Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Pepper Soup

Fall time- the leaves do their yearly dance with the wind, one last show before winter sets in. I think it's my favorite season! I know it can get cold and rainy. But imagine curling up on the couch, looking out over tree tops at dusk with the fading sunlight reflecting off the puddles of water, washing all those turned leaves in a shimmer of gold.

Are you still with me?

Last week we bought this beautiful butternut squash from our local farmer's market. I wanted to saute it in oodles of butter and eat as-is. Thankfully, good sense prevailed and I decided on a healthier soup. I still couldn't get the taste of butter out of my head so I decided to roast the squash with a thin rub of ghee (clarified butter) and salt. While I was at it, the 2 ripe red peppers in the fridge called out to me. I had a little extra 'rub' left, so I tossed them into the oven as well. The resulting roasted pieces were good enough to eat. But no! Off they went into the blender to become a satisfying soup that is very filling. I would serve this with a few crackers and not much else- it's a meal on it's own!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (Roasting time: 1 hour)
Serves: 6-8 as a side

Ingredients:
2 large red peppers
1 medium-large butternut squash
1 can lite coconut milk
3 cups broth

1 tbsp of your favorite curry paste (I used panang curry paste. Use more or less depending on your 'heat' tolerance levels)
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp ghee (melted butter works fine too)- use coconut oil for Vegan
Salt/Pepper to taste

Garnish
Pumpkin seeds/Pine nuts
Yogurt-exclude this for vegan
Cilantro (optional)

Roast the veggies:
Preheat the oven to 375F
Peel and chop the butternut squash in half. Remove the seeds and cut into quarters.
Wash and chop the red pepper in half. Remove the seeds.
Mix the ghee with the cumin. Brush/rub this over the veggies.
Place the veggies on a roasting pan face down and roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
Remove from the oven and bring to room temperature
Blend the veggies to a paste with a little water if needed.

Soup's On!
Heat the coconut milk on medium-high until hot. Stir in the curry paste. Add the broth and stir well.
Stir in the blended, roasted veggies and season with salt/pepper to taste

Serve with a dollop of yogurt and garnished with pumpkin seeds and cilantro (optional)

Tomato Soup with Caramelized Onion and Mint

I was craving a roasted tomato soup. Roasting adds a fullness and depth that you just cant get without the time spent in the oven. But it was not to be since I did not have whole tomatoes that I could roast. I did have some beautiful red onion though which I caramelized in my heavy dutch oven along with some dried red chili flakes and garlic. A handful of mint brings out the freshness of the tomatoes and highlights the tartness wonderfully.

The end result is a full bodied soup that's sweet, hot and fresh! I served this up with some fresh  crusty garlic bread broiled with some mild cheddar for a couple minutes- yumm!

Prep Time: 1 hour
Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1 large can plum tomatoes (About 3 cups of tomatoes)
1 large red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp, Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup fresh mint leaves, washed
Feta cheese for garnish.

Heat a heavy pot on medium high and add the olive oil, garlic and chili flakes. Saute for a couple minutes.
Add the onions, a pinch of salt and the sugar. Stir.
Let the onions caramelize, stir frequently. This should take about 20-30 minutes
Add the tomatoes and heat through for about 5 minutes covered.
Puree the mixture in a blender and transfer back to the pot.
Mix in the salt and mint. Heat for a couple more minutes and serve with some feta cheese on top.

Rustic Tomato Soup with Cannelini Beans

Every dish has a story. This one began with a cool fall evening and 2 tired souls!


Soup is perfect for a cold, fall evening. This one was a meal-in-a-pot and very hearty served up with warm crusty bread and a splash of good olive oil. (I used some lemon infused olive oil)

Serves 4
Preparation time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 large tomatoes, chopped roughly (or a large can of tomatoes- crushed or diced)
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large yellow squash, diced
1 can cannellini or pinto beans, rinsed
2 cups broth
1/2 cup milk (for vegan option, use almond milk)
*1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp fresh rosemary (and extra for garnish)

1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp paprika (or to taste)
1 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)

Salt, to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper, garnish

Method

Heat a heavy pot on medium with the olive oil
Add the onions and garlic, saute until soft
Add the coriander powder, paprika and red pepper and stir until fragrant
Add the squash, tomatoes and basil. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are squishy

Turn off the heat and use a hand blender to puree the vegetables roughly. (For a more rustic soup, don't puree until completely smooth) If you don't have a hand blender, transfer to a regular blender and pulse a couple times until desired consistency is achieved.
Transfer mixture back to the pot, add the broth and cook on medium heat
Whisk the flour and milk in a small bowl and slowly whisk this mixture into the soup. Whisk until you see no floury lumps
Season with salt to taste
Add the beans to the soup
Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes (this is to allow the soup to thicken and cook the flour)
Turn off the heat and add the rosemary to the hot soup just before serving

Serve with fresh cracked pepper, rosemary leaves or a chiffonade of basil and a splash of good olive oil. This soup tastes amazing with a side of warm, crusty bread.

* The flour and milk mixture is equivalent to adding cream to the soup. It does the same thing- thicken the soup. I used flour and milk as a healthier alternative. You could also try using coconut milk instead (1/2 cup) But remember to cook on low heat after adding the coconut milk, else the soup will separate.

Split Pea & Ginger Soup

The sniffles brought out the creative genius in me. :) I was looking for a 2-in-1 hearty soup that could:
1. Battle a cold
2. Fill my (bottomless) stomach

I think I achieved just that with this hearty soup.

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups carrots, chopped
*2 inch stick fresh ginger, chopped
*4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup green split peas, washed
4 cups vegetable stock (Click on the link for a home made stock recipe)
*1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 cups chopped cilantro
*2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste

Boil the split peas in about 4 cups of water until cooked. (I use a rice cooker and about 2 cups of water to do this)

Saute the onions, ginger and garlic in 1 tbsp of olive oil for a couple minutes.
Add the spices and stir for a couple minutes
Add the tomatoes and carrots, saute for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat
Add in the cooked split peas and mix well.
Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.
Heat the stock in a pot and mix in the puree
Add salt to taste
Stir in the cilantro and heat through
Stir in the lemon juice.

Serve with a dollop of yogurt or feta cheese and some *fresh cracked black pepper.

*Natural cold-fighting super foods!

Tomato Bisque

We had the post-lovely-weekend blues and needed some comfort food. It was a chilly Seattle evening so I decided to make soup, tomato soup.

Usually the only soups I like are wonton style clear soups but that was hardly going to satisfy us so I decided to try to replicate the tomato bisque we’d had just days ago.

It turned out so hearty and comforting ...

Ingredients:

1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
1 large clove of garlic
1 spring onion
10 basil leaves
2 cups tomatoes (peeled, canned kind)
2 cups vegetable broth (Click here for a home made stock recipe)
½ cup cream

Paprika
Salt
Pepper
2 tbs wheat flour
1 bay leaf
2 tsps rosemary/thyme/herbs De Provence (any one)

Chop the onion, and sauté in some olive oil or butter
Chop the carrots and garlic, add to the onions and sauté
Add the bayleaf and herbs
Whisk the flour into the broth and pour into the onion/veggie mixture
Let it boil and remove the bay leaf
Add the tomatoes and heat through
Puree the entire mixture (if you like it a little chunky, use a hand blender!)
Add the cream and heat if needed.

Season with salt, pepper and chopped basil leaves. Garnish with spring onions.

(The soup tastes awesome with garlic bread- mash a clove of garlic into some softened butter and spread on bread, broil in the oven for 3 mins)

Healthier Alternative:
Omit the cream, grind a handful of pine nuts, almonds or cashews and add to the soup.

Lemony Lebanese Lentil Soup

1 cup brown lentils (can use green split peas too)
1 cup couscous (or burghul/broken wheat)
2 cups spinach
1 large onion
1 tomato
2 cloves garlic
1/2 green pepper
2 cups vegetable broth (or water will do as well) (Click here for a home made broth recipe)

Boil lentils in water until almost cooked/ water is absorbed.
Throw in couscous and add the broth (or more water; about 2 cups)
In a pan; saute the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil.
Add 1 tbsp coriander, 1 tbsp cumin powder and 1 tbsp paprika (1 tsp if using chili powder).
Stir a bit until spices are cooked.
Add tomatoes- saute until cooked.
Add spinach and green pepper.
Add this mixture to the lentils+couscous mix and stir in salt and lots of fresh black pepper.
Boil a little longer (or until desired consistency- add more water if needed)
Turn off fire and squeeze in juice of a whole lemon, also add some zest in for extra kick.

Voila! Serve with a spoonful of yogurt and/or drizzle of olive oil. Goes well with pita and hummous. Yum! :)

Spicy Thai soup

5 cups vegetable broth (Click here for a home made broth recipe)
5 cups water
2 cups firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 carrots, diced
Green pepper, diced
2 stalk of lemongrass
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
Salt to taste

Before serving, top the soup with and handful of:
Arugula (or baby spinach)
A few leaves of fresh basil
Some chopped cilantro

Spice mix
2 stalks of lemongrass
1 inch of jalapeno (or 2 dried red chillies)
5 big cloves of garlic
1 tsp sea salt (I use kosher)
1 inch of ginger
1 medium onion

Grind the spice mix together with a mortar and pestle. The second time around I used a food processor and that worked much better; especially with the lemongrass stalks
Bring the broth to boil in a large pot
Add the spice mix and simmer for 10 minutes, covered
Add the water, soy sauce, taste, add salt and more water if necessary
Throw in the tofu and carrots
Simmer for 5 minutes or until carrots are half tender (they should still have some bite to them)
Turn off the heat and add the green pepper and the sesame oil.

Serve steaming hot with fresh basil, cilantro and arugula