The leaves are changing, the sky is cloudy and rain pitter-patters outside on the pavement. It’s decidedly fall and perfect weather for soup. It’s a shame that Matt doesn’t like soup as much as I do, but it’s probably a good thing since I am not amazing at making it. I’m good, not amazing. I like to try different recipes + combinations when it comes to soup, but he makes the best soup in our house, and one of my absolute favorites: chicken noodle (with homemade noodles). Now that soup is the ultimate comfort food, sure to cheer me up out of any bad mood and especially delicious on a cold winter day.

I went a little crazy last year with pumpkin, carrot, and squash varieties of soup and had a few winning recipes out of the bunch but of course I didn’t write them down so I have no idea what I used and what worked. I made the first soup of the fall (I backed off a bit this year thinking of Matt) and it was a roasted red pepper and corn chowder. It was based mainly off of this recipe, and I give my version an A- in my book. What saved it was the red chili powder I threw in courtesy of my cousin Joanna (thanks Joanna) but the lower grade was due to the effect it had on me – maybe I ate too much of it at once. Of course once again I didn’t write down my exact variation so I encourage you to read the recipe and adjust as needed to make up your own. Now the homemade bagels Matt made the very same Sunday afternoon were the perfect accompaniment to my soup. We have made bagels before – but never from the highly recommended recipe on the sophisticated gourmet. They came out well, and since you already know I fall in love easily with anything made from scratch, they were a hit in my book. I don’t think ours look quite as good as tsg’s but matt shaped the bagels and no offense, but I think I can do a better job. I will have to try and find out!

We worked side by side in the kitchen and spent some time together which these days is somewhat rare. I have started to wind down from my busiest season but of course that is when Matt has the most going on. We love to enjoy good food together, and since we live in the country we have been forced cook our own since there aren’t options to go out to. In other cooking news this year we are going to host Thanksgiving so it’s time to start recipe planning! I’d love to hear your favorite Thanksgiving dishes + especially your best soups for this season. Until then have a great weekend + if you’re feeling ambitious try making some bagels, I highly recommend them.