(no subject)
The ingredients list and involvement level of this recipe is rather comprehensive. I'm one of those, "throw whatever's going bad into a pot" soup-makers, which is probably how they got started anyway. So, feel free to ignore whatever you don't have/feel like doing, as this soup is a product of my tastes and available ingredients. :) This also makes almost a gallon of soup (not kidding), three quarters of which I have already frozen. I was a little frazzled when I made this, and in my slightly over-zealous, though well-intended efforts, I went a little nuts.
The involvement level is really only because I like a multi-leveled complexity of taste and texture. It will turn out just fine if you were to throw everything into a pot or slow-cooker, and leave it alone.
Fresh Ingredients:
~1 roughly chopped onion (whatever your choice is, or whatever you have)
~4 big cloves or 6 small cloves of garlic roughly chopped
~1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
~2 bell peppers-halved and roughly chopped (I used one red and one yellow)
~3/4-1 cup cranberries
~Sage
Frozen Ingredients:
~About 15 broccoli florets of varying sizes (I just kept adding 'til I was happy)
~1-2 cups spinach (also just kept adding 'til I was happy)
~2 broth cubes or 1/2 cup broth
Canned Ingredients:
~1 can pumpkin - 29 oz.
~1 can whole tomatoes - 28 oz.
Spices/Flavoring Agents:
~Black and red pepper to taste
~Cumin to taste in 1 tsp increments
~1 tbsp Turmeric
~Curry to taste in 1 tsp increments
~Chipotle to taste in tiny pinch increments
~Cocoa powder to taste in 1 tsp increments
~Cardamom to taste in 1/4 tsp increments
~Nutritional Yeast to taste in 2 tbsp increments
~4 tbsp Molasses (Blackstrap is best-unless you want a sweeter soup)
Other Ingredients:
~Olive Oil
~Red Wine
~Uncooked polenta
~1-2 cups pine nuts
~1/2 cup Veggie juice
~1/4 cup Carrot juice
In a large stock pot, warm a bit of olive oil over medium heat for two minutes. Add onion and some crushed black pepper. Stir occasionally until the onion starts to go translucent. Add the mushrooms, and sprinkle some red wine over them. Add two cloves of garlic, and some sage (2 leaves and the stalk). After 3-5 minutes, add the tomatoes with liquid, refill can with water, and add. Return to mild boil/simmer. After two minutes, add the cranberries, half of each bell pepper, one more clove of garlic, the broth cubes, and some more sage. Return to mild boil/simmer. After at least five minutes, add the turmeric, molasses and one increment of each spice/flavoring agent. After two minutes, taste. Tasting is the most important part of making wonderful dishes. If it's not hot enough, add more red pepper. If you want more smoky flavor, add more chipotle. Smell the spices, then taste, and that will help you decided whether or not to add more. At this point, the soup will have a very tangy/top flavor and not much of a deep/bottom flavor. Don't worry. Once the remaining ingredients have been added, and the soup has simmered for a bit, you'll notice the flavor come together. Once you like where the spice/flavoring agents have taken the soup, add the pine nuts and a good handful of the polenta. Every minute of continued simmering will bring different flavors forward. Adding the polenta in staggered intervals captures some of these as it absorbs during the cooking process. Wait 2-5 minutes between adding two more handfuls of polenta. After 5-10 minutes of simmering, add the broccoli and the remaining halves of bell pepper. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, then add the spinach, pumpkin, and more sage. Once you've gotten the pumpkin to dissolve into the soup, lower temperature to lowest setting, cover loosely, and let marinate for at least 15 minutes. Keep tasting every now and again, and add spices/flavoring agents as you see fit. Add the veggie and carrot juices, and make final adjustments in flavor. Let people add salt to their own bowls when you serve. The cranberries were more than enough for me, but some would not enjoy it as is.
A lot of these ingredients (veggie & carrot juices, bell peppers, pine nuts, sage...) were not being consumed fast enough, so they were thrown in. This soup was so delicious, satisfying, and filling, that half a bowl was plenty! Blame the polenta and pine nuts, I suppose. This much more of an outline of a great soup than a recipe you should follow to a T. But it was so wonderful, and it actually did make me feel better, so I wanted to share.
The involvement level is really only because I like a multi-leveled complexity of taste and texture. It will turn out just fine if you were to throw everything into a pot or slow-cooker, and leave it alone.
Fresh Ingredients:
~1 roughly chopped onion (whatever your choice is, or whatever you have)
~4 big cloves or 6 small cloves of garlic roughly chopped
~1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
~2 bell peppers-halved and roughly chopped (I used one red and one yellow)
~3/4-1 cup cranberries
~Sage
Frozen Ingredients:
~About 15 broccoli florets of varying sizes (I just kept adding 'til I was happy)
~1-2 cups spinach (also just kept adding 'til I was happy)
~2 broth cubes or 1/2 cup broth
Canned Ingredients:
~1 can pumpkin - 29 oz.
~1 can whole tomatoes - 28 oz.
Spices/Flavoring Agents:
~Black and red pepper to taste
~Cumin to taste in 1 tsp increments
~1 tbsp Turmeric
~Curry to taste in 1 tsp increments
~Chipotle to taste in tiny pinch increments
~Cocoa powder to taste in 1 tsp increments
~Cardamom to taste in 1/4 tsp increments
~Nutritional Yeast to taste in 2 tbsp increments
~4 tbsp Molasses (Blackstrap is best-unless you want a sweeter soup)
Other Ingredients:
~Olive Oil
~Red Wine
~Uncooked polenta
~1-2 cups pine nuts
~1/2 cup Veggie juice
~1/4 cup Carrot juice
In a large stock pot, warm a bit of olive oil over medium heat for two minutes. Add onion and some crushed black pepper. Stir occasionally until the onion starts to go translucent. Add the mushrooms, and sprinkle some red wine over them. Add two cloves of garlic, and some sage (2 leaves and the stalk). After 3-5 minutes, add the tomatoes with liquid, refill can with water, and add. Return to mild boil/simmer. After two minutes, add the cranberries, half of each bell pepper, one more clove of garlic, the broth cubes, and some more sage. Return to mild boil/simmer. After at least five minutes, add the turmeric, molasses and one increment of each spice/flavoring agent. After two minutes, taste. Tasting is the most important part of making wonderful dishes. If it's not hot enough, add more red pepper. If you want more smoky flavor, add more chipotle. Smell the spices, then taste, and that will help you decided whether or not to add more. At this point, the soup will have a very tangy/top flavor and not much of a deep/bottom flavor. Don't worry. Once the remaining ingredients have been added, and the soup has simmered for a bit, you'll notice the flavor come together. Once you like where the spice/flavoring agents have taken the soup, add the pine nuts and a good handful of the polenta. Every minute of continued simmering will bring different flavors forward. Adding the polenta in staggered intervals captures some of these as it absorbs during the cooking process. Wait 2-5 minutes between adding two more handfuls of polenta. After 5-10 minutes of simmering, add the broccoli and the remaining halves of bell pepper. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, then add the spinach, pumpkin, and more sage. Once you've gotten the pumpkin to dissolve into the soup, lower temperature to lowest setting, cover loosely, and let marinate for at least 15 minutes. Keep tasting every now and again, and add spices/flavoring agents as you see fit. Add the veggie and carrot juices, and make final adjustments in flavor. Let people add salt to their own bowls when you serve. The cranberries were more than enough for me, but some would not enjoy it as is.
A lot of these ingredients (veggie & carrot juices, bell peppers, pine nuts, sage...) were not being consumed fast enough, so they were thrown in. This soup was so delicious, satisfying, and filling, that half a bowl was plenty! Blame the polenta and pine nuts, I suppose. This much more of an outline of a great soup than a recipe you should follow to a T. But it was so wonderful, and it actually did make me feel better, so I wanted to share.