I wanted to call this Mystery Soup because if I hadn’t made it myself, I would never have guessed it had cauliflower in it. Whether you love cauliflower or not, this fabulous soup defies discerning its ingredients.

Palm Desert evenings get much chillier than I expected. (I miss all those flannel pjs I gave away.) I decided a great way to warm up would be to make a simple soup for dinner. I went through my pantry and fridge to see what I could fin

I found this recipe buried back in my files from years ago. When I remade it I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. It is so good that when I prepared it for a class for Foster City Village Seniors, we were all raving. That night, when I asked Karl to taste it, he said he was too full from the panini I’d made and to save it for another night. I asked him to take just one bite and he finished the entire bowl. “That may be the best cold tomato soup I’ve ever tasted,” he said. This from a man who turns his nose up any time he sees tofu on a menu. Of course he had no idea tofu was one of the ingredients.

This is a beautifully complex soup with lots of flavors and textures: a miso-ginger broth with a variety of greens, ramen noodles, and fragrant, small ginger-spiked meatballs.

Lighter and silkier than most chowders, this one doesn’t shout corn or shrimp, it simply whispers them.

This crunchy salsa is the perfect topping for Shrimp and Corn Chowder, but it also great with chicken, fish and as a dip.

Can a soup with 6 super greens taste super good? It only takes a couple of secret ingredients to put it over the top.

Vegetarian, healthy, nutritious, colorful and simple to make (once you’ve chopped the veggies), you can call this a stew or a very hearty soup.

Chicken backs and lots of earthy veggies add phenomenal flavor to chicken soup.

It’s richer and more flavor with a lovely bronze hue.

Subject: Floaters or clunkers

Some matzah balls are so light and fluffy they are known as floaters. Others are so dense and heavy, they are called sinkers or clunkers. Mine are Just-Right because they are somewhere right in the middle. I’ve found one ingredient that makes all the difference.

Move over red gazpacho. Today everything is going green. Green tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, onions and cucumbers, blended together with plain yogurt (ok, it's white) into the most velvety, lush, tangy, chilled soup imaginable.

A terrific dinner to warm up those chilly winter nights. It cooks for less than 35 minutes and is guaranteed to help toss away those dreary winter doldroms.  

Although the D word isn't part of my New Year's vocabulary, this zesty soup is light enough to qualify for one. It is super fast and aside from a poblano chili pepper, you probably have the other ingredients in your fridge or pantry.  

When my 4 children were in elementary school and I had just begun teaching cooking in my home, I liked to try new recipes on them and their dad for dinner.  On this particular week, I was working on a pumpkin soup recipe for a Thanksgiving class. 

Sweet, spicy, smooth, crunchy, delectable chilled soup. It gives tomato gazpacho some stiff competition. 

If you keep the ingredients for this tasty soup in your pantry, fridge or freezer, you can quickly combine them in a saucepan and have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. Serve with crusty bread or rolls. 

These are no ordinary carrots. Cooking them in honey and then seasoning with cumin makes them so flavorful that they become a conversation piece. Everyone tries to guess the ingredients.