Browsing Tag

soup

Tasty

Soup and Salad

January 5, 2015

Kale Salad

This summer I wrote about my favorite “summer salad,” well today I am going to share my favorite “winter salad” – as well as one of the many soups I’ve whipped up this season.

Kale and Persimmon Salad

  • 5 cups kale, chopped/shredded
  • 2 Fuyu persimmons, cut into wedges
  • 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
  • 1/2 cup Gorgonzola crumbles
  • 1 lemon, halved
  • 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  1. Massage kale with juice of half a lemon and let marinate in fridge for an hour or so.
  2. Prep dressing by blending remaining half of lemon juice, Greek yogurt, olive oil, garlic, Worcestershire, and Dijon in an airtight container.
  3. Drizzle dressing over kale (when ready) and gently fold in persimmons, walnuts and cheese.

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Leek, Fennel, Apple and Walnut Soup (dairy free, gluten free, vegan)

via The First Mess

  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
  • 3 leeks (I used 1 leek, 1 yellow onion and a few green onions)
    • white and light green parts chopped
  • 4 sprigs thyme, minced
  • 1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped
  • 1 medium apple, cored and chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
  • 1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium and add chopped leeks (and onion) and thyme and stir. Saute until leeks are soft (about 4 minutes).
  2. Add chopped fennel and apples and stir.
  3. Add turmeric and stir until combined.
  4. Saute until fennel starts to soften (another 4 minutes).
  5. Add walnuts and stir.
  6. Season with salt and pepper and add vegetable stock and (guess what) stir.
  7. Bring the pot to a boil and simmer until all the produce is soft (about 15 minutes).
  8. Remove soup from heat and use an immersion blender to mix until smooth.
  9. Serve hot with drizzled maple, toasted walnuts and fennel fronds.

* I love adding sliced hot Italian sausage to it for an easy winter meal!

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Tasty

Harvest Soup

December 17, 2014

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I love to take advantage of soup making on rainy days, and while this and this soup were my go to last winter, this Harvest Soup is going to be my new staple.  The hint of apple really adds an unexpected twist and the coconut milk leaves you with the richest, ceramist soup… delicious!

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Fall Harvest Soup 

via Blissful Basil 

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 green apple, peeled and cubed
  • 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  1. Heat coconut oil in a large stock pot over medium low heat. Sauté onion in pot until translucent (5-7 minutes).
  2. Add butternut squash, sweet potato, apple, vegetable broth, spices and stir gently until combined.
  3. Turn up the heat to medium-high heat, cover and cook for 25 minutes or until veggies are tender.
  4. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree.
  5. After a minute or so of pureeing, slowly drizzle in coconut milk and sea salt and puree until smooth.
  6. Swerve warm and garnish with pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, sliced green onions, and/or radish sprouts

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Tasty

Coconut Carrot Soup

February 19, 2014

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Shutterbean is one of my favorite food blogs, and when Tracy posted a write up on “Meal Prep” a couple of weeks ago, I was transfixed.   Honestly, read it if you haven’t.  IMG_6318 I love planning meals ahead of time, but realized that sometimes that doesn’t work for my life.  On weeks where my husband is going to be working late, or the weather is really nice and I don’t want to spend it in the kitchen, following Tracy’s game plan is a no-brainer.  IMG_6325 I have had her Coconut Carrot Soup pinned for FOREVER, so when she mentioned making a batch on Sunday to have for lunch throughout the week, it re-sparked my interest.  I had just received a bunch of gorgeous carrots from my Farm Fresh to You box, and actually had ALL of the ingredients in my house (that NEVER happens).  IMG_6330 So, the next day before work, I chopped the carrots/onions and put them in a Ziplock bag, and laid out the (non refrigerated) ingredients for later that night. Once I got home from work, I followed the very short directions… and voila! Dinner and a few lunches were prepared with (hands on time) of 10 minutes!  AWESOME!!!

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Coconut Carrot Soup

Adapted from Shutterbean

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 lb. carrots, peeled & chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1  14 oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (I used sriracha as a back-up)
  • 1 lime
  1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and onion, season with salt & pepper, and cook, stirring often, until carrots are softened, 15-20 minutes.
  2. Stir in broth, coconut milk, and sriracha.
  3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and liquid is slightly reduced, 40-45 minutes.
  4. Let soup cool slightly, then puree with an immersion blender until smooth.
  5. Reheat in the saucepan if needed.
  6. Add the juice of one freshly squeezed lime and stir.
  7. Divide soup among bowls, and drizzle with sriracha and top with cilantro.

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Tasty

Hearty Soup

October 30, 2013

Butternut Squash Soup with Pumpkin Seeds

I love the fact that soup is such a versatile food item – it can be a great snack, lunch, starter, dinner… it is relatively easy to make, and (as they say) good for the soul (or is that just chicken soup?!).  One of my favorite soups is my sister Taylor’s homemade Butternut Squash soup.

Squash Soup

So make sure to hit up your local farmers market – pick up some butternut squash, celery, onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and get to the kitchen!

From Threads – By Taylor Feezor

TATA’S BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:

  • 1 butternut squash (halved… or if you are me and have been told many elaborate stories of forewarning injury due to watermelon or squash cutting by your mother…. quartered)
  • 1 head of garlic
  • olive oil
  • sea/ kosher salt
  • fresh thyme
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 1 carrot
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • drizzle of garlic and jalapeno olive oil after the soup is bowled

1. Halve or quarter your squash. The rinds are thick, so BE CAREFUL. I quartered mine because my new knives terrify me (I draped kitchen towels on the other end of them to get a nice grip when cutting down through them… recommend!), and noticed after baking that I might have lost some moisture doing this. The cut edge also was less soft than the inside. Do half if you HAVE THE COURAGE.

2. Take the seeds out, remove as much pith and fiber as you can from them. You are going to put these on the baking sheet and make seeds to use for later. FUN!

3. Drizzle olive oil, rub on the surfaces with your hands, sprinkle salt, stuff the cavity with fresh thyme if you have it, sprinkle whole squash with dried thyme if you don’t.

4. Cut tip off of head of garlic, place in middle of baking sheet. Sprinkle with too much olive oil, too much salt. Mix butternut seeds with this extra, cascading olive oil. Keep the whole bit near center of pan to keep things from burning. Some seeds strayed from the pack and the edge ones got burnt immediately.

5. Bake everything at 425 for 40-60 minutes. Squash is done when a fork goes through easily. You’ll know. During this baking time, I threw in a loaf of parbaked bread from TJ’s (12 minutes), and quartered leeks with olive oil and salt on another pan. They get crispy and taste like onion shoe strings (30 minutes). Great on the side, and this whole party in my oven (squash/seeds/garlic/bread/leeks) helps cut down on the old PG&E Bill.

6. WHILE ITS BAKING:

Pan fry yellow onion, thinly sliced celery and carrots in olive oil until everything becomes soft and translucent in a huge ceramic pot (or something that you will eventually be able to add everything to and run through it with a hand blender). Add 4 cups of chicken stock (trick I like…. add a little more of the bullion base than you should to the water. I think it is what made this so good).

Take out butternut, scrape it with a spoon after its cooled a little, add to your big pot of other stuff. Add 4 cloves of roasted garlic to the soup. Run through everything with a hand blender for about 5 minutes. If you want more protein, add the cubes of turkey breast from Thanksgiving your mom gifted to you when you moved in. Drizzle top with the garlic and jalapeno olive oil, and enjoy!

A big congrats to Christa Pulling – the winner of the PopSugar Must Have Box giveaway!!