Creamy Pumpkin Soup (Vegan)

The other day, I made this sweet pumpkin cream cheese dip (vegan) that was heavenly, but it only called for the slightest bit of canned pumpkin.  As a result, I had almost a full can of pumpkin left.  Feeling guilty about making yet another cookie, cake, or sweet bread, I opted to make some pumpkin soup.  Boy, I sure am glad I did, too!  This soup was perfect for the chilly rainy days we've been having lately, and definitely tasted of the Christmas season without all the extra sugar of a traditional "sweet" pumpkin baked goodie.  As I say about everything I post on my blog...this is YUM!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• olive oil to sautee (2 Tbs. approx.)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine*
• salt/pepper (to taste)
• 5 cups water + 2 Tbs veggie base, or 5 cups liquid veggie stock (or chicken broth/stock if you don't care about the vegan thing)
• 1 can pureed pumpkin (15 oz. can)
• 1 Tbs Sugar in the Raw (if using regular table sugar, use a little less, as I think it's sweeter)**
• tiny dash of nutmeg (optional)**
• tiny dash of cinnamon (optional)**
• 1/2 cup raw cashews (cream base)
• 1 cup water (cream base)

* a good tip on having wine around for cooking without having to open, and pay for, a whole bottle is to buy those little 4 packs of individual servings.  Works great for cooking without spoiling a bottle of wine!

**  Even though there is a small bit of sugar in this soup, it is NOT a sweet soup.  The sugar is strictly there to add depth of flavor.  Please use your salt and pepper as you would any other savory soup.

*** "Cinnamon and Nutmeg?!"  Yes, you heard me right.  Again, this is NOT a sweet soup; it's definitely savory, but the cinnamon and nutmeg make it fall'ish tasting.  This is a more acquired taste, so if you're scared to use it, then don't  You'll be surprised, though, at how subtle it is, and how special those flavors make this soup.  You can always leave it out, and add the tiniest bit to your own bowl to try it out before seasoning the whole pot.

Instructions:

Chop carrots, onion, and garlic.  First, add carrots since they are the densest of the veggies.  Cover with lid during the sautee process (while stirring periodically) so the steam will help cook the carrots faster.  Once the carrots start to soften and develop a little color, add the chopped onion, garlic, and hefty pinch of salt/pepper.

(as you can see, I did not have an onion on hand, and had to use onion powder as a replacement, but fresh chopped onion is ideal.  Hey...I was desperate for creamy soup last night, and did not want to go to the grocery!)

Once the veggies are tender, "deglaze" the pan with the white wine.  Dear non-cooking friends, this simply means pour the wine into the hot pan with the sautéed veggies, scraping up the caramelized bits that may be on the bottom of the pan.

Let wine and veggies simmer for a bit, letting the alcohol cook out of the wine some.  The liquid should slightly reduced during this process.  At this point, add the veggie stock/base/bouillon/whatever you have.  Bring to a simmer.  Add pureed pumpkin and 1 Tbs of sugar, and stir to incorporate.  Taste it for seasoning!

After about 5 minutes, or so, of simmering the brothy mixture, use a hand blender to thoroughly blend until a homogenous creamy consistency is achieved.


"CLAIRE?!?!  I don't have a hand blender!!!"  Don't freak out.  You can use your trusty table-top blender to do this.  You will probably have to blend in batches, though.  Also, be careful when blender a hot mixture in a table-top blender as the steam from the soup can make it explode if the lid is not cracked open, or vented.

After blending, turn heat to low and let lightly simmer, stirring frequently so the soup does not scorch on the bottom of the pot.

For the cream base, add the cashews and 1 cup water to your table top blender.  Blend on high until mixture is totally creamy, and no cashew pieces remain.  I let mine run for a couple minutes, at least.  Add cashew cream to hot blended soup mixture.  Stir to thoroughly combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and nutmeg and cinnamon, as well.  Remember, the cinnamon and nutmeg should be a very small amount; like 1/4 tsp each, or so.  TASTE IT!

YUM!  Soup is done and ready to be devoured!  You should have a golden yellow, creamy, soup oozing comfort and creamy satisfaction :-)


Enjoy the cold holiday season,
Claire

The FAST Hurom Slow Juicer

JUICING!

Juicing is awesome.  Why juice?  And what's the difference between green juices and green smoothies?  Fruits and veggies are detoxifiers, remember?  The main difference, here, is fiber and concentration.  When we eat a piece of fruit, we must macerate the fruit in the chewing process to break down the fiber so the juice can be accessed.  As you and I both know, we're not the most thorough of chewers, and often swallow chunks of food figuring our digestive juices will take care of the rest.  When we do this, we're not separating the juice from the fiber before it hit our digestive system, therefore causing our digestive system to waste energy breaking down food instead of repairing our cells/bodies.  Therefore, only a small amount of concentrated juice actually hits our system.  Also, juicing allows you to consume a larger amount of fruits/veggies in a more concentrated form.  Instead of eating a whole head of romaine lettuce, you can juice it and only have to consume a 1/2 cup of liquid.  See the difference?

Don't get me wrong, fiber is good for you, and hopefully you are getting a good amount of it in other areas of your diet throughout the day.  Fiber acts as a bottle brush to our intestines, cleaning them of the plaque build-up they've acquired over the years of eating highly refined foods.  Fiber also keeps our metabolism high and working, and sustains hunger.  So, make sure to still eat high amounts of fiber in other aspects of your daily diet...just not in your juicing regiment :-)

When you juice raw fruits and vegetables, you deliver a highly concentrated amount of raw enzymes, vitamins, fatty acids, chlorophyll, etc. straight to your blood stream.  Think of it as liquid medicine.  The key to juicing is RAW.  Pasteurized bottled juices you buy at the store are almost void of all the goodness they started with.  The pasteurization process heats the juice to a high temperature in hopes of killing bacterias that cause fast spoilage so to extend the shelf life of their product.  That high temperature not only kills bacteria, but also a vast amount of the good stuff you WANT in juice.  Buy a juicer, and make your own high quality raw juices!  Pasteurized juices are crap.

I love juicing; it has almost taken the place of my morning smoothie.  I will make smoothies every now and then if I feel my diet has been lacking in fiber lately, which is rare now that I'm a veggie.  For Christmas (early Christmas present, that is), my folks bought me the new big bad Hurom Slow Juicer.  It is awesome, and I use it daily!  It's a single auger slow juicer that's actually really fast!  Slow juicing?  Why slow?  Slow juicing is thought to be best because it oxidizes and heats the least during the juicing process, and oxidation/heat can destroy the vital nutrients.  No matter what, slow juicing or fast centrifugal juicing....both are way better for you than pasteurized juices.

My favorite daily green juice I consume consistently, always a minimum of wake through lunch, is called Green Lemonade.  I got this particular recipe from Natalia Rose's Detox Diet book, but all raw foodies drink some sort of version of this green juice.  It's great!

• One head romaine lettuce
• 3 or 4 stalks of kale
  
• 2 lemons peeled
  
• 2 large apples (more or less depending on your personal sweetness level)
  
• 1 small cucumber
• chunk of ginger (optional)

*side note*  Some juicers require peeling lemons and oranges, and some do not.  The Hurom juicer does not require you to peel, but know that if you leave the peel on, the oils from the rind can be very intense.

Church...hmmmm

I grew up in a traditional family atmosphere.  Mom and Dad; no step-anything.  PTA, sisterly quarrels, and church every Sunday.  My childhood was great, and I wouldn't change a thing.  Since becoming an adult, and creating my own life, some things have changed.  Going to church is one of those.  I was a theology minor in college, and loved every bit of it.  It is the most fascinating study...also the most trying.  I'm not going to say my theological studies are solely to blame for my departure from church as an independent adult, but it did have some part.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss.  More so, I think life in general has just been playing out how it's supposed to.

I haven't been an active member at church since graduating high school.  Honestly, I'm just not sure how I feel about God, Jesus, and the Bible...or any God, for that matter.  That's not to say I'm a non-believer, I'm just not so sure about any of it.  Let's put it this way, I have not had a religious experience that has provided me with this unwavering faith so many speak of.  I'm not going to lie; I haven't prayed to God in a long time.  And when I do, I always pray that if He is there and listening that He understands my struggle with belief, and has patience with me during this journey of mine.

I could write pages, upon pages of my likes and gripes with modern religious practice, but I'm not even going to go there.  Where I will go is to this undeniable need and want to return back to church.  Why?  I don't know.  Basically, I want to believe in God, but my brain tells me it's just not always the smartest thing to do.  So, do I go to church and fear God will know I'm on shaky ground with my faith and resent my presence there, or do I not go even though I want to go?

Many atheists will bring about the "man created God for comfort" theory when debating divine presence, and I have been thinking about this quite a bit, recently.  If man DID create God for comfort, then what's so bad about that?  Is this "false God for comfort" endangering my day to day life?  If when I die and find out I'm not in Heaven, will I be pissed I spent a lifetime caring about others, donating my time to those in need, and placing a hope in my life that brought happiness and peace for the time being?  I'm starting to look at this as a win/win situation.  Whether there is, or is not a God, the idea of "church" can still be a good thing.

I adore the church I grew up in.  The people, pastor, and ideologies all "fit" for me.  I think I might work my way back in there.  They, the church, it...brings me comfort.  Whether false comfort, or true, I've got a lifetime to feel good about it.
 

Creamy Cheezy Corn Chowder

It's been cold around here in South Texas lately....COLD!  I'm serious!  When it's cold outside, all I can think about is warm food...not salads.  With that being said, I have been naughty about not having my daily all-raw salad at lunch and replacing it with warm comforting cooked, but still vegan, food.  I have been keeping up with my green smoothie/green juice throughout the beginning of the day...although a nice warm stack of whole grain pancakes sure was tempting!  Ha!  Anyway, yesterday I was jonesin' for something hot and creamy, and came across a recipe on the internet, which I ended up tweaking to meet my "needs."  This corn chowder was just what I needed!

This recipe can be very versatile.  Don't have nutritional yeast?  no biggie, it will still be creamy, just not cheesy.  Want it spicy?  Sure!  Either add a can of Rotel, or a couple jalapenos.  I think this chowder would be great with a little spicy kick, but I didn't have any jalapenos on hand.  

TRY THIS RECIPE!  It is sooooo good!  My mother informed me the other day I was not the best at being clear in the "instruction" section of my recipes, so please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.  Sorry guys, I just assume everyone knows how to boil water, spice "to taste," and what stove top temperature to cook at.  Here's the basics, guys:  if you feel like something's missing when cooking, it's the salt...add more.  The most common mistake when cooking, in my opinion, is people do not use enough salt!  Salt goes in EVERYTHING.  It is the "depth" of taste.  If you want something to cook faster, then chop it smaller, and vice versa.   Sautéing something?  Use medium - med/high heat.  I almost never use the "low" setting on my stove top.  I also never know how much olive oil I use when sautéing.  I assume it's around 2-3 Tbs....just make sure you have enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan.  Again, please don't hesitate to ask me your questions.  I know I'm bad about not being thorough in the instructions, but I'm just not use to it because I'm such an "instinct cook" in the kitchen.  Enjoy!

Cheezy CREAMY Vegan Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 small chopped yellow onion, 1/2 large yellow onion
• 1 cup small chopped carrots
• 1-2 fresh de-seeded chopped jalapenos (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups water + 1 Tbs vegetable base (or the equivalent in bouillon cubes/stock)
• 2 cups frozen sweet corn (divided in half)
• 1 Tbs dried parsley
• 1 tsp. pepper
• Salt (roughly close to a Tbs by the finish)
• 3 Tbs Nutritional Yeast (optional cheeze sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. paprika (optional cheeze sauce)
• 3/4 cup raw cashews (cream base)
• 2 cups water (cream base)

Instructions:

In a soup pot, heat roughly 2 - 3 Tbs olive oil in the bottom of the pain over medium high heat.  Once heated, add chopped onion, carrot (and jalapeno if using), parsley, about 1 tsp. salt, and pepper.  After adding veggies, turn heat down to medium.  Cover with lid in between stirring so the steam will help cook the carrots faster.  Sauté until carrots are almost tender, and then add chopped garlic.  Continue cooking until all veggies are completely tender, but not mush.   Add 2 cups water + veggie base/bouillon or stock equivalent AND 1 cup of the frozen corn.  Bring to a boil, then turn off heat.

At this point, use an immersion blender to completely blend mixture to creamy consistency.........OR.........(read the next bullet points about blender blending.)

• Let cool to warm, or completely. 
• As for myself, I made this part at lunch, put in the fridge, went back to work, and then finished the rest of the recipe after work at 5pm.  If you're wanting to make this recipe all together at one time, the reasoning for letting this mixture cool some is because it's going in the blender, and blending a super hot mixture can be dangerous. 
• Take cooled soup mixture, and pour into a blender.  Blend until completely homogenized (smoothie consistency).  Once blended, return mixture back to soup pan/stove, and heat at medium temp. stirring frequently as to not burn the now thick mixture.  

To the now blended mixture,  add the other 1 cup frozen corn.  For a cheezy flavor, wisk in the nutritional yeast and paprika at this time.

Rinse blender with hot tap water, and return to motor base.  Add cashews and 2 cups water.  Blend on high until a complete milk-like consistency is achieved, and absolutely NO pieces of cashew remain.  This requires blending for a few minutes, depending on your blender.  *soaking your cashews anywhere from 3 hours to overnight will make them the easiest to blend, but un-soaked cashews can be used, as well, and will reach the desired consistency.  Un-soaked cashews will just need to be blended a little longer.

Add cashew milk mixture to the warmed blended veggie mixture in pot.  Bring soup up to desired hot temperature, but do not boil.  Salt and pepper to taste, and then serve!

Merry Christmas,

Claire