Carrot Ginger Miso Soup

I have a whole new appreciation for sunshine after moving here to Seattle. When those rainy skies clear and those gray clouds lift, I am literally dancing with happiness. I'm practically sunbathing on the sidewalk (I don't have the luxery of a backyard). I'm taking advantage of every waking moment to enjoy the rays. Because sure enough, when we get three days in a row of completely clear skies this time of year, it's bound to be followed by ten gloomy ones.

This soup was made on one of those gloomy ones. I wanted to use the bunch of pretty carrots from the farmers market in a way that would warm my soul. I realized that I hadn't made carrot ginger soup nearly as much as I should have this winter. And so, I got to work putting this sunny soup together,

 

This carrot soup has some serious nutrition going on. It's brightened with the potent anti-inflammatory ginger and turmeric and is packed with beta carotene for glowing skin. The addition of traditional fermented miso paste boosts it up even further with an added detoxification benefit. As if that wasn't all enough, I topped it with some gorgeous green pea shoots and radish sprouts (because who am I kidding...I need something green on everything I eat).

Luckily, we've had some sunshine this week and I'm trying to do my best to soak up as much of it as possible. I've got a few more recipes up my sleeve this week as well, so stay tuned for some tasty goodness coming out of this kitchen of mine and into yours. Be well, everyone. And enjoy the sunshine.

Carrot Ginger Miso Soup (makes a lot of soup...you'll have leftovers)

2 onions, diced
2 pounds of carrots, or 2 bunches, cut into 1"chunks
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
2" piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
4-5 cups of water or vegetable stock
salt, to taste
2 tbs miso paste
1-2 tablespoons maple syrup(depending on the sweetness of your carrots)
sprouts, pea shoots, cilantro, or avocado (optional toppings)

1. In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute the diced onion in some ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes or so. Add the chopped carrots, garlic, sliced ginger, turmeric, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Let simmer 20-25 minutes or until carrots are very tender.

2. Turn off the heat. Add the miso paste to the pot of soup. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until it's smooth. If the soup is too thick, you may add more water. Add maple syrup and sea salt to taste.  At this time, you may add some freshly grated ginger to the soup if you want it to have a spicier ginger kick. Serve with toppings of your choice.

For more fabulous food and photos from Nourish The Roots, 

be sure to follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest

Vegetarian French Onion Soup with Dijon Gruyere Croutons

Sometimes, you just need some comfort food. Anyone with me on this one? It has been one of those weeks. Remember that strange feeling of "not belonging" that I wrote about not too long ago? Yeah, I'm still feeling it. So I realized that I needed something that would warm my insides and make me happier. And there's nothing happier than some French onion soup with some cheesy goodness on top.

I decided to spend my precious day off from work today in the kitchen making this here soup. So surprising, right? Let's just say I spent the afternoon crying. Ok, I'm not that depressed people, it's just that when you have to peel and slice practically a whole bag of onions to make this soup, you just can't avoid shedding some tears. But all that crying was worth it.

You'll notice in the recipe below that I use a homemade vegetable stock. I haven't bought a box of packaged vegetable broth in years. I have practically eliminated all packaged items from my kitchen, and that includes those boxes of vegetable broth. I've been playing around recently with making different variations of vegetable stocks using everything from mushrooms to winter squash and the results have been great. The all-purpose stock recipe that I used in this soup is extremely simple and straightforward. I bet you probably have all of the ingredients in your kitchen right now. If you are going to use packaged broth, be sure it's organic and doesn't have any questionable ingredients in it.

I understand that a bowl of soup of the French Onion variety typically has lots of ooey gooey melted cheese bubbling over the sides of the bowl. And when times are tough, there's nothing wrong with that. But these croutons I tell ya, they're good. You see, my husband is not a fan of ooey gooey cheesy things, so I had to compromise on this one and skimp on the cheese. And honestly, the croutons were awesome, so I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup with Dijon Gruyere Croutons (serves two generously)

For the Soup:
8 yellow onions, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil if you want the soup to be vegan)
3 bay leaves
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup dry sherry wine
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
3 cups vegetable broth (preferably homemade, see recipe below)

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add butter (or olive oil), onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and sea salt. Stir to combine and when onions start to soften, lower the heat. Let the onions slowly cook, stirring occasionally, about one hour until they are caramelized and brown and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Remove the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves.

2. Add the sherry to the pot and cook another 10 minutes. Then add the dijon mustard and vegetable broth. Stir and let simmer another 10 minutes. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it. Ladle into bowls and top with croutons.

For the Croutons:
2-3 large slices rustic whole grain bread, cut into 1" cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 tablespoons dijon mustard
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup finely grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese (optional if you want to keep the soup vegan)

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and toss to coat the bread cubes. Lay the bread cubes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until the croutons are golden brown and sizzling. Remove from the oven and top the bowls of soup with croutons and an extra sprinkling of cheese.

Quick and Easy Homemade Vegetable Stock (makes 4-5 cups of stock)
3 large carrots, cut into 1" pieces
1 large onion, cubed
3 stalks celery, cut into 1" pieces
6 cloves garlic, each peeled and cut in half
2 bay leaves
fresh or dried herbs of your choice (I like parsley, rosemary, and thyme)

In a pot, add all of the ingredients and cover with 6 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer uncovered for one hour or more. Strain through a fine mesh strainer before using.

For more fabulous food and photos from Nourish The Roots, 

be sure to follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest

Black Bean and Kabocha Squash Soup

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday filled with delicious food and many blessings. I for one have a lot to be thankful for and I loved spending time with family to celebrate that. I hope that as the end of the year holiday craziness is upon us, we can remember that attitude of gratitude that we all have at Thanksgiving.

I've made this soup a few times and I've just gotten around to blogging about it. It's super simple and most definitely delicious. It's from the Sprouted Kitchen blog, which I highly recommend you check out. The blog is filled with beautifully photographed vegetarian food and the writers of the blog, Sarah and Hugh, just came out with a gorgeous cookbook that's totally on my Christmas list this year.

This soup is hearty and healthy, filled with all the nutrients to make your body happy in this cold weather. I love it topped with lots of avocado and cilantro, so don't skimp on the garnishes! The addition of cabbage to the soup is genius and should not be omitted. The local savoy cabbage I used was so super gorgeous, I squealed with delight when I was photographing it.

I used kabocha squash in this soup. It's a beautifully sweet squash and the skin is entirely edible. I like using it in recipes that call for butternut squash because I don't have to peel it.  Also, you can't go wrong with the proportions in this soup. I've added much more squash and more cabbage before and it's still delicious. Just season and adjust to taste.

 

 Black Bean and Kabocha Squash Soup (from Sprouted Kitchen)

1 Tbsp. coconut or extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 a small head of cabbage, chopped (heaping 2-3 cups)
3 cups cubed winter squash (butternut, kabocha, sweet potato would be good, too)
3 cups water or vegetable broth
2 tsp cumin (or more to taste)
2 tsp chili powder (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
2 cups cooked, black beans
avocado, for garnish
cilantro, for garnish
pumpkin seeds, for garnish

1. In a large pot, warm the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until just beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, cabbage, squash and water (or broth). Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 15-20 minutes for the vegetables to cook.

3.Add the spices and the beans and stir. Let everything continue to cook another ten minutes for the flavors to blend. Salt to taste. At this point, I did a few pulses with my immersion blender through the soup, because I wanted to thicken up the broth a bit. This is optional, but makes it seem a bit thicker. You could alternatively, run just a bit of the soup through a blender or food processor, and add it back in to the pot.
Garnish each bowl with some diced avocado, a handful of chopped cilantro and some pumpkin seeds.

For more fabulous food and photos from Nourish The Roots, 

be sure to follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest