Elaine

Elaine's Favorite Vegetable Soups

I like a quick and nutritious lunch that includes vegetables without much food preparation, so I make a pot of soup each weekend for weekday lunches. These soups are balanced meals in a bowl, containing protein, grains or complex carbohydrates, olive oil, and a variety of vegetables. The chopping and preparation time is fast, so I often put a pot on the stove to simmer while I'm doing other chores. Homemade soups avoid the pitfalls of commercial soups such as too much salt, too many calories, and too few vegetables. You can freeze soups in appropriate serving sizes for your needs. For other good soup recipes, look at Moosewood Cookbooks, Laurel's Kitchen, and Vegetarian Epicure.

I'll be adding more recipes over time, so if you like these, check back for more.

Red Lentil Soup

This soup was inspired by my friend Helena who simply cooked red lentils and garlic in water and thinned the mix to a soupy consistency. You can make it this way, but I like my soups to be balanced meals, so I've added vegetables and grains. You could use split peas or regular lentils instead of red lentils, but red lentils are delicious and digestible. (I get them at my local health food store.) I double this recipe so that my husband and I can eat it for lunch a number of days. It freezes best if you leave out the potatoes.

1 tablespoon olive oil	1 bay leaf
1 onions, chopped	1-2 teaspoons salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped or finely sliced	1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 diced carrots	1/8 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
1/4 cup brown rice or pearled barley	1 large chopped potato (optional)
1 cup red lentils	2 cups chopped spinach, chard, or other greens

Saute onions, garlic, and carrots in olive oil. Add a 6 cups of water, brown rice or barley, red lentils, bay leaf, salt, and black pepper. Cook about 30-45 minutes until rice (or barley) and lentils are softening. Add more water as needed. Add potatoes. If you're using greens that take time to cook like kale or collards, add them now and cook until the greens and potatoes are done, about 30 minutes more. If you're using spinach or chard, add them after the potatoes are cooked. Adjust salt and other seasoning, and add more water if the soup is too thick.

Kale-Potato Soup

This is one of the few soups I make that require 2 pots and slightly more complicated preparation, but it's worth the effort. This soup is rich and creamy because of the blended white beans and potatoes, but it is low in fat.

2 tablespoons olive oil	1 large carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped	2-4 cups finely chopped fresh kale
6 cloves garlic, chopped	1-2 tsp. salt
6 large potatoes, chopped	1/4 tsp. or more of cayenne or black pepper (I like it hot!)
1 bay leaf	2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
2 cans white beans

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot. Add about 2 quarts of water (you'll have to adjust water to the consistency you like at the end), 4 of the potatoes chopped, bay leaf, 1 can of white beans, and kale.

In a small pot, cover 2 chopped potatoes and the carrot with water and cook until soft. Cool a little and blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Also blend one can of the beans with this mix. You'll likely have to blend it all in two batches, adding enough water to get a smooth mix.

When the larger pot containing kale is well cooked, add the potato-carrot-bean puree to the pot. This will give you a creamy soup with a great color. Add 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast at the end of serving. Adjust salt, pepper, and consistency by adding more water if needed.

Cream of Tomato Soup

A creamy soup without cream or milk.

1 tablespoon olive oil	1-2 teaspoon salt
1 roughly chopped carrot	1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 roughly chopped onion	1/2 teaspoon oregano
3 cloves garlic	1-2 tablespoon fresh basil (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
8 cups tomatoes--fresh peeled or canned	2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 cans white beans	1 cup cooked brown rice (optional)

Saute carrot, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Large pieces are fine, because you're going to puree the whole recipe. Add 1 cup water, tomatoes, beans, and dried spices. Cook about 45 minutes. Cool a little and puree in a blender along with the whole wheat flour. Return mix to the large pot, adjust seasoning and amount of water, add cooked brown rice if desired, and add finely shredded basil for the last few minutes of cooking.

This makes a great creamy tomato base for other soups. You can go Italian by adding zucchini and whole wheat pasta instead of brown rice. I always like adding greens.

Barley and Bean Soup

Preparation is minimal for this soup.

2 tablespoons olive oil	2 large chopped potatoes
1-2 large carrots, diced	1 can kidney beans
1 large onion, chopped	1 can Great Northern or other white beans
2 cloves garlic, chopped	2 cups chopped kale
1/2 cup barley	1-2 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf	1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Saute carrots, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Add 2 quarts of water, barley, bay leaf, and soy sauce. Cook 30-45 minutes until barley is softening. Add potatoes, beans (I use Eden organic beans), kale, salt, and pepper. You can also use other vegetables you like. When it's all cooked, adjust the seasoning to your taste. You may need more water, salt, or soy sauce.

Chili con Tofu

2 tablespoons olive oil	1 large diced red or green pepper
1 large onion	1 lb cake of tofu, finely cubed
3 cloves garlic	1-2 tsp chili powder
2-4 cups chopped tomato	1 tsp cumin
4 cups water	1 tsp oregano
1 large diced carrot	1/4 tsp cayenne
4 cups cooked kidney beans	1-2 tsp salt
1/2 cup millet

Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add water, chopped tomatoes, carrots, beans and millet. Cook about 45 minutes, adding water as needed. Add fresh pepper, tofu, and spices. Stir well and simmer about 30 minutes or until well cooked. Adjust seasoning, adding more chili, cumin, and cayenne if you like spicy food.

Corn Chowder

2 tablespoons olive oil	1/2 tsp. paprika
1 large chopped onion	1 bay leaf
1 chopped green pepper	2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 cups finely chopped potato	2 cups soy or low fat cow's milk
2 cups water	3 T whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt

Sauté onion and pepper in olive oil. Add potato, water, salt, paprika, and bay leaf. Simmer about 20 minutes. Add corn and cook until corn and potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Shake 1/2 cup milk with flour in jar with lid until smooth. Add flour mixture and remaining milk to soup. Add more water if needed. Heat without boiling. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and black pepper.

Minestrone

3 T. olive oil	1 cup chopped green beans
2 large onions, chopped	1 cup chopped zucchini
3 cloves garlic, chopped	2 cups chopped spinach (optional)
2 carrots, diced	1-2 tsp oregano
4-6 cups chopped tomatoes	1-2 tsp basil
1-2 qt water	parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup brown rice	1-2 tsp salt
2-3 cups kidney beans, cooked	black or red pepper to taste
2 large potatoes, diced	parmesan cheese (optional)

Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in olive oil. Add tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Add brown rice, kidney beans, and potatoes and simmer 45 minutes, adding more water as needed. Add green beans, zucchini, and greens (if spinach, add at last minute). Add spices and cook about 20 minutes or until all is well cooked. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Creamy Potato Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil	2 cups milk, cow or soy
3-4 leeks, chopped	1/2 tsp caraway seed
3-4 cups water	2 tsp dill weed
5 large potatoes, chopped	chives or parsley
1 tsp salt	black pepper

Saute leeks in oil. Add water, salt, and potatoes and cook about 1/2 hour until potatoes are soft. Add milk and spices. Simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are falling apart. Puree half of soup in food processor and then add back to other half for extra creaminess. Garnish with chives or parsley.

Pasta e Fagioli (pasta and beans)

3 tablespoons olive oil	1-2 tsp. salt
1 large chopped onion	pepper to taste
3 chopped cloves garlic	1 tsp. basil
1 stalk celery, chopped	1 bay leaf
2 large carrots	1 cup small whole wheat pasta
2-3 cups pureed tomato	parmesan cheese (optional)
3 cups cooked white beans

Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Add tomato, water, cooked white beans, and spices. Cook about 45 minutes, until carrots are soft. Puree about 1/2 of bean and vegetable mixture in blender or food processor. Add pureed mix back to bean and vegetable mix and reheat slowly, adding water to adjust thickness of soup. Add noodles and cook al dente. Serve with parmesan cheese.