Cooking Soup to Nuts (And Enter to Win A Cookbook)

by Nafeisa Shukair-Farley

Soup is a necessity for our soul.  It warms us when we are cold, soothes us when we are sick and creates a meal when only food odds and ends are available.  We throw stuff into a pot, add broth and a boil with a simmer later, soups on! My love for soup brought me to local Chef Becky Foulk and her cookbook, “Cooking Soup to Nuts.”

Normally Crave guides you to the best restaurants in Dallas but this time, we are in Chef Becky’s home kitchen to talk soup, make soup and most importantly, eat soup.  We also discussed her cookbook and the inspiration behind it.

As I sat in Chef Becky’s kitchen and admired her original easy bake oven, I immediately realized I was in for a wonderful evening of learning and eating when Chef announced she was making Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Bisque.  She began peeling the eggplant and shared her journey of writing the cookbook.

Chef loved cooking and freezing soup for her Mom to make sure she always had good healthy food to eat.  When her Mom passed away, Chef began writing the cookbook as “soup therapy” to help fill the void in her heart.  While Chef cut and seasoned the eggplant, tomatoes and onions then put them in the oven for roasting, she describe how she wrote the cookbook as a meal guide. Each soup recipe is accompanied with recipes for side dishes which complement the soup and creates a full meal.

Once the veggies were roasted, Chef added them to a big soup pan, added the other ingredients and blended everything using a burr mixer.  I asked her what every kitchen should have and she replied “Always have a good knife, a zester and a burr mixer.

Chef makes me a bowl of the bisque with a side of parmesan cheese bread and as I slurp my bisque (yes I slurped Chef shared another tip, “Take a recipe, add your flavor with bits and pieces and the recipe will now be your own.”

Cooking Soup to Nuts is more than a cookbook, it is a meal guide with over 60 soup recipes to mix and match with salads and sandwiches. The book explains techniques to cutting veggies, freezing soup and helpful tips that makes cooking fun and easy.  There are even recipes for ice cream toppings and roasted nuts. Click here for more information on Chef Becky and the cookbook. 

Cooking Soup to Nuts serves more than therapy for Chef, it provides a way to raise money and awareness for Camp I-Thonka-Chi at Parkland Hospital.  Chef, a burn survivor, supports the camp with proceeds from the cookbook sales.

Exclusive offer for Crave readers.  Chef Becky provided a cookbook for a Crave giveaway.  Comment, like, and share this article to be entered for a chance to win.