Southwest Pumpkin Soup

This recipe was inspired by a soup made on Rachel Ray’s cooking show over 15 years ago! Over the years I’ve made some tweaks to the soup, which includes making it vegan, by swapping the heavy cream in the original recipe with full-fat coconut milk. If you prefer, you can omit the coconut milk completely to make a delicious, very low-fat soup. It’s totally up to you, but I highly recommend including the coconut milk. It adds a velvety creaminess that compliments the heat of the cayenne and the tang of the lime juice so nicely. Originally Rachel Ray served her soup with cheese quesadilla slices. If you would like to do the same but are looking for a healthier, plant-based alternative, here’s my quesadilla recipe HERE.

Southwest Pumpkin Soup - Serves 6

• 2, 15oz cans of 100% pure pumpkin puree ( not pumpkin pie mix )

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 1 cup full-fat coconut milk

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 1, 14.5 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained

• 1, 14.5 oz can of roasted diced tomatoes ( including liquid )

• 1.5 Tb curry powder

• 1.5 tsp cumin powder

• 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ( salt with 1/4 tsp and then check the heat level at the end before adding more )

• Juice of one lime

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro ( optional )

To Prepare

*In a large pot over medium-high heat, saute diced onion in a couple of Tbs of water ( or 1 Tb of olive oil ) until translucent ( approximately 5-7 minutes ). Add curry powder, cumin powder, and cayenne powder to the onion and saute for another 30 seconds to lightly toast the spices. Careful not to burn.

*Add remaining ingredients ( except the cilantro ) and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the freshly chopped cilantro. Now, taste the soup and adjust salt, pepper, cayenne and/or lime juice if needed.

To serve

Distribute soup into shallow serving bowls. Topping suggestions include baked corn tortilla strips, chopped cilantro, chopped chives, THESE spicy pumpkin seeds, and/or a dollop of vegan sour cream ( sour cream recipe is under my dips/sauces )

This recipe freezes well if anyone is interested!

Late Season Spicy Gazpacho

For those of you that aren’t quite ready for “fall-themed” foods ( meaning, pumpkin spice on everything LOL ) This is a great way to use up those ripe, late summer tomatoes and make a delicious light lunch. I feel like this gazpacho is best when it has a few hours to sit and “marinate” in the fridge. If you aren’t into spicy foods, you can easily skip the sambal or sriracha that I’m obsessed with. No strict rules here so enjoy!

Late Season Spicy Gazpacho - makes approximately 6 servings

• 32 oz tomato organic juice

• 5 large tomatoes - scored, blanched, peeled, and diced

• 1 large seeded cucumber, diced ( I left the skin on )

• 1/2 large green bell pepper, diced

• 3 cloves of garlic minced

• 1/2 of a large red onion, diced

• 1/2 cup of Italian basil, chopped

• 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped ( cilantro haters can omit )

• 2 Tbs aged balsamic vinegar

• 2 Tbs olive oil

• 2 Tbs sambal or sriracha for heat ( a finely diced jalapeno could work in space of this )

• juice of 1/2 of a large lemon

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

To Make

*Bring water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan. Score ( cut an X ) on the bottom of each tomato and place in boiling water for 30 seconds. Quickly drain tomatoes and place in an ice bath until cool. Peel skin off of the blanched tomatoes and finely dice and place in a large bowl

*Finely dice a seeded cucumber, 1/2 of green bell pepper, and 1/2 of red onion and add to the large bowl with the tomatoes. Pour in the tomato juice and add the remaining ingredients. Stir and taste. Adjust spice, salt, and pepper if needed.

***Optional - I like to take an emulsion blender to this recipe at the very end. I just submerge it in the finished soup and pulse it a few times to break down the veggies just a little bit more. This step is completely optional. You can get the same effect by pulsing just half of the finished gazpacho in a medium speed blender and then combining it with the unblended half.

To serve

*ladle gazpacho into a shallow soup bowl. Top with chopped basil and/or chives and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Cubed or sliced avocado is a nice addition as well.

Truffled Potato and Leek Soup

Last weekend at the Upcountry Farmer’s Market I spotted a ton of fresh gorgeous leeks. Having no idea what I was going to do with them, I bought them anyway and figured I’d come up with something eventually.

It’s still hot as hell on Maui, and the last thing I’ve been wanting to do is heat up the entire house by turning on the oven, so stovetop cooking is about all I can handle these days. My husband suggested making a creamy soup with the leeks but I was thinking, “Really? A hot soup while you’re still sitting between 3-floor fans in the living room?” But ya, this is what he wanted, and he promised to do all the chopping so you gotta take advantage when you can.

I was too lazy to grocery shop for additional ingredients this particular evening, so I managed to throw this together with what we already had in the pantry and I gotta say, it turned out freaking amazing. I would imagine it would be even more amazing if the humidity level in my house wasn’t “Amazon Rainforest” so yes, sometimes I envy you people living in those bigger latitudes.

This soup is nutrient-dense, decadent, and bursting with crave-worthy flavors. Enjoy this on a crisp fall night with some warm sourdough smeared with vegan Miyoko’s butter. Delicious!

Truffled Potato Leek Soup

• 1 tbs olive oil ( or a few tbs of water if avoiding oils )

• 2 large leeks or 3 small ( white and light green parts only ) cleaned and sliced

• 1 large white onion, diced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 4 Medium Russet Potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

• 5 cups vegetable broth

• juice of 1 lemon

• 2 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp sea salt ( or more to taste )

• 1/4 tsp of cracked black pepper

• 1/2 tsp or more depending on taste, truffle oil ( optional but so delicious )

Topping suggestions - chopped flat-leafed parsley, chopped chives, croutons, vegan sour cream, and/or additional truffle oil.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat add olive oil ( or water ). Next, add leeks, onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Saute until wilted ( about 10 minutes )

Add vegetable broth, thyme, potatoes, lemon juice, truffle oil, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, and then cover and simmer for approximately 15-20 mins or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.

Puree soup either by using a handheld emulsion blender or a high-speed blender. If using a high-speed blender, be very careful with a hot soup. Hot liquids can “explode” in a blender if the canister is overfilled or started on a “high-speed”. Either puree soup in smaller batches on low speed or let the soup cool first ( then re-heat on the stovetop ). Puree soup until desired consistency is reached.  Serve with topping suggestions listed above.

The soup should last about 5 days in the refrigerator.