Root Vegetable A L'Orange Blended Soup

Scrub well, but don't peel, all the vegetables. Chop and sauté them lightly in a 3 quart pot with a couple tablespoons of really good extra virgin olive oil. When they've sizzled a while add a little water and the spices, orange zest and juice. Add the water slowly while simmering, as it absorbs. Cook everything until soft then blend. Check the flavors adjusting the spices as needed. Add a drizzle of honey or some brown sugar to bring out the flavors if you'd like.  Cool to room temperature. Whisk in the sour cream if you're using it, or omit if you want it vegan and dairy free.  

3 carrots

2 parsnips

1 med. beet

1 lg. sweet potato

1 lg. sweet onion

5 lg. cloves of garlic

zest and juice of 1 orange

1-2T pumpkin pie spice

a sprinkle of cayenne pepper

a good grind of black pepper

2T powdered chicken soup base

2-4c cold, filtered water

1c sour cream - optional

I've really come to appreciate blended soups!  Often, even if they don't start out that way, I'll blend a vegetable soup after a couple days and I'm always amazed at how changing the texture makes it like a whole different soup!  

Be Bold - Be Creative!

Happy Cooking!! . . . Lin

Purple and Orange Roasted Root Vegetable. . .Soup!

 Sound familiar?  Well it should.  Scroll down a couple. . .

When I first put the vegetables in the oven I thought UhhOhhhh, they're a little crowded. I've read; or more likely, heard on the Food Network; that you need to give them lots of space (as in 2 sheets, not 1 with that many vegetables) or you're basically just steaming them 😕Well, the flavors just didn't develop like I wanted. The crisping and toasting that occurs, on the outer surfaces, when roasting properly, brings out and caramelizes the sugars and gives such wonderful flavors.  That. . .just wasn't quite there. So, when life hands me lemons. . .or today, steam-roasted vegetables. . .I make SOUP! 😃 YEA!  (have I mentioned how much I love making soup?)

• 2-3c roasted beets, carrots, onions, potatoes
• 2 med. cloves fresh garlic
• 12-16oz. fresh cold water
• ½ can thick type coconut milk
• 1T chicken or vegetable soup base
• 1-2T ginger orange seasoning blend
• 1-2T pure Maple syrup - if needed

Blend everything well, pour into a 2-3 quart pot and simmer 20 minutes. Shown here with a dab of sour cream, sprinkled with dill and chopped nuts.

I love it when something mediocre turns into really good SOUP! Taste the food as you cook and decide what you need to add that will compliment what's already there. When something turns out not quite right. . .what else could it become? Be creative and jazz it up a bit! Food Is Fun! . .Lin

Leftover Easter Vegetable Soup

leftover vegetables from Easter dinner

1 med.-lg. scrubbed *red beet

3 frozen tomatoes - peeled

2t Himalayan pink salt

2t ground rosemary

½t cayenne pepper

Put the leftover vegetables in a 3 qt. pot.  Add beets that have been cut into tiny cubes, chopped tomatoes along with 16oz. of water.  Bring this to a light simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes.  When the vegetables are tender, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.  This soup is very red due to the beets.  If you'd rather, *you could use a golden or a pink beet.  This soup has good herb and vegetable flavor. . .Lin

Mashed Root Vegetables

2 golden beets

1 lg. sweet potato

5 lg. garlic cloves

3# med. red potatoes

6 lg. radishes (not shown)

fresh ground black pepper

fresh ground garlic sea salt

4T - ½ stick - butter

8oz. vegetable broth

¾-1c sour cream

Scrub and cube the vegetables without peeling.  Gently simmer-steam vegetables and seasonings, covered, in a 5qt. pot with 2-3 cups of water added.  When they're crumbling, drain the vegetables in a colander over a big bowl to catch the cooking liquid to use as vegetable broth.*  

Return the vegetables to the cooking pot.  Drop in the butter, let that melt, then add the vegetable broth and sour cream, combining everything well.  Taste to check the seasonings and make any corrections necessary.  I love these mixed vegetable mashes!  They're so much healthier than using only plain white potatoes.  If there are leftovers, I think these would fry up well as patties, for a breakfast potato option with sausage or bacon and eggs.  Also with grilled chicken or fish, if you're okay with fried food.

*This cooking resulted in 24 oz. of the best vegetable broth I've ever made!  I used a cup in this recipe and later used some in gravy and the rest went into the big pot of bean and root vegetable soup I made the other day.  It would also be a great thing to drink if you're fighting a virus, or mix it with your dog or cat's dry food.  They'll love you for it! . . . Lin  

Healing Bean and Root Vegetable Soup

¾c dried cow peas~

~or other small beans

Rinse the beans and pick through them, discarding any split, abnormal beans, or tiny pebbles. (unless you're going for a vegetable version of Stone Soup 😉 )  Put beans into a 2qt pot and cover with about 3" of water.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Shut off, cover and remove from the heat to sit and soak.

3 stalks of celery

5 lg. cloves garlic
1# fresh asparagus

2 med. carrots

1 purple onion

1 golden beet

1 turnip

4 lg. radishes

4 mini peppers

2T garlic sea salt

1T+ Italian seasonings

1T+ fresh ground pepper

2T Tuscan flavored olive oil

1 28oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can of corn ~ optional
3 Rose red potatoes

celery tops

This is a nice, slow-putzy recipe - taking about 4 hours from start to finish.  Perfect for a chilly, winter day when you'll be at home, cleaning, doing laundry, reading, spending time on 'house things'.

In a 5qt. pot, combine the large group of scrubbed vegetables; that you've sliced, diced, or chopped, according to the size you want them in the soup; with the oil.  Saute' these over low heat, just until they sizzle.  Add 2c of the bean water and simmer 20 minutes.  Add the last group of ingredients and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes, then shut off the heat and cover.  Bring the beans back to a simmer for another 10 minutes, then turn off the heat.

After an hour, check the beans again and continue to repeat the cook-soak process, if necessary, until they're almost tender.  Mine were ready now.  Check the vegetables to be sure they're cooked enough, but not much beyond crisp tender.  Add the beans, more bean water or vegetable stock, check the flavors and season accordingly.  This is great just as is if you're keeping an eye on your carb intake, but would also be wonderful with some jalapeno cornbread or crusty buttered Italian bread or French baguettes.  Bon Appetit!

NOTE:  This starts out as a very healthy soup, but it's good to remember that water-soluble vitamins; Vit. C and all the B vitamins; are destroyed when heated, so try to keep cooking time minimal.  Potatoes always cook fast.  Even though mine were pretty chunky, I had them in the first group of ingredients.  They cooked too fast and got mushy, so I put them in the second group for the recipe.  The asparagus didn't cook quite enough. 😕 They were originally in with the tomato group, so I relocated them to the first group for your instructions.  Ahhh, trial and error sometimes!  Lin

Root Vegetable Casserole

2 golden beets

1 sweet potato

1 red potato

1 lg. turnip

¾ lg. onion

½ green cabbage

¼c butter

garlic sea salt

ground black pepper

4-5 lg. cloves garlic

Scrub all the vegetables but don't peel.  Just cut away any bad spots.  Using a spiralizer on only the root vegetables, slicing them however you like, using the ribbon or spaghetti blades.  Slice or chop the onion and cabbage, with a sharp knife.  Arrange in a medium black roasting pan.

Grate or finely mince the garlic and combine with the last group of ingredients in a small pan.  Heat and stir, just until the butter melts.  Pour over the vegetables, toss around a little to coat, then bake about a half hour at 350° checking frequently after 20 minutes so they don't overbake.  Transfer to a pretty serving dish if you want.  This would go great with roasted chicken, grilled fish or meatloaf. . .Lin