I sat down with my Moosewood Soups and Stews Deck of recipe cards looking for any soups I could find that I had at least most of the ingredients to complete. It was cold in Florida. I didn't want to leave the house. I was thrilled that this one even had sweet potatoes, which I love to squeeze into meals because of their food value.

It's a pretty straight forward and easy recipe. One potato, one sweet potato, one zucchini. What I did differently was to save time by simply mixing about 1/2-3/4 cup of salsa in the water instead of the tomatoes, onions, pepper, garlic, etc., that the recipe called for. I love recipes where salsa is the base! Especially when you have access to a good salsa.

This soup is one of few dishes that Paul and I couldn't agree on. I thought the soup might have needed a little extra salt. Paul thought it was too salty. But I hadn't added any extra salt. Was the salsa the culprit? We'll never know until I make it again exactly according to the recipe. With the chill, I suspect we'll have ample opportunity for a second taste.

There are many tortilla soup and corn chowder recipes out there. I highly recommend finding one you love and incorporating a little extra food value in the form of sweet potatoes and zucchini. It adds great color and doesn't mess with the flavor. Moreover, blending some of the sweet potatoes with the white potatoes yields a creamy soup, too.