Friday, April 19, 2013

Zucchini Soup with Giveaway Cuisinart Stick Blender


Ah, Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness
With a nip in the night air comes a hankering for a bowl of something warming.
And this zucchini soup really fits the bill - it's not too heavy, chock full of healthy vegetables, and best of all, extremely tasty.

Well, actually, that's not all. It's also supremely simple to make. So, let's get straight into the recipe. I know the real reason you are here is for the GIVEAWAY.

Just promise me you'll try this soup first. *pretty please? you won't regret it!*


Easy Zucchini Soup
serves 2***

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 zucchini, halved and sliced
½ tsp crushed garlic
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tblsp cream (optional)
Salt and pepper

Method
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the zucchini and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, or until zucchini softens (don’t let the garlic burn).
3. Pour in the stock and cream and simmer for 8 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and puree in the saucepan using a stick blender, until smooth.
Alternatively, cool slightly and transfer the soup to a blender and process until smooth.
5. Return to the saucepan and reheat, if desired.
6. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

***Double the ingredients to serve 4

As long as you have some lovely fresh vegetables, a mug of delicious soup is not far away.
In the past week, I've made zucchini soup, broccoli soup and potato and leek soup.

The tastiness of your soup also depends on the stock that you use.
No time for homemade stock, though. Here, I used 1½ cubes of Massel chicken stock in 2 cups of boiling water. Fantastic flavour.
A stick blender is a wonderful tool for soup - win one further on!

This really is a quick and easy soup to make. Very versatile, it can also be served cold.

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Kitchenware Direct Giveaway!


Thanks to Kitchenware Direct, you could this fab prize!
When Brad from Kitchenware Direct offered to provide a giveaway on this blog, I spent a wonderful time on the Kitchenware Direct site, browsing the beautiful products, trying to decide on a prize (if they were a bricks-and-mortar store, I would have been kicked out for taking so long to decide).

So, just for you: One lucky reader could win a gorgeous new Cuisinart stick blender.
I chose it especially, because it comes with a chopper attachment that is so useful for chopping and blending small amounts of herbs or spices, even mayonnaise; great when you don't want to drag out your large food processor.
And the stick blender and attachments are very easy to clean - the stainless steel finish looks good and it's easily kept that way.
 
To enter, just tell me what your favourite soup is, and why. Did you make it yourself, or did you enjoy it during a special meal? I'd love to know!


 Enter by leaving a comment on this post, or email (details below). Entries close midnight 5th May 2013. Prize can only be delivered to Australian addresses. Other conditions are below. Good luck!
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Update
This contest is now Closed.

The winner is Tina@bitemeshowme

Thanks for all your lovely entries!

Conditions of Entry
1. Entry to this contest is by a comment on this post, describing your favourite soup and why. Alternatively, enter by sending an email to oohlookbel2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
2. Entries close at midnight 5 May 2013.
3. The prize can only be delivered to Australian addresses. Prize will be supplied and delivered by Kitchenware Direct.
4. Please include an email address or your blog URL in your entry so I can contact you if you win.

17 comments:

  1. I cannot believe how EASY that soup was. I'm still in disbelief. I think I need to try something like this when I'm feeling under the weather (sometimes congee can get boring :P)

    MY favourite soup would have to be Canh Chua (vietnamese hot and sour soup). I've eaten it for as long as I can remmeber at home (very reluctant to eat it out). I'm not skilled enough to make it, but love it when parents do. It's that sweet and then tangy flavour you get on your palette even after a spoonful. It's always so exciting, especialyl because of the tamarind. Love the fact dad puts plenty of okra, enoki mushrooms and pineapples in his version. To be honest, even his vegetarian canh chua is very good (sometimes I prefer it than the fish based one).

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  2. I love a soup with vibrant colour, so yes, I will make this soup when I'm hankering something warm and nurturing to eat!

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  3. I LOVE soup -- the easier the better and I'll be giving this one a go. I like soups that are hearty -- usually ones that have lentils in them as it adds a bit of bulk and fills me up...and food bloggers need to be FULL! Does the cat come with the stick blender?

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  4. Stick blender really makes life easier!
    Your soup looks so delightful!

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  5. I have an immersion blender and seroiusly can't live without it! Love how creamy delicious that soup looks!

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  6. My favourite soup is pumpkin soup with some mushrooms secretly thrown in before blending. Not only do the mushrooms add an extra fragrance and earthy depth, this soup is also handy for using up stems from dried Chinese mushrooms which don't get used in dishes.

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  7. I would try it, but I have a recipe for curried vegetable soup that fits the bill. Yours looks great, though! ;)

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  8. This soup looks so good, a nice spring time soup!

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  9. I love zucchini :)
    My favourite soup is cream of cauliflower-fennel soup. It's delicious...and uses no cream, surprisingly :)

    Thank you for doing such a giveaway!

    -Sophie

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  10. What a beautiful soup Bel...and I love my Cuisinart hand blender...very practical and easy to use.
    Have a wonderful week :)

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  11. I have to say that my favourite soup isn't high tech or complicated. I had a huuuge hubbard squash that was going off and so I baked it, pureed it, and added some greek yogurt and spices. This made a delicious soup or even worked as a sauce, it was so thick!

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  12. Mine is a curried coconut and pumpkin soup, It is my go to soup. I top it with fresh chillies, coriander and toasted coconut. Yummo

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  13. Lovely looking recipe Bel! Good luck to everyone that enters too! :D

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  14. Love coming home to a warm bowl of soup. Winter is coming up and I'll be turning to your blog for inspiration!

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  15. Love the look of your soup, it sounds delish! I'm partial to mushroom soup (with a dollop of creme fraiche!), but if I'm a restaurant and they have lobster bisque on the menu, I can't turn away!

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  16. I cant go past my homemade pumpkin soup. I grow my own butternut pumpkins and flavour the soup with chicken stock and red curry paste. I serve it with a dollop of greek yoghurt and coriander.

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  17. When I a amid, my mum used to make chicken soup all the time and now since I'm older I love making it when the cooler weather sets in or when I'm feeling a but under the weather.

    Annie Y

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