Hearty Pumpkin-Chipotle Soup

I love soups which are thick and creamy, but omit the cream! This one achieves that with the addition of white beans. You can use a hand blender for this recipe but I just put it in the regular blender in 2 batches and then put it (blended) back on the stove.

Hearty Pumpkin-Chipotle Soup

Ingredients:
-2 tbsp. olive oil (I like pepper-infused, but regular is fine)
-1 medium yellow onion, chopped
-3 large garlic cloves, chopped
-2 tsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce
-1 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
-3/4 tbsp. cumin
-3/4 tbsp. dried oregano
-4 cups vegetable broth
-1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (make sure it's only pumpkin, not "pumpkin pie mix" with spices)
-1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
-1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
-1 tbsp. honey



Method:
Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; once hot, add the onion. Stir for a few minutes until onion is a bit soft. Add in the garlic, Tabasco, chipotle powder, cumin, and oregano. Saute for 2-3 minutes until aromatic.

Add the broth, pumpkin puree, and beans to the pot and stir until combined. Then simmer for 20-30 minutes (uncovered) until your kitchen smells fantastic. Add in the vinegar and honey. At this point, I used a ladle to move about 1/2 of the soup to my blender, and then blended until very smooth. Then pour the blended soup into a bowl and set aside. Repeat with the remaining soup. 

Pour it all back into your pot and keep it warm until ready to serve. You can top with another sprinkle of chipotle powder or with paprika! 

Thai Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup with Cilantro

This one is probably my new favorite soup EVER. And, it can be made much spicier than the recipe here - it is warming and thick and very filling. It's much easier if you already have some butternut squash roasted and on hand, but if not you can roast a squash on 425F for about 35 minutes and scoop out as much pulp as you need!

Thai Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup with Cilantro

Ingredients:
-4 cups butternut squash puree
-2 cups vegetable broth
-2 tsp. peanut oil
-1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tsp. minced ginger
-1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
-1 can coconut milk
-2 tbsp. red curry paste
-1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
-1 tbsp. brown sugar
-2 tsp. soy sauce
-2 tbsp. lime juice
-1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
-Sriracha or sambal oelek chili paste for serving

Method:
In a blender, combine the squash and the vegetable broth until blended and smooth. Pour into a large soup pot and heat on low, stirring occasionally. 

In a large frying pan or wok, heat the peanut oil over medium heat and then add the chopped onion. Stir until it's browning a bit, about 8-10 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, and bell pepper and stir another minute or two. Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Once it's hot, add the curry paste and peanut butter and stir until combined. Then add the brown sugar and soy sauce.

Coconut-pepper-onion mix, before it's added to the squash

Slowly pour the coconut-pepper mix into the soup pot where your squash mix is simmering. Stir to combine and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the lime juice and chopped cilantro and let simmer another 15 minutes.

Pour into bowls and serve with chili sauce of your choice!

Smoky Chipotle 4-Bean Chili

You can make this chili as spicy (or not) as you like by adjusting the chili powder and fresh chili peppers. Try to keep the chipotle powder though as it adds great dimension!

Smoky Chipotle 4-Bean Chili

Ingredients:

-2 tbsp. veg. oil

-1 white onion, roughly chopped

-2 red onions, roughly chopped

-1 lb. ground meat substitute (optional)

-3 cloves minced garlic

-1 cup water with 2 cubes vegetable boullion dissolved in it

-1 bottle of your favorite dark beer

-1 cup strong coffee or espresso

-1 can (14.5 oz.) of diced tomatoes

-6-10 oz. tomato paste

-1/3 cup brown sugar

-1 tbsp. coriander

-1 tbsp. cumin

-1 tbsp. cocoa powder

-1 tsp. ancho chili powder

-1 tsp. cayenne pepper

-1 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. oregano

-3 small green serrano peppers or hot red chilies, chopped very small (adjust to taste)

-2 cans red kidney beans

-1 can white kidney beans

-2 cans pinto beans

-1 can black beans

Method:

 

In a very large pot on medium heat, put chopped onions, vegetable oil, garlic, and meat substitute (if using). Add boullion, beer, espresso, tomatoes, and tomato paste and simmer until hot.

Add brown sugar, spices, peppers, red kidney beans, and black beans. Lower heat to low/med and simmer for 60-90 minutes.

Add pinto beans and white kidney beans and simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Serve with fresh chopped onion if desired.

Southwestern Chipotle Gazpacho

This experimental gazpacho started out normally and then I saw the chipotle-infused olive oil in my cabinet. It tasted amazing, but if you can't find chipotle olive oil, then you can use chipotle powder and regular (but good quality) olive oil instead. Even the color looks Southwestern. And it's obviously so good for you! Some topping suggestions that I didn't have on hand but would work GREAT: vegan bacon bits, a dollop of vegan sour cream, a squirt of vegan creme fraiche... etc.

Side notes: 
-This is very good the first day you make it but gets even better if you let it sit in the refigerator overnight before serving (like all gazpachos).
-I made this in my blender because with some of these veggies I find that does a better job than my larger food processor. But that meant I had to do it in 2 batches and just try to put half of the ingredients in one and half in the other. It's fine if they're not totally even because it's all going in a big bowl which you'll mix up anyway.

Southwestern Chipotle Gazpacho

Ingredients:

The nice southwestern-color is due to the spinach!

-2 lbs tomatoes (I used a mix of cherry tomatoes and Roma tomatoes)
-1 medium cucumber, roughly chopped, with skin on
-2 slices bread, with crusts removed, torn into smaller pieces
-1/4 cup chipotle-infused olive oil (or 1/4 cup regular olive oil with 1 tbsp. Chipotle powder)
-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
-1 clove garlic, chopped
-4 scallions, roughly chopped
-1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
-6 cups baby spinach
-juice of 1 lime
-Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
Put the vegetables, bread, oil, vinegar, garlic, spinach and lime juice into a blender and blend well. (If you need to do it in a couple batches that's fine.)
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve! (Or better yet, let sit overnight in the fridge then serve.)

I'm Back! With Coconut Butternut Squash Soup!

Sorry for the long absence - traveling!

I tried this recipe from Sonnet's blog "For the Love of Food" and it turned out great just AS IS! I almost always fool around a little bit with the recipes but I was jetlagged and could barely read straight so I didn't trust myself to not mess it up! The original is here:

http://www.fortheloveoffoodblog.com/2011/10/coconut-squash-soup.html

Coconut Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:

-1 medium butternut squash (peeled and cut into 1" cubes)

-3 tbsp. coconut oil

-1 medium yellow onion, diced

-3 cloves garlic, minced (ok I only used 3 cloves because somebody in my house doesn't like things too garlicky. Original calls for 4 cloves)

-1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

-5 cups vegetable broth

-1/2 can of coconut milk (be sure to shake can before pouring)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F, rub squash cubes with 2 tbsp of coconut oil, pour them onto a baking sheet and roast for 35 minutes. 1-2 times in that 35 minutes, take them out and use a spatula to flip them over and turn them around a bit.

Pour 1 tbsp coconut oil into a large soup pout over medium heat and saute the onion for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes. Add the roasted squash, beans, vegetable broth and coconut milk and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool a little bit, then pour into a blender in batches and blend completely. When each batch is done, pour into a big bowl. After all the soup has been blended, pour it back into the big pot and put it back on the stove over low heat to keep it warm, and serve!

(An idea: If you like even more beans, after everything is blended add a can of white beans [drained and rinsed] to the soup for a little more chew.)

Creamy Rosemary Potato Leek Soup

One of my favorite things is really creamy soup... and I always felt guilty about eating it even before I was vegan because it just seemed like so much fat in the heavy cream, and the butter, etc etc. So when I find a recipe for a soup which turns out to be rich and creamy WITHOUT the cream and butter/oil, I jump on it. This recipe is really rich and very flavorful - and easy with not too many ingredients. Great flavors for fall.



Extreme close up!

Creamy Rosemary Potato Leek Soup

Ingredients:



Soup, after pureeing, simmering on stove



-2 large Russet potatoes, or 6-8 small roasting potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed well, and roughly cut into 1-2" cubes

-2 small yellow onions, or 1 large one, peeled and roughly chopped

-3 leeks (white and light green parts only), washed and sliced

-4 cups vegetable broth

-1 tbsp olive oil

-3 garlic cloves, minced

-1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

-1 tsp chipotle powder, or 2 tsp chipotle Tabasco sauce

-1 tsp apple cider vinegar

-salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add onions and leeks. Stir for about 5-6 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add garlic and stir for another minute or so. Then add the veggie broth and potatoes, turn up to a boil, and then stir and turn down to a low simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes, until potatoes get soft. At this point, add the rosemary, a dash of salt and pepper, and stir.

Remove from heat and let cool just a little so it's not very hot. At this point, put another pot on the stove which is big enough to hold all the soup (or if you don't have one, put out a big bowl that can hold it all). Bring the soup pot near where your blender (or food processor) is and ladle the soup into the blender about halfway full. Blend until well pureed. Then pour the pureed soup into the other pot/clean bowl you have put out, and repeat with the rest of the soup in batches. If you like some chunks, don't puree the last batch and just mix it back into the pureed soup.

Put the soup back on stove on a low simmer and add apple cider vinegar, chipotle powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with bread!

Finished product

Creamy Curry Coconut Corn Soup

This soup has so few ingredients and takes so little time, you can throw it together in minutes - maybe even with things you already have in your kitchen.  It is warming and great served over rice to make an even thicker kind of chowder.

Creamy Curry Coconut Corn Soup

Soup over rice

Ingredients:
-1 large white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
-2 tbsp curry powder
-1 can (400 ml) coconut milk (tryto find one with the highest percentage of coconut and a lower percentage of water)
-2 1/2 cups of vegetable stock
-4 cups corn kernels (I used organic canned)
-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
-salt and pepper to taste
-rice of your choice (optional)

Method:

In a medium soup pot, water stir fry the chopped onion (this means to cook the onion over medium heat with 1-2 tbsp water - just enough to prevent it from sticking to the pot).  Cook until soft, maybe 5-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the curry powder in a small nonstick pan and dry-roast it over low-medium heat for about 5-6 minutes to bring out the flavor.  Shake the pan every couple minutes to move the powder around.

Add the vegetable stock, corn, and curry powder to the onion in the soup pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn down to a simmer and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

Then add the can of coconut milk and cayenne pepper and stir together.  Taste and add salt/pepper if needed.  Serve over rice or alone!

Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup with Herbs

I think that roasting almost anything makes it so much more delicious and brings out the concentrated flavors so well, with so little effort on the cook's part. This soup is almost completely comprised of roasted cherry tomatoes (or other small vine tomatoes) and tastes great. You will definitely need a blender or food processor to do it though. Also - it sounds like a lot of tomatoes but this amount yielded enough for about 4 large bowls.

This is modified from Kathy's recipe, original here: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/08/roasted-tomato-soup-with-grilled-daiya.html

Roasted Cherry Tomato Soup with Herbs

Ingredients:

-4 lbs. cherry tomatoes, or other small vine tomatoes - washed and removed from vines

-2 sweet onions, peeled and chopped into large sections

-4 tbsp. dried Italian herbs (inc. basil, oregano, rosemary)

-handful of sprigs of fresh thyme

-1 tsp. sea salt

-4 tbsp. lemon juice

-8 tbsp. olive oil (a good one if you have it)

-5 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

-1 tbsp. vegan butter (or margarine)

-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

-fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F. In a roasting pan, spread out tomatoes and onion in one layer. If you have too many, you might have to roast in 2 batches, as I did. Pour 1/2 the olive oil and 1/2 the lemon juice over the tomatoes/onion if you're roasting in 2 batches. (If you can fit all the tomatoes/onions in one layer of your pan, then 1 batch is fine, then just put all the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs in one pan instead of splitting them between the 2.) Rub the oil and lemon juice on the tomatoes and onions with your fingers to ensure somewhat even distribution. 

 

Tomatoes, onions, herbs and garlic BEFORE roasting



Then sprinkle the salt and dried herbs over the tomatoes/onions and stick in the garlic cloves and sprigs of thyme. Sprinkle some cracked pepper on top of the whole pan and put in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the onions are very soft. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the onions from the pan with tongs and set them on a plate to cool. Put the roasting pan back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes. Your tomatoes should look a little browned, shriveled, and popping open - but not burned. At that point, remove the pan and set on a rack to cool for a bit. At this point, remove all the thyme stems and throw them away.



Tomatoes, onions, herbs and garlic AFTER roasting



Put the vegan butter/margarine, onions and the tomato mixture from the roasting pan (along with all the oils/juices!) into a food processor or blender, and blend until very smooth. You will probably have to do this in 2 batches as well unless you have a seriously large blender. It's ok if the batches don't have even amounts of herbs/oil, etc because you're going to transfer all of it into a soup pan on the stove to keep warm and add the final ingredient - a little cayenne. At that point it will all become mixed and blended well.

Once it's simmered on the stove for a bit, serve!

Extreme close up

Potato Broccoli Bisque with Carmelized Onions

I love creamy, thick soups in the fall - especially if I know they don't have actual cream in them so I can eat as much as I want without feeling guilty. One way to achieve that really thick "bisque-y" consistency is with potatoes. I tried this potato-broccoli soup and loved it, especially with the carmelized onion/tomato topping and a little squirt of balsamic vinegar. Plus, it's really easy. All you need is a pot and a blender!

"Cheesy" Potato Broccoli Bisque

Ingredients:

-2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

-5 cups broccoli florets

-1 1/2 cups soy milk (unsweetened)

-1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

-1 1/2 tsp salt (maybe more, to taste)

-2/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes

-fresh black pepper to taste

-1 tsp chipotle Tabasco sauce

-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

-1/8 tsp liquid smoke

-1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Ingredients for topping:

-1 small red onion, roughly diced

-1 medium tomato, diced

-3/4 tsp salt

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1/4 cup shredded vegan cheese (optional)

Method:

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add some salt. Once boiling, add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Then add broccoli and cook until it's all cooked through and a bit soft, maybe an additional 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and drain in a colander.

Put vegetable broth, soy milk, and yeast flakes in a blender and slowly add the veggies, one cup at a time, blending after each addition until totally smooth. Once all veggies are added, pour soup into the large pot you cooked your veggies in and keep on stove over low heat to keep warm. At this stage, add the salt, pepper, Tabasco, cayenne, liquid smoke, and cider vinegar. If it's too thick, add about 1/3-1/2 cup more veggie broth.

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until it's shimmering. Add the chopped onion and salt and stir around on med-high heat for 5-8 minutes until it's looking carmelized. Add in the tomato and stir around until it's as carmelized and warm as you want.

Serve soup with a few tablespoons of the tomato-onion mix and a sprinkle of vegan cheese on top and a squirt of thick balsamic vinegar, and some crusty bread!