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. :)

Noodle Soup

I have always loved a good, homemade chicken noodle soup but I ALWAYS left all the chicken in the bottom of the bowl. (Sorry about that mom.) This recipe hits the spot and maintains a great flavor. Yum. My mom and I tossed around the idea of exchanging the pasta for wild rice and maybe adding mushrooms but I suppose then it would be mushroom and wild rice soup. Another soup for another day.

Not-Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 10 large long celery stalks (you will need 3 cups sliced)
• 3 cups sliced or chopped carrots
• 3/4 to 1large white or yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 heaping cup)
• 2-3 large garlic cloves, finely minced (about a tablespoon)
• 2½ cups diced potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 10 cups water
• 3 vegan bouillon cubes (I used Rapunzel brand with sea salt.)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast to taste
• 1 cup rotini noodles

Instructions

1. Chop all veggies.
2. Add the water to a large pot and bring to a boil, add the bouillon cubes and whisk to dissolve. Add all of the veggies and seasonings including thyme, salt, and nutritional yeast. Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn to low heat, cover and simmer 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
3. Add the pasta and bring back to a boil. Leave the lid off and turn the heat to medium-high and cook until the pasta is al dente. 
4. Remove from heat. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and black pepper.

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?

Chipotle Black Bean Quinoa Soup

I had a request for a new main dish post. This was not difficult as I make something for dinner each night. Last night was no exception and so I present a Collins' creation...

Chipotle Black Bean Quinoa Soup

15 -  3/4 cup servings

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion - peeled and diced
2 large red peppers - seeded and diced
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1 teaspoon chipotle seasoning (or use a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce if you don't have small children)
1 cup orange juice
4 cups + 1 cup vegan vegetable broth
1 cube vegan vegetable bouillon cube
zest of one orange (important)
4 cups cooked black beans or two 15 oz cans , drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked quinoa
1.5 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place onion and peppers in a large sauce pan and saute over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water at a time to keep the veggies from sticking.
2. Add garlic and chipotle spice or pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Add the orange juice and zest, beans and 4 cups vegetable broth, and stock cube.
4. Bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until heated through.
6. Add 2 cups cooked quinoa and 1 cup vegetable broth and cook for 5-10 minutes more or until heated through.
7. Add oregano, coriander, and more chipotle seasoning and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The secret here is two fold; 1. do not omit the orange zest. 2. Add the herbs and spices at the end. If you add them at the beginning, the flavors will cook out and you will end up with a bland bowl of soup. Trust me. 

This was quite good with a crusty bread. I found a sugar free, vegan ciabatta baguette at Trader Joe's. I don't eat much bread but a taste with this soup was quite good.

MSPI Tomato Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe on Jujugoodnews.com.

 With a few simple modifications, it was MSPI friendly. You have to be pretty cautious of bouillon as it often contains dairy and/or soy. I found this brand at several of the natural grocery stores in town as well as on Amazon. It is a little pricy but I have used it several times with good success.

Delicious Tomato Vegetable Soup (adapted from Jujugoodnews.com)

Ingredients
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce (Hunt's brand is MSPI safe)
5 cups water
1 cubes vegetable bouillon (Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon with Herbs is the brand I used)
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning - Hyvee Brand
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce (I used Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Sauce - chili peppers, distilled vinegar, sugar, spices, xanthan gum. They recently added that this is made on shared equipment with wheat, eggs, soy & fish. I used it anyway as I put just a splash in and the ingredients weren't dairy or soy directly.)
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup uncooked Trader Joe's Orecchiette pasta

Directions
In a large pot, mix the tomato sauce, water, vegetable bouillon, bay leaf, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, sugar, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer at least 30 minutes.
Stir in the celery, carrots, zucchini, and corn. Cover, and continue to simmer 30 minutes.
Stir pasta into the pot, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.

We liked this. I am not sure it even needs the pasta and I might consider adding mushrooms and maybe using my immersion blender a bit next time. YUM! Ate half and put the rest in the freezer for a more tired evening. 

Mexican Noodle Soup

Yes, it is summer. Yes, we usually save the soups for winter but this just sounded too good.

Mexican Noodle Soup from PETA's website. Yeah, PETA has recipes. I stumbled across this one on Pinterest. A little strange but delicious.

I used my new Ninja for this. I absolutely love that thing! A smidge pricy but so very worth it. It took about 6 seconds to puree the top four ingredients perfectly. Happy sigh. It is the little things. Gonna be good for baby food. And it can go in the dishwasher. Yes!

Mexican Noodle Soup
4–6 large tomatoes, cut into large cubes
1 medium white onion, cut into large cubes
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used Olive Oil)
1 16 oz.-pkg. cut fideo or 1 16 oz.-pkg. angel hair pasta, broken into 1-inch pieces (I acutally ended up only using half of a package and that seemed to be more than enough. If one used more I think more broth would have to be added.)
32 oz. vegetable broth (Trader Joe's brand is MSPI safe)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. cumin
Chili flakes, chopped serrano chilies, or diced jalapeños, to taste (optional)
Cilantro, and sliced avocado, for garnish (optional)

• In a blender, purée the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and oil. Transfer to a large pot and cook over medium heat.
• Add the noodles, broth, salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin. For a spicier soup, add the chili flakes, serrano chilies, or jalapeños. Cook for approximately 12 to 15 minutes, then simmer until the noodles are tender.
• Garnish with optional toppings, as desired.

Makes 10 to 12 servings