Wild Kitchen

Potato leek soup / Pasta (or rice) with sauteed veggies

I got a bunch of organic leeks in this week's produce delivery, so I made potato leek soup.   I love this soup; it tastes great, it's easy to make, and unlike some non-dairy interpretations of classics, I don't miss the milk products.  I made the soup in the morning, while we were getting ready to go out for the day, and was able to quickly put together a salad and pasta dish to go with it when we came back. 

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 leeks, white and palest green parts only, chopped and well washed (chop them first to make sure you wash all the dirt out)
• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 or 2 tablespoons of non dairy (and non hydrogenated) butter substitute
• 4 to 6 cups of veggie broth
• optional sprig of rosemary or other herbs
• 1 to 2 cups soy milk
• sea salt & pepper

Saute the leeks in the buttery stuff over low heat until they are wilted and limp (maybe 8 to 10 minutes).  Add the potatoes, enough stock to cover, the optional herbs, and bring to a simmer.  Put a lid on it, and let it simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about a half hour to 45 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add soy milk.  At this point you can either remove and mash some or all of the potatoes, put some or all of the soup in the blender, or (my favorite way) use a hand blender to get the soup to the consistency you like.  Add s&p to taste. 

I also had some zucchini in the produce box, and red bell peppers in the fridge.  I cut up and diced those and sauted them in olive oil and garlic.  I added part of the saute to pasta, for the girls and John, and I microwaved some brown rice to add to the rest of it for me.  The hot pepper flakes were added after so it wouldn't be too hot for the girls.  They loved it, which I wasn't expecting. 

And that cube of garlic in the tiny glass bowl, is a genius product I buy at Trader Joe's.  They're little frozen cubes of garlic, basil, cilantro, and parsley.  I *love* them and use them all the time.

Chilled avocado soup

I'm so ridiculously full right now.  Painful.  I've been craving avocado soup, and finally made it this afternoon.  I'd forgotten how simple and how good it is. 

Ingredients:

• 3 medium avocados (peeled, pitted, and diced)
• 1 tablespoon shallots (peeled and chopped)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (or butter)
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 cups veggie stock
• 1 cup soy milk (I use unsweetened)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 medium tomato (diced)

In a blender or food processor, blend avos until smooth.  In a small skillet over medium heat, saute the shallots in the oil until tender and almost translucent but not browned.  Sprinkle with chili powder and set aside to cool.  In a large bowl, whisk together avocado with stock and soy milk.  Add shallot mixture and whisk until smooth.  Stir in sea salt and pepper to taste, maybe some hot sauce.  Chill for 45 minutes, garnish with tomato.

I doubled the recipe so we could have some tomorrow, too.  While the soup chilled, I baked some tofu and boiled a bunch of swiss chard.  I put some raw pinenuts in the oven to toast (those went into a mixed herb salad) while the tofu baked, and cut up enough tomato for the soup garnish and for the salad.  When the tofu was a couple minutes away from being done I microwaved some Trader Joe's precooked and frozen brown rice.  I didn't have room for the salad, and that photo of my plate was taken before I added an unholy amount of real mayo to dip the chard in.  (I don't wanna know if you use miracle whip.  Mayo must be real -- preferably homemade though I rarely make it --  and that is non-negotiable.)