Veggie Soup

This is an easy-peasy yummy soup. It can be made either vegan or meaty. It's great either way. I like to make a big pot of it on Sunday afternoon and eat it for lunches. It also works great in a slow cooker a.k.a. a crock pot.



1 large onion (larger than your fist) chopped into biggish pieces

2 large red potatoes (fist sized) unpeeled, chopped into slightly larger than 1" cubes

3 cloves of garlic smashed and minced

4 Celery stalks chopped

5 Large carrots chopped (about 1lbs. bag)

6 Cups of veggie or beef stock ---reserve one cup---

1 Can of your favorite tomato soup

1.5 lbs of super lean stew beef (optional)

1 bunch of parsley chopped with stems removed-usually sold in the produce isle of the grocery store

1Tbls of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tbls Flour

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Rosemary (either fresh or dried)

In a big pot saute the onions in the olive oil and salt over medium heat until translucent about 3 minutes. Add garlic and if using beef, add beef and saute for about 2 minutes. Add stock and tomato soup allow to come to simmer. Add veggies, parsley and rosemary. Do not bring to full boil and cook over medium/medium low heat until veggies are done (and meat is almost falling apart) about 4 hours. Dissolve the flour in the reserved stock and add to soup, bring to low boil and stir continuously to thicken soup. Stores really well in the fridge for about 4 days.

If using a slow cooker- combine all ingredients (except reserved stock and flour) and cook over medium for 8 hours. Dissolve flour in reserved stock and add to pot. Crank it up to high and cook it for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Yummy!

Slightly Spicy Vegan Pumpkin Soup

This soup is a sweet and spicy yummy vegan pot-o-gold. If you like creamier soups puree the whole thing, if you like chunky soups omit the puree entirely. It is a great one to take to work as it stores nicely for about 4 days in the fridge. Mmmmm winter squash and curry!

Slightly Spicy Vegan Pumpkin Soup


Ingredients

2 Tbls. Olive Oil

1 Large Onion (slightly larger than fist sized) chopped

1 Large Red Potato (fist sized) chopped into 1” cubes- peeled or not

1 Large Sweet Potato (long as your hand) chopped into 1” cubes- peeled or not

1 cup of chopped carrots – about ½” pieces

3 cloves of garlic smashed and chopped (or use 3 frozen cubes)

30 oz ‘box’ of vegetable broth (you can also use Chicken Broth)

15oz can of pumpkin

2 Tbls. flour

2 tsp. of Curry Powder- you may want more or less- if you don’t really like spicy food start with 1 tsp (you can add more at the end)

½ tsp. of Cumin

½ tsp. of Nutmeg

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp pepper

In large pot saute onions in oil until translucent (about 3 minutes) add garlic and salt; sauté for another 2 minutes. Add flour, curry powder, cumin and nutmeg and sauté for another minute. Add broth, give it a good stir and bring to a boil. Add carrots and boil for about 4 or 5 minutes. Add pepper, potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover to cook the veggies until done- somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes.
Take off the heat and allow soup to cool. Once cooled, puree about half the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot and re-heat. Mmmm vegan curried pumpkin soup. Tastes really great with Naan bread or a toasted English Muffin.