I made up this recipe last night and was thrilled to bits with it.  Seriously delicious!  It's filling but not heavy.  And simple.  Though I will admit, if you are not a fast chopper, it takes time.  I am not a fast chopper.  But the flavors are so good that it's worth a little extra time to chop chop chop.  This recipe is completely gluten free, dairy free and soy free.  And it can certainly be made 100% organic.  Mine was only about 50% organic. 

Apple Chicken Leek Soup

Ingredients:
* 1 medium onion, sliced thin
* 2 -3 tablespoons EVOO
* 2 leeks, washed well and chopped
* 4 large apples (or 8 small), peeled and cubed
* 2 chicken breasts, cubed
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 8 cups water
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* 1/4 cup applesauce
* 1/2 a lemon, juiced
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger


Directions:
1.  Saute sliced onion in EVOO. 






2. Chop the root end and the green top off the leeks.  Slice length-wise down the middle.  Chop the half moons into fairly thin slices.  Place in colander and wash very well.  Like, really really well.  They will be full of dirt and no one wants that in a soup.




3. Toss the cleaned and sliced leeks into the pot with the onions to saute.

4. Peel and chop apples.  I told you yesterday how much I dislike doing this so you should know that it is totally worth it if I put for the effort.  Small one inch cubes.  Toss them in the big pot too.

5. Cut up the chicken breasts, removing any fat.  Add it to the big pot. 

6.  Add the garlic.  I keep a jar of minced garlic in my fridge at all times but use whatever you have on hand.

7.  Salt and pepper your veggies and meat.  You might need to add more later but get them all seasoned a bit now.

8.  Add in water, maple syrup**, applesauce, nutmeg, ginger and lemon juice.

Do you grate your own nutmeg?  If not, you should!  There really is a world of difference in freshly grated nutmeg.  You can pick up a little mini grater thingy like this at any grocery or kitchen store.  I add nutmeg to all sorts of sweet and savory dishes.




9.  Now that everything is in the big pot, double check for salt and pepper.  You might need more.  Let it simmer on medium for at least an hour.  The flavors change and it gets a bit of thickness to it. 




Serve hot with a salad and fresh bread (which is clearly not GF- I will attempt to bake GF bread next week.).




** Maple syrup needs to be real maple syrup.  Not the "breakfast syrup" sold for use on pancakes.  That pancake stuff is made from high fructose corn syrup, fake flavors, fake colors, and chemicals.  Maple syrup is tree sap.  Nothing added.  Actually, water is boiled out.  If you don't have maple syrup on hand, try adding extra applesauce instead.

I cannot even express how surprisingly (because I made it up- one never knows just how well experiments will turn out) fantastic this soup is!  Very low fat and full of flavor.  Oh and your house will smell amazing.  Nothing says fall like a big pot of soup!