Week 27 -- Roasted Red Pepper Soup

It's berry season, which means I need to clean out my freezer to make room.  I just bought 10 quarts of beautiful fresh strawberries, most of which are now frozen, though some are dehydrated.

The downside is that the strawberries have basically filled my freezer, and I won't have space for the cherries coming soon, or for the blueberries next month.

I'm allergic to the sprays used on berries, and pretty sensitive.  I suspect it's because berries have such thin skin.  I can't eat any berries from stores, not even "organic," so if I don't fill my freezer in the summer there are no berries to eat come winter.

Anyway, last year I made a big batch of roasted red peppers and froze most of them.  They came in very handy for making grilled "cheese" sandwiches and hummus all year.  I had just a few left, so I knew it was time for a creamy roasted red pepper soup.

There are many places online to find directions for roasting peppers.  It's very easy. I just wash the peppers, throw them on a baking sheet (no oil!), and roast at 400 degrees about 30-40 minutes until soft and charred.  When they come out of the oven, put a bowl over the top of them so they can steam for about half an hour.  Then you should be able to slip the skin right off and gently scrape out the seeds.  If you prefer the grill or stove top method, just do a quick search.    The peppers can be frozen until you want to use them.  This is a perfect fall activity when the farmers market is full of less than perfect, almost too old bell peppers.

It's too bad you can't smell a picture!

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped1 small-medium head cauliflower chopped4 roasted red peppersWater2 tsp miso, optional

1. Saute the onion in a saucepan with a little water until soft.  Add garlic.  
2. Add about an inch of water.  Toss in the cauliflower and let it steam until tender (about 10 minutes).
3. Add the roasted red peppers, torn into a few pieces.  Add a bit more water to the pan.
4. Turn off the heat.  Add the miso, if using.  Blend with an immersion blender or carefully transfer to a blender.  Add water as needed to make a smooth blend.
5.  Return to heat until warmed through, but do not boil.  Add more water to reach desired consistency.
Makes about 6 servings

Week 25 -- Creamy Roasted Garlic

I can't get enough of roasted garlic.  I used about half a good-size bulb for this recipe, but I also ate the other half of the bulb just out of the skin.  I'll even eat it cold!

Garlic is a fantastic food for fighting cancer and infections.  And it's delicious!  I have a pretty high tolerance for garlic, and I thought there was the perfect amount in this soup.  If you find garlic strong, feel free to use less.  Keep in mind that it has a milder less-spicy flavor when roasted so it might not be as strong as you think.

I roasted my cauliflower and garlic the night before when I was cooking other foods in the oven.  Then I was able to throw this soup together really quickly the night I ate it.  It was after a full-day field trip and I was exhausted, so fast and easy was a must!  The flavor was amazing, too.

The finished soup, garnished with parsley.

Can you smell it through your screen?  

I don't think any other soup smells this good when simmering.

Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup

1 small-medium onion
1/2 small head cauliflower
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups
8 cloves roasted garlic
water

1.  Roast garlic.  Cut top of a head of garlic.  Wrap in parchment paper.  Bake in oven at 400 F for about 35 minutes.  Let cool.  When ready to use, peel away the papery skin.
2. Roast cauliflower.  Chop into florets and roast at 375 or 400 until tender but not burned.  This and the garlic can be done ahead.
3. Chop onion.  Saute in a little water in a saucepan.  When soft, add cauliflower, white beans, and garlic.  Add water.  Use immersion blender to puree or transfer to blender.
4.  Add water to reach desired consistency.  Return to heat until warmed through.
Makes 2 servings.

Week 17 -- Nacho Soup

I love nachos.  I have several different nacho cheese recipes, depending on the mood I'm in, but they all have one thing in common -- nuts or seeds, so they're high fat.

This soup doesn't have that problem.  It's nut free and the creaminess comes from cauliflower.

The soup is great on its own, but it's even better garnished with salsa and avocado.  I don't currently have any corn-safe olives, but a few sliced olives thrown into the soup would probably be a nice addition.

Here's the finished soup, ready to eat with all the extras.

This is what the veggies look like before cooking and blending.  

Here's the blended soup with the beans, tomatoes, and peppers thrown in.
You can tell my eyes were bigger than my soup pot.  I should have used the stock pot!

Nacho Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot or 2 smaller carrots, chopped
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped
5 cups water, divided
1 bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp miso
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can black beans

1.  Saute the onion and garlic in a little water. 
2. Add the carrot and cauliflower.  Pour in about 1-2 cups of water, cover, and let steam until veggies are tender.
3.  Turn off the heat and add the miso.  Blend the veggies, adding more water to get to desired consistency.  Turn the heat back on to warm soup, but try not to boil it.
4.  Add the seasonings, black beans, tomatoes, and bell pepper.  Let all warm up.
5. Serve with salsa and avocado if desired, or eat as is.

Makes 6 servings.

Week 16 -- Lentil Curry Soup

I love the idea of curry, but I shied away from it for years for two reasons:  first, I can't handle spicy foods (again, I love the idea of them, but they trigger my MCAS), and second, I'm allergic to cloves, which are usually in curry powder.

My mom, however, makes a really good curry soup, with her own curry powder, so I can eat all I want of her food!  You can use commercial or homemade curry powder in this recipe.  The easiest way to make your own is to read the ingredients on a curry powder blend you like.  You can also search online as there are many recipes that can fit your own taste -- spicy or less spicy.

I was home visiting for a few days and she showed me the secrets of her yummy soup, so we made it together for the blog.  Her recipe usually includes liquid aminos and sugar, two things I'm trying to limit.  Our experiment went well -- this soup is delicious! 

I can chop vegetables and take photos at the same time! 
No, actually, Mom is chopping here.

The veggies are starting to multiply.  Soon they might overflow the pan!

More veggies steaming on the stove.

Mom is trying to wrangle all those yummy veggies in the pan.

The finished soup with a big mound of millet.

Ready to eat! 

Lentil Curry Soup

1 onion, chopped

4 medium carrots, chopped in large chunks

3 cloves garlic, chopped

4 medium large gold potatoes, chopped in large chunks

1 cup red lentils

1 bag frozen peas

1/2 bag frozen spinach

2 Tbsp curry powder

Water to cover

4 cups cauliflower

4 dates

1 cup reduced fat unsweetened coconut

2 1/2 cups water

2 Tbsp molasses

1 Tbsp miso

1. Steam the onion, carrots, and garlic in a little water in a large skillet.  Keep covered.  

2. When partially softened, add potatoes and lentils.  Add the peas and spinach.  No need to thaw first, as they will thaw in the soup.  Add curry powder.  Add water to cover.  Cook until lentils are tender (about 10-15 minutes).  About halfway through, add chopped cauliflower.

3. In a blender, blend dates, coconut, water, molasses, and miso.  Add to soup and let all warm up.  (Try to avoid boiling after miso is added.)
4. Serve with cooked millet or other grain, if desired.

Makes 8 servings.