Sweet Potato and Pear soup

My husband, Gabe, and I don't really eat with the seasons. I think last year we ate more soup in the summer and fall then we ever do in the winter. Gabe is sick right now with a cold so he wanted to eat soup for dinner. Last year we made a sweet potato and pear soup for him that he fell in love with! Unfortunately, I haven't made it since, I don't have all the strength that he does to chop sweet potatoes. Who knew that a sweet potato would be so difficult to cut?!?! Not me! When I was done I felt like I needed to ice my hand for an hour.

Sweet Potato and Pear Soup
From Oh She Glows
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 pears, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
5 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup coconut milk (I used almond milk)
2 teaspoons maple syrup, or to taste
2 teaspoons lime juice, or to taste
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Chop carrots, celery, and onion. Peel and cube sweet potatoes and pears.

In pot, heat margarine on medium heat. Saute carrots, celery, and onion for about 1 minute. Add sweet potatoes, pears and thyme and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add paprika and veggie broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until sweet potato is soft.

Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pot. Add almond milk, maple syrup and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, adding more syrup or lime juice as needed. Drizzle with maple syrup if preferred. Can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

The soup tasted great, but I am not a fan of eating pureed food. It just felt weird. Eating this soup and trying to feed it to Anika made me very thankful that we did baby-led weaning with her. We never had to feed her puree's so this was so different to us, and quite frustrating too. Put some in her mouth, her spit half of it out, wipe her face off, repeat.

Next time I make this soup I will make it like I did the first time, we won't puree it.

Quinoa Soup

When my husband and I decided to begin eating healthier we weren't quite sure how to do so. The grocery stores in our town aren't the greatest (or cheapest!) when it comes to being vegan. They do have an okay selection but it seems so small compared to the huge store. I began to search for health food stores on google and came across a co-op in the nearest city. We decided to check it out.

The second we stepped foot in the store we fell in love! Everyone is so friendly and willing to help, the selection is great, and they have everything you could imagine. The store smells amazing, and they have so many papers of information throughout the store on how to be healthy. We love buying avocados there because we can get an organic avocado for .79 cents each where as the grocery store is $1.25 each on sale, and its not even organic! They have a bulk section that is just... amazing! Brown rice, couscous, quinoa, rolled oats, popcorn, beans, lentils, chocolate chips, coconut shavings, granola, flour, and every spice you could imagine! All at great prices too. Anyways... my husband and I love to pick out new things to try from the bulk section and once we chose quinoa.

Quinoa Soup
1 cup quinoa
4 carrots
4 garlic cloves
olive oil
Vegetable bouillon cube
12 oz bag frozen brocolli
6 oz Italian frozen vegetable mix
Seasonings

Mince the garlic and peel and chop the carrots.

Put it into a pot with a little bit of olive oil on the bottom. Then add 1 cup of quinoa, the carrots and garlic.

You may need to add a little more olive oil if it is still a little dry, add just enough so that everything gets covered. There shouldn't be pools of olive oil.

Saute the quinoa, carrots and garlic until the quinoa is slightly brown (about 5 minutes).

Now add 4 cups of water, a vegetable bouillon cube, and seasoning. This time I used marjoram, ginger, black pepper and basil.

Let it boil for about 10 minutes, then add the frozen vegetables, bring back to a boil and let boil for about 5 minutes more. It is done when the quinoa is transparent.

 

Whatcha ma call it

Now this meal isn't vegan. It is vegetarian though. (Side track- I have an obsession with noodles.I could eat noodles for every meal easily!!! And the noodles in this dish are one of my favorites! So chewy, just amazing!)  My Grandma Jo makes a recipe that she calls Chicken and Noodles. It is one of my favorites, mostly because I love the noodles in it. Well when we decided to stop eating meat I was wondering how I was going to eat these yummy noodles still. I just replaced the chicken with vegetables! Easy enough. It cuts the cooking time down drastically also.

I'm not quite sure what to call this recipe (any ideas?!?) So for now it will be...


Noodles, Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes
4 carrots
4 cloves of garlic
8 potatoes
Almond Milk
Butter
16 oz Reames frozen egg noodles
12 oz bag broccoli
4 oz cauliflower
Seasonings
Corn Starch

Fill two pots with water, one for mashed potatoes, the other for the... we'll call it soup. I believe it is about 3 quarts for the soup. I always just estimate it. Put both pots on the stove to boil. Now peel and chop carrots. You can use frozen carrots but I prefer fresh carrots. Once chopped add to soup pot.

Then peel and chop potatoes. You can use as many or as little potatoes as you want, my family loves mashed potatoes, so I use a lot! Once chopped add to boiling water for potatoes. The potatoes should take about 20 minutes. They are done when you can stab them with a fork. Add milk and butter and mash. I never really measure for the milk or butter just add until it is the perfect consistency for you.

Mince the garlic. Again, you can use as much or as little as you want. I once read that in order to get all the benefits of garlic you should let it sit out for 10 minutes before adding it to anything. I try to do that, but don't always have time. Add to soup pot. 

Now it is time to season the soup. You can add whatever you want, I always add different things, but this time I used: Basil, Black Pepper, Ginger, Thyme, Paprika, Rosemary, and Salt.

Once the soup water with garlic, carrots and seasonings is boiling add the noodles. They take about 20 minutes to cook.

When there is about 5-7 minutes left with the noodles add the broccoli and cauliflower. You can add any vegetables you like, we just prefer this combination. Now bring it back to a boil. Once it is back to a boil add corn starch, follow directions on container, usually I only need 1 tbsp of corn starch.

Some days Anika and I have a great day in the kitchen, we laugh and dance and sing. And then we have bad days when she screams half the time. Today, she screamed. I can't wait until the day she is old enough to help me cook and bake.

Once the soup and mashed potatoes are both done its time to eat! We usually place mashed potatoes on the plate first then pile the soup over it. My husband doesn't like his to be soupy so he just puts noodles on his, I like to add a little bit of the broth on mine, makes it tastier. Enjoy!