Anyone who loves soup knows that there are thousands of versions of Minestrone. Loaded with flavor, it's a simple soup to prepare. This version is adapted from one found in Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor Latourrette. He and his brother monks live at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery in New York.

I knew I was going to be hungry when I returned from today's first session of my ten week Fitness Challenge at the Y. Although it was a bit disorganized, all 36 of us got our marching orders for the weeks to come. It's going to be fun :)

I wanted something different, and I came upon a recipe for Lentil Chili. Wow, two of my favorites, together for the first time :)

Making chili using lentils,...

This post is the first of what will be a weekly series entitled Soup on Saturday. Every Saturday, I'm going to post a soup/stew/chili recipe for you to try out.Since it's snowing here today, I was looking for something hearty. If you use this recipe, please post a comment and let us know how it turned out. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

1 cup dried black beans, soaked overnight in cold water

1 1/2 tb...

If you're lucky enough to have a few days off this week, try this recipe out. I made it for some friends on Christmas Eve, and everyone loved it. Being the cautious type, and since I had never made this recipe before, I made the soup the day before. Given the complexity of flavors, I'd encourage you to do the same.

I raced home from the gym the other day and I was starving. I was craving a bowl of chili, and remembered that I had all the ingredients waiting in my kitchen.Since the summer, I've been stocking my pantry with lots of canned goods, and I pick them up whenever they're on sale. Be sure to get no salt added items whenever possible.I also have an assortment of dried beans, but they take an...

Squash and apples are pretty bountiful right now. Roasting them together adds a nice depth to their wonderful flavors. Throw in some garlic, and you have a simple and tasty soup, perfect for a cold fall evening. Enjoy.

Roasted Squash and Apple Soup

serves six

3 lbs butternut squash

2 medium granny smith apples, halved and cored1 head garlic4 cups vegetable stockSalt and pepper to tastePinch of...

Yesterday morning, I was looking through one of my favorite cookbooks,Twelve Months of Monastery Soups. I wanted to try to make something quick, simple, and, of course, tasty. I also wanted to prepare something I hadn't made before. Brother Victor's Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup met all my criteria, and the end result was one of the best soups I've made.Generally, I don't use swiss chard much,...

Moosewood Restaurant in New York. According to them, this hearty soup is usually made around the time that olives are harvested. I know I just wrote about Italy yesterday....One day, I hope I can make it there during the olive harvest. I heard recently that someone invented a machine that shakes the olives from their branches. That's not what I want to see. Instead, I want to go someplace where...

I don't have time to watch the Food Network much, but the other day I caught Rachel Ray making a Vegetarian Shepherd Pie. While she was preparing the dish, she mentioned that she and her husband go meatless three or four times a week. Nice.That got me thinking, and I made a trip to the Food Network website, which, I found out, is loaded with vegetarian recipes. While searching around, I came...