What's Cookin' Good Lookin'? Recipe Round-up: Soup's On!

Even though I can see and feel the many signs of Spring as the days grow longer, the breezes are warmer, and crocuses peak through the soil in my future front yard garden plots, I still feel very drawn to soups and stews. Granted, I am one of those folks who drinks hot coffee or tea in the dog days of August, so eating soups year round should come as no surprise. Still, there is something very satisfying about watching, smelling, and tasting a variety of common ingredients come to life in one big pot! So when I posted a desperate plea for dinner inspiration on Thursday evening, I was immediately excited to see a suggestion for Tomato & Spinach soup.
I probably should fess up to taking all recipes with a grain of salt (pun intended). I used to be so reliant on recipes--and the same rotational flow of just a few tried and true ones, for that matter. I knew they worked, I knew I liked them, and I knew I preferred eating recipes that worked and that I liked. Cutting gluten out of my diet made that a thing of the past rather quickly. My usual staples (pasta, bread, pasta, flour, pasta, couscous, pasta, pasta, pasta) were not so easy to come by anymore if I didn't want to spend a fortune on gluten-free alternatives. Additionally, processed foods, packaged foods, and pretty much anything in a bottle, jar, etc., that uses any kind of preservative is often something I cannot eat due to my gluten intolerance. At first, my culinary repertoire shrunk to devastating proportions, but I soon realized the value in the concept of "less-is-more," and rather than feeling stifled by restrictions, I feel enhanced with opportunity for more creative cooking! For the first time, I realized vegetables, meats, rices, and other whole foods actually have a flavor of their own. Cooking became more about enhancing that flavor with spices, non-grain vinegars, and herbs--and less about trying to hide all the ingredients under a pile of sauce.
So, back to the soup before I boil over with gluten-full stories here...
I loved the idea of a tomato-based soup and was already picking up spinach for a strawberry & spinach salad. The original recipe called for barley, which I decided to replace with rice. I also used only canned tomatoes for the soup and no fresh ones as the recipe requested.
Go ahead, gasp in disgust! But have you seen the price on tomatoes this time of year? Plus, they taste like tomato-textured balls of water! Additionally, canned tomato products actually have more nutritional benefit as the antioxidants in the tomatoes become more concentrated. So, here's (more or less) what I did:
I started off sauteing a medium diced onion, a couple stalks of diced celery, a couple diced carrots and about 3 cloves minced garlic in some extra virgin olive oil. My friend's recipe doesn't have you add the spinach until the end and she suggested using frozen spinach since it cooks up so nicely. Since I was using fresh, I decided to throw it in before adding liquids so it would wilt a bit.
I added a large can of petite diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato sauce, an undisclosed amount of ketchup (the original recipe called for ketchup--see, I do follow some directions!), and about a cup of water.
The recipe my friend shared called for squash and yellow squash and zucchini were on sale, so I used quite a bit. I added this to the pot and half a cup of instant brown rice. I added Italian seasoning, additional dried basil, oregano, and parsley, some onion powder, garlic powder, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. I measured nothing. Then I added a bay leaf and hoped I'd find it again before accidentally ingesting it.* I brought it all to a gentle boil and then let it simmer for a bit longer on low heat while I washed dishes.

There ya have it: Tomato, Spinach & Rice Soup with a Whole Bunch of Other Veggies and Ingredients...
And, it was Delish! I sprinkled on some shredded Parmesan cheese and a dash more parsley. And the best part has been the leftovers. Soups have an amazing ability to become even better the next day and in the days to follow (if it lasts that long). So, soup's on!

Bon apetit!

*Good news! After much searching, giving up and hoping for the best, I found my bay leaf 3 days later before enjoying some delicious leftovers!