So I’m trying to post more. Most of it will be recipes for now. Should I decide to follow Jaq to Australia in the spring, (she’s loving it already only having been there three days so far.)đ I’ll be able to share a bunch of diving things as well. With it “winter” here in San Diego, I don’t usually go out as much. I do want to toot my own horn here a bit. I had to learn, albeit basic, HTML and CSS to do this post to get the scrolling box in later on. I’m pretty chuffed with myself for doing it in just three hours.đ But let’s move on!
Okay, this will be a VERY long post as there are multiple parts to this vegetable soup recipe. But on the bright side, it is ALL made fresh from scratch, from the tomato juice to the Umami mushroom broth. However, I will give alternatives if you do not have the time to do everything from scratch.
This is my favorite vegetable soup; the original recipe was given to me by my Grandmother who lives in Seattle. She was born and raised in Nice France, and vegetable soup or Potage is an integral part of their lives. This is a “soupe aux choux” or cabbage soup that Iâve changed a few things to make it lighter and completely vegan.
This is also a crazy healthy soup if you make everything from scratch. The amount of vitamins and essential nutrients youâd be hard to find in most meals. So while itâs a lot of work, itâs well worth it.
So sure Kayla, you can say itâs crazy healthy, but I eat veggies all the time. But do you know what those veggies have in them that make them so good for you? Iâm including a little primer here in the box so you can get a glimpse into what they have. Since it’s in the box, you can skip it if you want.đ
Cabbage
Vitamin K: Cabbage is a great source of vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting and bone health. Cabbage contains primarily vitamin K1, also known as phylloquinone.
Vitamin B6: Cabbage microgreens are a good source of vitamin B6, which helps regulate energy storage and release. This can help with fatigue and mental clarity.
Folate: Cabbage is a fair source of folate, which is important for healthy cells, blood, and growth during pregnancy.
Cabbage also contains smaller amounts of other vitamins, including calcium, potassium, and thiamin. It’s also full of antioxidants, such as choline, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
Yellow Bell Peppers
Vitamin C: Yellow bell peppers are a great source of vitamin C, with 121 mg per 100 g, which is 151.25% of the recommended daily value (DRV). Vitamin C is important for the immune system.
Vitamin A: Yellow bell peppers contain vitamin A, which is important for eyesight.
Vitamin E: Yellow bell peppers contain vitamin E, with 1.76 mg per 100 g, which is 14.67% of the DRV.
Vitamin B9: Yellow bell peppers contain vitamin B9, with 43.30 Âľg per 100 g, which is 21.65% of the DRV.
Beta-carotene: Yellow bell peppers contain beta-carotene, an antioxidant form of vitamin A that helps protect cells from damage caused by pollution, sun exposure, and smoking.
Lutein and zeaxanthin: Yellow bell peppers contain carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help improve eye health.
Bell peppers are also a good source of fiber and potassium. They are low in calories and can be a good snack for those on a diet.
Carrots
Vitamin A: Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for growth, development, and immune function, and promotes good vision.
Vitamin C: Carrots are a fair source of vitamin C, which helps keep skin, teeth, and gums healthy.
B vitamins: Carrots are a fair source of B vitamins, such as niacin and B6, which help the body use energy from food. B vitamins are also important for healthy skin, hair, nerves, and muscles.
Potassium: Carrots are rich in potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure by balancing sodium levels in the body.
Biotin: Carrots contain biotin, a water-soluble B vitamin that plays a role in energy metabolism, neurotransmitter production, and cellular function.
Vitamin K: Carrots contain vitamin K, which contributes to bone health and may help prevent osteoporosis.
Fiber: Carrots are an excellent source of fiber, which is essential for digestive health. Fiber helps prevent constipation, regulate bowel movements, and support a healthy digestive system.
Carrots are also packed with antioxidants, such as beta-carotene that help protect cells from damage caused by pollution, sun exposure, and smoking. and lutein, which may reduce cholesterol levels.
Celery
Vitamin K: Celery is a good source of vitamin K, which may help reduce the risk of bone fractures.
Vitamin A: Celery contains moderate amounts of vitamin A, which is important for eye health.
Vitamin C: Celery is rich in vitamin C, which is good for the heart.
Folate: One cup of raw celery contains about 34 mcg of folate, which is 8% of your daily needs.
Potassium: Celery is high in potassium, which is important for regulating blood pressure. A bunch of celery with 12 stalks can provide 11â42% of your daily potassium needs.
Calcium and iron: Celery contains small amounts of calcium and iron.
Celery also contains antioxidants like flavonoids, lunularin, and bergapten. These antioxidants help neutralize free radicals in the body, which can harm cells and lead to disease.
Onions
Vitamin C: An antioxidant that helps with immune health, collagen production, and iron absorption.
B vitamins: Including folate and vitamin B6, which are important for metabolism, red blood cell production, and nerve function.
Potassium: An essential mineral that helps with cellular function, fluid balance, nerve transmission, kidney function, and muscle contraction.
Quercetin: A potent antioxidant flavonoid that may help with blood thinning, cholesterol lowering, and inhibiting stomach cancer. Onions are the richest dietary source of quercetin, and the quercetin in onions is more easily absorbed than in other foods.
Organosulfur compounds: Naturally occurring chemicals that may help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Onions are also a good source of biotin, chromium, calcium, and dietary fiber. They are low in calories, sodium, fat, and cholesterol.
Green Beans
Vitamin C: One cup of green beans contains about 25% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps the immune system and protects the skin.
Vitamin A: Green beans contain about 15% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A, which is important for eye health, vision, and the immune system.
Folate: Green beans contain about 33% of the recommended daily intake of folate, which is important for preventing neural tube defects and for proper fetal brain and spinal cord development.
Vitamin K: Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin K, which is important for healthy bones. Research shows that vitamin K could reduce the risk of bone fractures.
Calcium: Green beans are a good source of calcium, which is important for building bones. The amount of calcium in green beans can vary depending on how much water flows through the plants.
Green beans are also high in fiber, which can help with digestion and lower LDL cholesterol.
Tomatoes
Vitamin C: Helps with skin brightening, inflammation-fighting, and iron absorption. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant that can help protect against damage from sunlight, pollution, and smoke.
Lycopene: A carotenoid pigment that’s a powerful antioxidant that may protect against cancer.
Vitamin A: Supports eye structure and may improve night vision.
Potassium and vitamin B: May reduce cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure.
Vitamin K: A fat-soluble vitamin important for protein production, which is necessary for blood clot formation and bone loss prevention.
Calcium: Helps maintain strong bones and muscles.
Beta-carotene: A powerful antioxidant that protects the eyes from light-induced damage.
Lutein: An antioxidant that protects the eyes from light-induced damage.
Collagen: which is essential for skin, hair, nails, and connective tissue
Folic acid: which is important for protecting against neural tube defects in infants
Tomatoes are low in calories and contain no fat. They are also a good source of antioxidants, which can protect against cell damage. Research suggests that the nutrients in tomatoes may reduce the risk of: heart disease, neurodegenerative disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Cremini aka Baby Bella Mushrooms
Baby Bella mushrooms are a good source of B vitamins and dietary vitamin D, and they also contain: potassium, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, sodium, folate, selenium and even protein.
Baby Bella mushrooms are low in calories and fat, and high in antioxidants.
So I alluded to the fact there are a lot of steps to this. There are if you want to make everything fresh or from scratch. If not, here are some things you can use to make it easier.
1.Use 2 – 14.5-ounce cans of skinless whole tomatoes. (I donât like these because canned tomatoes have an acrid metallic taste to me.)
2.If you are vegan and do not want to make the mushroom broth, you can use vegan beef broth/bullion. There are a number of good brands for it out there.
3.If you are NOT vegan and donât want to make the onion soup mix, you can use Lipton Onion soup mix. 1 to 2 packets depending on how strong you want it. Vegans canât use these because they have a couple of ingredients that are not always vegan and they are packaged in processing centers where milk cross-contamination can take place.
4.If you are not vegan and do not want to make the mushroom broth, you can use any beef broth.
5.If you do not want to make your own tomato juice, you can use any plain tomato juice.
6.You can use frozen carrots and green beans if you wish, but I would NOT recommend using canned. Even low-sodium cans have a lot, and again, the metallic flavor is there.
**This is a LARGE recipe. All of the veggies cut up will be over 6 quarts. With 2 quarts of juice, the stewed tomatoes, mushroom broth, and added water, youâre looking at an easy 12 or more quarts so plan your soup pot size accordingly or cut the recipe down. **
With that done, let’s start with the easiest parts of this dish and move on to the complicated ones.
First, we will do the Onion Soup Mix for the spices used in it. Again, if you do not want to do this step, you can use the Lipton Onion Soup packets, but it is not vegan.
Dry Onion Soup Mix
½ cup dried onion flakes
3 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon sugar
â
teaspoon black pepper
5 Tablespoons equal one Lipton Onion Soup Mix.
Just store it in a jar. This keeps forever.
Ok, that WAS easy, right? So let’s move on to something a little more challenging. How about we tackle some stewed whole tomatoes and tomato juice? A lot of people think, âNo way, making that stuff is hard work. Itâs easier to buy it.â They would be wrong.
*NOTE* I use Roma Tomatoes for EVERYTHING. If it has to have a tomato, itâs a Roma. Roma tomatoes are considered better for cooking into sauces and pastes due to their firm flesh, low seed content, and ability to hold their shape when cooked compared to many other “regular” tomato varieties, they also have a more balanced flavor and lower acidity. This makes them more compatible with far more than “regular” tomatoes.
Now I know what youâre thinking. Canât we just throw the tomatoes through our juicer? â No.
But if we have to cook them, canât we cook one huge batch then and use half for the juice and half for the skinless tomatoes for the soup? â No.
The juice we will add a few things to, and the whole tomatoes will have nothing added to them. We just want the beautiful tomatoes.
*Note* There will be no salt added to either of these, even if youâve seen other recipes that may have it, I do NOT put it in recipes if I do not have to. While salting during cooking does distribute the salt better throughout a meal, salt is not the best thing we should be putting into our bodies. Especially when it comes to vibrant fresh vegetables.
Stewed Skinless Tomatoes
16 Roma Tomatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add tomatoes and allow them to boil for 2 minutes.
Place a large bowl of water filled with ice cubes in your sink. This is going to be your ice bath. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the hot tomatoes from the boiling water and place them in the ice water bath. Allow them to sit in there for a few minutes until they are cooled down.
Remove the tomatoes from the bath, cut the top part of the core out, and remove the tomato peels, they should easily pull off.
Add 4 of the tomatoes into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the smooth tomato juice into a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the remaining whole tomatoes into the pot and cook for 4 more minutes. I actually like to let it reduce down a hair as everything has a stronger flavor then.
Pretty simple right?
But Kayla, why did you blend some and make juice to put them back in?
Using the puree to finish cooking them in is better than plain water. Plain water draws out the flavor so to speak. If you do a test and do some in water and some in the puree and taste them, the ones cooked in the puree will have a much better flavor. Look at the water of the others, it will be discolored. It has leeched out nutrients and flavor essentially diluting the tomatoes.
Well, that was easy, so let’s tackle some tomato juice now.
Tomato Juice
Youâre going to want to create at least 2 quarts of this, and maybe some more for your enjoyment so youâll want about 10 pounds of tomatoes. (ROMA YES ROMA!)
Roma tomatoes are lovely because you do NOT have to core them! Just slice off the top or use a little knife to scoop out the receptacle, the portion of the top where the pedicel, (aka stem) is connected to the tomato at.
Then roughly chop them.
1 1/4 cups chopped celery with leaves
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste. I omit this when I will be using the juice for cooking.)
1 teaspoon salt (You can if you want but I do not, you already know my views on this.)
Pinch black pepper
**A couple shakes of Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce, about 6 to 8 drops in a glass is freaking awesome. While Marie Sharp’s Red Hornet Sauce is my ketchup, in tomato juice I prefer Taco Bell Fire Sauce. Yes, it’s vegan too! It gives it a snappy flavor and if you add a touch of lime it’s to die for!**
Place it all in a big (NOT Aluminum!) pot, bring it to a simmer, and let it cook for about 30 minutes until it’s nice and broken down.
Let it cool, then force it through a fine mesh sieve or a chinois. (A chinois is a cone-shaped strainer with a fine mesh used to filter impurities from liquids and separate solid particles. It’s also known as a bouillon strainer or china cap)
You will need 2 quarts of this for the soup when we get to it. The rest you can enjoy. It will keep in your refrigerator for about a week.
If you havenât walked off or clicked out to another page by now, weâre getting to the 2 best things. The mushroom broth and the actual soup.
Umami Mushroom Broth
1 lb. Cremini (Baby Bella) mushrooms washed & sliced into equal-sized pieces
1 yellow onion peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic peeled and scored
1-inch ginger peeled and sliced into 1/4″ coins (Alternatively you can use, 1 1/4 teaspoons of ground ginger, 1 tablespoon of crystallized ginger, or 1 tablespoon of ginger paste.)
12 cups water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce (All stores have this; it will be labeled Tamari. It’s a Japanese Soy sauce that is richer and milder in taste than normal soy sauce.)
1/2 cup yellow miso paste (Available in pretty much every grocery store now.)
Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, and water to a large stock pot. Bring to a low boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for ~1 hour.
Drain the broth through a sieve into a large bowl, I line my sieve with cheese cloth as well as I like as clear and clean a broth as possible. I like to save the sliced mushrooms to sautĂŠ later.
Allow the broth to cool. While the broth is cooling, combine the tamari and miso paste in a medium-sized bowl or measuring cup. Whisk until the miso paste is dissolved and the solution becomes a thick slurry.
Add the slurry to the cooled broth. Store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Note:
**If you want to make a broth with an even deeper flavor, try using shiitakes**
Well heck, Kayla, all weâve had to do is a little chopping but most of this has just been boiling and waiting. This hasnât been hard at all! đ
Buckle up! There is a lot of chopping on the way! Letâs move onto the main event. The soup.
Kaylaâs Soupe au choux
REMINDER: This is a LARGE recipe. All of the veggies cut up will be over 6 quarts. With 2 quarts of juice, the stewed tomatoes, mushroom broth, and added water, youâre looking at an easy 12 or more quarts so plan your soup pot size accordingly or cut the recipe down.
This is one of the few times I will not be a chopping-nazi. I think this soup needs irregularities. It’s a robust, filling, bright flavorful soup. Each bite should accent something. With roughly chopped veggies you’ll get one in a bite, the next bite may be different. So rough chop away, but watch your fingers!!!!
REMINDER: There are alternatives to some of these at the beginning of this post for those with less time or who arenât vegan.
10 stalks celery
2 cups of carrots (You can use large or baby. I prefer baby carrots, I just cut them in half.)
3 onions – medium yellow are what I prefer.
2 yellow bell peppers.
1 large head cabbage.
2 cups fresh green beans (I nip the ends then cut the beans in half and call it good so they have some size to them.)
2 quarts of the tomato juice you made earlier.
All of the stewed tomatoes you made earlier with the juice.
2 cups of the mushroom broth you made earlier.
10 tablespoons of the Onion Soup Spice mix you made earlier (I like it strong, you can use 5 if you don’t want such strong flavors.)
Enough water to finish covering everything.
Ok here is the complicated part. The directions…
Put it all in a pot, and bring it to a simmer, and let it simmer for about 35 minutes until all the veggies are cooked. It takes at least 30 for the cabbage.
Thatâs it! That wasnât so hard, was it? This will make you a LOT of soup. Seriously, a LOT of soup. It freezes very well. However, once you try it, you’ll probably eat it very fast.
Here are some great ways to make it even better.
1.Add your favorite hot sauce and spice it up.
2.For carnivores, it handles a lot of different meats well. My Grandfather in Seattle likes it with thick-cut bacon in it. My Grandmother likes it with Chicken or lamb. A lot of my family likes it with ground meat.
3.Add green onions to the top of each bowl for a little extra onion punch.
4.My favorite, (I use vegan ones) is Fritos on top. Yep, Fritos chips. The corn chips add that salt you may want, and they soften making a wonderful almost like the masa dough on a tamale feel in the soup. Itâs so good!
So there you go. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
