Curried Coconut Cauliflower Soup

Curried Coconut Cauliflower Soup

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 C dried yellow split peas (or red lentils)

1 can of coconut milk

2 -3 tsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp Thai Style Green Curry spice blend

4 C water

Add the olive oil, curry and onion to a stock pot. Saute over medium heat until the onions soften. Add the peas and water, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cauliflower and simmer until it's very soft and breaks apart easily with a fork. 

Using an immersion blender, blender or processor, puree the soup until it's smooth. Add the coconut milk and pulse until combined.

Return to the stock pot to keep warm until ready to serve.

Note: I used a spice blend from Dangold, but you can season it to taste with curry, salt, pepper, chili, coriander, etc.

Sunshine Soup

While driving home from work today, I was thinking about a delicious "summer" soup that I had at Christina Pirello's cooking class. It was made with finely diced zucchini, carrots, peppers, corn and millet. I decided to recreate it the best I could from memory. 

For some reason, Whole Foods didn't have any zucchini, which seems strange on July 1st in Philadelphia.  I decided to use yellow squash instead. Then I found a bag of beautifully colored organic carrots. So now, the wheels start spinning in my head. I decide that I'm going to make a soup with yellow vegetables and ribbons of finely sliced kale. There's no reason why healthy food can't be pretty too, right?

As I'm looking down into the pot of gloriously gold soup, I'm trying to think of what to call it. "Sunshine" comes to mind but I wasn't sure if there already was a Sunshine Soup. I google it and sure enough there are all sorts of "Sunshine" soups. Here's my version. I wonder what YOUR version will be?  :-D

Sunshine Soup

1 yellow onion, diced

1/2 C diced daikon

1 yellow squash, diced

3 yellow carrots, diced

1 C frozen organic yellow corn

1/2 C dry yellow split peas

1 C cooked brown rice

4 leaves of kale

6 C water

salt and pepper

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

In a soup pot, add the olive oil, onion, daikon and carrots. Saute over medium heat. After a few minutes, add the yellow squash and season lightly with salt and pepper. Saute a few minutes more until onion is clear and veggies soften. 

Add the yellow split peas and six cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the kale.

Remove the stalks by slicing as close as possible then entire length of the leaves. Take the two pieces from each leaf and roll tightly (like a cigar), tip to tip. Slice into thin ribbons and set aside. 

After the soup has simmered for thirty minutes, add the corn and brown rice. Heat for a few minutes more, then add the kale. Cook just until the kale has wilted.

Serves 4-6

Lentil Soup with Mushrooms

Don't remove soup from your weekly diet just because it's summer! Soup is a year round dish! It's good for digestion and eating hot foods (temperature and spice) will help you feel cooler. Local vegetables offer you dozens of options. A bowl of soup with some salad is the perfect "light" summer meal. I made some lentil soup tonight because I was craving lentils and mushrooms. It's quick and easy to make and you can easily adapt the quantity. This recipe makes 4-6 bowls.

Lentil Soup with Mushrooms

1 C green lentils rinsed (I used small Spanish lentils)

1 lg onion finely diced

10-12 Shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and finely diced

1/2 C (approx) Maitake mushroom, finely diced

4 C water

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 well rounded TBS barley miso, dissolved in 1/2 C warm water

2-3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

In a small stockpot, combine olive oil, onion and mushrooms. Saute over medium heat until onions are clear and softened. Add the lentils, water, bay leaves and spices. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 30-45 minutes. When the lentils are soft and the soup has thickened, remove the bay leaves and add the dissolved miso. Turn off heat and allow soup to rest a few minutes before serving. (This will activate the healthy bacteria in the miso. Remember....don't boil miso!) 

I garnished the soup with fresh oregano because it's taking over my garden! Cilantro or fresh parsley would also be good.

Butternut Squash Soup

Soup is one of my favorite foods. It's warm, comforting and easy to make. When my children were younger, I had a "Soup and Sandwich Night" every week throughout the Fall and Winter. Now, I'm a vegetarian and live by myself. I usually make a big pot of soup on the weekends and freeze small containers for later. Sometimes when I get home from work, I make myself a single serving vegetable soup by dicing a handful of whatever vegetables I have, covering them with water, and simmering them for an hour. Butternut squash is one of my favorites. This soup is excellent with an arugula salad and a whole grain baguette.

Butternut Squash Soup

2-3 lbs of peeled and cubed butternut squash (1 lg or 2 small)

1 diced yellow onion

2-3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

32 oz vegetable broth

salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste 

pepitas and/or sunflower seeds for garnish

In a stock pot, saute the onions and squash in the olive oil for 8-10 minutes. Add the broth and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the squash is soft. Turn off heat and allow the soup to cool slightly. 

You can puree the soup with whatever tools you have available. An immersion blender, standard blender or food processor all work well. With a slotted spoon, scoop out the squash and puree in small batches. Adding a ladle or two of the broth helps make the blending easier. Continue until all the chunks have been pureed. 

Return the pot of soup to low heat. Add your spices to suit your taste. If your broth is salted, you may not need any added salt. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with the pepitas or sunflower seeds.

*all ingredients are organic.