Tomato Basil Lentil Soup

This is a delicious, filling amazing soup that is full of flavor and great for you too! My daughter and hubby each had a serving, and then I ate the remainder over the next several days. I actually can't wait to make more!

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
1/2 c red lentils (if using brown, just cook longer til soft)
2-3 crushed and diced garlic cloves
3 shallots or 1/2 a large onion
1 can tomatoes
2 Tbsp. fresh or 1 1/2 tbs. dried basil
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Saute onion in olive oil over med. heat 5 min., then add in garlic. Cook til onions are softened, then add in remaining ingredients. Cook until lentils are done (20 for red, 35-40 for brown). Transfer to a blender and puree til smooth. Garnish with fresh chiffonade or dried sprinkles of basil and a dallop of cream cheese or sour cream if desired. Serve with toasted garlic bread. SOOOOOOO good! I enjoyed my soup with some olive oil roasted cauliflower and broccoli. The broccoli got a bit too done, but the cauliflower was delicious!

White Bean & Black Olive Soup

Another from the Moosewood Cookbook. It sounds odd...yet delicious! I look forward to trying and will post a picture when I have.

Precook your white beans by cooking 1 cup white beans in plenty of simmering (not rapidly boiling) water until tender, about 1 ¼ hours.

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 heaping cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 ½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Oregano or marjoram
1 ½ tsp. Basil
1 small zucchini, diced
1 small bell pepper, chopped
3 – 4 medium gloves garlic, crushed
4 cups water
3 oz. Tomato paste
¼ dry red wine (optional)
2 cups cooked white beans
1 cup sliced black olives
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion, celery, carrot, salt and herbs. Saute over medium heat 8-10 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender.

Add zucchini, bell pepper and garlic. Saute 5 minutes more. Combine water and tomato paste. Add to vegetables, along with remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Serve hot, topped with chopped parsley and diced tomato

Cream Of Celery Soup

Another Moosewood cookbook recipe. Soup sounds so good when it's snowy outside!

2 average person’s fist-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chopped celery ( in 1-inch chunks)
1 heaping cup very finely minced celery, taken from the innermost stalks
3 cups water
1 ¼ tsp salt (plus another ½ tsp. later)
2 Tbsp. margarine
1 heaping cup finely minced onion
1 tsp. Celery seed
1 cup rice milk, warmed
white pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp. rice milk powder, or Dari-Free powder
Freshly minced chives and/or parsley for garnish

Place potatoes, 4 cups of celery, water and 1 ¼ tsp. salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn the heat way down and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes ~ until everything is soft. Place in blender, along with powdered milk substitute. Puree, and transfer back to saucepan.

Melt margarine in a small skillet. Add finely chopped onion and celery, celery seed, plus ½ tsp. Salt. Saute 8-10 minutes ~until the vegetables are just tender. Add to puree in large saucepan.

Top with optional garnish and serve gently warmed.

Use above method to make cream of mushroom soup. Substitute mushrooms for the celery, and replace celery seed with 2 tsp. garlic powder.

Cream Of Asparagus Soup

From the Moosewood Cookbook

I haven't had a chance to make this one, but it sure sounds delicious! I bought some canned asparagus, which I would NOT, not, not recommend. As opposed to throwing it out, I'm thinking about adding it to some fresh and pureeing it into a soup. I'll give this one a try!

2 lbs. fresh asparagus
1 ½ Tbsp. Margarine
2 cups chopped onioin
1 ½ tsp. Salt
3 Tbsp. Flour
2 cups water
2 cups hot rice milk
2 tsp. Dill
½ tsp. Tarragon
white pepper, to taste

Break off and discard the tough asparagus bottoms. Slice off the tips and set them aside. Chop remaining stalks into 1-inch pieces.

Melt the margarine in a medium sized skillet. Add onion, asparagus talks, and salt. Saute for about 10 minutes over medium heat. When the onions are clear and soft, sprinkle in 2 Tbsp. of flour while constantly stirring. Continue to cook over the lowest possible heat, stirring frequently, another 5-8 minutes.

Add water, stirring constantly. Heat to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. After about 5 minutes, sprinkle in the remaining 1 Tbsp. flour, mixing well. Cook another 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Puree the soup with the milk, bit by bit, in a food processor or blender. Return the puree to a large saucepan, and season with dill, tarragon and white pepper.

Cut the reserved asparagus tips into small pieces, and add to soup. Cook for several more minutes over low heat to gently cook the tips. Serve immediately.

Potato & Broccoli "Cheese" Soup

Early TED

I ate SO horribly last week. Abigail had the flu so I exclusively took care of Noah while Hubby took care of her. We were concerned about a 4 month old vomiting and getting as sick as Abbie did. So that was a rough 5 days & nights as I usually split the nights with Hubby since Noah doesn't sleep good. Then on Saturday...Hubby gets sick! So needless to say...not much got done last week, no extra cooking like usual, and I'm still recuperating from the other two folks in my home being sick and hoping I don't get it myself.

Back to the food. I ate really bad last week because it was just a rough week and I had no time to make all my "special" food for me. I've learned that on the TED I need to eat a little bit of all of my foods to feel somewhat healthy. If I start to leave foods out or just eat whatever is easiest, my stamina and clarity of mind just disintegrate. I thought a soup would be a good way to combine a bunch of veggies and kick up my nutrients. This one sure did the trick, and it was delicious and almost "cheesy" to boot! Abigail ate all of hers, with much prompting as she's not a soup person, but she never said she didn't like it! Score one for Mom!

8 small to medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
14 small red potatoes, large dice
1 large onion, chopped
2 heads of broccoli, cut into small florets
1 Tbsp. olive oil, + 1 Tbsp. for later
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Dari-free potato milk
6 cups of water
1 cup rice milk

In a large stockpot, add in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and your onions. Cook over low heat until the onions take on some color. Add in the carrots and then the potatoes. Add in the water and cook until the potatoes and carrots are almost done.

Place 2-3 ladles of veggies in a blender, 2 ladles of cooking liquid, add the rice milk and blend on very low speed. Contents will be VERY hot, so be careful! If putting a lid on your blender, be sure and vent it so steam can escape. Meanwhile, place broccoli in the pot to cook.

Gradually increase speed the speed of the blender until contents are well blended. Add in reserved 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and 2 Tbsp. of milk powder. The Dari-Free thickens the soup and gives it a velvety texture. The carrots turn the puree a pale golden color. Return contents of blender to soup pot, and cook until the broccoli is just done. Turn heat down to medium and stir frequently, as it will stick on the bottom of the pot. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings as needed. The milk powder adds a sweetens that might need to be further counteracted with additional salt and onion/garlic powder. I liked a bit of the sweetness in my soup.

It truly does have a cheesy look to the soup, and if your imagination is broad a creamy cheese taste as well!

Enjoy!
This photo got uploaded on accident...but it's so cute I'll leave it here! The reason I continue with this so very difficult diet...this little guy's happiness! Now if only he was like this all day and all night long....We still have so many very, very rough days.