Spicy Tortilla Soup with Fresh Greens and Avocado

I made this batch with black beans and
cut my tortillas in strips before I baked them.

Seems kind of crazy to be making soup on May 17 but when I left work yesterday it was snowing, it snowed all night and it's snowing now. To me, that is soup weather.

My new kitchen love is Pacific Organic Soup Starters, specifically the Tortilla Soup Base. It is so incredibly tasty I do not add any spices – at all. I just saute some chopped onion and garlic, add the soup base, the rest of the ingredients and cook for 10 minutes or so. This stuff is amazing. I figured it had to be super high in fat and sodium so I finally looked on the nutrition panel and was shocked to see only 15 calories per serving and 290 mg of sodium. Oh, and ZERO fat. Another great feature is it's NOT in a can so you don't have to worry about BPA.

If you're unlucky enough to be where it's snowing make it today. If you're hot and sweaty just pick up a container of the soup base and save it for the next rainy day.

Here's my recipe but you can mix and match to your heart's content.

Ingredients
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 32 oz. container of Pacific Tortilla Soup Base
1 can or 1-1/2 cups cooked pinto or black beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
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fresh greens or spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 zucchini, chopped
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Toppings
chopped avocado
thinly sliced or crushed baked tortilla strips

Directions
Saute onion and garlic in large pot until limp. Add soup base, beans, and corn and bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender to thicken a bit. Add chopped greens and zucchini and cook until greens are limp.

Serve in bowl topped with avocado and tortillas.

I made this batch with pinto beans and just crushed my baked tortillas on top. I didn't have any avocado but it was still super delicious.

This is the view from my porch on May 18, 2013 and the reason why I am making soup instead of ice cream.

Indian Spiced Baked Potato Soup

Just enough spice to make it interesting!

Last Wednesday I had oral surgery. (For details on THAT go to end of this post.) Doctor’s orders: soft food for a couple of days. And, I needed comfort food. For me, that’s potatoes. Potato soup to the rescue! But it can't be bland.

This recipe uses a couple of pre-baked potatoes. I did not peel them; potato skins are full of good-for-you fiber. The potatoes are used to thicken the soup. A bit of carrot and some peas add pretty flecks of color. Fresh onion, garlic and Indian spices really perk this recipe up. No vegetable broth is needed. I was shocked at how tasty this soup was. You will never open a can of potato soup after making this.

Ingredients
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed, rubbed with a bit of oil and wrapped in foil.
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2 tsp avocado or extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, minced
2-3 TB chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
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1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp powdered cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 TB low sodium Tamari
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used soy)
2-3 TB fresh chopped parsley

Directions
Scrub, oil and wrap potatoes in foil. Bake at 375 degrees for about 75 minutes, until nice and soft. Unwrap, cut in half and let cool while you prepare the rest of the soup.

Heat oil and lightly sauté carrots and onion for a couple minutes in medium size pan. Add garlic and sauté some more. I like to add the garlic a bit later so it doesn't get overly brown. When the veggies are limp, add the mustard and cumin seeds and sauté for a minute or so. Be careful of any popping mustard seeds. Add rest of dry spices and stir for a minute. Preheat the milk in microwave for about 90 seconds. Add Tamari, peas and milk to pan. While gently heating, chop up potatoes in small cubes. Add to pot, mashing some to thicken soup. Add parsley and serve.

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One year ago...
Mexican Cabbage

Two years ago...
Thick Gooey Chocolate Sauce

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WARNING. Explicit dental surgery details below!
Some people don’t care to hear about this stuff. For those of you who really do want to hear about it, this is for you.

The sad part of dental care is it seems that no matter how much you do, eventually you may lose a tooth (or more!). When I grew up, there were no sealants and fluoride treatments and my whole adult life has been one of trying to keep what I’ve got, whatever it takes. Most of my childhood fillings have been replaced with crowns. I’ve had several root canals. It all seems to be temporary fixes until the next tooth crisis comes along. Crowns break and need replacing. Root canals go south. My tooth #5 had a root canal and crown and just kind of dried up and developed cracks. The only thing that could be done was extraction followed by a bridge or tooth implant.

Amazingly, the teeth right next to #5 were unmolested, original adult teeth. I loathed the idea of getting a bridge and having to crown the good teeth to support the false tooth. It seemed that a tooth implant was the best route to go.

A tooth implant is a rather time-intensive process. We’re not even going to discuss the costs. First the doctor had to extract the failing tooth. It literally fractured into pieces during extraction and still there were a couple of shards that worked their way out afterwards. Then I needed to let it heal for a couple of months and get x-rays to make sure there was enough bone to support a tooth implant. The next step was the placement of a titanium post into my jaw bone. The doctor cut open my gum and then drilled a hole into my jaw bone and placed the post. There it will sit for about 6 months, fusing to the bone. There will be a couple of checks during this time to make sure all is well, it’s fusing correcting, etc. When totally fused with the bone, the doctor will open the gum up again and attach an abutment to the original post. My regular dentist will attach the new tooth to this abutment.

The whole thing sounds rather gory and painful. So far it hasn't been too bad and actually not as unpleasant as a root canal or crown. Three days after the post implant I was feeling much better than I did after the extraction and I think I'll probably be able to quit taking Advil pretty soon. The delicious baked potato soup is all gone and that's okay because tonight I'm having my Seriously Green Pizza. All is well in my world!

Have any of you had a tooth implant? I'd love to hear about someone else's positive experience.

Carrot & Celery Root Soup

In my last CSA box there were two small celery roots. This was a new vegetable for me to try out so I scoured the internet to find the easiest and most appealing recipe to try it out on. I found a recipe for Carrot & Celery Root Soup at thenourishinggourmet.com and pretty much followed the recipe except for halving it.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced
2-3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 small celery roots
4 cups of vegetable broth
1 teaspoons dill seed (I used dill weed)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Prep all of your vegetables except the celery root (it will turn brown once cut). Then in a large pot, heat your olive oil over med-high heat until hot, add the carrots, celery and onions. Lightly salt (it will draw out the moisture). Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring, then add the garlic. Saute for about one more minute, then add the broth.

While the broth is heating up, peel and cube your celery root. Add it to the broth with the dill seed. Bring to a simmer and cook until all of the vegetables are very soft (about 20-30 minutes, depending on how small you cut your vegetables).

When finished cooking, use a hand blender to puree (or puree in small batches in a blender), and salt to taste. To serve, you can drizzle a a little bit of olive oil over each bowl.

For the original full size recipe and the cook's commentary:
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/02/carrot-and-celery-root-soup.html

Garbanzo and Cabbage Soup

Tis root vegetable season and that means cabbage and warming soups! The beauty of this recipe is you most likely have everything on hand and it is quick and easy to make. And yes, it's even better reheated the next day. I found this recipe on the VegNews website. The only revision I made t0 the recipe was to add 2 teaspoons of Vogue Veggie Base powder broth. This is a pretty tasty soup. Here's the link:
http://www.vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=1815&catId=10

Quck & Easy Cabbage Tofu Soup

I was hungry and wanted to make something fairly quickly. I really like the Garden Vegetable Soup but I needed a little more "oomph." So this is the Garden Vegetable Soup with an Asian twist.

Cabbage Tofu Soup
Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
ginger, fresh, diced, about 1 tablespoon
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 scallions, or other onion, chopped
1 small hot pepper
2 carrots, sliced
16 oz. tub of firm tofu, drained and cubed
3 cups vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1 tablespoon miso
1 tablespoon Shoyu or other soy sauce
2-3 tsp of good tasting boullion
1 zucchini, cut on the diagonal and then sliced into half moons

Directions
Heat oil in large pot. Add ginger, garlic, onion, pepper, carrots, and and saute a bit. Add some broth if it gets too dry. Add tofu and saute until browned. Add rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add zucchini and simmer 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Carrot and Tahini Soup with Pita Crisps

This soup originated from a recipe at an online newspaper - I don't remember, New York Times or something. I did make a few adjustments - can't help myself - and this is oh, so good! Be sure to use all the garnishes, it really makes the dish sparkle. The pita crisps I made from some frozen 8-grain pita bread that I had in the freezer that was made from the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 fat leek (or 2 small), white part only, thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced (Yes 6!, use them all, it's okay.)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more or less to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 quart vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 heaping teaspoons Vogue Low Sodium Instant Vegebase
2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
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2 pita breads, each cut into wedges
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1/3 cup tahini
Fresh lemon juice, to taste
Grated lemon zest, for garnish
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions
1. In a soup pot over medium heat, pour in oil, then add leek and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until garlic is just starting to brown. Add salt, pepper, coriander, turmeric and cayenne a saute for another minute or so.

2. Add carrots and stir to coat them with leek mixture. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, then add broth, thyme, 2 cups water, and Vogue vegebase. Bring to a simmer, partly cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush pita wedges with a little olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake until brown and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool.

4. When carrots are tender, turn off heat and let soup cool for 10 minutes. Remove thyme branches and stir in tahini. Using either an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor, purée soup until smooth. Return to pot and reheat if necessary. Taste and add lemon juice and more salt if desired.

5. Serve soup garnished with the lemon zest, cilantro and pita wedges.

One final point, if you don't have a microplaner, get one. It makes zesting lemons and limes effortless. I really love mine.

Feeling Fat? Well, Eat This!

I've been a vegan for over 3 months now and have gone quite nuts cooking and eating new things all the time. Probably should have been out skiing but, oh well! Here are a couple of quite delicious low fat goodies that originated with Weight Watchers.

Garden Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2/3 cup sliced carrots
3-4 scallions, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups vegetable broth
1-1/2 cups diced green cabbage
1/2 cup frozen green beans
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 TB tomato paste
1 tsp dried basil or handful of fresh chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2-3 tsp of good tasting boullion
1/2 of a zucchini

Directions
Heat oil in large pot. Add carrots, onion, and garlic and saute a minute or two. Add about 1/4 cup of the broth to pot and simmer a minute or so. Add rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add zucchini and simmer 2-3 minutes.

Roasted Fennel & Carrots
Ingredients
2-3 fennel bulbs, trimmed and sliced
4-5 carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal
Oil spray
salt & pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray baking pan with oil. Add fennel and carrots and spray again. Add salted and freshly ground pepper. Cook for 25 minutes, stir and cook about 10 minutes more until lightly browned.