Children's Eco Programs

There’s nothing like a nice hot bowl of soup to warm you up after a chilly day outside.  Whether you’re cleaning up the garden or going for a hike through one of our amazing parks here in Toronto … a big bowl of soup, ready when you get home, is the perfect way to finish your day!

There are so many variations on the soup theme that it can be tough to decide which soup to make.  Some of our favourites here at the Children’s Garden include Coconut Curry Squash Soup and just about anything with noodles 🙂  Soups are also a great way to eat more vegetables!  You can even throw a handful of greens into most soups to boost their nutrition factor!

Another great reason to make soup is because you’ve got an over abundance of one or two types of veggies from your garden.  The one we often have tonnes of is Tomatillios!  If even just one of those little darlings falls into the garden and sits forgotten until next spring … you’re guaranteed hundreds of little tomatillio plants popping up everywhere.

So here’s a great recipe for Tomatillo Soup (which some may insist is Chilli) that we like to make for our Harvest Fest:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 ¼ pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped
½ cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 19-ounce can beans (White, Romano, Black or other type), drained and rinsed or 2 ½ cups cooked beans (approximately 1 ½ cups dried)
1 cup of corn kernels (fresh from the cob or frozen)
1-2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup green beans, roughly chopped
1 cup vegetable broth (or more as needed)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil in small Dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapenos and cook until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add tomatillos, cilantro, beans, corn, zucchini, green beans and broth. Simmer chili until vegetables are cooked and tomatillos are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serves 6-8.