Butternut Squash Soup (Vegan, WFPB)

At this time of the year butternut squash is in all the grocery stores. It is very flavorful and lends a beautiful color to anything you use it in. I am not very fond of the soft texture of squash but I love it in a bowl of butternut squash soup. The last several weeks have been very cold. After a long day at work a hot bowl of soup is perfect to warm you up. Butternut squash soup is one of our favorite dinner recipes in winter.

With this recipe you will see a big change in this blog. For the longest time I have pondered over giving up dairy. I usually had a cup of milk in my morning oatmeal and occasionally had cheese. During the summer months a little ice cream. But the more I read up on osteoporosis the more I wanted to move to a whole food plant based lifestyle. With this post you will see recipes geared towards this lifestyle. Focusing on whole foods let you move away from processed foods like oil. This recipe does not have any added oil. This was the single biggest change I had to adjust to. Instead of oil, I add all kinds of nuts and seeds to our weekly menu. Since we ate a predominantly plant based diet and most of it whole foods the change was fairly easy for us. I am loving all the recipes I have made and will share them on this space.

You will need
1 butternut squash
1 medium orange sweet potato
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin powder
2-3 cups water or vegetable stock
salt and black pepper to taste

Cut the top and bottom of the squash and slice it in half. Using a sharp knife cut off the tough skin. Remove the seeds and cut into cubes. Keep aside.

Cut the ends of the sweet potato, peel and cut into cubes. Keep aside.

Peel and dice the onion. Crush, peel and mince the garlic.

In a large pot add a half cup of water. Add the onions and garlic and let them soften a little. Add the remaining ingredients and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer on medium low heat until the squash and potato are cooked. Puree in a blender or in the pan using a hand blender.

Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Soup

When the mercury drops soup and bisque make their way to the dinner table. With the winter storm keeping temperatures in the 30s for the last few days, I decided we needed thick creamy Tomato Bisque, the old family favorite. This soup never fails to provide comfort on a cold or rainy day. We all love the strong garlic flavor in the soup. Serve it with a savory scone or bread.

I was surprised to find that I did not have a tomato soup in the blog especially as this is one of our favorites. This soup has a rich creamy texture and a lovely orange color. I used to make it with canned plum tomatoes for their delicious citrus flavor until I found organic tomatoes that provide the same taste. The regular grocery store tomatoes taste very bland.

I used almond milk in my recipe. You can skip the milk and the soup will taste just as delicious.

You will need
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 pods garlic, minced
3 large Plum Tomatoes, diced
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tbsp. almond milk

Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onions. Saute for a few minutes until they are cooked. Add the minced garlic and saute for a few minutes. In the meantime chop the tomatoes and them to the pan. Add the sugar, salt and paprika. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and thickened. Take off heat and blend to a puree. Return to the pan and simmer for about 3-4 minutes. Turn down the heat and add the cream. Turn off the heat after another minute. Optionally garnish with cream.

Serve hot with bread or savory scones. Enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Soup in summer? Yes, I made soup in summer. We had a lot of rain a few weeks back and soup felt good for a change. Red bell peppers, in my opinion, add a ton of flavor to any dish they are used in. Roasted red bell peppers are even better. I love the aroma in the house as they are roasted. And the family loves the end result.

 I like to add almond milk for a creamier texture. It adds flavor and is perfect for soup in summer.

You will need (4 servings)
2 red peppers
1 tbsp. oil
1/3 medium onion, prefarably red, but others will work too
1 medium carrot
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsps tomato paste
1 tsp. paprika
1 2/3 cups broth or water

salt and pepper

2 tbsp. almond milk

Roast the bell peppers. I do it on the stove top. I stick a fork in the pepper and place it directly over the heat. I turn it around to char the skin evenly. When done I wrap it in aluminium foil and keep it aside for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice the onions. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. Saute until cooked and semi transparent.

Unwrap the roasted bell peppers and rub the skin off. It should come off easily.

Leave a few charred pieces of skin on the pepper. It adds a smoky flavor to the soup. Dice the peppers and the carrots.

Add all the ingredients except the milk to the pan.

Bring the mixture to a boil, lower heat and let it simmer until the carrots are cooked.

Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Puree in a blender. Return to the pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add the almond milk. Let it simmer without coming to a boil for a couple of minutes. Turn off heat.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Soup

We all love soups on cold winter days. It is especially welcome when you return to the cold weather after spending a few days by the beach. It is also very welcome when your blender does all the work for you. I present today a recipe for Zucchini soup make in my blender, something I have wanted to try for a while now.

I have a Vitamix blender that has an option for soups. Add the liquids followed by the solids and blend. Hot soup is ready in 5-6 minutes. For some reason I had never tried soups in the blender. I tried smoothies but when it came to soups I made them on the stove top. After today that will definitely change.



In this recipe addition of other vegetables will make the soup thicker in consistency. If you like it creamy increase the amount of cream. My primary goal was something warm and light, so I kept the soup a runny consistency and added a little cashew paste to make it creamy.

You will need (3 servings)
2 cups vegetable stock
Cashew paste (Soak 10 cashews in 1/2 cup water, blend to a paste separately)
2 zucchini (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 red bell pepper (optional)
1 baked/boiled potato (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Add to the blender in the order given. Run the blender for 5-6 minutes until steam can be seen coming out the vented lid.

Enjoy!

Cawl Cennin (Welsh Potato Leak Soup)

I make potato and leek soup often during winter and on cold rainy days. It is rich and creamy. This version is from Wales and is called cawl cennin.

I used white potatoes for this soup but you could use red or russet too. I use almond milk to make soups creamy. I used soy milk in this soup.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1 medium potato
1 slender stalk of leek
2 cups vegetable stock
salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup soymilk

Wash, peel and dice the potato. Clean the leek and dice the white and tender green stalk. Put the potato and leek in a pan with the stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the leek is cooked and the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Turn off heat and let the soup cool a little. Run the hand blender through the soup or transfer it to a blender and puree. Transfer the pureed soup back to the pan and reheat. Do not let it boil. Add the milk. Heat through for another 5 minutes. Turn off heat.

The soup is ready. Enjoy!

Ezogelin Corbasi - Turkish Red Lentil Soup

Red Lentil Soup is the Turkish version of the stone soup. It is made up of ingredients typically found in the pantry of a Turkish home. I had most of the ingredients except bulgur in my pantry. This delicious soup is flavored with red pepper paste and tomato paste.

To make the red pepper paste I used red bell pepper as I could not find red banana pepper. The authentic recipe calls for the pepper to be cooked in water, peeled, de-seeded and then the pulp cooked to a paste. I roasted the pepper and covered it in aluminum foil for 15 minutes. The skin peeled right off the pepper. I then removed the seeds, cut it into pieces and ran it through the blender. As for tomato paste I had a can of organic tomato paste but it smelled of citric acid so I pureed a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Recipe adapted from here

You will need
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup red lentils
2 tbsp. rice
8 cups water
2 tbsp. red pepper paste
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp. bulgur
1 tsp. paprika or cayenne powder (more if needed)
1/2 tsp. dry mint or a drop of mint extract
salt to taste

Wash the red lentils and rice. Drain and keep aside. Boil 8 cups of water in a separate pan. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic. Saute until tender and translucent. Add the red pepper paste, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Cook for a couple minutes. Add the red lentils, rice, bulgur.

Add the water and bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the mint and paprika. Add salt to taste.

Turn of heat and serve hot.