Springy Soup/Soupy Spring

Last week I made the Double Pea Roasted Pepper Soup from Veganomicon.  I figured it’s spring, so peas are in season, and for some reason I also have a ton of dried split peas lying around. Mostly, I figured it’s freezing and rainy, so soup is good.

First step was to prep the red peppers. Look at these perfect little twins!

Pre-roasting (cut, seeded, and oiled):

Doesn’t the one on the top right look like a heart?

Split peas–measured, ready, and waiting:

Apparently one yellow pea got in there. Didn’t notice that until I just pulled up the picture. Nice.

I didn’t take pictures of the other steps. I think I just really liked the way the peppers and peas looked. Anyway, here is the final product (I think this is about as attractive as pea soup is ever going to look):

I liked this recipe.  It was a little bland for my taste; the addition of some salt and cayenne pepper helps.   Also, the flavor of the roasted red peppers is more apparent after the soup sits in the fridge for a day or two. It is very filling, which makes it a great lunch-time soup for those on-the-go.  The recipe also makes a LOT, so I froze some of the leftovers for later consumption. Really, that’s all there is to it!

So Close, Yet So Far Away

Good LORD it’s been a while since I posted! I apologize that I’ve been a little bit MIA from commenting also, but this semester has been crazy-train! I usually check out everyone’s blogs during class on my Google reader (I know, I’m awful), but all of a sudden they started really cracking down on us, so I am really behind, but I promise to try hard to catch up this weekend. The end of the semester seems so far away but I know finals will be on me before I know it, so I need to make sure I put school first for the next few weeks.

All that said, I have still been doing close to my normal amount of cooking.  This is something that I won’t compromise on, and I always work to find a way to fit it into my hectic schedule.   I know that alot of people, students in particular, who are committed to healthy lifestyles feel the same, and I believe that home food-prep is especially important for vegans!!

Anyways, enough of my rambling!  Even though spring is technically close, it seems SO far away, so I have continued with my soup-making.  As I’ve mentioned previously, I like to make soups out of leftover parts of veggies I eat, because not only have I paid for them, but they are just as yummy and nutritious as the other parts.   My most recent concoction was made out of the stems of organic broccoli and kale, as well as the obvious onion, garlic, veggie broth, and spices.

Here are the ingredients hanging out in their little veggie hot tub

Here is the finished (pureed) product

This soup was just okay.  I think I much prefer a version incorporating butternut squash or something else a little sweeter, because the kale gave this soup a slightly bitter, blander flavor.   I have a squash at home so my next batch of soup will definitely use that!  Now…all I need is a new food processor.  Look what happened when I blended the broccoli-kale soup! 😦

Be back soon with some new Indian food and also desserts!!