I am not a soup connoisseur...I haven't been cooking long enough to be one. But this past Monday I made a soup that, thus far in my life, is the best soup EVER. And I'm not being biased because I made it. Brendan's reaction was just as amazed as mine. He took a bite of soup and said, "Gina, this is one of the best soups you've ever made. No joke". Though I cannot take credit for the recipe, I will take credit for doing a terrific job of following instructions! Seriously, if you have time to make this soup over the weekend or sometime in the near future, DO IT. It is so frickin' easy to make and will blow away your taste buds when you try it. You will not regret the decision to make this amazing recipe.
Sweet Potato, Apple, and Chipotle Soup (from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health)
Serves 10 (1 cup servings) or 5 (2 cup servings)
Ingredients:
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 large onion, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-3 celery stalks, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
-2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
-1 large apple, chopped
-1 tablespoon canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (add extra for more heat!)
-4 cups vegetable broth
-1 cup water
-1 1/2 teaspoons salt
-1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 cup unsweetened apple juice
Directions:
1. In a medium soup pot, warm the oil. Add the onions & garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add all remaining ingredients, except for the apple juice. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
3. Turn the heat off. Add the apple juice to the pot. Using an immersion blender, or working in batches in a blender, puree the soup until it is smooth.
4. Enjoy!
*Note: depending on how much chipotle pepper you use, this soup will be pretty darn spicy. Be sure to have some good bread, cheese, or a glass of milk on the side!
Last week's adventure: using a whole head of red cabbage in three different dishes. Success? You bet. I was inspired by the most recent Bon Appetit and Vegetarian Times magazines, each of which listed a recipe that not only sounded delish, but also called for red cabbage. Turns out one head of cabbage (even a small one) yields a lot more than I thought, so I quickly found a third recipe to utilize the leftovers. Don't let your cabbage go to waste...use the whole head in different recipes!
For easy prep, slice all the cabbage at once and keep it in a bowl with saran wrap, or in an air-tight container. That way, the prep work of chopping the cabbage for each recipe is already done! If you are trying to figure out what to make for dinner or lunch for this coming week, try one, two, or all three of these:
Beer-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage (from Bon Appetit)
I used 1.12 pounds of pork tenderloin and therefore only made half the amount of marinade.
Chickpea and Red Cabbage Pita Pizza (modified from Vegetarian Times)
I made enough cabbage for 2 pizzas, so below is my modified ingredient list for the cabbage mix. I made the full amount of chickpea mix, since the leftovers taste great on a sandwich or with some raw veggies. Also, I did not toast my own cumin seeds and then grind them; I just used regular ground cumin (no need to do that extra work!). Click on the link for directions on how to make the recipe, but omit step #3 (toasting & grinding cumin seeds).
Cabbage mix for 2
Ingredients:
-2 cups red cabbage, sliced
-4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
-2 teaspoons honey
Our Favorite Raw Slaw (adapted from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health)
Serving size: 1 heaping cup
Ingredients:
-3 cups kale (about 1/2 of a large bunch), finely chopped
-1 cup red cabbage, minced
-2 carrots, grated
-1 apple, grated
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
-2 teaspoons dried thyme
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-fresh ground black pepper
Optional
-1/4 cup dried cranberries
-1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Directions
1. Make the dressing: whisk together the oil, vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper
2. In a large bowl combine the kale, cabbage, carrots, and apple in a large bowl
3. Pour the dressing over the 'slaw and mix well.
4. Top with dried cranberries and sunflower seeds, if desired
*The longer the 'slaw sits, the better it will taste!
