Soup Spoons

I've been washing a lot of spoons lately.  That's probably because I've been making a lot of soup lately.  It must be the weather.

Since my last soup entry (Zucchini-Asparagus Soup with Basil), I've made several more.  The first was Spring Onion Soup, mostly because I'd gotten almost a dozen of these in my weekly box:

It's hard to make green soup look appetizing!  In fact, I'm wondering now if this was actually supposed to be made with only the bulbs of the red spring onions... Either way this was surprisingly delightful.  I was sure that anything prepared with that many onions, and not a lot of other ingredients, was bound to overwhelm even my taste buds!  Why I imagined it would taste like biting into a raw onion, I don't know.  Instead I found the taste of the onions to be subtle and almost sweet, even creamy.  

The next night I made a Curried Lentil Soup that seemed to get better with each reheating.  

The same could be said of this Lentil Barley Soup...

We had leftovers today and the flavors had fused together perfectly.  Pictures with no recipes...am I evil or what??  Here's one, with more to follow very soon (I promise!).

Lentil Barley Soup

Serves 8

2 Tbs olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 onion, diced

1 medium parsnip, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 tsp cumin

10 cups vegetable broth

3/4 cup barley

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, no salt added

3/4 cup lentils

1 bunch kale, cute into 1" thick strips

chopped fresh dill, for garnish

Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot and add carrots, onion, parsnip and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7 minutes.  Add cumin and cook 1 minute.  Then add vegetable broth and barley and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and cook, partially covered for 25 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes with their juices and lentils.  Continue to simmer another 30 minutes, or until barley and lentils are tender.  Add kale and simmer 10 minutes.  Garnish with dill and serve.

*If you're eating macro and avoiding tomatoes, they can easily be left out of the recipe, but you'll need to add another cup or so of vegetable broth so the soup doesn't get too thick.

Curry Anyone?

I found this awesome recipe on my Whole Foods App and had to try it (thanks, facebookers, for your votes!  I'll get to the split peas tomorrow).  Imagine seeing creamy, curry, and soup all in one title...Irresistible!  And boy, did it deliver.  It was so creamy it tasted like a spicy bisque.  This recipe is super simple (don't let the seed-baking intimidate you, it's a snap) and it will make your house smell amaaaazing.  Oh, and try not to eat all the pumpkin seeds before the soup is ready.

Vegan Creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup


Serves 4
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds, which is what I used)
3 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, divided
3 tsp mild curry powder, divided, and more to taste
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
5 cups (about 1 medium head) cauliflower florets

Preheat oven to 350 F.  In a small bowl, toss sunflower (or pumpkin) seeds with 1 teaspoon almond milk and 1 teaspoon curry powder.

Spread out on a small parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake, tossing once or twice, until toasted and fragrant, 6-8 minutes (or 12 for pumpkin seeds); set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup almond milk in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add cauliflower, remaining 2 teaspoons curry powder and almond milk, cover and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, about 40 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning with more curry powder if you like.  Using an immersion blender, carefully puree soup until smooth.

Alternately, puree in batches in a blender.  Transfer to bowls and garnish with sunflower or pumpkin seeds and serve.