Fall Harvest Soup

This picture was posted alongside our lasagna roll-ups awhile back. I'm posting the recipe as I made it, although I would make some changes to this the next time around.

The good things about this soup:
1. Other than the chopping, it's a fairly hands-off meal.
2. This is a great way to use up some of your fall vegetables and fruit, without having to use all of anything - it just requires a few of each thing.
3. This is a big match, giving you a healthy dose of fruit and veg for a week.

The not-fave things about this soup:
1. The apples I chose were a bit too sweet, making this soup better as a side or a small lunch. The sweeter the apple, the sweeter the soup (although maybe that's what you dig?)
2. This had a tangy-sweet combo that was delicious for the first five bites but was a bit too much once bite six came along. I'd take it easy on the combination of balsamic vinegar, white wine and apples. A simple change in wine and apples would even make a difference.

All in all, I'd hands down make this again. I'd just experiment a little bit with the ingredients. For example: if you like yams more than parsnips, make more of one and less of the other! I personally like more of a spice taste so I'd go with more masala and less acidic things the next time around.

Enjoy! Now that I've ventured (timidly) into the world of soups, I highly recommend having fun with it. It's extremely easy to do when using the crockpot.

Fall Harvest Soup
A la Allie's Kitchen

Note: these are approximations. I had fun throwing things in the pot this time around.
4 tsp of olive oil
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 small parsnips, diced
2 apples, diced
1 1/2 cups of leeks, diced
1/2 tsp ginger
2 tsp of masala
3 tbsp of white wine
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
4 cups of broth (I used vegetable bouillon and water)


In a pan, heat oil and add sweet potato, carrot, leek and apple. Heat for 5 minutes then dump in the slow cooker. Stir in ginger, masala, wine and vinegar. Add broth. Cook for 5 - 6 hours on low.

Use an immersion blender (thanks to Gram for this gift!) or a regular blender in batches, if need be. Blend away. Top with croutons and tortillas if you have any and serve.