Soup Ideas and Recipes

For soup in a hurry, I roughly chop the vegetables (eg sweet potato, pumpkin, potato, zucchini), place in the pot, add water to cover, wait till it starts to boil, then add a vegetable stock cube. When it is nearly ready, I may add canned chickpeas or lentils. If not, I puree the mixture and, then add freshly chopped parsley. Great with crusty bread and a salad.

With a bit more time, I soften onion in a tbs of olive oil before adding other vegetables. You could also try using a dash of Tamari or some Shoyu. These are made from fermented soya beans. Tamari and Shoyu can be used in stir fries and salad dressings. They add a richness to the dish and are great for vegetarians.

Consider roasting pumpkin, sweet potato, red capsicum (peppers) before adding them to a soup. Roasting brings out additional sweetness and flavours. I had left over roasted pumpkin (I must have thought there were hoards of people to feed!) and garlic and placed these in a pot with vegetable stock to cover. After 10 minutes, I pureed the mixture using the handheld machine. It was delicious - with added parsley and some ground black pepper.

A base for many soups is onion, carrot, celery. Chop these and soften in olive oil and liquid to stop sticking. You can then add a variety or just a single vegetable to create a really satisfying meal. Use your own home made vegetable stock or vegetable stock cubes.

Some favourites:

• Sweet potato, pumpkin soup sprinkled with parsley and a dollop of plain yoghurt
• Zucchini, white bean (cannellini, butter), using as a base onion, carrot and celery
• Thick noodle soup with asian flavours - using miso and fresh noodles

Recipes here are: Leek and Vegetable Soup, Light Miso and Tofu Broth, Thai soup, Cucumber Coconut soup. See also this recipe for Kale Vegetable Soup.

Leek and Vegetable Soup

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 leeks - white part only (washed and sliced)
• 1 potato (peeled and chopped)
• 2 zucchinis (courgettes) (chopped)
• 1 cup spinach (chopped)
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 4 celery stalks (chopped)
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 tbs parsley
• 2 tbs mint
• 10 cups water
• 2 vegetable stock cubes

1. Cook leeks, potato, zucchinis, spinach and lemon juice in olive oil in large pot for about 10 minutes. Add liquid to stop sticking
2. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 20 minutes
3. Blend in a food processor or use a hand blender
4. This can be served hot or cold
5. For a variation and to add more protein to a meal, add a can of cannellini (white) beans

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Light Miso and Tofu broth

• 1 medium carrot (cleaned, cut in half lengthways, then very thinly sliced)
• 100g (3½oz) baby corn (sliced in half lengthways)
• 100g snow peas (mangetout) (edges snipped off, slice into thin diagonal pieces
• bunch of spring onions (sliced diagonally)
• 175g (6oz) shiitake or button mushrooms (sliced)
• 2cm (¾ inch) ginger (grated finely)
• 125g (4oz) tofu (cut into thin sticks)
• 1 litre (1¾ pints) vegetable stock
• 2 tbs miso
• 2 tbs tamari (similar to soy sauce)

• Marinate tofu in tamari for at least 2 hours
• Place vegetable stock in pot and bring to the boil. Add corn, snow peas, spring onions, ginger, carrot and mushrooms.
• Simmer for about 5 minutes
• Remove 1 cup of the stock and mix with miso. Stir well, then add to soup. Simmer for another minute, being careful not to let the soup boil as this will destroy the health benefits of the miso.
• Remove from the heat, add tofu, tamari. Garnish with seaweed flkes, coriander or parsley.

I love the flavours of Thai cooking and I especially love the soups which are taste sensations. If you have a good Asian or Thai store nearby, then buy the following ingredients to create a your own.

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Basic Ingredients for a Thai soup

• stick of lemongrass
• basil leaves
• galangal (small piece)
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 4 kaffir limes
• 4 red chillies
• 10 spring onions
• bunch of coriander

Chop lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, chilli and spring onions. Combine these together in a pot with 6 cups of boiling water. Swoon over the pot. Add chopped tofu and vegetables such as carrot, mushroom, baby sweet corn. When cooked, serve each bowl with a handful of basil and coriander leaves.

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A cool soup for summer

Cucumber Coconut Soup Serves 10

• 1 small onion (peeled, chopped)
• 4 tbs of sunflower oil
• 2 large cucumbers (peeled, seeded and chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and chopped)
• 600ml/2.5 cups of boiling water with 1 tbs of vegetable stock powder (or equivalent liquid vegetable stock)
• 8 spring onions/scallions (trimmed and chopped)
• 2 red chillies (seeded and chopped)
• 2 lemon grass stalks (chopped)
• 800ml/3.3 cups of canned coconut milk
• grated rind and juice of 2 limes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 200ml/0.75 cup of coconut cream
• 2 tbs coriander (cilantro) leaves (chopped)
1. In a large saucepan, cook the onion in half the oil for 5 minutes. Add the cucumbers and garlic and gently cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the water and stock powder. Simmer for 15 minutes, cool and puree (using handheld blender or food processor).
3. Wash the pan and heat the remaining oil. Cook the spring onions, chillies and lemon grass over a medium heat for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the cucumber liquid and add the coconut milk, grated rind and juice of 2 limes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Heat through gently for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and then chill until needed.
6. Stir in the coconut cream to taste, and serve in cold bowls with a sprinkling of chopped coriander (cilantro).

Did you know:

Coconut butter consists of 90 % saturated fat - a very important building block of every cell in the human body - on the average, each cell membrane consists of 49% saturated fats (cooked saturated animal fat is toxic).

The cholesterol-lowering properties of coconut oil are a direct result of its ability to stimulate thyroid function. In the presence of adequate thyroid hormone, cholesterol (specifically LDL-cholesterol) is converted by enzymatic process to the vitally necessary anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. These substances are required to help prevent heart disease, senility, obesity, cancer and other diseases associated with aging and chronic degeneration.

Coconut butter contains up to 50% medium-chain saturated fatty acids which have powerful anti-parasitical, anti-viral, anti-fungal properties. Coconut butter is the best dietary fat source for individuals with candida, hormone imbalances, hypoglycemia, and/or a weakened liver. Coconut butter is an instant energy source. Contains no cholesterol, no trans-fatty acids, not hydrogenated. Excellent as a food and as a lotion for the skin. Sealed in amber glass jars protected from light.

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