recipes carefully followed and others invented with what was on hand. I was moved by many of the soup stories, cross-continental stock-making , surviving a first cold winter , falling in love with winter , a first-time soup-maker , the saving grace of soup for a soon-to-be-Mom , a soup passed from one generation to another , an ingredient combination I can't dispel from my brain , the age-old tale of stone soup , and the sweet surprise of a dessert soup ! So many many thanks to all for the grand collection, Soup, Glorious So...

Today's homey soup recipe: Onion soup, French onion soup I'd guess you could say, because the onions are cooked in the slow cooker with red wine and good stock until soft and sensual ribbons, then finished under the broiler with toasted bread and melting cheese. The soup itself is Weight Watchers Friendly, just 100 calories a cup and WW 3 PointsPlus. Low Cal (for onion soup). ~recipe & photo updated & reposted 2014~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ Yes, it's the lovely onion soup cooked for long hours in the slow cooker, then tucked with toast and topped with cheese and then, finally, sipped and slurped, slow bite by slow spoon. Is it French onion soup? What makes an onion soup French, per se? I don't know that answer but I do know, a slow-cooked onion soup is delicious stuff. The bread and cheese add carbs and calories to this dish. I enjoyed the soup, plain – so the bread and cheese aren't necessary, if supremely tasty. Moving on to the cheese-topp...

A hazard of food writing, whether online or in print, is the constant hunt for new recipes, ones we're really proud of whether spectacularly simple or simply spectacular. Once a recipe is published in Kitchen Parade, it's rare for me to revisit it. But by five o'clock on Friday, the first Friday of Lent, the weather was miserable and my spirit not much better. Refrigerator leftovers didn't appeal; being newly committed to counting points (again), I nixed the temptation of a pizza delivery. Then magic struck, for all the ingredients for this simple soup were already on hand, peas in the freezer, onion in the pantry, spices and oil in the cupboard, eggs in the frig. (Take stock: don't you have all the ingredients too?) Still, because our tastes and styles do change, I wondered, Could a soup this simple taste as good as I remember? It can! It did! The green color makes it perfect for St. Patrick's Day but it worked beautifully as a meatless supper for Lent...

Look at this list of gorgeous soups -- collected from all over the world from soup-lovin' readers and food bloggers -- is growing! Many thanks so all who have contributed so far. But it's not too late! New entries are being accepted through the end of February. How to participate? Scroll to the end of Soup's On . If your only experience with mushroom soup comes from a can, you've yet to truly experience the simply glory of homemade mushroom soup. Mushroom soup is such a classic and so easy, to boot! Supermarket mushrooms will do but I'm lucky to have access to wild mushrooms from St. Louis' 'mushroom lady', Nicola Macpherson whose company, Ozark Mushrooms, grows shiitake and oyster mushrooms nearby on a family farm. Meet Nicola and see how easy it is to make mushroom soup, here in this week's Kitchen Parade column .

A super simple silky smooth butternut squash soup, on the table fast, seasoned only ginger, garlic and a squirt of mustard. Not just vegan, Vegan Done Real . Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. ~recipe updated, first published way back in 2007~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ Winter squash is so easy to roast that nearly always, I roast two, one for supper, one for something else. I even keep track of ways to use cooked squash in my Winter Squash recipes , just watch for the "little pot" icon like this a shortcut to recipes that call for cooked squash, good reason to roast extra! This time the "something else" got delayed a few days and the squash needed fast attention. So I threw together a simple soup, not expecting much. But it tasted great, just a simple soup, perfect for a winterish weeknight supper, fortified by bits of cooked bacon and feta cheese. The sweetness of the soup, the saltiness of the bacon, the creaminess of the cheese ... very nice...

Light and fluffy buttermilk pancakes laced with carrots – not grated carrots, not cooked carrots but a small jar of baby food carrots! The carrots make for lovely color and a subtle sweetness but really, if no one will know there's carrots in the pancakes unless someone says. This is an easy variation of My Mom's Pancake Recipe , my very first pancake recipe. It's an easy-easy recipe to make changes to – like, on a whim, adding a jar of carrot baby food! 2007: For as long as I've known, if it's the Tuesday supper before Lent, supper is pancakes. This year, I'm cooking up another quick batch of my Mom's buttermilk pancakes with a jar of baby food tucked in and topped with a gorgeous sorghum from Sandhill Farm . They're pretty, they're light, they're cheap, they're fast. And I find considerable irony that our lives are now are so rich that the egg and butter and flour and sugar in pancakes are no long considered ingredients worthy for Len...

While there's the age-old sneaky-Mom approach to putting vegetables and fruits into kids' mouths, perhaps in the age of the Omnivore's Dilemma , another is to connect garden to kitchen to table with light-hearted pictures and recipes? That's the engaging approach taken by a really fun new cookbook for kids, Simply in Season Children's Cookbook. (Disclosure: The publisher Herald Press offered a look at the cookbook. I accepted with the understanding that I'd write about it only if I really did like it. I do! And so might this darling imp and budding cook . Maybe?!) The colors and page designs are simply beautiful -- imagine seasonal starbursts of fruits and vegetables: spring with peas, red and white potatoes, sliced strawberries and spinach leaves; summer with ears of corn, tomatoes, raspberries, blueberries, strips of multi-colored peppers and one fat peach in the center. The photographs are too -- imagine kids' hands in nearly every shot, wiping go...

The world is suddenly cooking soup! I'll take some small measure of credit for soup fans from all over are dicing and chopping, all to share (some times) favorite and (some times) brand-new recipes for Soup's On . And if you love to spot promising new food blogs, this is your list. Entries include a first-ever post and a first-ever soup. It's not too late to contribute your own recipe - Soup's On runs through the end of February. A hazard of food writing is the constant search for new-new-new. But these are three old favorite soup recipes I return to whenever possible. They're from old Kitchen Parade columns and are perfect for bone-rattling wintry weather and with any luck, also to help 'bridge' the transition into spring. The first is Karelian borscht , fat with fresh beets (though canned beets actually work fine too). And just look at that color ! The next soup -- again, see that color -- one is so simple and yet manages somehow tastes like som...

Say hello to Armenian Tahini Bread -- think cinnamon buns, sticky rolls or sweet rolls -- a complete surprise and an utter delight! The recipe comes straight from the pages of Saveur (January? February? can't tell), my new favorite food magazine. Every issue has one or two recipes that completely capture my imagination. And not only do I love-love-love this tahini 'n' sugar sweetened bread, the dough itself is so beautiful to work with, I think it's my 'new go to' recipe for cinnamon rolls. Saveur describes the rolls as a 'croissant mated with halvah' and goes on to say, "This unprepossessing sweet yeast bread - eaten by Christians in that country during Lent, when the church forbids the consumption of dairy products - awakens the senses the moment it leaves the oven, with the seductive aromas of sesame and cinnamon. The real joy, however, is in the bread's flaky yet chewy texture ..." The rolling technique is a little messy -- not difficu...

This pumpkin soup is "spiced" – not "spicy". They're different, yes? It's smooth and pumpkin-y without being overly rich and overly spiced, and slightly sweet from banana. ~recipe & photo updated 2011~ ~ more recently updated recipes ~ ORIGINAL POST 2005 To quote my Nana, never one to pussyfoot, "Well, it sure looks like the dog's breakfast." Luckily it tastes much better! Still, it's an unusual variation of soup made from winter squashes which are usually spiked with spices that create depth and heat. This, however, is thick with spices usually reserved for baking. When I make it again, I'll serve in small bowls as a starter rather than as a hearty bowl of soup. I'll also puree it to a smooth richness which will also improve the appearance.

When cookbook author Nava Atlas offered to send copies of her new cookbooks awhile back, I was happy to accept! One great accident of blogging has been the discovery that Nava is a real person, not just some name on the cover of the one vegetarian cookbook that still appeals to me after returning to meat. (Well, of course she's a real person. But you know what I mean!) (Would you like a personally autographed copy of Nava's new Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons ? To throw your name in the (soup) pot, just submit a favorite soup recipe to Soup's On , this month's soup-happy event at A Veggie Venture. Interested? Here are all the details .) This is a recipe that Nava especially recommends from Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons . Now I know why! It's a winner, especially if given a chance to sit a bit so the ginger and curry can move front-ward. It thickens a bit, too. This is one of recipes to play with, based on what's in season, what's on hand, what you ha...

Ever wish you had a nutritious breakfast to make ahead of time and eat in the car? Say hello to on-the-run breakfast bars , this week's recipe in Kitchen Parade. It's a recipe I've made and shared for years. My Dad's a special fan, he especially likes the really cheesy batches. But wait, there's more! This week's column features a traditional family recipe but it also shares a special Lenten tradition. SPECIAL TRADITION FOR LENT If you're considering how to observe Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday on February 21st -- especially in a hands-on way with children -- consider planting a dish of Lenten grass. It's an old Finnish tradition, one which I've practiced since living in Finland for a year as a Rotary International exchange student. Read about it in this week's column , including a photo essay .

A special welcome to new e-mail subscribers, many fellow fans of vegetarian cookbook author Nava Atlas, who is generously providing an autographed copy to a lucky participant in this month's Soup's On! Welcome! Feel free to look around and especially, explore the Recipe Box. There are nearly two years of vegetable recipes, many simple side dishes, vegetable salads, soups, a few vegetarian suppers. Be sure to poke around in Kitchen Parade, too, my published food column. It's not vegetarian but all the vegetarian and vegan recipes are easy to find in its Recipe Box. Now on to today's recipe. Cold day. Hot Soup. Perfection. The inspiration for this curry-spiked soup is from Field to Feast , a fascinating blog from Zimbabwe. The base is slow-roasted tomatoes with carrots, sweet potatoes and green peas added. It didn't make the photo but I loved this with a dollop of Greek yogurt stirred in. FROM THE ARCHIVES For other soup recipes, see here in the Recipe Box . A YEAR...

Please welcome to the latest in an occasional series of St. Louis restaurant reviews from my friend, the Foodie Patootie. It's an A+ recommendation for Brio's at Plaza Frontenac. Enjoy ... ... ... ... 8:20am update: Some times timing is everything! A quote from today's New York Times (after a week, viewing may require membership) about blogs covering restaurants, "Bloggers are now a very important part of the media landscape because a lot of diners get their information from them." Congratulations to all the NYC bloggers featured in the story. Now here's the latest St. Louis restaurant review ... Brio's. When Brio’s Tuscan Grille first opened, it was standing room only and three people deep at the bar with an hour-long wait to be seated. My Dear Husband and I tried to get reservations but the only times available were 4:30 pm or 9:45 pm. Since my ‘beauty bedtime’ is 9:30, we passed. Finally, after the restaurant’s first anniversary, we hoped that ...

Today's simple cabbage soup recipe: Just onion, cabbage, tomato, a touch of sugar and hot sauce but very, very satisfying. Just 15 minutes to make, just 30 minutes to put onto the table! Weight Watchers friendly! Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. And, when made with vegetable broth or water, not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". Skip Straight to the Recipe Perfectly simple = simple and perfect. This sweet 'n' sour cabbage soup hits just the spot, say, after a frosty walk and a too-big lunch. And it makes up in minutes, another plus. And it's pretty, that broth has a lovely cast of tomato-y color. So many good things about this simple soup! Yes, yes: perfect, simple and perfectly simple. If this is peasant food, then royalty should eat so well. Is it just me who finds a certain elegance in such simplicity? All these years of cooking and it still stuns me how much a few ingredients can deliver. You WANT to make this!

In February, the shivers of hard winter give way to the winds of early spring. Both, for sure, call for soup to soothe the soul and warm the innards. So I dubbed February 2007 the month of Soup, Glorious Soup . I cooked soup all month and invited soup enthusiasts from all over the world to cook soup too. And so they did, in droves. Just like a good potluck, somehow our collection of soup recipes offers a soup for every taste and circumstance. The soups that take hours to simmer stove-top, the ones that toss together in minutes. The soups made from pantry staples, the ones with hard-to-find ingredients. Newly discovered soup recipes and the long-time family favorites. Recipes carefully followed and others invented with what was on hand. I was moved by many of the soup stories, cross-continental stock-making , surviving a first cold winter , falling in love with winter , a first-time soup-maker , the saving grace of soup for a soon-to-be-Mom , a soup passed from one generation to anothe...