There's a monster in my soup!

I know. I know. I'm on a soup kick. But it's getting colder and as I've said before, to me Cold weather begs soups. The Munchkins love soup. They love the dipping, the spoons, and  the fact that they can drink right from the bowl (which we reserve for soup nights and cereal milk).

What I love? Hearing KK say "soup". I know full and well that to others it will just be a little kid saying a word but to me it is a treasured auditory experience. I really wish you could hear her say it. Her little voice wraps around the word, but blends the sounds together in a way that I will never be able to replicate and my mommy heart will never forget. In fact, I may be on a soup kick just so I can hear her say "soup" over and over while we eat. Maybe...

Anyway...back to food. We have a soup that I found years ago through Better Homes and Gardens' 100 Days of Holidays e-newsletter series. If you haven't subscribed to this series, you should. It sends you an e-mail every day for 100 days starting from before Halloween to about New Years and gives you suggestions on food, decor, costumes, crafts, and much more. Parents magazine does one as well, so I actually get 2 emails every day. And while I HATE spam, I LOVE those emails. Wait wasn't I supposed to be talking about food???

Oh right! The soup. We call it Monster Soup because it is green and when my nephews were younger we told them we caught wild monster in Arizona and made them into soup just for them. I love how something that is totally gross to adults makes kids want to gobble it up.

Here's the original recipe

And here's what I do:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced, pressed or grated
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons dry white wine
• 32 ounces veggie broth
• 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound fresh spinach, washed and trimmed (The big box from Costco is the perfect amount)
• Salt
• 2 cups arugula
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, sliced with a veggie peeler
• 2 small tomatoes, quartered, seeded, and thinly sliced 

 In a deep soup pot over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning in hot butter for 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally.

•   Slowly add white wine and cook while stirring until reduced by half about 1 minute. Add broth and potato. Bring to boiling. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Remove from heat.
  3. Stir spinach, half at a time, into soup just until wilted. Cook about 5 minutes.
  4. Transfer soup, half at a time, to a blender; cover and blend until smooth. Return to pot and heat through. Season with salt to taste.
  5. To serve, top with arugula, Parmesan, and tomatoes.