spicy tomato and spinach soup

Before we begin, I'm sorry these photos are so...rushed.

The idea to even take photos was super last minute and pretty perfunctory, because I was just trying to throw together some soup for my sick husband with whatever I had on hand, and also I was hungry. But it turned out so surprisingly delicious that I'm glad I at least have these few average photos to share with you.

It's a good healthy soup. It's warming and spicy. It's comforting when served with toasty bread or grilled cheese or these warm winter chickpeas. It's even better when you take some of said chickpeas onto a spoon and then get some soup onto that spoon too. Comfort food man.

Definitely one of favorite dinners recently though. Especially since I just covered the entire thing in parmesan cheese.

Spicy tomato and spinach soup
2-3 servings

2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. herbes de provence
1 14-oz can stewed or crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2-3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, and herbes de provence. Stir to combine. Add the tomatoes and the vegetable stock and stir. Add the spinach, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for about 15-20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Stir in cream, if using. Serve sprinkled with fresh parmesan.

OPTION:
Add pasta or rice to the soup to turn this into a heartier soup.

 

I hope you have a very happy and bright new year full of love and bubbles!

spicy sweet potato and coconut soup

Last week I didn't cook...or at least I don't remember cooking anything. It was one of those weeks.

We had frozen pizza, we went out to eat, we ate at people's houses (by invitation)...

I just wasn't in the mood for it. Does that happen to you? The thought of making a mess in the kitchen (usually something that makes me pretty happy) sounded hugely unappealing. I didn't have anything I really wanted to make. I was completely uninspired. (violins)

This week was looking like it was going to be another one of those weeks. Monday was busy and I didn't get to the store to stock our empty-from-last-week fridge, so we got fried chicken for dinner. Yup. We even did a fried chicken tasting: KFC vs. Popeye's, just because we thought we'd better figure out once and for all where we need to be getting all of our future fried chicken. (In case you're wondering, KFC won for chicken, but Popeye's had the better mashed potatoes. Biscuits were a toss up, but I think it goes to Popeye's as well.)

high-qual iphone pic

 So Monday night, after our fried feast, as I sitting on the couch doing whatever it is that I do on the computer, my husband started this movie. I was all, "what are we watching?" as I looked up from the computer. Then suddenly I became completely engrossed in the movie. I think I even put my computer down. Watched the whole thing.

It was called Forks over Knives. Maybe you've heard of it. It's a documentary about our meat-and-dairy saturated culture and how so many of our health problems can likely be treated by a plant-centered diet.

Okay. Normally I find these things interesting at best, I give them a listen, maybe a smile and a nod, an "I-appreciate-your-point-of-view" eyebrow raise, but inside I know that I couldn't give up juicy hamburgers and milkshakes for quinoa and green beans. I don't like to get too radical or extreme about these things, and I most certainly don't like limitations.



But suddenly veganism had never seemed so appealing. Naturally a movie like that will make meat look horrible, and it did it's job.

After the movie, I asked my husband what he thought about trying a plant-centered diet, just for a week. (Who am I?) He agreed. (What a guy!)

Apparently that was what I needed to be inspired to cook again. I stayed up for another hour or so, researching vegan recipes to make for the week and assembling my grocery list. I was PUMPED.

So we embark on this mini adventure...emphasis on mini. We're doing this for fun/experimentation, to see how we feel and to see how it works for us. We're not going to be strict about it. If some feta finds it's way into my vegetarian sandwich, I'm not going to kick it out. If hub needs an egg for breakfast, I ain't gon stop him. It's the only way I could do something like this anyway. If I were to adopt it as a lifestyle choice, it would be more of a guideline than a rule. I told you how I feel about limitations. Same goes for deprivation. Is that the same thing?

I'm pretty excited about it though. Highlights so far include: some absolutely killer butternut squash fries, marvelous carrot cake oatmeal, and this sweet potato and coconut soup. I just realized those are all orange foods. Weird.

Anyway. This soup is so so good. (I seem to have run out of adjectives at this time. Forgive me.) It's creamy and a little sweet with a nice kick to it from the ginger and red curry paste. I would make it any day, vegan diet or not.

Stay tuned for more vegan-week adventures and a recap. And less-wordy posts.

Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup 
Recipe lightly adapted from here

Serves 6

1 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 (15 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
3 cups vegetable broth
3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt (or more, to taste)
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry paste and heat for 1 minute, then whisk in the coconut milk and vegetable broth. Add the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 20-25 minutes, or longer if necessary. 

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. (Or transfer the soup to a normal blender, in batches, then return it to the pot when blended.)

Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Adjust seasonings to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of the sesame oil and some cilantro.

tomato soup with roasted corn quinoa

Sometimes you overdose on Memphis BBQ. (which you should, naturally, if you go there)

Sometimes you follow up your BBQ weekend with fudge and a lot of wine and cheese and crackers.

Sometimes you think you've gone too far to ever return. 

Those are the times when you break out the quinoa. 

Then you combine said quinoa with roasted corn and tomato soup and you feel okay about life again.

I served this tasty dinner with avocado toast. It acted as sort of a palette cleanser. It was fantastic.
 

It's super easy. I used half a carton of Trader Joe's Creamy Tomato soup and combined it with the following (for 2 servings):

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup chicken broth

1 ear of fresh sweet corn (you can use frozen or canned if you like)

1 green onion, sliced

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Combine quinoa and chicken broth in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until all liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, shave off kernels of corn cob and slice green onion.

Heat a swirl of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

Add corn, green onion, smoked paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add cooked quinoa and combine.

Spoon heated tomato soup into bowls and add quinoa mixture on the side.

This is easily my current favorite dinner. Or lunch.

asparagus soup

Growing up, eating vegetables could be a little traumatic for me. Especially if they were brussel sprouts. Or lima beans. Lima beans ended up on the floor, or hastily stuffed into a napkin. 

I'm not kidding when I tell you that sometimes, little-girl Esther had to eat last night's unfinished vegetables for breakfast. That's the worst, when everyone is munching on cereal or pancakes and you don't get to enjoy your favorite meal of the day because of some cold unyielding mixed vegetables. 

I'm also not kidding when I tell you that I think my parents are wonderful and that I'm not holding any grudges.

But, those veggie breakfasts might have been avoided if my mom had plunked down a bowl of this soup at dinnertime. I wouldn't have even known I was eating my vegetables. I would've polished it off and probably asked for seconds.

This soup is delicious on its own, but then I topped it with chives, cheese, bacon, and homemade challah bread croutons. Because that's what I do. I take something healthy and fatten it up a bit. 

It was out of this world.

You can serve it with just chives on top for a healthier option. But if you're gonna add one extra thing, may I recommend the croutons? They were SO. good. They almost didn't make it to the soup.

My husband's words:

"Now this is how I like to eat vegetables...

...with bacon!" 

Well yeah.
 

Asparagus Soup

Slightly adapted from here

Serves 4 

1-2 tablespoons butter (depending on preference)
1 large leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups chicken broth
1 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), woody stems snapped off and discarded, spears cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
Sea salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped chives

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)

Cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping (optional)

Homemade croutons (optional)
 

Method

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium low heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, add asparagus and simmer gently until potatoes and asparagus are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat ad set aside to let cool slightly.

Carefully transfer soup to blender in batches and purée until smooth. (Or use an immersion blender) Return soup to pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, whisk in sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with chives and other toppings of choice and serve. 

For the croutons:

Preheat oven to 350.

Cut up bread (I used challah) into rectangles and place baking sheet. (lined with foil, if you like)

Melt about a tablespoon of butter and drizzle it on top, then turn and coat bread in butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 10 minutes, checking and turning croutons every few minutes until nice and toasty.