Pumpkin, Tomato and Mixed Bean Soup

Although I usually think of November as weather that is starting to warm up, we are sure still having plenty of cold and rainy days here at the moment. So I figured that's a good enough reason to have soup! I'm sure many of you on the other side of the world appreciate soup for this time of year anyway as you're heading into the cooler months!
Pumpkin soup is always delicious, but this one is made even tastier with the addition of some beans and a hint of curry.

Pumpkin, Tomato and Mixed Bean Soup 

You'll need:

1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
500g pumpkin
1 carrot
1 small sweet potato
2 cups veggie stock
2 tins 400g diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 generous Tablespoon curry powder
2 tins mixed beans



Chop and saute the onion and garlic in a large pot using a little amount of stock.
Chop the veggies (peeling the pumpkin), place into the pot and bring to the boil with the remaining stock. Once boiling, simmer until veggies are soft.
Add tomatoes and use a stick blender to blend til desired consistency, either with a few chunky pieces remaining or til completely smooth - whatever is your preference.
Add the drained beans and spices. Return to heat and simmer til warmed through.
Serve with fresh herbs or croutons.

Question of the day:
Do you only eat soup during the cooler months, or also during the warmer months?

Orange Soup

I must admit that I don't really consider myself a pumpkin fan.....
but I do love pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin pancakes, baked pumpkin and of course, pumpkin soup. I guess that does make me a pumpkin fan then!!!
One thing I have come to learn over the years is that just because a pumpkin soup is called "pumpkin soup", when it contains more than just pumpkin it tastes even better!
Here's a combination I love. All the warmth and fullness of a pumpkin soup with just a hint of curry. 

PUMPKIN & CHICKPEA SOUP

You'll need:
1 onion
1 small sweet potato
1 carrott
1/4 kent pumpkin (or other pumpkin of choice)
1 can chickpeas
1 Tablespoon curry powder
1 Tablespoon brown sugar (can be omitted)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon vegemite (trust me it works!)
Approx. 4 cups of vegetable stock

Chop all the vegetables. Drain the chickpeas. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover with vegetable stock (amount will vary depending on your pot). You can make this soup thicker or thinner depending on how much stock you use.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
Once all vegetable are soft. Blend half with a stick blender.

You can also make this over a stove top. Just bring to the boil & then simmer til all the vegetable and soft.

Submitted for Meatless Monday A-Z: Yams (also known as Sweet Potato)

Kale Attacked Minestrone Stew

The reason for the name of this stew:
My husband came home from work, walked into the kitchen to see what I was cooking and commented: "What happened to the dinner? Did it get attacked by kale or something?"
I chuckled!
Kale doesn't tend to wilt down quite as much as other greens in cooking. Though thankfully for the sake of my husband, it does a little.... so when you throw a whole bunch into your stew although it takes over at the start, by the time it's cooked down a little bit, it seems like a much more reasonable amount!!!!! lol
Then again, I think being attacked by the "super hero" power of kale isn't such a bad thing after all ;-)
And so I bring you....

KALE ATTACKED MINESTRONE STEW

You'll need:
1 large onion
1 large zucchini
1 large carrot
2 cloves of garlic
1 can cannelliini beans (drained)
1 can tomatoes
1 bunch kale
3 stalks of both basil and parsley (fresh)
4 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock (I used home made)
1/2 cup soup pasta

Chop all the vegetables and herbs. In a large pot brown the onion using a bit of water to prevent from sticking. Add all ingredients to the pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft (and the kale has wilted down lol).

Most of the stock will be absorbed by the pasta - making it more the consistency of a 'stew' and not a 'soup'. If you prefer this more 'soup-like' just add more stock (or water).
Remove the bay leaves prior to serving.

 
I am linking this to Meatless Monday: Watercress.
I have to confess that I can't find watercress in our regular store and I didn't have the time to look for it in other places! Any greens can be substituted for the kale in this recipe.

Pumpkin and Kale Soup

Its not easy being green in winter!
Summer naturally leans towards delicious green smoothies and tasty salads but when winter comes I find my greens sit in the fridge for longer than they should.....

This is a great way to incorporate greens into your winter lunches :-)

You'll need:
1/4 of a whole pumpkin
1/2 onion
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon stock powder
leaves from 4 steams of black kale (or other green leafy as desired)

Chop the pumpkin into small pieces and scoop out the seeds.

Place in a large saucepan with the chopped onion, sage and stock powder.

Pour in enough water to just cover the pumpkin pieces.

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

Remove from the stovetop and blend with a stick blender until smooth.

Return to the heat and add the torn kale leaves.

Cover and continue to cook on low heat for 7-10 minutes until the kale leaves have slightly wilted.

Serves 2

WIAW - First April Edition

Welcome to WIAW :-)

Is it really Wednesday already? This week has been going really quickly for me.....

Breakfast seemed amazingly good for something so simple! I guess it just goes to show that basic foods can be so satisfying and delicious too!

Soaked oats with ground flax seeds, apple sauce, blueberries and a sprinkling of cinnamon

I took a packed lunch to work. Bits and pieces! I love doing this lately! 
Today's boxes were brown rice and carrot salad with a shredded carrot and apple cider vinegar, and a spinach, red capsicum, mushroom and chick pea salad.
Served with a slice of Cornbread. This cornbread recipe is from Dr McDougalls March Newsletter.
It really is the most delicious cornbread recipe that I've ever tried!

For an afternoon snack I had a square of this Pumpkin Pie Squares recipe, along with a mandarin. First lot of mandarins for the season!

I was very organised this morning and prepared the slow cooker. I like to get it done most Wednesdays if I can. It makes the evening so much easier. 

And I must admit that it was well worth the extra effort this morning so that after my long drive home I could be welcomed by a bowl of warm soup as I walked in the door. Now that is something to smile about! :-)

Mmmmmmmmmm soup! So comforting as winter approaches!

Question of the day:
What are some of your favourite winter comfort foods?

Lentil, Corn and Tomato Stew

Welcome to Friday!

I hope this week has been kind to you :-)

You know what Friday posts are don't you.....

HEALTHY VEGAN FRIDAY RECIPES!!!!

Don't forget to add you healthy link on these blogs:
carrie on vegan                    veggie nook                    greenthickies


Here's my recipe submission for the week.
Lentil, Corn and Tomato Stew - which has all of those things in it, plus zucchini because I just love it!
This stew is really easy to make and is very tasty.
It keeps well and is easy to reheat so it makes for great leftovers too.


You'll need:

1 cup green lentils
1 cup frozen corn kernels (you can use canned or fresh if you'd rather)
1 x 800g can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon each oregano and marjoram
1 cup water (more or less depending on your cooker - you want everything to be just covered with water)



 
Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on slow for 6-8 hours.

If you don't have that much time you can cook it on high for 4 hours.

Don't have a slow-cooker, don't stress! This can also be made over a stovetop. Just place all the ingredients in a stock pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour. 

WIAW - Last week of the holidays

Well last week of holidays for all the lucky kiddies who get 6 weeks off....... but some of us are already back to work ;-)
Do you ever look back & think about how many things you took for granted as a child???

I prepared the slow cooker to do its job for me before I left for work this morning:

Breakfast was soaked oats topped with applesauce, flax seeds, raisins & cinnamon.

Instead of my standard lunch of salad at work I enjoyed some leftover kale & eggplant on brown rice. The picture truly doesn't do justice for how good this tasted!

Here's my snacks for the afternoon. I've been in love with nectarines this season! They seem so much more juicy and tasty compared to last year!

I was very grateful for the slow cooker when I had a 1 hour 50 minute drive home. To be greeted with this delicious soup was just divine! :-)
I did follow this lovely meal with a waffle and banana ice-cream, but I ate it too quick to get a pic in ;-)

You can add your post to what i ate wednesday by checking out the peas and crayons blog!

WIAW - The week that was verrrrrrrrrry busy!

Preparing for my daughter's birthday party on the weekend has made for a busy start to the week...... and I'm sure the end of the week is going to be even ~busier~.
I have been cooking each meal with enough for leftovers (for either breakfast, lunch or dinner) and it has helped.
I can't work out who's more excited for this party.... her or ME?!?!?!!!!!!
Its going to be a tea-party!
A vegan-tea-party :D
I made the first layer of the teapot cake last night.

Now onto today....
My usual morning rush out the door......
Brown rice with banana and flax seeds for breakfast. Thanks to the large batch of precooked rice in the fridge!

Lunch - more leftovers! Stir-fry

By the way.... how cool are these bowls we have at work!!!???
I think we 'need' some for our kitchen too!

Afternoon tea:
Had at 5pm lol - that's what a busy day in the office will do to you! But that was ok because I didn't leave work til 6.40pm! Thankfully by that time there was no peak-hour traffic to worry about, so leaving late does have its benefits too!

Dinner when I finally arrived home at 8pm - not a bad run up the freeway at all!
But by that time I was ~starving~ and wanted instant food. 
That's right - leftovers save the day again....
Soup!

And then to do more party organising.....
Here's the "tea-party bags" all finished and filled (with vegan goodies of course!).

I dipped the bottom of the bags into brewed tea to give them a very 'tea bag' look!
Stay tuned for more of our tea party adventures!


You can join in what-i-ate-wednesday at the peasandcrayons website!

Question of the day:
Parents out there.... Do you prefer to have your childrens parties at home and organise it yourself, or do you prefer to go somewhere and let the place do the organising?
 

Unprocessed - Start of Week 3

Monday

Breakfast was oats with 'blueberry sauce' - made by blending frozen bluberries with a date and enough milk to combine. Definitely one of my favourites!

Lunch was the leftover half of my burger from last night with some home-made chips. 
I simply cut one potato (skin on) and covered with paprika and sage. Baked at 200C, spread out on a baking sheet for 40 minutes. 

For afternoon tea I had an orange and a handful of prunes and 5 brazeil nuts! Dinner was a stir fry with peanut sauce, served over brown rice.

Tonight's dessert was a total indulgence!
Microwave chocolate cake with creamed coconut milk (difference from the linked recipe is no chocolate bits in the centre and no sugar!).

How to make creamed coconut milk:


Place a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight (or longer).
When you are ready to use it, remove the top of the can and scoop out all the part that is 'set'.

Put into a bowl and add a teaspoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of sweetner of choice.
Whisk until light, fluffy and thick.

Tuesday

Breakfast was brown rice with raisins and cinnamon.

For lunch I made red lentil soup and had a bread roll with it.
In a pot combine 2 carrots, one potato, one onion & half cup red lentils. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Blend.
Delicious soup!

Dinner was another easy night. I am flat out this week organising my daughter's party that's coming up this weekend.
Gotta love an easy meal that taste good.
I chopped various veggies and sauteed with mixed beans and tomatoes. 

For dessert I had no pastry apple pie. I altered this recipe by using hazelnut in place of almond & rolled rye in place of oats, and omitting the raisins. Still delicious though! And topped with creamed coconut milk.

DID YOU KNOW?

A single serving of hazelnuts makes up nearly 20% of our recommended daily need of Vitamin E. Vitamin E doesn't occur naturally in our bodies. Vitamin E helps to fight free radicals that cause cancer.

Day 5 Unprocessed

Today started with quinoa & raisins for breakfast.
I really love having quinoa for breakfast. I just think it goes so well with milk :-)

Quinoa is so easy to cook. Its just like cooking rice or pasta. `1 cup quinoa to 3 cups of water in a pot, bring to boil, simmer 10-15 minutes. You'll be able to tell when it's 'done' because the seeds pop open and become translucent with a little white ring around them. It keeps well in the fridge and freezes well too which means you can make a big batch & then use it when needed.


Lunch was soup! Best thing to have on cold, rainy days.... Well I just love soup on any day really!

This soup is really simple yet really tasty.
1/2 cup red lentils, 2 carrots, one small onion, 1 cup stock, 2 cups water. Bring to boil, simmer. Use a stick blender til desired consistency of soup is reached.

Baked dinner of tofu, herbed potatoes, green beans and a corn cob.

YAY FOR DESSERT TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Check out the recipe for my Pop-eye Ice-cream.