Spring is coming to Iowa soon, judging from the snowdrops my son spotted coming up a few days ago, but it’s still soup weather in my book. Tonight I’m making a lower-fat version of the Thai coconut soup called tom kha kai. You’ll need to visit an Asian grocery for a few ingredients, or order them online, but other than that, the soup is very fast and easy to prepare.

My recipe is adapted from Nancie McDermott’s book Real Vegetarian Thai, which I highly recommend for omnivores as well as vegetarians. I used one can of coconut milk instead of the two cans McDermott calls for, and I substituted low-fat coconut milk. That makes the soup a lot less rich but also cuts the fat and calorie count way down. I also left out one can of straw mushrooms and 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, because I am one of those people who doesn’t like the taste of cilantro.

This dish is suitable for vegans and can be gluten-free, depending on the kind of soy sauce or tamari you use. Any orange winter squash or sweet potatoes can be substituted for butternut, and if you’re using mushrooms, shiitake or portobello could be substituted for straw mushrooms (add to soup pot along with squash).

The full recipe is after the jump.

It’s been raining all day, and the high’s only in the 50s, which has me thinking of soup.

Last Saturday I used a buttercup squash to make my first curried squash soup of the season. The recipe is after the jump.

This is my favorite carrot soup, with garlic, ginger and some Chinese flavors.

Another favorite on days like this is simple potato, carrot and leek soup.

I still have a huge kohlrabi to use up, so kohlrabi and potato soup with caraway is in my future.

What are you doing now that autumn has arrived?

The Iowa Renewable Energy Association has postponed the planned Winter Solstice events for today and this evening in Iowa City because of the extremely cold weather.

Check their website (www.irenew.org) to find out about plans to reschedule. I will also post information on my weekly even calendar here.

What are you doing to survive the cold? Our dog got only half as long a walk this morning as he would usually get. Fortunately, I remembered to refill the bird-feeder yesterday, when it wasn’t too bad. Otherwise the birds would have run out of food today or tomorrow when I didn’t want to be outside fiddling around with the feeder.

Here’s a good soup recipe for a cold day:

Potato, Carrot and Leek Soup

1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (or onions, but I like leeks)

2 1/2 to 3 cups chopped carrots

3 to 5 cups chopped potatoes (depending on what proportion you like of potatoes to carrots). I scrub the potatoes but don’t peel them, but you can peel them if you like.

1 Tbsp honey

salt to taste

Saute leeks and carrots in a small amount of oil or butter in a large saucepan. After about 5 minutes, add potatoes and enough water to cover (I just barely let the water cover the vegetables, but if you like thinner soup, you can use more water).

Bring to a boil, stir in the honey and salt to taste (I use about a teaspoon, but you can use less), then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender or a hand-held food mill, or for a chunkier soup, just mash with a potato masher. You don’t want to put potato-based soups in a blender or food processor, because it will create a gluey texture.

Return to pot, reheat and serve with fresh ground pepper if you like. With some bread and a side vegetable or salad, this is a whole meal for us. It keeps well for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

cross-posted at La Vida Locavore

I decided to start a series on cooking seasonal food. Eating fruits and vegetables when they are in season reduces greenhouse gas emissions from transporting food from across the country or around the world.

More important, fresh food in season tastes better and retains more vitamins. Plus, if you buy directly from a farmer or farmer’s market, you are supporting your local economy.

It’s also more satisfying to eat the first asparagus or broccoli or potatoes or whatever of the season, because you’ve waited months for them.

I belong to a CSA (that stands for community-supported agriculture), and last week I got a large kohlrabi in my box. The easiest thing to do with kohlrabi is to peel it, dice it and add it to any stir-fry dish for crunch.

However, I have found a couple of recipes I prefer. One comes from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian, which is so comprehensive that it has four kohlrabi recipes. If you don’t already own this book, you should go out and find a copy.

The other is my own soup recipe for kohlrabi with caraway, which I adapted from a recipe in the New Covent Garden Soup Company’s Book of Soups book.

Adventurous eaters, join me after the jump.