Click here to view the embedded video.

Inspired by two recipes I found at this terrific sister cooking blog, and this other terrific sister cooking blog,  I concocted my own version, which was happily devoured by (almost) everyone in my family. (There is no accounting for 7-year-old taste, but apparently, other children will eat it, because tortilla soup also made the 2008 MomFaves top 10 mom-favorite recipes list.) Do you make this Mexican-American classic? How? Tell your sisters, please, because one of the rules of sisterhood is that we share our best recipes.

(P.S. That silly clip? It’s from a movie I helped to produce, in my old life. Have you seen Tortilla Soup? How about the other movies in our sister flicks master list? Check ‘em out, and let us know what you think. Laughter doesn’t have to be confined to the kitchen, after all.)

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I LOVE TO COOK. I’ve cooked since childhood, taught first by my mother and then by careful attention to cookbooks, magazines, newspapers and friends. Food, and cooking, are a big part of my life. Now, I’m fortunate to write about cooking as well, but I’m also challenged as I’ve never been, by three things.

First, health: As I get older, I have to be really careful about what I eat. In the last year, it seems, I gained weight just by looking at food, but my appetite and my tastes didn”t slow down. As a result, I’ve got some serious weight to lose, and for a foodie like me, that’s a big bummer. Second, persnickety eaters: My kids, both the sister and brother, have palates leaning toward “white” and “ice cream.” And last but not least, time: The demands of kids and work keep me from having anything resembling a leisurely time to prepare dinner for us all.

One of my other writing outlets is a weekly recipe column for a local “what’s doing” website, Rural Intelligence. Prompted by requests from friends and readers, I decided to explore slow cookers–you know, Crock-Pots®. I had never owned one before, though I remember my mother having a brief flirtation with one sometime in the late 1970s. I bought the cheapest one I could find that also had a timer, and I’m slowly, with some hesitation, falling in love.

This is a slow-cooker adaptation of one of my favorite (super healthy) soups. It’s made from carrots (one of the very few vegetables on my kids’ “acceptable” list) and flavored with curry and, if you have it, a bit of fresh basil. (It’s delicious without the basil, too, and one of the great things about this recipe is that it uses things we tend to have on hand.)

The original stove top version of this soup is the creation of a wonderful friend, with whom I’ve lost touch, and every time I make it, I think of her, making it the perfect dish to make for sisters. So I served this for lunch when the TSP sisters came to my house for a recent meeting, and they loved it–I hope you will, too.

If you have suggestions for healthy, slow-cooking foods–bring ‘em on. Share your recipes here, with your sisters.

Curried Carrot and Tomato Soup
Serves 8

1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups carrots: peeled, cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch chunks (or just cheat, and use “baby” carrots)
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 28-oz. can peeled plum tomatoes, drained
4 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth or water
1/3 cup slivered fresh basil leaves
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

In a skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add onion, and sauté over medium heat until golden and soft, about 10 minutes. Add carrots and curry powder, and continue to cook for ten minutes more, until the carrots just begin to soften. Add the mixture to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes and broth. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. (Slow cooker temperatures vary somewhat. If you’ve used yours, you’ll have some sense of how much time you need to a “hard” vegetable like a carrot. “High” in my slow cooker keeps the mixture at a slow simmer.)
Using a hand blender, purée the mixture. (Alternatively, you could do this in batches in either a blender or a food processor.) If it’s too thick, add more stock or water to thin. Bring back up to high heat before serving.
Stir in fresh basil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

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