ecoLIVING London

Have you gotten your hands on the 2012 Foodland Ontario Calendar yet? I hope so! It really looks awesome this year; partly due to the fact that the pictures (front & back covers) were photographed by Jesse from another blog that I follow called 'Crackers - A Homemade Blog'. Here's a link to their post showing how/where the pictures were taken.

Last year I blogged my way through all 12 of the recipes in the calendar and I plan to do the same again this year. There are a few recipes that I'm looking forward to making; like Fresh Greenhouse Pizza (April), Strawberry Breakfast Parfait (June), Grilled Lamb Chops with Peach Mint Salsa (August), and Steamed Apple Maple Pudding (December).

Here's the first recipe of the year - Turkey Pasta Soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 Ontario onion, diced
2 each Ontario Carrots and Parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1 clove Ontario garlic, minced
1 cup sliced Ontario mushrooms
8 cups sodium-reduced organic chicken broth
2 cups diced cooked Ontario turkey
1 cup alphabet pasta or thin noodles (optional)
1/4 tsp dried thyme pinch pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

Luckily I did remember to freeze some of my leftover turkey from Christmas dinner for this recipe. Chicken could easily replace the turkey, however (obviously).

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, carrots, parsnips and garlic; cook, stirring, until vegetables are slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms for 1 minute.

Add broth, turkey, pasta, thyme and pepper; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

The soup was really good. Honestly though, you just can't go wrong with soup; it's a great way to use up leftovers, it's easy to make, and it's so comforting on a cold winter day.

Next month's recipe for February will be a Pork & Vegetable Stovetop Stew. If you wish to view the online version of the calendar you may access it here.

**If you'd like to view my blog entries for last year's calendar following this link. 

Dallas Rocheleau lives in London, Ontario and has been blogging about local eating since 2009. She sources out local foods from the Southwestern Ontario region and loves to spend time in the kitchen making seasonal recipes. She also avoids buying processed foods and tries to replicate common grocery store foods at home from scratch. Her blog can be found here.