soup
The Don't-Change-Anything-Plantain Soup
04/24/10 Filed in: Soup
I was told under no circumstances could I change this recipe. Translation? He liked it alot!
Plantain soup is a very quick and easy soup to dish up. The hardest part is probably finding the plantains. In South Florida, they are ubiquitous, but in Wyoming, I am sure they may be scarce. If you have a latin area of town or a latin grocery store, that will be your best bet.
The plantain is a rich source of potassium, magnesium, and phosphate. Potassium is a significant mineral for the body. It is one of the main blood minerals, called electrolytes, which include sodium and chloride. The balance between sodium and potassium has an important influence on blood pressure. High sodium and low potassium may elevate blood pressure. Potassium also helps to regulate heart function, an organ that we all appreciate working flawlessly. Potassium is essential for protein synthesis, it converts glucose into glycogen which is fuel for muscles, and helps the lungs eliminate carbon dioxide. And that's not all....potassium is needed to maintain a acid/alkali blood balance and has an important role in kidney function.
A diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will be naturally rich in potassium. The body contains more potassium to sodium in a ratio of about nine ounces to four. Because of this, the body is programed to conserve sodium. The American diet, with it reliance on preocessed foods, is high in sodium.
Ingredients List:
2 onions, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large green plantains, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 bay leaf
2 rounded teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
6 cups vegetable broth
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
olivie oil
1/2 cup cilantro
Pour a few tablespoons of oil in your pot and heat. Add onions, garlic, and celery ad saute until onions become clear. Add cumin, bayleaf and turmeric and saute a minute longer. Add broth and plantains. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer unitl the plantains are soft. This may take 30-40 minutes, it depends on how green your plantains are.
Once the plantains are ready, remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender, a regular blender, or a food processor and puree the soup. Add it back to your pot. If you find the soup too thick, add more broth. Zest your lime and add to the soup. Simmer a few additional minutes. Serve each bowl with some chopped cilantro and a drizzle of lime juice. Enjoy!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Plantain soup is a very quick and easy soup to dish up. The hardest part is probably finding the plantains. In South Florida, they are ubiquitous, but in Wyoming, I am sure they may be scarce. If you have a latin area of town or a latin grocery store, that will be your best bet.
The plantain is a rich source of potassium, magnesium, and phosphate. Potassium is a significant mineral for the body. It is one of the main blood minerals, called electrolytes, which include sodium and chloride. The balance between sodium and potassium has an important influence on blood pressure. High sodium and low potassium may elevate blood pressure. Potassium also helps to regulate heart function, an organ that we all appreciate working flawlessly. Potassium is essential for protein synthesis, it converts glucose into glycogen which is fuel for muscles, and helps the lungs eliminate carbon dioxide. And that's not all....potassium is needed to maintain a acid/alkali blood balance and has an important role in kidney function.
A diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will be naturally rich in potassium. The body contains more potassium to sodium in a ratio of about nine ounces to four. Because of this, the body is programed to conserve sodium. The American diet, with it reliance on preocessed foods, is high in sodium.
Ingredients List:
2 onions, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, sliced
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large green plantains, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
1 bay leaf
2 rounded teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
6 cups vegetable broth
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
olivie oil
1/2 cup cilantro
Pour a few tablespoons of oil in your pot and heat. Add onions, garlic, and celery ad saute until onions become clear. Add cumin, bayleaf and turmeric and saute a minute longer. Add broth and plantains. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer unitl the plantains are soft. This may take 30-40 minutes, it depends on how green your plantains are.
Once the plantains are ready, remove the bay leaf. Use an immersion blender, a regular blender, or a food processor and puree the soup. Add it back to your pot. If you find the soup too thick, add more broth. Zest your lime and add to the soup. Simmer a few additional minutes. Serve each bowl with some chopped cilantro and a drizzle of lime juice. Enjoy!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
0 Comments
Spicy Tomato Chickpea Soup
01/25/10 Filed in: Soup
Quick and easy is definitely a description for this recipe from the cookbook Vegan YumYum. However, I would describe it as a deliciously-comforting-new favorite-recipe-to-be-repeated-forever soup.
Lauren Ulm, author of Vegan YumYum, also has a great blog at veganyumyum.
I do not have permission to duplicate her recipe, but I can tell you that you start with a common base of onion, garlic, and spices. You add chickpeas and tomatos. You blend it all up and serve. It takes barely 20 minutes to prepare so it is perfect for long days with little time. The chickpeas make the soup thick and rich like bisque, hmmmmm.
Buy her book. It is full of a great variety of recipes for all type of eaters. She is an amazing food photographer both in her book and on her blog. (I do not have an SLR so you won't get such mouth watering ics from me, sorry!)
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Black Bean Coconut Soup
10/03/09 Filed in: Soup
I stopped at my local Whole Foods for lunch and a short shopping list yesterday. I planned my errands to end at this location so that I could enjoy the free internet and lunch. Nothing I had to buy was immediately perishable so I gathered the items on my list and then headed for the prepared foods area. I picked up a brown rice veggie roll and then went over to check out the soups. They have a large selection at this location and several are usually non dairy.
I happen to love soup. It is one of my favorite food mediums. Soups are a great way to clean out the fridge, mixing little bits of this and that veggie to a forgiving base like lentil or bean. Soups are also a great way to experiment with different spice combinations. I always walk down the soup aisle and take the lid off to allow the smell to rise up. I read the ingredients tag and pull up a ladle full from the bottom to appreciate the main ingredients. I decided on a black bean soup made with coconut milk. I also love coconut and was looking forward to the creamy flavor with the beans.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the black bean soup because the coconut taste was very faint. The soup was still good so I gobbled it up along with my roll and decided to make my own version at home. So here it is, the first installment of Black Bean Coconut Soup. It has the creamy texture and taste of the coconut plus some basic indian spices to add comfort and warmth.
First, take two cups of dried black beans and soften them in a pressure cooker or soak them overnight.
Place the soaked beans in a large soup pot with 4 to 6 cups of water depending on how dense you would like the soup. Add one can of lite coconut milk and stir.
In a seperate saute pan, add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and heat. When the oil is ready add one diced serrano pepper and stir one minute. Add one chopped onion and saute a few more minutes. Add the curry, tumeric, and ginger to the pan and saute for two more minutes. Add green pepper and saute an addition two minutes.
Place the onion mixture in with the beans and add the salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30-40 minutes. Taste and adjust spices if necessary. Add the chopped greens of your choice. I had some lovely greens from my beets which I used, but kale, swiss chard, or spinach would also work well. Cook until greens have softened.
Serve as soup or with brown rice. Add a squeeze of lime over the top for some added twang if you like. Enjoy!
Ingredient list:
Two cups dries black beans
1 onion chopped
1 can lite coconut milk
1 green pepper chopped
1 serrano pepper diced
2 teaspoons curry
2 teaspoons tumeric
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons salt
two to three cups chopped greens
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Broccoli Soup-Dairy free
07/20/09 Filed in: Soup
I love soup. It is one of my favorite foods. It gets better over time. It is easy to freeze. It provides a comforting warm meal. Soup is a great way to use up leftover vegetables, grains, and meats. And I could go on and on...
One of the challenges of soups as I changed my diet was to find replacements for my favorite dairy based soups. Here I am going to showcase my broccoli soup, but you can use it for a base for many vegetable soups that normally use heavy cream.
Start with a tablespoon or two of olive or canola oil in your stock or large sauce pan. Chop an onion and three cloves of garlic and saute until onions are clear. These do not need to be finely chopped as you will puree the soup later.
Dice two baking potatoes and add to your onions. You can leave the skins on or take them off, it is your choice. I usually leave them on since I am going to puree the whole thing and that way I am keeping maximum nutirtion. Saute until beginning to get soft about 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently to keep from sticking and browning. If they do start to stick, just add some chicken broth or water to the pan to loosen them up.
Chop up a bunch of broccoli coarsely including the stalk. Add to your onions and potato mixture and cook until the broccoli starts to turn bright green.
Add 32 oz container of chicken broth and 1-2 cups water depending on how thick you like your soups. Cook until the broccoli is soft but not overcooked.
Take the soup off the heat and use and emersion blender to puree the soup. Add a pinch of nutmeg and serve! Adding a squeeze of lime just before serving gives the soup a twang for those that crave salt.
This is a very forgiving recipe so use it to experiment and expand your use of veggies!
Enjoy!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A dairy free, wheat free recipe.
One of the challenges of soups as I changed my diet was to find replacements for my favorite dairy based soups. Here I am going to showcase my broccoli soup, but you can use it for a base for many vegetable soups that normally use heavy cream.
Start with a tablespoon or two of olive or canola oil in your stock or large sauce pan. Chop an onion and three cloves of garlic and saute until onions are clear. These do not need to be finely chopped as you will puree the soup later.
Dice two baking potatoes and add to your onions. You can leave the skins on or take them off, it is your choice. I usually leave them on since I am going to puree the whole thing and that way I am keeping maximum nutirtion. Saute until beginning to get soft about 8-10 minutes. Stir frequently to keep from sticking and browning. If they do start to stick, just add some chicken broth or water to the pan to loosen them up.
Chop up a bunch of broccoli coarsely including the stalk. Add to your onions and potato mixture and cook until the broccoli starts to turn bright green.
Add 32 oz container of chicken broth and 1-2 cups water depending on how thick you like your soups. Cook until the broccoli is soft but not overcooked.
Take the soup off the heat and use and emersion blender to puree the soup. Add a pinch of nutmeg and serve! Adding a squeeze of lime just before serving gives the soup a twang for those that crave salt.
This is a very forgiving recipe so use it to experiment and expand your use of veggies!
Enjoy!
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
A dairy free, wheat free recipe.