Minestrone Soup on a Cold Autumn Day

(this is NOT my photo, photo can be found here)

Ok, it's not really that cold today....it was 60! But it WILL be!

I forgot to take a picture of my minestrone, so I found one that looked similar online. 

The other day I was at Whole Foods and I bought their Tomato Basil Soup (in a container) and then I thought...."Hmmm, I could really add to this!"  And I did. 

Minestrone Soup

serves 3-4

1 container (24 oz) of Whole Foods Roasted Tomato Basil soup (or other roasted tomato soup)

~10-15 oz of pureed tomatoes (depending how liquidy you like it)

1 stalk celery, chopped

1/2 small yellow onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

2-3 large kale leaves, chopped

1 cup dry small pasta shells (I used corn pasta)

1 15-oz can canellini beans

Red pepper flakes

Creole Seasoning

In a medium soup pot, add about 1/4 cup water, along with the celery, onions, and carrots. Cook on medium until onion is almost translucent, about 5-8 minutes. While that's cooking, cook the pasta al dente (it will cook a little more in the soup). Drain. 

Add the soup, pureed tomatoes, kale, pasta, and beans to the pot. Bring to boil, and then cook on medium (covered) for about 6-8 minutes until completely heated through. Add seasoning to taste. 

Optional: serve garnished with shredded vegan mozzarella. 

Enjoy! We both thought this was an excellent soup! I will definitely make it again. 

And with winter coming, this is a great addition to your recipe box! What's your favorite winter soup?

Eat smart,

T.

Roots and Soups

As we prepare for the impending storm, I thought I'd link again to my storm prep post. It seems it doesn't matter where we move, we always bring along the hurricanes. When we left New Orleans to live in Cincinnati for a year, we brought a hurricane....lost power for 5 days! And now we have moved to New England, here we go again. Sorry!! But anyway, good idea to be prepared, so get going.

Now on to the actual post. It's ROOT season! Yup, potatoes, onions, turnips, parsnips, you name it....

I roasted a big pan of roots, including parsnips, turnips, celeriac, kohlrabi, onions, and beets for color (since it was all white!). So good. Cut them up, spread them out on a baking sheet, sprinkle on some "Herbs of Provence" and some salt, bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes....done! (you might want to stir them a bit in the middle)

I love roasted root vegetables!! What's your favorite root? This was my first time with a kohlrabi and celeriac. Here's a picture of the dirty, half peeled celeriac:

Have you had celeriac before? It tastes like celery, but with a really weird texture.

Made some beet salad too (boiled beets, raw onions, apple cider vinegar, salt):

It's also SOUP season! A nice warming bowl of soup on a cold Autumn evening. Yup :)

(Harvest Corn and Squash Soup)

(Couscous and Roasted Pepper Soup)

Both of the above soup recipes are from Devra Gartenstein's "Local Bounty: Seasonal Vegan Recipes". It's an excellent book with recipes by season. Both of these soups were so delicious!!

What's your favorite Fall/Winter soup?

Eat smart,

T.

Pureed Potato Carrot Soup

I  hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. We are going to try a new vegan brunch in town tomorrow! I'll be sure to post about it and let you know how it goes.

After being sick, I wanted to add vegetables back into my diet slowly, so as not to upset my stomach. That's how I got this soup....I decided to puree some potatoes with carrots to make it easier to digest, so here it is!

It's probably pretty cold for a lot of you, so this is a good winter recipe. Right now, it's 78 degrees and sunny here, so I won't be cooking this one today:

Pureed Potato Carrot Soup 
(makes 2 large bowls)


2 white potatoes (feel free to try sweet potatoes!)
4 carrots
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2" piece fresh gingerchopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth


Steam the potatoes and carrots until very soft. In a soup pot, saute the onions, celery, and ginger in a little bit of water until  soft. Put the broth into your Vitamix (or other high-speed blender) and add the potatoes, carrots, and onion mixture. Puree until smooth. Add the soup back into your pot and add 1/2 cup broth as well as salt and pepper to taste. Stir and serve warm. You could try mixing in some vegan cheddar cheese at the end, if you'd like!

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?? What's your favorite winter soup?

Eat smart,
T.

Robert Cheeke stuff

I recently ordered a t-shirt from Robert Cheeke while he was doing his "Black Friday" discounts and look at all the other free goodies he threw in! Besides the shirt, I got a grocery bag, a tank top, some Vega samples, and some cool brochures and stickers. That's just the cover of his book on the left (though I do have the actual book...see my post about it here). 

I'm not a bodybuilder, but I have been using the p90x workout program, so that's about as close as I'm going to get! I started round 2 of p90x about a week ago. The Classic version this time and plyo is killing me. Anyone have suggestions for good shoes to get for that? Lots of cushioning is needed. Right now I'm just using really old sneakers for my indoor workouts and they're pretty worn down on the bottom.

Onto other things....have you seen these salad dressings (Sass)? I found them at Whole Foods...plant based, low calorie, low fat....and tasty! Though I do need to pour a lot on......I guess it's ok though, because it's mostly vegetables :)

And how about this soup (Pacific)? I liked it a lot!

What awesome foods have you tried lately??

Eat smart, 

T.

Carrot Ginger Soup

It's perfect weather here for a nice hot soup. Yes, it actually dipped below 50 degrees!

So I thought I'd whip up some soup and carrot with ginger seemed perfect. But first, let me show you the awesome pumpkin pancakes I had, made with leftover pumpkin puree and served with leftover cranberry sauce:

Are you wondering about that cool coffee mug in the background?? (insert shameful plug here)
That, my friends, is my REAL gig. The awesome mug has our new logo on it, designed by our friend, Amie of NexStitch. My husband and I are a viola duo. We perform and teach lessons (online). If you'd like any of these cool items for yourself or to give as gifts, hop on over to our online shop to get them! And of course, to help out some musicians :)

Where were we before I went off on a silly (but needed) tangent...??

Oh yes, carrot soup!

First I have to mention that I made my vegetable barley stew again last night....so good, and also perfect for this weather.

Carrot-Ginger Soup
(makes ~3-4 servings)

1 1/2 lbs carrots (any kind), cut into chunks and steamed
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup almond milk (use more if you like it thinner)
pinch of nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

In your medium soup pot, add the onions, celery, garlic, ginger and about 1/4 cup water. Cook on medium heat until the onions are soft.


In a blender (I used a Vitamix), add your broth, onion mix, and steamed carrots. Puree.


Pour the pureed soup back into your soup pot and add the milk, pepper, and nutmeg. Heat on medium-low until it's as hot as you want it. Turn off the heat and add the salt. Stir and serve.

Check out the GIVEAWAY on CzechVegan's blog for Manna Products!


How's the weather where you are? Have you been making hot soups to keep warm? What's your favorite soup?

Eat smart,
T.