Category: soup
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Chilled Avocado Soup
April 4, 2016
Avocados abound in California these days, but how much guacamole can you really eat?? Well, for me, tons, but after that tons I want something different. This super quick recipe delivers on those Latin flavors in a new and interesting way, provides great nutrition, including being "High In" fiber and "Low In" carbs, and if you insist, you can still dip some tortilla chips in it.
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Chilled Tomato Cucumber Soup
August 24, 2015
Enjoy the best of the summer without heating up the kitchen! Tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic macerate with EVOO and sherry vinegar for this hearty entree soup. Cut and fry extra croutons to use on other soups and salads all week long.
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Five Spice Turnip Soup
November 10, 2014
Turnips are totally underrated! They are cheap and packed with nutrients, but somehow not as in-fashion as brussel sprouts or kale these days. I hope they make a come back because the turnips make one cup of this soup "High In" fiber, calcium (yup!) and Vitamins A and C. This recipe is a bit indulgent using half-and-half - use low fat or skim milk to cut the fat.
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Tortilla Soup
June 4, 2014
The origins of this soup are definitely Mexican, but like many national dishes regional variations abound. Some recipes include beans, cilantro, chicken and/or even mint. I took that lead and made some of my own changes - mostly to reduce the cooking time. I used fire-roasted canned tomatoes instead of roasting my own (it's a bit early for fresh tomatoes besides), and I dropped frying my own tortilla strips in favor of crushed tostadas (I know, genius, right?!).
The tomato and avocado pump up the nutrition making it "high in" Vitamins A and C, Potassium and Monounsaturated Fat. Also, I used dried poblano peppers (labeled pasilla or ancho) because they won't set you on fire. For a vegan soup, simply omit the cream. Hurry up and try this before it's too hot for soup!
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Roasted Broccoli Soup
December 1, 2013
After a heavy Thanksgivvukah weekend, this is great way to start off light and flavorful this week. It is based on my Garlic Parmesan Broccoli recipe - roasted veg, broth and a whizz up with a hand blender and 'tis the season for warm, cozy soup.
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Watermelon Gazpacho
July 21, 2013
A cold soup is just what the hot summer ordered. Traditionally, the vegetables in gazpacho were pounded by hand. Modern day food processors, while infinitely more convenient, heat the veggies and also create an undesirable foam. Not interested in the labor intensive pounding route? I pulsed the veg-mixture - the slightly chunky result was nice. For a second gazpacho recipe, check out my original gazpacho - updated with new photos.
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Sachs Italian Wedding Soup
October 21, 2012
Michael's brother is visiting us in Cali and he just celebrated his first wedding anniversary with his beautiful Italian/Irish wife, Meaghan. He says they make this soup a lot, and I thought it was a perfect way to cheers their first year together. He is the guest chef hand in step #2. The veggie meatballs are a snap to put together and get tremendous flavor from the Parmesan cheese, herbs and spices. Serve with bread and/or salad for a satisfying weeknight meal.
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Cool Herbed Cucumber Soup with Chive Oil
June 10, 2012
Anticipating the 100 degree days ahead, I thought I'd try a cold soup. With crisp cucumbers in season this was an easy go-to. Parsley, cilantro, mint, chives and parsley continue the fresh theme while cayenne and smoked chipotle add a bite. For a vegan soup, use a soy-based yogurt.
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Pumpkin Chili
February 19, 2012
I am a self-confessed 'yard clipping diver' (that's dumpster diving for the burbs). California is such the land of plenty that people put perfectly good fruits and vegetables growing on their trees and in their gardens in their yard piles. I happily find lovely things all year long - ripe grapefruits nested in grass clippings, juicy tomatoes still affixed to freshly pulled plants. Serendipitously, I recently came upon a Fairytale Pumpkin - an old French varietal shaped like Cinderella's coach. I turned it into this robust chili that is very healthy and vegan to boot. In-season butternut or acorn squash will stand in nicely.
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French Onion Soup
January 29, 2012
I've been seeing this warming, winter soup in lots of food magazines and blogs lately and realized I've never made it at home. Knowing that the broth is the chief ingredient that would make the vegetarianizing of this soup, I bought a few and did a very unscientific taste test with Pacific, Trader Joe's and Imagine vegetable broths. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised that they all tasted pretty weak, with the Trader Joe's fairing the worst (it tasted literally like water). I ended up using Pacific - had the most deep flavors. If you are concerned about sodium, opt for the low sodium broths (I used full test). The cheese also makes this - spend a bit and go for an aged gruyere - it's worth every extra penny.
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Caramelized Delicata Squash Soup
October 30, 2011
I received delicata squash from my CSA a few weeks ago and immediately envisioned serving soup in them. It would be a great first course for Thanksgiving. The maple syrup, apple and rosemary play so magnificently off one another. For a vegan soup, use soy-based butter or all olive oil.
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Pretzel Cheese Soup
March 27, 2011
I've been in Chicago for the last week and Michael and I splurged on an amazingly fun restaurant called Moto in the West Loop (the bill for two was close to $400!). The head chef is this crazy guy who basically scientifically deconstructs (there was a tour at the end that involved a demo of centrifuges, for example) food flavors and reassembles them in fun and quirky ways. One of our ten courses was a clear pretzel broth studded with freeze-dried scallions and cubed 4-year old Wisconsin cheddar. Holding on to the flavors tight in my memory I sought to recreate the soup to have at home. Check my Twitter feed @Vegetarianized for pictures and descriptions of all the courses, including a cigar and ash tray dish made of mushroom puree stuffed into a braised collard green, and Cracker Jacks of apple gnocchi, popcorn powder and caramel puree - plus a weeks' worth of meals in Chicago with my Top 4 deep dish pie spots.
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Patsy’s Two-Step Chili
January 16, 2011
Michael's mom, Patsy, makes some kick-ass vegetarian chili. Two-step here refers to the ease of putting this protein-fiber-packed main together or just it's Southwestern Country style. The best part is you can really take it in any direction you want. In this version, I opted for Texas-style veggie burgers and added two fiery chipotle peppers with adobo sauce, dried oregano and ground cumin. Patsy called for three cans of beans so I went for the trifecta - black, pinto and red kidney. Add grated cheese, more hot peppers, chopped cilantro, diced green onions, crumbled tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream - garnish possibilities are endless.
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Beans, Greens and Tomato Soup
October 3, 2010
All this canning, jarring and freezing has filled up all my pantry space, but also my freezer. Trying to make some room I pulled out some beet greens I had frozen last winter. Combined with some creamy white beans, I also added a late summer splash with garden-fresh tomatoes and thyme. Red pepper flakes add some spice, if you like.
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Basil Zucchini Soup
July 25, 2010
I'm overrun with zucchini. You don't watch the garden and poof! three and four pounders abound. This week I gave four of these big guys away and set out to cook up the rest. Besides a double order of zucchini brake, I made a funky Zucchini Matuffi I saw in my latest Wine Spectator and put my own twist on this Basil Zucchini Soup that I discovered in an old Gourmet magazine. It's surprisingly vegan despite a very creamy texture.
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Roasted Carrot Soup
January 31, 2010
I guess I'm on this soup kick and have fallen hard core for this particular version. I made it in both my cooking classes this past month and I just can't seem to get enough. Roasting the carrots enhances their natural sweetness, but also concentrates their earthy flavor. The touches of the spices and honey are the perfect compliments to this warm, wintery soup. It's extremely easy to make because all the ingredients are likely to already be in your kitchen and the preparation is a cinch. And it's pretty low in calories and high in fiber to boot.
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Pumpkin Barley Soup
January 17, 2010
Still have Halloween pumpkins on your front porch? I snatched up two 4-pounders and roasted them this weekend. I took half of one pumpkin to make this hearty, winter-warming soup that's loaded with fiber and low in fat. Then I pureed the other halves and froze them for future use in more soup, bread, cookies, casseroles, etc. I'll probably have enough pumpkin to last me until this Halloween. The soup comes together quickly and makes the house smell lovely with its fall and wintery spices. And I got to cook it in my new fancy pot I got for Christmas from Michael's brother, Patrick, and his girlfriend Meaghan - thanks guys! I chose to puree the soup, but if you cut all the vegetables in uniform pieces, you could certainly keep it chunky.
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Vegan Potato Corn Chowder
November 1, 2009
Our friend, Cathy S. from outside Richmond, VA, emailed me awhile back asking for a vegan potato corn chowder recipe. Her recipe had bacon, butter and milk, but it was easily converted to a vegan recipe with plant oil-based butter and soy milk. With hearty potatoes, sweet corn and creamy, nutty soy milk, now she can serve her vegan friends the same yummy soup, and I would say more yummy and more healthy, vegan style.
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Gazpacho
October 4, 2009
I recently became a recipe tester for Cook's Illustrated magazine. It's not that illustrious. Periodically they email you a dish to make, you make it when you have the time and inclination and then take an online survey. The most recent recipe they sent me was an authentic Spanish Gazpacho. It sounded great because I had most of the ingredients still growing in my summer garden. I thought this recipe would take no time. I mean it's a cold soup - don't you just process everything, chill it and it's ready? Not exactly. When you get started, plan to spend an hour doing something else while things strain. And while it tastes simply lovely, this soup is high in calories, fat and sodium. Perhaps next time I'd cut down on the olive oil and salt. Lastly, their instructions were terribly confusing so I've rewritten them here, including how I altered the recipe - too much straining and transferring from bowl to bowl.
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Cold Honey Carrot Soup
July 12, 2009
Sorry for slacking over the long 4th weekend, but I'm back with another edition of Sunday Serving. This week Michael and I are celebrating our 11th anniversary and yesterday we splurged and went to Napa for the day. We popped in to the Oxbow Market and had a cheese plate, some great, cheap wine and watched the LA Angels kick the Yankees butt! After grabbing six cupcakes from Kara's (just couldn't decide on less!), we explored downtown Napa. It's really desolate down there, but the restaurants were great. We had a severely hoppy beer at Joe's, then stopped in Angele's for some wine and pomme frites, and last but not least, had pizza at the new Azzurro's. Nice thin crust style, but a little over cooked.Yes, back to this week's recipe: a Chilled Honey Carrot Soup. This soup does require some cooking, but if you get up early while it's still cool and make it, when it's a zillion degrees later on in the afternoon or early evening this will be a delicious, light and refreshing alternative to firing up the grill or turning on the stove or oven. Enjoy!
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Scallion Soup
April 19, 2009
It's the one year anniversary of Vegetarianized! In celebration I made Scallion Soup - not exactly the dish you think about when you want to party, but still a nice, light spring soup. And the scallions are from my garden. I finally harvested all my scallions after nearly six months of growing over the winter. Some were as large as leeks!
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Spanish Sweet Pea Soup
January 25, 2009
To continue my shameless promotion of my upcoming cooking class at the Davis Food Co-op on Saturday, February 7th, today's Sunday Serving is a Spanish Sweet Pea Soup. This is not one of the dishes I'm making at the cooking class, but a beautiful, creamy, sweet soup that is easy to make and shows off some of the wonderfully tangy Spanish cheeses. It's also quite high in protein and fiber. If you want to reduce the fat content, simple omit the cheese crisp.
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Yellow Split Pea Soup
June 1, 2008
A friend from college, Lauren, sent me a recipe for a lentil soup that she says she always gets compliments on. But since this is blog to improve recipes gone terribly wrong (or vegetarianize meat ones), I thought I'd test my skills at using her recipe as a base to create my own. I've had some yellow split peas in the pantry for months now; after they caught my eye in the market for their extraordinary summery sun color and bargain price of only 69 cents per pound. I think this will make a great summer soup because of the aforementioned color, ease to make (don't want to heat up the kitchen when it's 90 out!), and kitchen sink approach - just throw in those few carrots, onions, garlic, celery and fresh herbs you got hangin' around in the fridge and wa-la!