I love this cool winter weather!

Cooking when the weather is chilly and blustery seems almost effortless to me.

I love soup for its simplicity and flexibility. It really is hard to mess up a soup. Here is a great one to start with. This soup is easy and everyone that tastes it will ask you for your recipe.

Just tell your friends and family that this soup was just something you threw together at the last minute.

It will be our little secret!

Printer-friendly recipe 

Sausage and Sweet Potato Soup

Saute your onions and garlic. Remove from the pan. Brown the sausage in the pan. Remove and drain the sausage on paper towels.

Place the chicken stock in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are soft. Toss in the sausage, onions and garlic.

Give it a good rolling boil to marry the flavors, and then reduce to a simmer for 45 minutes or so.

Just before serving toss in the spinach. [/print]

YUM!

Andrea Charroin was a trained baker and pastry chef in San Francisco before she, her husband Westley, and their two sons moved to Redding nine years ago. After falling in love with Redding’s downtown, Andrea and Westley opened a little pastry shop, Rene-Joule Patisserie, across from the Cascade Theatre. For the three years Rene-Joule was in business, it was renowned for making everything from scratch, using the best ingredients and keeping with a seasonal menu. To this day, Andrea is still asked about her Marathon Bars, Orange Twists and sourdough bread.