[3] How about chicken noodle soup Asian-style, with ramen noodles and sliced chicken? You can use traditional American vegetables—celery, carrots, onions—and stock; or accent the stock with ginger, soy sauce, plus bok choy and napa cabbage. Here’s the recipe (photo © Recipe Tin Eats).

[3] Got glass mugs or Irish coffee glasses? Use them! Here’s the recipe (photo © A Family Feast).

[4] Here’s a twist: chicken-tomato soup with vegetables, topped with Chinese fried noodles (photo © Munchery).

If you haven’t made homemade soup, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is—especially a broth-based soup. Just add the ingredients to a pot of water or stock, bring to a boil and simmer. That’s it in a nutshell (with details depending on individual recipes).

We couldn’t decide which soup to make, so we turned to the numbers: America’s #1 favorite is chicken noodle soup.

Our grandmother made this classic comfort soup from scratch with fine egg noodles (photo #4). Our mom preferred wide egg noodles.

But why not have fun with it and use one of the many fun shapes: bowties, corkscrews, shells, wagon wheels, etc.?
 
 
ADD AT LEAST ONE GARNISH

Some garnishes—like cheese and sour cream—don’t work well with broth-type soups. But here’s what does—and you can add as many of them as you wish:

 
 
RECIPE: CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

We make our chicken soup from scratch (here’s a recipe), but you can do it faster with a box of chicken stock and pre-cooked chicken breasts.

We use lots of fresh dill and parsley in our stock, but some people prefer thyme.

Ingredients

 
Garnishes

Pick one or two; or set out several and let each person customize his/her own bowl of soup.

 
Here are garnishes for other types of soups.
 
Preparation

1. DICE the carrots and celery, slice the onions, mince the herbs and cook them all in the stock until the vegetables are al dente. If you’re using raw chicken breasts, add them as well. You can make the recipe up to this point in advance and refrigerate; first, remove the chicken breasts and tightly wrap them separately. When ready to serve…

2. COOK the noodles according to package instructions. While it cooks, dice, slice, or shred/pull the cooked chicken. Taste and add salt and pepper to the stock as desired.

3. PLACE the drained, cooked pasta and the chicken in serving bowls. Ladle the stock and vegetables over them. Garnish as desired.
 
 
BEYOND CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Check out our Soup Glossary for the different types of soups to make.

Have you ever roasted radishes? Few of us do; but like other root veggies, roasted vegetables can taste even more glorious than raw ones.

We liked this particular recipes for “Valentine veggies.” We adapted the recipe from Duda Fresh, using their Dandy Radishes.

We adapted this recipe from Duda Farm Fresh Foods of Florida, using their quality produce.

 
RECIPE: ROASTED RADISHES WITH ORANGE & ROSEMARY

Ingredients

 
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*Save the peel for drink garnishes. You can cut it into strips and freeze it. Alternatively, you can zest the peel and toss with the radishes and olive oil. You can also freeze extra zest.

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Line a baking pan with foil and set aside.

2. TOSS the radishes in a large bowl with the olive oil and rosemary. Place on the baking pan and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes until tender and lightly browned in spots.

3. REMOVE from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm with the orange slices.

 
MORE WAYS TO COOK RADISHES

You can cook radishes as you would cook any vegetable, with just about any technique.

 
12 MORE WAYS TO SERVE RADISHES

They’re great at breakfast, lunch and dinner. We haven’t figured out a radish dessert, yet.

Check ‘em out.

HOW TO USE RADISH GREENS (RADISH TOPS)

The green tops of root vegetables are edible—by humans as well as the bunnies and hamsters who love to nibble them.

We especially like beet, celery root, radish and turnip greens; and like the feathery carrot greens as garnish.

[1] Roasted radishes look like edible valentines (photo courtesy Duda Farm Fresh Foods). [2] Look for the freshest radishes, with green tops—and never buy the sad, peeled versions in cellophane (photo courtesy The Chef’s Garden). [3] Great with Bloody Marys and Martinis: radishes dipped in cultured butter and topped with a few flakes of crunchy sea salt (here’s the recipe; photo courtesy Vermont Creamery).

 
Go rad with new approaches to the radish.
  

[2] Create a twist with a channel peeler (photo © Two Tarts).

[3] Get yourself a channel peeler (photo © 1 Easylife | Amazon).

[4] You can knot a long strip of peel (photo © Bar Boulud | Boston).

Each weekend we try a different cocktail from the many recipes we receive.

This one from Tommy Bahama had previously caught our eye; and when we passed by a bottle of fresh-squeezed red grapefruit juice at our specialty produce store (and February is National Grapefruit Month), we knew it was time to try it.

Tommy Bahama calls this a Grapefruit Basil Martini, but allow us to offer a correction: A Martini is a savory drink, originally just gin and vermouth (here’s the history of the Martini).

You can tweak a Martini recipe while still retaining the savory character of the drink. There are Vodka Martinis, Dirty Martinis, dill martinis and a variety of garnishes, from the classics to the modern (like gherkins or pickled habaneros).

But adding juice and sugar to vodka does not make it a Martini. (Nor would substituting grapefruit juice for the tomato juice create a Grapefruit Bloody Mary, et cetera, et cetera and so forth).

So why do some call anything with vodka a Martini?

Because “Martini” is a familiar name and sells better than other descriptions. We like to keep the record straight (avoid alternative facts, as it were).
 
 
RECIPE: GRAPEFRUIT BASIL COCKTAIL

Ingredients Per Drink

________________

*You can substitute pink or white juice; but the redder, the better looking the drink.
________________
 
For The Simple Syrup

You can purchase simple syrup; but it is so easy to make. Why spend $7.00 and up for a bottle?

For other cocktails, you can infuse the simple syrup with whatever flavor you’d like: ginger, habanero, fruit, lavender, rose, vanilla, etc.

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the simple syrup. Combine the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to boil and simmer until the sugar is fully dissolved, stirring frequently. Set aside to cool, 20 minutes or more. Strain out the flavoring and keep in the fridge in a lidded jar. The syrup can be made up to two weeks in advance.

2. PREPARE the cocktail. Muddle a large basil leaf with simple syrup in a mixing glass. Add the remaining ingredients and the ice. Shake well until chilled.

3. STRAIN into a glass and garnish with a fresh basil leaf and or grapefruit peel.
 
 
HOW TO MAKE A GRAPEFRUIT PEEL TWIST

This works for any citrus fruit. All you need is a channel peeler.

1. SCRUB the fruit to remove any pesticides. Using the channel peeler, cut a spiral around the top of the fruit, trying to avoid the bitter white pith.

TIP: At this point you can take the peel and rub it along the rim of the glass. This touch of citrus oil on the rim is particularly effective for drinks such as the martini or other less fruity cocktails. Thanks to Two Tarts for this tip.

2. WRAP the strip of peel in a tight spiral around your finger or a round kitchen implement (like the handle of a spatula). Hold it for a few seconds; then place it onto your cocktail.
 
> Here are more ways to use the peel.

> Here’s a recipe for candied grapefruit or other citrus peel.

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