Cream of Pumpkin Soup

On a chilly fall day, my favorite thing to do is make a delicious hearty soup, and then curl up on the couch with a book and bowl of soup. So here's my latest favorite... Cream of Pumpkin Soup! With lots of chopped veggies and a little bit of cashew butter, this dish is the perfect combo of creamy and chunky.   

Ingredients:

3 carrot, diced

½ yellow onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

4 c vegetable stock or water

3 red potatoes, diced

1 c boiling water

¼ c cashew butter (or another nut butter)

2 c pumpkin puree

2 dried bay leaves

1 heaping tsp garlic granules

1 heaping tsp sage

¾ tsp rosemary

½ tsp thyme

1 can northern beans, rinsed

2 c curly kale

toasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish

black pepper to taste

Directions:
Start by deciding whether you want to use fresh or canned pumpkin. If using fresh pumpkin, start with seeding the pumpkin and chopping it up. Put a steam basket into a large pot filled with about 2 inches of water. Add the diced pumpkin to the steam basket and put the lid on the pot. The heat should be a little over medium. After 10-15 minutes, poke the pumpkin with a fork to see if it's tender. When the pumpkin is fully cooked remove from heat. Transfer the pumpkin to a food processor and puree it to an even consistency. Whether making the pumpkin puree or using canned pumpkin, set it aside until it's called for a little bit later.

In a large pot with the lid on, sweat the carrots, onion, and celery over medium heat, until the onions are translucent. Stir frequently. Then add the vegetable stock or water to the pot, along with the diced potatoes and turn up the heat to med-high. Once the water reaches a boil, reduce heat so that water simmers.

Now stir bay leaf and herbs into soup. In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of very hot water with the cashew butter. Whisk it together until there’s a fairly even consistency. Stir cashew blend and the pumpkin puree into the soup pot. Make sure the soup is mixed well.

Once the potatoes are almost fully cooked, add the chopped kale and the beans. Wait 10 more minutes. The potatoes and kale should be fully cooked. Serve warm, and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves: 4-6 

Avospacho

Traditional gazpacho, originating in Spain, is a cool tomato-based vegetable soup. With this avocado version, the soup is quite creamy and a beautiful green color. Adding peas and cucumber to the base and stirring in chopped veggies keeps it from being too high in fat. The best part: no cooking needed. You’ll love this dish on those warm summer nights.

Serves 4 

Diced ingredients

1 avocado, diced

¾ c zucchini, diced

¾ c cucumber, diced

½ c red bell pepper, diced

1/3 c red onions, diced

2 T fresh cilantro, chopped

Blended Ingredients:

1 avocado, without skin

1 c frozen peas

2½ c water

½ c cucumber, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 lemon, juiced

1 T garlic granules

1½ tsp cumin

1 T jalapeno, chopped (optional)

Combine the diced ingredients into a large bowl. Add the ‘blended soup ingredients’ to a blender and process until smooth and creamy. Pour the blended mix into the bowl and stir. Best served chilled.

African Yam Stew

Two popular vegetarian soups of Central Africa were the inspiration for this stew. In this region, sweet potatoes, beans, chili peppers, onions, ginger, garlic and peanuts common ingredients. The peanut butter makes this a creamy stew, but there is only a small amount per serving. To decrease the richness serve over a whole grain or use less nut butter. Feel free to kick up the heat by using jalapeno pepper or more red pepper flakes. 

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

½ c water

1 onion, chopped

1-2 T anaheim or jalapeno pepper, minced

1 T ginger, ground
1 T garlic granules

2 tsp cumin, ground

2 tsp coriander, ground

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

6 yams, peeled and chopped
2 c vegetable broth

24 oz tomatoes, chopped

14 oz garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

14 oz black eyed peas, drained and rinsed

1/2 c almond or peanut butter, unsweetened

1½ c corn
6 c collards, chopped

In a large pot, sauté onion and pepper with water for minutes, stirring occasionally. Add ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and red pepper. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Mix in yams, vegetable broth, tomatoes, beans and nut butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in corn and collards and cook for about 10 more minutes, until yams and greens are tender. Serve over brown rice or other whole grain.

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving:  606 g
Calories			499
Total Fat			8 g
Saturated Fat			1 g
Trans Fat			0 g
Cholesterol			0 mg
Sodium			326 mg
Total Carb			97 g
Fiber			17 g
Sugar			10 g
Protein			13 g
Vitamin A		1119 IU
Vitamin C		64 mg
Calcium		194 mg
Folate		211 ug
Iron		5 mg
Zinc		2 mg

Split Pea & Cauliflower Soup

A variation of pea soup is part of many cultures. In the 18th and 19th century, split pea soup was a primary part of the British and Irish diet. Sailors loved having peas, because they’re high in protein, low in cost, and dried so they could be stored easily. Split peas still have these qualities, which means they are still a great staple food.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups green split peas

8 cups vegetable broth or water

2 cups cauliflower or other vegetable, chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon coriander

1 tablespoon garlic granules

½ teaspoon curry (optional)

½ teaspoon graham masala (optional)

In a large soup pot with a lid bring split peas and water to a boil. Then reduce heat to low-medium so that it continues to lightly boil for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

In a sauté pain, sweat the carrots, onions and cauliflower until onions become translucent, stirring occasionally. If the veggies start to stick to bottom of pan, add a little water as needed. Then add the spices, stirring frequently. Cook for a couple more minutes. Pour veggie-spice mix into the split peas. Let soup simmer for 30 minutes on low heat, or until it has your desired consistency. The longer the soup cooks for, the more the split peas break down and the creamier the soup becomes. In total, I like to let my soup cook for about 1½-2 hours so that it’s really creamy. Another option is to use an immersion blender to help break up the split peas faster. If it gets too think you can add more water or vegetable broth.

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving:  746 g
Calories			411
Total Fat			2 g
Saturated Fat			0 g
Trans Fat			0 g
Cholesterol			0 mg
Sodium			83 mg
Total Carb			75 g
Fiber			29 g
Sugar			15 g
Protein			27 g
Vitamin A		877 IU
Vitamin C		34 mg
Calcium		144 mg
Folate		327 ug
Iron		7 mg
Zinc		4 mg