Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

I feel rejuvenated! I just caught up with Desperate Housewives on my smart phone! hahahaha! Quiet time for me and I don't need to steal the living room TV! Mr. No-No loves it and so do I. :)

For those of you that know me, you know I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my soups. This one is quick and easy and ssssooooo good for you. Bonus: it's vegan (so it's much healthier than most soups of this style) and it's creamy (so it satisfies that desire to have a thick, rich soup).

I grabbed this recipe from All You Magazine and I am pleased to say, I didn't modify it at all. Kudos to All You for having vegan recipes in their mag!

All You's Carrot and Red Pepper Cream Soup

1 onion, diced

1 bunch of carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cups vegetarian broth

2 (jarred) roasted red peppers, diced

2 cups of soymilk (or other plant based milk)

2 tsp. (each) balsamic vinegar and lemon juice

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Saute diced onion and sliced carrots in a pan with 1/8 cup of water (over medium heat) for approx. 5 minutes; Add broth and bring to a boil; Cover and simmer until carrots are fork-tender (approx. 10 - 15 minutes);

Remove from heat; Add bell peppers;

Mix in blender (covered with a towel, do in two batches) or use an immersion blender; Continue blending and add in soymilk; Place pan back over low heat and add remaining ingredients; Heat until warm (approx. 5 minutes).

I served this with toast triangles. It was creamy and delicious! It's also good the next day (I know because I had it for lunch) - make a big batch and have "planned leftovers".

What are your favorite kinds of soup?

Do you have a quick soup that is your standby? Or do you have a soup that you especially make so that you can have your planned leftovers?

Thanks to everyone for commenting on my previous recipe, Microwave-able Beets. Seems like a lot more people than I realized do not like beets, do not buy beets, and do not cook with beets - including: Karen from Mommy's Moments and Crystal from Crystal Jigsaw. However, I was honestly surprised by how few people admitting to LIKING beets - including: Boobies from Boobies, Babies, & A Blog.. and Jan from Jewelry4Change.

I know, the color puts some people off...

Come and find me partying here.

More later! :)

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The Weekend of Firsts

It rained again (!) most of this past weekend!! We spent a lot of time inside, but I also got a lot of cooking done!

I made a potato and leek soup, a raw "tuna" salad for lunches during the week, a big salad, and vegetable broth (with my vegetable scraps from the past month or so). This broth is so easy, fast, and cheap(!) compared to any dried bullion that you would buy at the grocery store. It's flavorful and has no preservatives, no coloring, no animal products, and no extreme amount of salt. To get ready to make the broth, I take all the vegetable peelings and cuttings (except for broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) and put them in a large Ziploc bag and freeze. Every night, I just add more peelings to the bag - which is nice because I am completely using alllll parts of the veggies that I use, which is just more value for my grocery dollar - and when the bag is full, it's time to make broth!

Vegetable Broth

Scraps from vegetable peelings and cuttings

Enough hot water to fill a 6 quart stockpot (with veggies already in the pot)

3 or 4 whole garlic cloves

1 tsp. kosher salt

3 dried bay leaves

20 peppercorns

1 tsp. each dried parsley, oregano, and thyme

Bring the water and veggie peelings to a rapid boil. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer the broth for about one hour. Turn the heat off, take the lid off and let cool for approximately 1/2 to 1 hour. Strain broth into containers (and ice cube trays) and freeze for later use.

Miss No-No also got to wear her new Rapunzel hair clip that I mentioned a few posts ago.

I also taught Miss No-No how to make "Ants on a Log". Which was funny because she's only had them once before!! But, she never MADE them herself before and she really enjoyed it. She likes to do things in the kitchen, which, of course, makes me happy. Creating brings me a lot of joy, and I hope that she can find joy in some creative endeavors as well!

 

 

Who would have known that almond butter, celery, and raisins could be soooo much fun?? :)

We also went for sushi (vegan!) on Friday night and frozen yogurt on Sunday ~ she had never had either of those either! So it was a weekend of firsts for her.

Thanks for your comments on my last post about the Indian-Inspired soup. I really enjoyed making - and eating - that one!

When it's cold outside, if you stay inside, what kinds of things do you do? What keeps you busy?
Are you letting your little ones cook / make treats for themselves yet? What do you trust them to do?

More later! :)

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