Synopses & Reviews
To Brother Victor-Antoine, soup making is a spiritual exercise in which you consider food, health, and the meaning of creation. Twelve Months of Monastery Soups harks back to a simpler era, when people were in tune with seasonal harvests and the natural flavors of fresh, locally grown ingredients.
Presented in order of growing seasons, Brother Victor-Antoine's soups offer a succulent range of flavors -- refreshing Watercress Soup for spring; Gazpacho made with ripe tomatoes for summer; Pumpkin Soup, savory for autumn; and Saint Nicholas Soup, made with turnips, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage, for winter holidays.
In keeping with the monastic emphasis on frugality, the recipes, 75 percent of which are vegetarian, call for easy-to-find, affordable ingredients and include at least one recipe for every vegetable native to North America. From simple clear broths to veloutes, consommes, and thick, hearty soups, Twelve Months of Monastery Soups will appeal to every palate.
Synopsis
"Of soup and love, the first is best." Brother Victor-Antoine makes a passionate case for this Spanish proverb in Twelve Months of Monastery Soups, bringing easy, delicious, soul-satisfying soup recipes from the monastery to your kitchen. From simple, clear broths to thick, hearty soups, there's a recipe to appeal to every taste. Arranged by month with an eye toward seasonal variety and at least one recipe for every vegetable native to North America, the 175 soups include classic favorites such as Cream of Corn and Tomato and more unique recipes such as Jerusalem Artichoke, Provenþal Rainbow, and Danish Onion-Champagne. With inspirational quotes proclaiming the goodness of soup sprinkled throughout and beautiful period block prints, Twelve Months of Monastery Soups is a celebration of the art of soup-making.
About the Author
Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette is resident monk at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery near Millbrook, New York, a monastery that lives under the rule of St. Benedict. There he cooks and tends the garden that supplies both the monastery and the local farmers' market. He is the author of the bestselling From a Monastery Kitchen as well as This Good Food, Table Blessings, and A Monastic Year.