In the Northeast we have been experiencing one of the coldest winters on record, with temperatures regularly below freezing, and periods of snow, ice and heavy winds. Is there anything better on these cold winter nights than a delicious bowl of hot soup?

Soup is one of the most versatile dishes, generally easy to prepare and pretty hard to mess up.
Some of the best soups are made from basic cupboard ingredients – beans, vegetables, pasta, chicken or meat, water and spices.

Both of my grandmothers prepare delicious clear chicken soups for Shabbos and serve them with very thin lokshen. If you ask them what they use – it’s always a little of this, a little of that and I think some extra-special ingredient that only bubbies have in their pantries.

For every day my family prefers a thicker soup. There is one recipe I use frequently which one of my nieces refers to as “the red soup.” It’s red because it’s made with diced tomatoes. The recipe is very simple: saut? onion and garlic; add a can of diced tomatoes and five cups of stock. Bring to a boil and then add zucchini, celery and ½ cup of pasta. Bring to another
boil, cook for one-half hour, add four ounces of raw chicken breast, then cook for another half-hour. Salt and pepper to taste.

The right pasta can make a difference in any dish, and with so many different brands on the
supermarket shelf, how do you choose?

Hodgson Mills (OU parve) is a great choice. Among their many products are semolina pastas with all natural tomato, beet and spinach flavors, pastas made from 100% whole-wheat durum flour, wheat germ and bran fibers, and a new line of certified organic pastas with added milled flaxseed. All of these products are incredibly healthy and taste great. Hodgson Mills also produces mixes for muffins and bread and delicious seasoned flour used for coating
chicken or fish. You can find all the Hodgson Mills products in your local supermarket.

I’ve given you a recipe for a great soup – now I’d like to ask that you share yours.

Announcing the Jewish Press Soup Contest – send us your best recipes. First 25 entrants receive a prize and the 10 best recipes will appear in future columns. Recipes will be accepted until February 27th, 2004.

Send your soup recipes to: The Jewish Press Soup Contest, 338 Third Avenue, Bklyn, NY 11215.

You can also fax to 718-330-1110 or email to [email protected].

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Magazine Editor, The Jewish Press