Tortellini Soup

I took the leap! I decided to graduate from my Canon SD450


to a starter DSLR, a Nikon D3100.

*Note: both pictures were pulled from Google Images.

I'm determined to figure out how to take decent photos in manual mode, but feel like I'm near the bottom of a steep photography learning curve. I took a half day crash course and spent most of the time wide-eyed and overwhelmed. My new challenge is to figure out how to take photos in RAW format and then edit them to look good. Any tips on editing programs to use (ideally open source or not too expensive)?

I definitely notice a difference in the pictures I take with the DSLR. Not necessarily for the better as of yet. So, you'll just have to bare with me and the varied photo quality.

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I recently had a couple of friends over for dinner. I had been thinking about making this soup for a while and since the dinner was taking place on the same day as my photography course, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of preparation time. Annie's Eats is a really delightful foodblog that I've been following for a couple of years now.

Tortellini Soup
Annie's Eats


Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juices
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
9 oz. tortellini, any variety (fresh or frozen)
3 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely packed
Salt and pepper
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions:
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in the oregano and diced tomatoes. Add the broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the tortellini to the pot and cook according to the package directions. One minute before the tortellini is fully cooked, stir in the spinach. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with grated Parmesan as desired.

I highly recommend this soup. It's super easy to make and tastes great. I'd probably add more vegetable broth next time. Go take a look at Annie's version of the soup. It makes a better case for trying the recipe than my photo.

It has been forever since I've shared something with Presto Pasta Night, so I'm going to send this dish over to Chez Cayenne, who is hosting this week's event.

Although the soup could be a meal on its own, I decided to make a spanikopita, a recipe we've posted a couple of time on here.