Tomato Peanut Curry Soup aka How NOT to Use Your Blender

Anyone who has a Vitamix, or other blender that they use regularly, knows that you don't blend hot soup or liquid. Why you ask? Because explosions occur. Cooling off the substance to be blended is key. Leaving the lid partially off the blender and covering that bit with a tea towel would work but did I listen to my own advice? No, of course not. Due to this, I created a curry covered cupboard. Lovely. Luckily, it cleaned up quickly. I also managed to cover myself in it. Thankfully, it wasn't so hot it burned. Whoops.

Anywho, this is delicious. I had a Tomato Peanut Curry Soup at a restaurant in Lincoln called Bread and Cup just before we moved. My mom watched the boys for a couple of hours and Patrick and I went on a lunch date for our anniversary! It was lovely, and so was the soup. I wanted to recreate something like it. Their version was definitely better but maybe it was just because I didn't end up wearing that particular meal... question mark? I highly recommend that you visit that restaurant if you are in the area. It is owned by a local couple who lived down the street from us and they source everything they can at the Farmer's Markets. The menu changes with the season and it was quite good. They didn't have many vegan options. Everything was very meat and egg heavy but vegan isn't their goal and with a little scouring of the menu I was able to find a plantcentric meal.

Yes that is a plastic spoon. Don't judge. The moving truck with the other half of our belongings has not yet arrived.

Tomato Peanut Curry Soup

(Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or garlic powder)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt

1 15 -ounce can fire roasted tomatoes

3 T tomato paste
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoon packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (I used my homemade variety because it was what I had)
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh cilantro and chopped peanuts, for topping

Directions

Chop veggies into similar size pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery; cook, stirring, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, spices and 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and cook, stirring, 3 more minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, brown sugar and 1 cup water to the pot, then stir in peanut butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on med low. Stir occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly, about 20-30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender (ideally) or in a regular blender in batches. If using a regular blender make sure that the soup is very cool. Trust me on this one. Season with salt and black pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls; top with cilantro and peanuts. 

Can I just say....

"Yay for soup!"?

And...

Thank you to Betsy and Pam for the use of some odds and ends kitchen equipment while I await the arrival of my own. The cutting board, knife, and pot/lid were integral in this meal. :)

Homemade Dairy-free, Soy Free Nutella

 

Dairy-Free, Soy-Free Nutella. Nice. This means gluten-free and MSPI safe. Whoo hoo! It does not, however, mean sugar free or healthy. I suppose everyone has those moments. I used to love Nutella. I stopped buying it when I started on the MSPI diet and then when we continued with the dairy free eating, Nutella was crossed off of the list. Until now...

Homemade Nutella

 

Ingredients

2 cups hazelnuts, roasted and peeled
2 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar or coconut sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp coconut oil melted
Dash Himalayan sea salt

1 cup good quality dark chocolate

1 1/2 tbsp raw honey

 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake for 8-10 minutes. Watch them closely so they don't burn.
3. Remove from the oven and place into a dish towel. Rub them together until the brown skin starts to come off.
4. Once mostly removed, place the hazelnuts in the food processor (I used my vitamix) and process until it becomes a smooth butter

5. Add in oil, sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, and salt
7. Blend for another 2-3 minutes until smooth
8. Melt chocolate on the stove or in the microwave; pour into the food processor, along with the honey, and blend until smooth
9. Store in an air-tight container for a week or two. I prefer to keep mine in the cupboard at room temp.

YUM.

Green Lentil Borscht

We had a fantastic meal tonight. The flavors were perfect. I started with a recipe but then ventured outside of it as I usually do. The result was magnificent. And very red. Very, very red. In fact, Patrick said that this would be an excellent plant based meal to take to a Husker tail-gate. It was that red. :)

This recipe is oil free, sugar free, dairy free, nut free, gluten free, soy free, and totally plant based. Whoo hoo! That makes it a "safe" option for vegans, vegetarians, MSPI mommas and people who are gluten intolerant. Perfect.

 

Green Lentil Borscht

made 8 1/2 servings (1 cup)

Ingredients

Vegetable broth

1 medium onion (minced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

3 medium beets (peeled and chopped)

5 small red potatoes (cleaned and chopped with skin on)

15-20 baby carrots (cleaned and chopped)

2-3 vegetable bullion cubes

3 bay leaves

2 cups cooked lentils

2 tsp dried dill

1 can diced tomato 

1 1/2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable broth in a large soup kettle or sauce pan over medium high heat.

2. Saute the onion until translucent.

3. Add the garlic and saute for one minute more.

4. Add the potato, carrots, and beets, 6 cups of water, bay leaves and bullion. Stir to combine.

5. Cook until the beets are tender, about 25-30 minutes, stirring occassionally.

6. Once the beets are tender, add lentils, tomatoes, and dill and cook 10-15 minutes more or until heated through.

7. Just before serving add the apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

8. Adjust the herbs to taste and remove the bay leaves.

9. Serve topped with a nut based cream sauce.

NOTE: You could certainly use uncooked lentils in this recipe as well. Add them in at step 4 with the root vegetables. They should take about the same time to cook as the beets. I used precooked lentils because I typically cook a large quantity of lentils or black beans at one time and freeze them in portions so I have them ready to go into recipes. Lentils have a 1:2 1/2 or 3 cup ratio so use approximately 1 cup dry lentils for similar proportions above.

 My 3 year old insisted that his truck needed to be part of the photo shoot. I think it is a nice touch, don't you?