Fall had decided to show it’s presence earlier this week, and I was torn between roasted root veggies and soup.  Then I thought, “Why not have both?”

Thus, this soup was born.

There is a lot of yummy flavor in here – a special sweetness that comes from the roasted veggies and the herbs.  If you or someone you know is feeling under the weather, make some of this.

Ingredients:

• 1 small-medium purple sweet onion
• 4 cloves garlic – diced
• 5 small potatoes
• 4 med-small carrots
• 1 2-inch long radish
• 1 small kohlrabi
• 1 zucchini
• olive oil
• dash of salt
• sprinkling of cracked black pepper
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1.2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a 9×13″ pan or a shallow corningware baking dish.  Peel and chop the potatoes, carrots, zucchini and kohlrabi, and cut the onion in to chunks.  Slice the radish.  Pile all of these into the baking dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pour in the apple cider and vinegar.  Cover loosely with foil.

Bake this in the oven at 350F until the veggies begin to caramelize, about 1-1/2 hours.

This can be done a day or so in advance.

• olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 chicken breasts or 6 chicken tenders
• 1 carton chicken broth
• 1-4″ sprig rosemary – minced
• sage – crushed
• 2-3 cups cooked brown rice

In a dutch oven, drizzle olive oil in the bottom and cook the onions and garlic until translucent.  Brown the chicken and cut into bite-sized chunks.  Add the roasted veggies, rice and chicken broth.  If you need more liquid, you can add some water or more broth.  Add the rosemary and sage to taste, and let it cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes to give the flavors a chance to blend

Serve with thick-cut bread.

This is a thick, hearty stew when it’s all said and done.  The rice absorbs some of the broth, so if you are planning on leftovers, you may need to add more broth the next day.  You can also use barley in place of the rice.  It’s also a great way to hide some veggies from your kids!  If you chop them very fine, you can sneak the zucchini and kohlrabi in without any questions.  Or leave the chicken out and use veggie broth for a vegan stew that is sure to satisfy.