Veggie soup turns out to be a pretty simple equation.  1 onion + 1 lb veg + 4-6 cups broth + 1/2 cup milk alternative + spice/bullion. Done.

Saute one chopped onion in a soup pot with just a little bit of water. Peel and chop about a pound of carrots (to about 1 inch pieces) [...]]]>

Veggie soup turns out to be a pretty simple equation.  1 onion + 1 lb veg + 4-6 cups broth + 1/2 cup milk alternative + spice/bullion. Done.

Saute one chopped onion in a soup pot with just a little bit of water. Peel and chop about a pound of carrots (to about 1 inch pieces) and add to onions once they are translucent (5 minutes). Add 4+ Cups water and a bullion or two. Add 2-3 square inches of chopped fresh ginger after about 10 minutes. Cook for about 20-30 minutes total, until the carrots fall apart with a fork. Turn heat off, add milk and blend. A little curry powder can be a good add, I was also a little short on carrots this past time and added some frozen butternut squash to good effect as well.

UPDATE: From The New York Times: Soup Equations!

The New York Times can be surprise source every so often for hearty vegan recipes. This black bean soup is super rich and deeply flavorful. They call it “black bean soup wth cumin and tomatoes” but for me, it’s the chipotle that makes this soup a standout.

Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, cut into halves 1 cup [...]]]>

The New York Times can be surprise source every so often for hearty vegan recipes. This black bean soup is super rich and deeply flavorful. They call it “black bean soup wth cumin and tomatoes” but for me, it’s the chipotle that makes this soup a standout.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, cut into halves
1 cup dried washed black beans
6 cups water
1 14-ounce can tomatoes
2 teaspoons cumin (or ground toasted cumin seeds if you have them)
1 canned chipotle pepper

Directions:
Spray the bottom of your soup pot with cooking spray.  Over medium heat, cook half of the onion about 3-5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the water and beans, removing any floaters. Cook for an hour and a half.

Meanwhile… while that is cooking. Blend the tomatoes, chipotle chili, cumin and the rest of the onion. Heat a non-stick skillet and cook this mixture (stirring often) until it thickens so that when you run your wooden spoon down the middle it leaves a little trench (5-10 minutes). Add a cup of the bean liquid and cook another ten minutes, continuing to stir. When the beans are close to done, add this mixture and cook another 15-30 minutes. Add salt to taste.  Blend with an immersion blender, or in a blender or however you like to make a smooth soup. Serve with vegan sour cream.

The best yellow split pea soup I’ve ever had comes from Harvest & Rowe in downtown SF. In fact, with one exception, the only place I’ve ever had YSPS is at Harvest & Rowe. But never tried to make some myself until last night, and I’m pretty happy with the results.

Ingredients: One crushed clove of garlic [...]]]>

The best yellow split pea soup I’ve ever had comes from Harvest & Rowe in downtown SF. In fact, with one exception, the only place I’ve ever had YSPS is at Harvest & Rowe. But never tried to make some myself until last night, and I’m pretty happy with the results.

Ingredients:
One crushed clove of garlic or about a teaspoon of minced jarred garlic
One large carrot, chopped
Half an onion, chopped
1/2 a pound of yellow split peas
2 roasted red peppers
4+ cups of water
2 low salt bullion cubes

Directions:
Prep a large soup pot with cooking spray, over medium heat cook garlic and onions for about 3-5 minutes. Add split peas, carrots, water and bullion. Cover, turn down the heat to more of a simmer and cook FOREVER. Seriously, the key is to get the split peas totally melted. I probably cooked the soup for about one hour, fifteen minutes, and probably could have gone about another 20 minutes as there were still some firm peas in there. I started with 3 cups of water and kept adding, so keep an eye on it and add water as you need to. I added the red peppers at about the one hour mark.

This amount is about four servings. Double it if you want a bunch of soup.

This was inspired by the simplicity of Cream of Asparagus Soup from VegCookingBlog and my love of curry and cauliflower. With a little less broth and the addition of curry and turmeric, this is another creamy, mild, vegan lunch or dinner.  The leftovers become even brighter because of the turmeric.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

1 head cauliflower, [...]]]>

This was inspired by the simplicity of Cream of Asparagus Soup from VegCookingBlog and my love of curry and cauliflower. With a little less broth and the addition of curry and turmeric, this is another creamy, mild, vegan lunch or dinner.  The leftovers become even brighter because of the turmeric.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets

Four cups vegetable broth

Juice of half a lemon

1 Tablespoon curry powder

1 Teaspoon turmeric

½ cup non-sweetened plain soymilk

Directions:

Coat bottom of soup pot with non-stick spray. Cook onion over medium heat, until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower, broth, curry powder and turmeric. Stir and cover to simmer for 25 minutes or until the cauliflower is very soft. For the broth, I used low-salt vegan bullion and water and was very satisfied with the flavor. Blend with a hand immersion blender or blender. With the immersion blender, I found that it did not become completely smooth, but I really liked it that way, with small florets of cauliflower throughout. Stir in lemon juice and soymilk. Serve immediately.