Red Bean Curry Soup

RAIIINNNN!

After a very dry month or so, this place was in dire need of some rain. Especially after the last few days where it was SO humid and looked like rain, but really it was just a tease. Hopefully this helps with the ridiculous humidity, I've seen better hair days.

Now I know that most of readers are still battling winter. Which is why I thought this recipe would be most suitable to post. A warming curry soup is all one needs to soothe the weather grumpies.

This recipe is also a quickie. If you pre-cook your rice and beans, or used canned, it comes together in less than 30 minutes.

I had to get a bit creative since lentils (my go-to) are sparse and expensive in these parts but fresh beans are a-plenty and delicious. You know they are going to be good when the people at the market are shelling them on the spot.

Curry and I have been very good friends since I went plant-based. I actually wasn't introduced to Indian food formally until after the change. I became an addict pretty quickly and was extremely sad when my favorite restaurant burnt down. I've never been able to find a replacement for it. It was that good!

So I decided to try to master the curry at home instead, see if I could get close. My Channa Masala is always a crowd pleaser and I love experimenting with different cuisines. This one is definitely going to be added to my Indian dinner party foods.

Red Bean Curry Soup

Ingredients:

- 2 cups cooked red beans

- 2 cups cooked rice

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 2 large carrots, sliced

- 2 roasted red peppers, sliced

- 2-3 cups water or veg broth

- 1 tbsp curry powder

- S/P to taste

In a medium-large saucepan, water sauté the onions until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and curry powder and cook for another 3 mins stirring often to prevent burning and adding water as needed. Dump in the rest of the ingredeints and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

You can top with fresh tomatoes and sour cream of choice.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday's: Creamy Chipotle Potato Soup

I think that the food group people worry about missing the most when going plant-based is dairy. Which isn't surprising because not only is it actually addictive, the taste and texture is seen as hard to mimic.

Nowadays, this couldn't be further from the truth.

With the development of nut cheeses as well as the soy and tapioca based ones, there is a wide array to choose from on that end. They are great transition foods, and a treat now and again.

There are some things that can make creamy delicious dishes without any of them AND be low-fat. The magic is in the potatoes! (or cauliflower, but that's for another post)

I also used a little homemade coconut milk to make it even more decadent, but it isn't essential if you want to keep this meal fat-free.

You can choose to top this with any vegetables, but I found that roasted broccoli was the perfect compliment. Any wilted greens would also work very well.

Creamy Chipotle Potato Soup

-       10-12 medium potatoes (I used a mix of red and yellow)

-       2-3 cup of water or veggie broth

-       1 onion, diced.

-       ¾ cup nutritional yeast

-       1 tbsp chipotle flakes (or more depending on how spicy you like it)

-       1 cup coconut milk (I used homemade)

-       S/P

Toppings:

-       1 head broccoli, cut into florets

-       1 onion, sliced

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

On a cookie sheet, spread out the toppings and roast for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.

In a large pot, boil the potatoes until tender. I always slice them into smaller pieces to speed up the process. Whole potatoes take an eternity.

Drain the cooking water and in batches, blend the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients, making sure to use enough liquid for each batch to get super smooth and creamy. Put it all back in the same pot, or soup container thing (see pictures, I can’t think of the proper name…). Either top the serving bowl with the broccoli mix, or each individual bowl.

Serve hot, with a simple salad.

Enjoy!!

ALSO: as I have mentioned I have some plans to grow the blog. I would LOVE your input and have put together a short 2 minute survey. I would be eternally grateful if you could fill it out.
Here's the link. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YJ6PH75

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CTFU Creamy Beet "Soup"

Sometimes, when one experiments in the kitchen, the outcome isn't exactly what you were going for. On some occasions, that means a disastrous goup that is pretty much inedible.

Other times, it's a delicious masterpiece.

This is one of those times.

Going to the farmer's market anywhere in the world always gives you such amazing ingredients to work with that, for me anyways, it's hard not to be inspired to combine them to make simple yet delicious dishes.

I finally got to go to the big farmer's market in the next town/city over. The produce is so fresh and there is a decent variety. Most of which we can get at our local Fruteria, but with even better prices. We even got some ripe soursop to chow down on while waiting for our bus back.

Having a farmer's market nearby is a blessing. Taking advantage of it wherever you are is essential. You can speak directly to the farmers, ask what seeds they use, what fertilizers, pesticides if any... This means that you know exactly what you are eating. It's easier to avoid GMO's, support heirloom varieties and organic farmers. The produce is always cheaper too.

Even better? Get a CSA box! You are essential becoming an investor is a small local organic farm and getting amazing produce in return. This one also has the perk of providing you with new varieties of local fruit and vegetables to try out.

So they had these amazing beets at the market, and I've been daydreaming about making some kind of borstch like soup deal. I've never had it and it has always tickled me as something that would be delicious. Now I am far from following a traditional approach to this one. I like my meal carb heavy, so I added more potatoes and some rice to make it extra carbolicious.

The plates we have here are quite festive I must say.

Creamy Beet Soup

Ingredients:

- 4-5 medium potatoes, diced.

- 1 massive beet or 2 large, 2/3 diced, 1/3 shredded.

- 5-6 medium tomatoes, diced.

- 1/2 head of cabbage, shredded.

- 2 cups rice

- 4-5 cups of water or low-sodium broth

- 1/3 cup chopped chives or green onion

- S/P to taste.

In a large pot, boil the potatoes until tender, set aside to cool.

While the potatoes are boiling, prep the beets. When they are done and cooling, add the beets and tomatoes with the water or broth and bring to a boil, turn down to a strong simmer. Once the beets are about half done, add the cabbage and the rice with extra water if needed. About 5-6 minutes later add the potatoes back in and season. 

Let it all simmer until the rice is cooked through. Mine came out as much more of a stew consistency.

Garnish with chives or green onions and serve.

Enjoy!!

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Fiery Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

There is no doubt in my world that soup is the ultimate cold weather food. Seeing as fall has sunk its toes into the ground, and winter is peeking from behind the clouds, I figured now was the perfect time to post this recipe. It used to be a constant in my world this time of year last year, I'm pretty sure I made it at least once every two weeks, always a batch that lasted me a few days.

During my 4 month 100% raw stint, I do have to admit that it one thing that I was missing until I discovered the awesome world of raw soups blended until warm. But that is subject matter for another post!

The greatest part of this soup? I got to eat the whole pot to myself. 

Somebodyyy wasn't the biggest fan of it. Which is fine by me when it comes to this soup. 

This somebody is also leaving for Costa Rica in just over a week, which leaves me with some time to fill until I join him in January. At least I have a few replacements to use as my testers, which is good since I plan to fill up my camera with a bunch of new food porn so that I have a bunch to tide me over this next big move, especially since I plan to eat a whole ton of fruit in Costa Rica, and not too much cooking will be happening so expect a ton of amazing raw food dishes!

I will, however, be working on some books to be released sometime in 2014, so keep an eye out for those.

Now, feast your eyes on this delicious pot of orange gold.

Sweet and spicy, it's simplicity betrays it's delicious flavours from the roasting that caramelizes the squash so that the spice perfectly balances the taste. 

Fiery Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 whole butternut squash

- 2-3 sweet potatoes, diced.

- 1 onion, diced.

- Water or veggie broth, to cover vegetables.

- Hot sauce, to taste.

- S/P

Put your whole squash in the oven at 400F and roast that baby for about 40 mins, or until a fork goes right through.

When that's done and cooled, dice your onion and cook it in a large pot with a bit of water to prevent sticking until translucent.

Add the sweet potatoes and cook for a few minutes, then add water to cover. Bring to a bubbly boil then simmer for 12 minutes or until almost done. Cut your squash in half and scoop the seeds out into the compost. Then scoop the yummy flesh into the pot of simmering goodness. 

Once everything is cooked through, using either a stick blender or in batches in your blender, whirl until smooth.

Back in the pot, season with S/P and hot sauce until it's just as you like it.

Serve nice and hot.

Enjoy!

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