Thai Curry Soup

I posted a picture of this soup on Facebook last week when I made it and immediately had 4 friends ask me for the recipe. It's been ages since I've updated my blog, and while I have indeed been cooking I haven't been writing down my recipes, and quite honestly, haven't been creating many new things. Here is the recipe for the Thai Curry Soup as best as I can from memory:

Thai Curry Soup

8 oz package Pad Thai Noodles (wide rice noodles)
Olive Oil
1 cup broccoli, cut into the tiniest florets you can manage
1 block extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 1/2 -1 inch cubes
1/4 large red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
Thai Green Curry Paste (I use World Foods Brand that I get at Whole Foods Market)
1 can Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk
32 oz. Vegtable Broth
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves (optional, but recommended)
1 stalk of lemongrass (optional, but recommended)
Juice from one lime
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
2-3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach


Cook rice noodles as directed, drain and set aside. In a frying pan heat 1 Tbs of olive oil. To the oil add the broccoli florets and saute until bright green and beginning to tender (you still want them crisp). Remove broccoli from pan, add tofu and more oil if necessary. Cook until tofu is nice and brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add onion and shiitake mushrooms and saute until onion is translucent and mushroom is tender. Remove from heat. In a stock pot place 3 Tbs Thai curry paste (if you are using Thai Kitchen brand start with 1 Tbs and increase according to taste.....Thai Kitchen brand is MUCH hotter than World Foods Brand). Turn heat to high and let curry paste become fragrant. Whisk in one can of coconut milk and 32 oz of vegetable stock. Add kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Add tofu and vegetables and simmer for 15-20 minutes to soften veggies and marry flavors. Remove from heat, add juice of one lime, cilantro leaves and baby spinach and stir in to wilt spinach leaves. Remove lime leaves and lemongrass.

To serve, place 1 cup cooked rice noodles in the bottom of a bowl, ladle soup on top. Enjoy.

Bean and Bac'n Soup

Right off the bat, I apologize for the terrible picture.....just as I was about to snap a photo and serve dinner the camera battery went dead, so I had to use my iPhone to take the picture. Hence, the bac'n turned out as a large brown blob in the center of a soup bowl.....less than appetizing, I know, but the soup was worth sharing. I'll be making it again, hopefully with a better photo to share.

With that out of the way, time for a confession. When I was an omnivore I loved Campbell's Bean and Bacon soup, LOVED it! This was my attempt at mimicking that. While this soup isn't exactly like Campbell's, it is really good. Because this recipe calls for such a large amount of beans I recommend using dried beans and cooking them in advance.

Bean and Bac'n Soup

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and cubed

1 bay leaf

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp liquid smoke

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp celery seed

1 tsp tamari

4 cups good quality veg. stock (I use home made)

4 cups water

8 cups white beans, cooked (Great Norther, Cannellini, or Navy)

2 tsp salt

1 package Fakin' Bacon

In a large soup pot, heat oil. Add onions, carrots and bay leaf and begin to saute. Once veggies are beginning to soften add garlic and saute a few minutes more. Add liquid smoke, celery seed, oregano, and tamari. Stir to combine. Add stock and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add beans and salt and continue to simmer while you cook the "bacon" according to package directions. When bacon has cooked and cooled, cut or crumble into small pieces and add to soup. Stir to combine.

Spaghetti Soup

As soon as I saw this on Happy Herbivore I knew I had to make it. First, I love spaghetti squash. Second, this is exactly how I eat my spaghetti......a lot of sauce, a little spaghetti. This recipe is such a fantastic idea, and such a creative way to use spaghetti squash.

I made the soup according to the recipe, only I left the red pepper flakes out of the cooking process to make this soup more kid friendly. Instead, I added them to the individual bowls for Rob and myself. This soup was definitely a hit, happily consumed by by both parents and kids! The soup was perfect served with some crusty homemade baguette. We had plenty left over for the next day, and I think I liked it even better the second day (as is the case with most soups). I highly recommend this soup, especially if you've got spaghetti lovers in your house.

An added bonus of this soup is that it's quick, easy and cheap to make. With the exception of the squash it was made with all things that I already had on hand.

Raw Tomato Basil Soup

For most of the summer I've eaten a High Raw diet, meaning that I've included a high percentage of raw foods each day. Typically I've done raw until dinner. On the high raw diet I've never felt better. It really is incredible what eating whole, living foods can do for you.

Over the past week or so I've really gotten away from this style of eating and have been eating more cooked foods, more left overs, and a lot more carbs. I woke up this morning knowing that something needed to change. While I always include a variety of vegetables, and eat mostly healthy foods, nothing nourishes my body like raw foods do. So today I am back on the high raw diet, and in just this one day can already feel a difference in my energy levels, in my mental clarity, and in the waistline of my pants!!

This delicious raw soup is a fantastic way to savor the last of summer's tomatoes, yet hearty enough to enjoy on a cool day as well. An added bonus is that raw foods are often quick and easy to prepare and require very little clean up.

Raw Tomato Basil Soup
enough for 1 bowl

3 medium tomatoes, peeled and cored

6 or 7 basil leaves

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 tsp Raw Blue agave

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Put all ingredients in to a blender and puree until desired consistency. You can leave some of the tomatoes slightly chunky if you prefer.

Curried Butternut Squash-Sweet Potato Soup

Hi to everyone still hanging around here!! It's been so long since I've updated I wouldn't blame you at all if you've given up on me!! I do have several things to post about, I'm just having trouble finding the time to actually sit down, transfer pictures from camera to computer, then transfer to blogger, and finally write something interesting about them.

I just made this soup last night, so I guess I'll start with this. It comes from a recipe my mother in law sent over from Ireland, but I did change it slightly, which I hope added to the yumminess. The original recipe did not call for roasting of the squash and potatoes, but I opted to take the extra time and roast them first to intensify their flavors. I just love the taste of roasted butternut squash.

This recipe makes a HUGE batch of soup, and is very filling, so there will be tons of left over soup to freeze. I froze several single serving containers for Rob to take to lunch, and a few double batches to have on hand for quick dinners. Unfortunately the girls weren't big fans and ended up eating Light Life Smart Deli "Ham" sandwiches.

Curried Butternut Squash-Sweet Potato Soup

1 Tbs spoon Olive Oil (plus more for drizzling squash before roasting)

1 butternut squash (weighing a little less than 1 pound)

2 large sweet potatoes (again, a little less than 1 lb)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbs curry powder

4 cups quality vegetable stock

9 oz plain soy creamer

torn basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 425. Peel and dice butternut squash, place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat and roast about 25 minutes, until tender. In the meantime, roast sweet potatoes in their skins on same baking sheet. Remove from oven and cool until you can handle the potatoes.

Heat remaining Tbs olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add curry powder and cook for another minute, until fragrant. Add sweet potatoes, squash and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes. Using a hand held blender or food processor, puree soup. Stir in soy cream and heat through. Ladle into serving bowls and top with basil leaves.

I served this soup with a big salad and some home made bread. I'm working on a good whole wheat sandwich bread, but I haven't quite perfected it yet. My girls eat a lot of bread and I hate to give them store bought bread. There are only a few brands that I can buy that haven't been processed on a line with peanuts, and some of those brands don't have the best ingredients in it. So, I've set out on a quest to make my own. I've gotten quite good at specialty breads (thanks to Vegan Dad), but my kids really like their sandwiches on that chewy, airy and not at all crumbly store bought stuff. As of now it's not completely whole wheat because I can't find any whole wheat bread flour. Right now we stand at about 2 parts whole wheat flour to one part unbleached bread flour, but as soon as I find some whole wheat bread flour I hope to have a recipe for 100% whole wheat sandwich bread.

Smoky Chipotle Black Bean Soup

The idea for this soup came from a similar soup that they serve at Whole Foods Market. As you all know, Stella loves anything that contains beans, and she's developed a taste for the spicy as well. She loves this soup from WFM, and of course was thrilled to have it prepared for her at home!!

Smoky Chipotle Black Bean Soup

2 cups dried black beans

1 Tbs Cumin

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup onion, roughly diced

1/4 cup celery, roughly diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped

2 Tbs adobo sauce

4 cups vegetable stock

Rinse beans, cover with water and soak for 8 hours, or over night. When ready to prepare soup, drain beans. In medium sized soup pot add soaked beans, cumin, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cook beans for 30-45 minutes, or until done. In meantime, heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion and celery, and saute until beginning to brown. Add garlic, stir and cook a minute more. Add chipotles, adobo sauce and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. When beans are cooked pour beans with their cooking liquid into soup pot, stir to combine, then puree with a hand blender (or in batches in your food processor). Serve with a dollop of Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream, and a few avocado slices.

Now I Know My ABC's.......

I don't often make things that are considered kid friendly meals. Both girls have pretty sophisticated palates for children, so for the most part they eat, or at least taste, whatever I've prepared. This meal however was prepared specifically with the kids in mind. Mairin has been begging for "Alphabet soup", so I obliged with this version that is reminiscent of what your mother used to pour out of that little red and white can. This meal went over really well with the girls.....Stella called hers "elephant soup"!!

I wanted the soup to be kid friendly, and I didn't want the vegetables to overshadow the small alphabet pasta. Therefore, this recipe does require some tedious chopping. But your kids will feel so special that you've made a meal "just for them".

Alphabet Soup

2 Tbs Olive oil

1 onion, diced small

2 ribs celery, diced small

2 carrots, diced into small cubes

3 small yukon gold potatoes, diced into small cubes

3 cloves garlic, minced (optional only if your kids like garlic)

2 bay leaves

1 tsp thyme leaves (dried)

1 tsp oregano (dried)

1 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

6 cups good quality vegetable stock

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn kernels

8 oz alphabet shaped pasta, cooked and drained

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add onion, celery, carrots and potato and saute until veggies are becoming soft. Add minced garlic, bay leaves, thyme and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss around in pan until fragrant. Add tomatoes and their juice, using juice to de-glaze pan if needed. Add vegetable stock, peas, and corn and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until ready to serve. Check seasoning and add extra salt if needed. Just before ready to serve, add pasta to pot, stir to heat through. For the adults, I added a few Tbs of chopped fresh parsley to brighten the flavor a bit.

To finish the meal I made the classic childhood favorite, Oatmeal Raisin cookies. I used Dreena's wheat free recipe from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. These cookies are absolutely perfect. They taste exactly like a cookie your grandmother would have baked for you when you were a child.

So, get cookin', and make a special meal for you kids tonight!!

Split Pea - Barley Soup

I love it when my family surprises me!! I threw together this split pea soup thinking that I was going to be met at the table with an awful lot of grumbling. To my pleasant surprise, there wasn't one single grumble to be heard. In fact, second helpings were had all around, and Mairin requested the leftovers in a thermos for her school lunch!!

There really isn't a lot to this soup. It's very minimalist on the seasoning allowing the wonderful flavor of the split peas to shine through. Even without extra spices and seasonings it's still bursting with heart warming deliciousness.

Split Pea - Barley Soup

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 large onion, diced

2 large carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 tsp Hickory Flavor Liquid Smoke

1 tsp tarragon leaves

2 cups green split peas, rinsed and picked over

4 cups vegetable stock + 2 cups water

1 cup pearled barley, uncooked

3 cups water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 large radish, thinly sliced

In a soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and saute until tender. Add liquid smoke, tarragon, some salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add split peas, veg stock and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until peas are tender. In the meantime, bring barley and 3 cups of water to a boil with bouillon cube. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover and let simmer until liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove barley from heat and set aside. Once peas have become tender, transfer soup to food processor and puree until smooth and creamy (this may need to be done in batches, depending on the size of your food processor; alternatively you could use a hand blender to get the job done). Add barley to pureed soup and stir to combine and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, if needed, to taste. Ladle to bowls and garnish with radish slices in the center.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Fall is definitely upon us. The days are still warm (in the mid 80s), but the humidity is non-existent, and the mornings and evenings are cool and crisp. Not to mention, the farmers market is abundant, and the CSA is stocking us on winter squash.

This past week we received 2 large butternut squash, so I decided to make them into a soup. Served with a salad loaded with diced fall apples and dressed with maple-dijon vinaigrette, it was a delightful fall meal.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

(serves 8)

2 large butternut squash

2 large cloves garlic

2 Tbs olive oil

2 large carrots, cut in half lengthwise and sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves

4 cups vegetable broth

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half lengthwise, and scoop out seeds. Place squash, cut side up in baking dish with about 1/4 inch water. Roast in oven until soft, about 45 minutes. While squash is roasting, place garlic cloves, skin on, in aluminum foil drizzled with olive oil, and roast along with squash.

In a large soup pot, heat 2 Tbs olive oil over medium-high heat and saute carrots, celery and onion, until soft. Stir in thyme and continue to cook until fragrant. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Once squash is cooked, scoop the flesh into a food processor along with the roasted garlic (skins removed) and puree until smooth and creamy. Add squash puree to soup, return to a boil and stir puree to loosen and combine, then reduce heat to simmer. Salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm until ready to serve. I left the vegetables whole in mine to keep it a little chunky, you could run your hand blender through it if you prefer a creamier, smoother soup.

Asparagus-Potato Soup

Two sure signs of spring.......our first CSA pick-up, and it was loaded with pencil thin asparagus. Unfortunately, due to lots of rain and cold nights early in the season it wasn't loaded with much else (except a nice big bunch of beautiful broccoli). Our baskets are going to be skimpy or absent for the next few weeks. But we've been promised that it'll all be made up for later in the season.

As it turns out, we're leaving town for the weekend, and wouldn't have been able to use up a whole basket of stuff anyway, so I guess it all works out in the end.

So, what to do with over 2 pounds of asparagus?? Well, when your kids won't eat asparagus when they can see what it is, you make asparagus soup, of course. So, that's exactly what I did with this bunch of asparagus. Mairin gives asparagus a big "blech" whenever I mention it, but lo and behold, she ate 2 adult sized bowls of this soup!! She wasn't the only one to eat more than their share of soup......as a matter of fact, we finished off the entire pot!!

Asparagus Potato Soup

2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly diced

2 stalks of celery roughly diced

1 small onion, roughly diced

4 Yukon gold potatoes, roughly diced

2 pounds asparagus, cut into 3 inch pieces

2 tsp dried tarragon

6 cups good quality vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. Saute until softened. Add potatoes and tarragon. Stir around until fragrant then add vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then simmer until potatoes are beginning to soften. Add asparagus and cook until potatoes have softened and asparagus is still bright green. Transfer in batches to food processor and process until smooth. Return to heat, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve garnished with raw asparagus tops and home made salt and pepper croutons. (leave off asparagus tops and add extra croutons if you have kids that turn up their noses at asparagus!!!)

White Bean and Tomato Soup

As promised, something warm and comforting from the crock pot. Tonight I kind of winged it and threw together this white bean and tomato soup with some things I had lying around that needed used up (although, I still never found a good use for that zucchini, which will promptly be making it's way to the trash...sigh).

Anyway, despite the morning from hell, I found it in me to do some prep work and throw together what turned out to be probably the best bean soup I've ever had. After a week that seems to have gone on forever this was the most comforting meal I could imagine having. And an added bonus, it was simple and required little of my non-existing energy.

Mairin's been asking for some more of Dreena's jumbo croutons, so I humored her and baked some croutons to serve on top of the soup. They were a great addition to the soup.

White Bean and Tomato Soup

8 oz baby carrots, cut lengthwise into quarters

1 small onion, diced

1 medium leek, white part only, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

2 tsp dried thyme

4 cups cooked white beans

28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

2 cups vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

8 oz frozen spinach

In a medium skillet heat 2 Tbs olive oil over medium high heat. Add carrots, onion, and leek and saute until beginning to soften. Add in garlic, bay leaves, and thyme and saute a minute more. Transfer veggies to slow cooker, add beans, tomatoes and vegetable stock. Stir to combine and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. During last 5-10 minutes of cooking add in frozen spinach. Remove bay leaves and serve hot, topped with jumbo croutons.

Potato Leek Soup

Last night I made my version of the Potato Leek Soup that we love from the local Irish Pub. Having been to lots of real Irish Pubs (thanks to in-laws living on the Emerald Isle!!), I'd have to say that the Rover is the closest to the real thing that we've ever been to on this side of the pond. They serve a delicious potato leek soup, that I'll never quite be able to replicate, but this one's pretty darn good anyway. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to post for you......I got my soup all plated up (or I guess in this case it would be bowled up??) ready to photograph, and lo and behold, batteries are dead.......darn the luck.

Potato Leek Soup

2 Tbs EVOO

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large leek, washed well and sliced (white and green parts)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

2 Bay leaves

3 tsp dried tarragon

6 cups vegetable stock

2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast

Saute carrots, celery, garlic and, leek until beginning to soften. Add S & P to taste. Add in 1 lb peeled yukon golds and saute to begin softening. Add in 2 bay leaves and about 3 tsp of dried tarragon. Saute for about 5 more minutes. Add in 6 cups of stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until all veggies are very soft. Transfer in batches to food processor and puree (or use immersion blender if you are lucky enough to have one). Return to heat, add 2 TBS nutritional yeast, stir to combine and simmer until ready to serve.

Last night was Rob's night to get the girls fed and to dance class all on his own, so I didn't have any sides with the soup. If I had been home to serve this meal as a family, some nice soda bread would be perfect with it.

This soup turns orange when you puree it because of the carrots. Mairin said she wasn't eating it because it was "red", so Rob made her some Weetabix. And, apparently, while he was fixing the cereal she decided she liked it and sneaked off and ate half of her bowl!!

I promise pictures of the soup next time I make it!!

Lentil Soup

Tuesday is upon us once again, and you know what that means, the Crock Pot was a cookin' today. If I want my family to have a homecooked meal on Tuesday's it's got to come from the slowcooker. We've done the Slow Cooked Ziti several Tuesday's now, so it was time for a change. Besides needing to be cooked in the slowcooker, our other Tuesday night requisite is that it has to be something the girls will eat without giving Rob too much hassle since he has to feed them on his own. There's not a lot of time for dinner before dance class starts, so our meal needs to be something that they will eat quickly and that won't require Rob making them a different meal.

Tonight I decided on one of my favorite quick and easy soups. This lentil soup is based on this recipe that I found at The Fat Free Vegan. The soup is pretty good as the recipe directs, however I've made some additions to it that I think make it taste quite a bit better.

1 1/2 C. Puy lentils
1 Large can of crushed tomatoes with basil
2 C. Vegetable broth
1 medium onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1 Bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp sea salt (I use homemade veggie stock that is salt free, so if you are using canned stalk you may need less salt)
fresh ground black pepper.

Put it all in the crock pot, add 4 cups of water. Cook on low 8 hrs or until lentils have softened.

This soup is delicious served with some crusty bread for dipping, but tonight we had it solo.