RAWish SOUP

I already posted the Gazpacho earlier, but I really like this so here goes:

I make a pot of this and find it's good at night when I want something warm. Keep the water at a simmer, not a boil.

Remember,  potatoes should NOT be eaten raw.

Into the food processor goes:

1 potato, peeled
1 sweet potato, peeled
Coarse chop them and then put them in the pot and put it on simmer. Put them in a good sized pot with water, about 2/3s.
While they are simmering away, I put the following into the food processor and coarse chop:

2-3 carrots, peeled
1 onion, quartered
2-3 TBS chopped garlic (it's a great parasite cleanse)
1 bell pepper, seeded
1 green zuccini
2 stalks celery

Dump them into the pot (or ANY vegetables I happen to have around that I want to finish up.)

Salt, pepper, cayenne, oregano, basil, parsley, some hot pepper flakes.

I used fresh parsley the last time, yum and so pretty too!

The vegetables release flavor into the water, and if you make this the day before you want to eat it, it will increase in flavor.

I cut up small cherry tomatoes in half and put them in at the end and let them just BE in the hot water. They were great int there! The hot water was enough to really "cook" the potatoes so that I wasn't eating them raw, and the other veges were crunchy.

The next night I just reheat the water by simmering again, or you can add some hot water to a bowl and eat it, OR you can put a bowl full in the food processor or blender with some hot water and puree it for a nice thick soup. VERY satisfying.

Sprinkle sunflower seeds on top. Yum!

The Soup Season - Raw carrot soup with yogurt and dill

Break out the VITAMIX and start adding raw soups to your daily diet. Raw soups are different from juicing as they include the fiber. Make sure you peel and wash before adding to the blender! These are really satisfying in the winter!

RAW CARROT SOUP with yogurt and dill

5 carrots-washed and peeled, the ends nipped off and cut into 2" pieces
1 onion-peeled and quartered
6+ cloves of roasted garlic with the oil (if you are a purest and want to use raw only, add 2 garlic cloves, or to taste)
2 stalks celery, washed and cut into 2" pieces
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp chopped basil ( fresh if you have it)
3 cups filtered water
salt and pepper to taste
Splash of olive oil or oil of choice

Add before serving:
Dollup of plain greek yogurt
sprinkle of dill

Put everything in the VITAMIX except the spices and whirl on medium until blended.
Then keep blending for 2 min more and add spices while blending. At the very end, add the oil and whirl it a bit more.

Remember if you blend on high with the VITAMIX it will 'cook' the soup in just 4 minutes, so be careful! The motor is so fast that it will literally take the mixture to a boil!

This makes enough for several portions so I divide it out and stock it in the fridge. Since it's a raw soup it doesn't need to be 'heated' to eat, so it's a great dish to take to work for lunch. This soup is great with Trader Joe's seaweed chips, or more celery stalks, and you can put a dollup of plain yogurt on it to doll it up and a sprinkle of dill.

If you like a thinner soup, just add more water. You can also add some vegetable bullion if you want more flavor but I find it really tasty like this.

Turmeric the spice, and a soup recipe

Turmeric. botanically known as Curcuma longa. Turmeric is related to ginger, and saffron, and is a potent antioxidant, known to contain anti-cancer properties, and is good for detoxification of the body. It is profoundly anti-inflammatory, and is more potent than an anti-inflammatory steroid. For gut issues, as well as tissue healing. It's an astringent, and tightens. It's been used for polyps, hemorrhoids, degenerative brain issues, post nasal drip. It can be used for any wet and expanding tissue issue. It's an immune enhancer, cellular detoxifier.

Powdered turmeric, by itself can be very hard on the liver, creating a "heating" or irritating effect that can worsen Pitta related problems, so add it to your foods. It works best if you sauté it in a little oil or ghee or you add a little bit to soups or stews. It has water-soluble and fat-soluble components like most spices.

It's an incredibly powerful spice. Add it to your foods. Recipes using tumeric are usually Indian, although you can add it to eggs, sprinkle it on soups, use it on fish and chicken, stir fry. BTW-India has the lowest rate of Alzheimer's in the world. It's turmeric that gives ballpark mustard it's golden color.

If we begin to use more spices, we will find that our bodies can balance more readily. Remember-nature gives us her true medicines.

Try this out for a quick turmeric dinner-
Clean and wash, peel if necessary whatever vegetables you have around; these work well, but if you don't have them, use what you do!

Sweet potatoes, carrots, red onion, celery and bell peppers
Saute in a bit of olive oil until soft - about 5-7 min
Add chopped stewed tomatoes and some broth to cover and simmer for 20 min or so until soft.

Spices that work great together are:
Turmeric
salt and pepper
garlic
cayenne
thyme
ginger
add these to taste. We like spicy so I don't want to add the amounts I use! :)

If you have fresh kale, strip out the center stalk and chop into bite size pieces.
You'll stir these in at the end.

Serve with chopped nuts: cashews, pinenuts, walnuts all work.

If you like chunky vegetables, like I do, serve it chunky.
If you don't, whip it into the blender
(before adding the kale or nuts.)

Inspired by "The Whole Foods Market Cookbook" by Steve Petusevsky with modifications by me!

SPROUT SOUP

Ok, I modified the soup a bit, and it's not bad. Here's what I did (before I forget)

I put 8 small tomatoes, cut into quarters into a pot of water.
1 container of pea sprouts
1 container of broccoli sprouts.
I simmered these on a very low flame for about 15 min while I juiced - not to boiling.

Then I used a slotted spoon and took the sprouts and tomatoes out and put them in the food processor
leaving the excess fluid.
I added:
2 tbs fresh garlic
a drizzle of olive oil
and 2 small cut up avocados.

I whipped this all up and it's really not bad! I will definitely make this again and add cayenne.
I juiced the apples, and didn't add them. Next time!

Gotta figure out how to get this apple pectin in-btw you can make it. It's called strained apple sauce pretty much. And we could add it to dehydrated treats to get it in. The powder really thickens stuff. Well that's what it is! It is what makes jelly gel.

Ann Wigmore's Energy Soup

Apparently Anne began to advocate this soup instead of only raw juice as we need the roughage, and they serve it at the Health Centers. There are a few by the way. New Mexico, Puerto Rico, somewhere east coast...Personally, I'm not up on my sprouting YET. I'm thinking of my next investment being an automatic sprouter because I forget to rinse and wham...I have a mushy mess that definitely is fermented but not in a good way. I've thrown more not-sprouts away than I care to admit. Oh wait, I just did. :)

Here's the recipe:

5 cups of sprouts
1-2 cups of bean, mung, or lentil (rotate between these)
(note I'm not sure she means these in addition to, or just to make 2 cups one of these-up to you!)
1 avocado
1 apple
2 tbs seaweed (I would start with less, and work up to 2 tbs unless you know you like this taste-it's acquired)

Blend with her homemade rejuvelac, which is the fermented wheatberry juice-um...no I haven't tried this yet. Another acquired taste-some of the centers have dropped it)
You can use water or more fresh apple juice.

This is high in Vit E, B, C and way high in enzymes for your digestion, with friendly bacteria ( from the rejuvelac) for your colon.

I'm going to try this-in my handy dandy food processor. She also says to use apple juice for the base, so if you start by juicing your apples and then adding that to the mix until you get the texture you want. If you want it warm, remember to add hot water at the end. Meeee-I'm adding cayenne and probably some garlic, and it seems to me to need some onion. But that's totally up to you!

PURPLE SOUP

Talk about color! I'm having a purple day!

Ingredients for purple raw soup
Purple potatoes
Purple onions
Purple cabbage
Fresh beet greens and the beets
garlic and lots of it! About 15 cloves!
2 big ol leeks (minus the outer leaves of the tops
4 carrots
some fresh mushrroms
Throw the whole thing in the food processor then the hot pot and simmer on low for awhile.
Add fresh chopped parsley and cilantro.

Yum! And really colorful! Don't splash though-it stains
Top with some raw sunflower seeds

Tony fixed Jon some portabello mushroom "burgers"...topped it with cheese and A1 and thought he was getting away with something. LOL So the new goal is to fix raw so they don't know! He started it! Jon BTW-liked em and never knew. We had plates of raw veges with the eggless egg salad for lunch. If you haven't tried it, don't be timid with the cayenne. The tofu is pretty bland as a medium to cook with.

RAW "SOUP"

RAW GAZPACHO

COLD SOUP CLASSIC!

5 ripe tomatoes
1/4 cucumber (about 2 inches or so)
1/4 red bell pepper
1 clove of garlic, or a good spoonful if you are using jar garlic
some cayenee-to taste
some olive oil-about 1 TBS should do it

throw it all in a blender and hit the high button until it's smooth
Let it sit in the fridge. This gets better the next day, like the cranberry relish.

Add sesame seeds or sunflower seeds when you eat it for crunch
and salt and pepper

When you are ready to eat it, add:
cut up avocado
cut up cucumber
cut up tomatoes or tiny cherry tomatoes
a dash more olive oil on top
some parsley...oh boy!

YUM!

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

I ate some of this soup when I got home last night, its very tasty.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter....I think you could sub Olive Oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup sliced celery ribs and leaves
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1 small apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock or just water
2 cinnamon sticks or 2 teaspoons ground
6 whole cloves or 1/8 teaspoon ground
6 allspice berries or 1/8 teaspoon ground
Salt Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh chives, for garnish
Sour cream, for garnish

Place a large saute' pan over medium-high heat and add butter or Olive Oil.
Add onion and celery and saute' for about 5 minutes until softened. Place the squash and apples in the slow cooker. Add stock
Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours until squash and apples are quite tender. If using whole cinnamon, cloves and allspice, place in a coffee mill or a mortar and pestle and grind into a coarse powder. About 30 minutes before serving, add ground spices to cooker.
Using a handheld blender, carefully pure'e soup until somooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with chives and a dollop of sour cream.

Now Terry cooked this in a pan on the stove it took about an hour. I think this would be fun to try by just leaving it in chunks or just mashing it slightly. It really had some interesting flavors and I could see how mixing other things like pears and cayenne would be interesting.