Cote d’Azur Cure-All Soup (Garlic Soup)

Today is day five of snow(ice)apocalypse in the Atlanta area, but heh, who’s counting?  We’ve only been stuck in our houses since Sunday and today is Thursday.  No problem!  I’m getting used to it.  I tried to leave the house today only to be met by six inches of ice, so forget about that.  I went back in and chatted with friends and fellow food bloggers on the phone all day!

Well, I don’t know what you have been up to over the past week (so I hope you will share with me in the comment section!), however, I can tell you that I have been purging cleaning out drawers and closets.  (That was before all the chatting on the phone stuff!)  It is an invigorating experience to get rid of garbage things you have been holding onto hoarding for years!

I decided after yesterday afternoon that I better get back in the kitchen and out of the closet (not literally) because this little storm has become very expensive!  I now am in the market for new cosmetics, pj’s and socks since I have thrown all of mine away!

Since I was heading back into the kitchen for a change of scenery, I wanted to make this garlic soup or Cote d’ Azur Cure-All Soup (from Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table) with some of the organic garlic that I won from the giveaway at Love and Olive Oil and Singer Farm Naturals.  Besides being able to use lots of my garlic in the recipe, the title said it “cured all”, so I am figuring it takes care of my boredom, too….?

Lots of garlic for me to play with!

I have thoroughly been enjoying my garlic!  I have baked it, preserved some, cooked with it (in pasta, stews, sauces) and have actually eaten it almost raw (with just a quick warming up in the pan). I had to try the different varieties!  Mr. Bunkycooks hasn’t run away from me yet, but I suppose we’ll have to see what happens after eating this soup!

I decided to call Singer Farm Naturals to ask about proper long-term storage for their garlic since I had quite a bit of it.  Tom, the owner,  also told me some interesting facts about garlic.

Garlic is known for many health benefits (when properly used), such as treating the common cold, hypertension, infection and even certain cancers.  The cloves contain an enzyme (allinase) that once disturbed by chopping or mincing, releases another chemical version of that enzyme called allicin.

This soup is so easy to make!

In order to get the most health benefits from allicin, you need to use the garlic as quickly as possible (within three hours of chopping it) and not heat the garlic at high temperatures or cook for too long.  Allicin is the enzyme that offers such great health benefits.

Of course, Basil Pesto and Pasta was supposed to be on the menu for dinner this evening (a great healthy use of garlic), but the store didn’t have fresh basil.  In fact, they didn’t have much of anything in the produce department here in Atlanta!

Looking for dairy products? You won’t find them in Atlanta this week!

Basil or veggies…forget about it!

Well, I have lots more garlic (thanks to the giveaway) and will continue to enjoy it and make that pesto once our stores are stocked with food again!

We have learned one thing for sure after this snowpocalypse, one can never have too much food or good wine stashed in their home!  Of course, we knew this to be true, but now we really know why!!

Now for the giveaway, Tom at Singer Natural Farms has offered to do it one more time and send out a goodie package of some of their organic garlic to one of my readers.  I know that some of you were disappointed that you didn’t win before, so here’s your chance to try to win again!

This is a quick giveaway, so hurry up and enter below!  A winner will be chosen this Sunday, January 16th.

Here is how you enter:

***THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED***

Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would like to make with some of this organic garlic!

Extra Entries:
Here are a few more ways that you can enter.

1. Follow @bunkycooks on Twitter. Leave a comment here indicating that you are now a follower. If you are already a follower, you can leave a comment saying you are.

2. Become a fan of Bunkycooks on Facebook. Leave a comment here indicating you are now a fan. If you are already a fan, you can leave a comment saying you are.

*** Please be sure to leave separate comments as they are easier to count! Thank you!

I will be using random.org to pick the winner.
This giveaway ends at 5 pm EST on Sunday, January 16th.

I will notify the winner by email. Please get back to me with your shipping information within 48 hours.  Regretfully, this can only be shipped to a winner in the U.S.

Notes on the soup: The soup was wonderful!  I was so surprised at the flavors from just a few simple ingredients and such an easy recipe.  It just goes to show you, that delicious and beautiful food does not need to be complicated!

I did use half Swanson’s low-sodium chicken broth and half water (as suggested in the recipe), a good Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and I chose to make the soup with Singer Farm Natural’s Nootka Rose Garlic.

I did not post the recipe out of courtesy to the author, Dorie Greenspan, and the fact that the cookbook is so new (Around My French Table).  I suggest you buy a copy so that you can try some of these wonderful recipes yourself.

By the way, Mr Bunkycooks gave this soup a major thumbs up!  He is still here, so I guess I passed the garlic breath test! 😉

This soup is beautiful and truly delicious!