Heirloom Kitchen

Christine Ilich lives in a beautiful cottage in Front Royal, VA. She graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City in 1995 and went on to work as a chef in several restaurants in Manhattan.  In 2001, she took a break from city life and moved to the countryside of Virginia, where local farms and orchards and her own garden inspired her to open Heirloom Kitchen in 2005. Since then she has brought her unique vegetarian soups and other seasonal offerings to local farmers markets - including both Bethesda and Mosaic Central Farm Markets!The majority of the ingredients that Christine uses in her soups come straight from her own garden (in the summer), and she picks up almost everything else at her visits to the market. Her garden was planted in 2003 and started with tomatoes, zucchinis, squash, herbs, peppers, and string beans. She has since expanded and now a variety of other seasonal produce is growing right outside her windows!All of the soups that Christine makes are vegan (with the exception of the summer beet borscht and the butternut squash soups). She isn’t vegan, or even vegetarian. In fact, Christine has a lot of secrets she uses to elevate her soups using meat, produce, and various other ingredients. This intrigued me so I decided to get creative with her and find some really fun ways to expand the flavors of some of her soups.The great thing about getting creative with different ingredients is that by adding just a few things, you can make a soup into a complete meal. Some of Christine’s “veggie-ful” soups don’t have a protein source, while others like Spanish Chickpea, Bermuda Red Bean, or Black Bean Chili do. Adding meat, egg, or other protein helps make these soups even more delicious!  Also, these additions are very easy to make ahead of time, which is great for people who take their lunch or dinner to work!The Chilled Beet Borscht is made with organic yogurt, garden fresh dill, and spring onions. Borscht is typically of Ukranian origin and is very popular in Eastern and Central European countries. Christine’s Borscht is pureed, which gives it a really rich texture that does very well on a hot day. I got some eggs from Liberty Delight Farms and hardboiled them and picked up some Half Sour Pickles from Number 1 Sons.* I diced up a hardboiled egg and very thinly sliced the pickles. Adding the egg to the Borscht created this amazingly creamy texture- with the sweetness of the soup and the tartness of the pickle, this meal creates a fabulous lunch for anyone.[*Eggs from Liberty Delight Farms are available at all three Central Farm Markets. Number 1 Sons is at Mosaic and Bethesda Central Farm Markets and DC Dills is at Pike Central Farm Market.]Another seasonal treat from Heirloom Kitchen is the Sweet Pea soup. Made with lemon and fresh mint, this tasty spring delicacy always sells out quickly! To enhance the outstanding fresh flavor of the soup, I diced a cucumber from Twin Springs Fruit Farm, sliced some Sun Sugar Tomatoes from Mock’s Greenhouse (my favorite tomatoes!), and chopped up some Fresh Peppermint from Spiral Path Farm.* After combining these ingredients, I sprinkled the mixture over the chilled Sweet Pea soup. This added texture, depth, and a fresh flavor that popped so wonderfully with every spoonful![*Both Twin Springs Fruit Farm and Mock’s Greenhouse are at all three Central Farm Markets. Spiral Path Farm is at Bethesda Central, but fresh mint can be found at many produce stands throughout all three markets.]I wanted my final soup experiment to include meat. Christine told me that she loves adding sausage to her soups. My roommate is in love with dishes made with coconut, so we’ve had the Thai Vegetable Coconut Curry soup many times. After some thought, it only made sense to include MeatCrafters’ Thai Chicken Sausage to this soup.* I cooked the sausage in a pan, then sliced it up and put the pieces back on the hot pan to give them a tasty, crispy edge. Add that to the Thai Veggie soup, with its delicious mix of seasonal veggies, and you’ve got yourself another great meal![*MeatCrafters has stands at all three Central Farm Markets.]Stop by Christine’s tents at Bethesda and Mosaic to check out what's new. Each week she makes delicious seasonal soups that exemplify what it means to turn farm market produce into an amazing product. But come early, she often sells out!For another post I’ve done using Christine as an inspiration, check out my recipe for Lentil and Farm Market Veggie Pot Pie!