I spent most of today in a fog because I had a really bad headache. Maybe because it’s been so warm? Or because a front is coming in tomorrow? Not sure. I was hoping lunch would help relieve the pain, but it unfortunately didn’t.

It was tasty though! :)

I had 1/2 piece of leftover chicken and used it to make a sandwich.

For condiments I used Dijon mustard and wasabi mustard (this stuff is spicy!)

And in addition to the chicken there was spinach, avocado, and feta. Tasty.

On the side I had some cheesy poofs.

Oops! I mean cheese puffs :)

  I’m sure they were just as good as cheesy poofs.

They were very light & airy, and if I didn’t portion them out on my plate I would have eaten half the bag!

I also had a side of red grapes.

  To help whiten my teeth :)

This was just the right amount of food to fill me up.

I had every intention of doing an interval run this evening, but my headache foiled those plans :( Instead I left work early and shut my eyes for an hour.

I was feeling well enough to try a new recipe tonight though! I made Tuscan-Style Potato Soup.

I found this recipe in October’s Cooking Light magazine.

It was the 3 steps to healthy creamy soups that caught my eye.

Those steps are:

1. Frame the Foundation – Begin by sautéing aromatic ingredients in olive oil. This step coaxes the most flavor from pungent onions and garlic, and provides the building blocks for the soups.
2. Simmer Until Soft – Next, add your star veggies – starches like potatoes or dried beans are popular, but most any vegetables work. Finally, add broth or other liquid, season, and simmer until tender.
3. Puree – The hallmark of a creamy soup is the smooth texture, so once the veggies are cooked, puree them. Blenders, food processors, food mills, or immersion blenders can do the trick, but the ingredients determine the tool.

Per usual, I made a few minor adjustments to the recipe.

Here’s the recipe with my changes.

Ingredients

• 2  heads garlic
• 2 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided
• 2  cups  finely chopped onion, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 2 1/4  pounds  cubed peeled Yukon gold potato (about 6 cups)
• 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1  cup  half-and-half
• 4  ounces  pecorino Romano cheese, divided
• 6  ounces  hot Italian sausage, casings removed – I did not use
• 1  ounce  pancetta, finely chopped
• 1  cup  chopped kale – I did not use
• 1/4  cup  fresh sage leaves – I did not use
• 2  tablespoons  pine nuts, toasted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cut off pointed end of each garlic head to partially reveal cloves (do not peel or separate the cloves); place each head in the center of a small sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon oil over each head; wrap each in foil. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Squeeze to extract pulp; discard skins.

3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups onion; sauté 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in pepper, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and potato; sauté 2 minutes. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally. Place a food mill over a large bowl; pour potato mixture and garlic pulp into food mill. Press mixture through food mill; return mixture to pan. Stir in half-and-half. Finely grate 2 ounces cheese to yield 1/2 cup; stir into soup. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

4. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup onion; sauté for 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt, sausage, and pancetta; cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble sausage.

5. Cook kale in boiling water for 4 minutes; strain through a sieve over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Grate 1 ounce cheese. Combine kale, reserved cooking liquid, grated cheese, sage, and nuts in a food processor; process until finely ground. With processor on, gradually add 1 tablespoon oil through food chute, processing until combined. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls; top each serving with 3 tablespoons sausage mixture. Drizzle each serving with about 4 teaspoons kale mixture; shave remaining 1 ounce cheese evenly over soup.

Yields 6 servings.

I didn’t have any sausage or kale, so I just opted to sauté the onions and pancetta and add that as a topping, in addition to the toasted pine nuts.

And clearly I had to add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper to give it a kick :)

I think it still worked out well and I give this soup a two thumbs up!

I even used some leftover flax bran bread for dipping :)

Sooooo good.

I love creamy soups, but tend to shy away from them at restaurants because they’re usually made with tons of cream and thus are high in calories (I never turn down a good ol’ bowl of clam chowder though!) so I usually go with a broth based soup.

But I loved Cooking Light’s 3 steps to a healthy creamy soup and will now make creamy soups more often!

Do you prefer a cream based soup or a broth based soup?