This soup is simply divine. I love everything about it. From the simplicity of making it, to the rich flavor that is achieved through the cooking process. The sweet flavor of the red bell pepper is intensified when they’re roasted. I have a gas stovetop and begin the cooking process with the bell pepper directly on the burner with the flame on medium. What you’re looking for is a really good char. This can also be achieved on the grill, or under your broiler.

INGREDIENTS
5 Red Peppers, roasted
4 cups Vegetable Broth
½ cup Heavy Cream
3 Tbsp Olive oil
Pinch of Salt
Sour Cream, garnish (optional)
Sprig of Fresh Parsley, garnish (optional)

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and roast the red peppers over an open flame.
Place in a baking dish and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until soft.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, before handling.
Once the peppers are cool, remove skin, stem and seeds, and discard. (I actually like to leave the skin on mine, but it’s up to you.)
Place peppers in the food processor or blender, adding broth if needed for processing.
Process until you get the desired consistency (I like mine with a little texture).
Place peppers in a medium size saucepan, add in the broth and heavy cream.
Heat on medium until hot.
Stir in olive oil.
Add salt to taste.
Enjoy!

I make a lot of soup. It’s easy, and satisfying… and I love it!

This is definitely one of the easiest soups and I think it’s also one of the tastiest. Sometimes the simplest is the best!!

INGREDIENTS
1 lb. Broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp Butter
1 tsp Flour
2 Tbsp Cold Water
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Nutmeg

METHOD
In a large saucepan cook the broccoli in the vegetable broth until it is soft.
With a handheld emulsion blender puree the broccoli until it is smooth.
If you don’t have a handheld blender, puree the broccoli in the food processor until smooth, and pour it back into the saucepan.
In a small bowl mix the flour with the 2 tablespoons of cold water until no lumps remain.
Add the flour mixture into the saucepan with the broccoli.
Stir in the butter, salt, and nutmeg.
Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.
Enjoy!

I’ve always been a fan of Pacific Foods, so I jumped onboard when I found out they were sponsoring a contest using their Soup Starters! I received samples of their Vegetable Pho Soup Starter and their Tortilla Soup Starter… and I got busy.

The first soup I made to enter is this Wild Mushroom Soup with Cilantro Dumplings. We loved it and the Pho Soup Starter made it super easy!!

INGREDIENTS
For Soup:
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 clove of Garlic, sliced
8 oz Wild Mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 – 32 oz. Pacific Foods Vegetarian Pho Soup Starter
1 Carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Chinese Five Spice
1 Scallion, sliced
Fresh Cilantro, for garnish (if desired)

For Dumplings:
½ cup Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Salt
Dash of Pepper
2 Tbsp fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
1 Egg (for Vegan Egg: recipe below)
2 tsp Butter, melted (for Vegan recipe, substitute Earth Balance)
1/4 to 1/3 cup Milk (or Vegan milk of your choice)

Note: Not a fan of cilantro, substitute fresh parsley instead!

METHOD
For Soup:
In a large heavy saucepan add the olive oil, garlic and mushrooms.
Saute over medium heat, until the mushrooms are soft.
Add the Pacific Foods Vegetarian Pho Soup Starter.
Add the carrot, salt and Chinese Five Spice.
Allow to come to a boil, then lower heat to medium to allow the carrot to cook for 5 minutes.
Lower heat to simmer while you make the dumplings.

For Dumplings:
In a medium bowl place the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cilantro.
Stir to combine.
Add in the egg, butter and enough of the milk to form a stiff batter.
Turn the soup back to medium heat.
Drop small teaspoonfuls of the dough into the hot soup (dumplings will expand as they cook).
Cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes, without lifting the lid.
After 20 minutes, gently stir the soup and serve.
Sprinkle with a little fresh Cilantro, if desired.
Enjoy!

* * * * *

For Vegan Version of this Soup here are the substitutions:

– Substitute Earth Balance for the Butter
– Use Vegan milk of your choice

– Vegan Egg Recipe below:

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp Flax Meal (or grind flax seeds, or chia seeds yourself until they’re a fine powder)
3 Tbsp Water

METHOD
Place flax meal or chia meal in a small bowl.
Whisk in the water, a little at a time, until it has all been incorporated.
Place bowl, covered, in the refrigerator for a minimum of 15 minutes.
This is a really important step, as it makes the “eggs” become the consistence of egg whites, and this will act as your binder in the recipe.

Sausage & Bean Soup topped with a Poached Egg

This is my second entry into the Pacific Foods contest. My first entry was Wild Mushroom Soup with Cilantro Dumplings using their Vegetable Pho Soup Starter. This time I’m using Pacific Foods Tortilla Soup Starter.

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Italian Chicken Sausages, removed from casing
2 cloves Garlic, diced
1 Jalapeno, remove seeds and dice
1 small Onion, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 – 32 oz. Pacific Foods Tortilla Soup Starter
1 1/2 cups Corn
1 – 16 oz. can of Cannellini Beans
1 – 16 oz. can of Kidney Beans
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper, fresh ground
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

Optional:
Serve with a poached egg on top, or a dollop of sour cream.

METHOD
In a large heavy saucepan add the olive oil.
Over medium heat add in the sausage.
Break up the sausage as it cooks with a wooden spoon, or a handheld potato masher (I used the masher).
When the sausage is broken up, and partially cooked, add in the garlic, jalapeno, onion, bell pepper, and celery.
Continue to cook over medium heat until the sausage is fully cooked and the veggies are beginning to soften, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the Pacific Foods Tortilla Soup Starter, corn, cannellini beans, kidney beans, cinnamon, salt, pepper and cilantro.
Simmer soup for 20 minutes, covered.
Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed.
Enjoy!

The good thing about making your own is you can use all organic ingredients, and you can make it as hot as you’d like, or not at all. I’ve probably never made this soup the same way twice. Sometimes I’ll put carrots and peas in it, or zucchini/squash. Just depends what I have on hand at the time. You may notice in the picture that I put a potato in this one. I just happened to have an extra cooked potato, so I peeled it, chopped it… and it was a great addition.

Homemade tortilla soup is so easy to make and it’s hearty enough to be a meal, once you put all the toppings on it! I sure hope you give my recipe a try.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
½ Green Bell Pepper, chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Jalapeño, seeded and diced
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1 cup fresh Corn
1 – 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes (fire-roasted is best for this)
6 cups of Vegetable Broth
Juice of 1 Lime
½ tsp Salt, if needed
About 16 Tortilla Chips, broken into pieces
1 cup Jack Cheese, shredded
1 Avocado, diced
1/2 cup Sour Cream, if desired
Fresh Cilantro, if desired (as garnish)

METHOD
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and chili powder, sauté for 2 minutes.
Stir in the corn, diced tomatoes with juice, and vegetable broth.
Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the lime juice.
Taste and add salt, if needed.
Ladle soup into bowls.
Top with tortilla chips, cheese, avocado, sour cream and cilantro.
Enjoy!

I was so happy to find celery root (celeriac) at Whole Foods in Nashville last week… since I haven’t been able to find it at the local supermarkets. Amazing how such a knobby, ugly root could bring me such joy! I just love the flavor of celery root and I usually make celery root pancakes. However, since I’ve been incorporating more raw foods into our diet (which is now 1/3 raw), I decided to do something different with this one and make a soup. A cold soup. With the delicious blend of the celery root and apple, I honestly could eat this soup every day.

For this recipe I used a big red Delicious apple, but a Granny Smith apple would be really good, too. I used spring onion tops for the garnish. Chives would work well, but I didn’t have any… so, the spring onion tops worked fine.

I hope you’ll give this recipe a try!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1 large Celery Root, peeled and rough chopped
1 large Apple, peeled, cored and rough chopped (finely chop 1/3 cup for garnish and set aside)
1 1/2 cups Water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp Coconut Butter
1 tsp Black Truffle Oil
Pinch of Sea Salt
Spring Onion tops, chopped for garnish
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

METHOD
Place the celery root, apple, and a little of the water in the foot processor or blender.
Blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture through a sieve and disgard the pulp.
Place mixture back into the food processor.
Add the rest of the water, lemon, coconut butter, truffle oil, and salt.
Blend to combine.
Divide mixture evenly into 2 bowls.
Garnish with the 1/3 cup of finely chopped apple, and spring onion tops.
Drizzle the olive oil in a circular motion.
Serve at once.
Enjoy!

This is so good. Words cannot describe the taste sensation that these ingredients combined, create. I tried something similar at the deli counter of Whole Foods last summer. However, the last time I went to Whole Foods they didn’t have it… so, of course, I was determined to re-create it.  At Whole Foods it was being sampled with tortilla chips, which is how I served it today, on top of crispy flour tortilla chips that I fried up at home.

But seriously, you can totally skip the chips. I love the clean, fresh flavors so much that I prefer to just eat it like a Gazpacho, nice and chilled. YUM!

INGREDIENTS
1 large Cucumber, peeled and rough chopped
1/2 of a fresh Pineapple, rough chopped
1 cup Pineapple juice
1 Green Onion, rough chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded and rough chopped
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro leaves
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Juice of 1/2 a Lime
a few pinches of Sea Salt

METHOD
Place all the ingredients in the blender/food processor.
Pulse until blended, but still chunky.
Taste and season with more salt, if needed.
Best served chilled.
Enjoy!