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Inspired by Rachel Safran from the Las Vegas
Whole Foods Market store

This is a delicious twist on traditional Tortilla Soup. Some like their soup thicker and others thinner. Whatever your
preference, prepare this classic to your liking. But no matter what, you will love the crispy strips.

6 to 8 corn tortillas

3 to 4 cups vegetable broth

1 yellow onion, diced

½ cup diced red bell pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

One 15-ounce can fire-roasted chopped tomatoes

One 15-ounce can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

8 ounces canned whole green chilies, chopped

2 tablespoons ground cumin

½ cup diced avocado (about 1 small avocado)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Cut the corn tortillas into ¼- to ½-inch-wide strips and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes until crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place ½ cup of broth in a medium saucepan and add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining 2½ to 3½ cups broth (depending on how thick you like your soup) and both kinds of canned tomatoes, then bring to a boil. Add the beans, corn, chilies, and cumin and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend very briefly, or mash slightly; this will thicken the soup a bit. Add the avocado, stir to incorporate, and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.

Serve with the crispy tortilla strips on top.

Tip:
To make this dish spicier, add ¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, or a reconstituted chipotle pepper for a smoky kick!

By Debbie Kastner

Here is another Happy Healthy Librarian recipe! Debbie “enlightened” this recipe from a soup posted on the
Peas and Thank You
blog with a fantastic invention: homemade “Faux Coconut Milk”! It is made by mixing unsweetened soy or almond or oat milk with coconut extract! It is an amazingly healthy replacement for real coconut milk.

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes (3 to 4 cups)

1½ teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, minced

1½ tablespoons pure maple syrup

One 14-ounce can petite diced tomatoes

One 4-ounce can whole green chilies, chopped

1½ cups unsweetened soy, or almond, or oat milk

1 teaspoon coconut extract

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 tablespoons natural peanut butter

½ cup dried red lentils, rinsed

Cooked brown rice, for serving (optional)

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

¼ cup raw peanuts, chopped, for garnish (optional)

In a large soup pot, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour until the lentils turn to mush, and the sweet potatoes are “just right”—soft, but not mushy.

Serve on its own or over cooked brown rice, if desired, garnished with the chopped cilantro and chopped peanuts.

Inspired by Rachel Safran at the Las Vegas Whole Foods store

This combination of butternut and barley goes together as well as their fun B&B alliteration suggests. The creamy, smooth, substantial squash base of this soup balances well with the chewy, satisfying barley. This soup is a winner.

1 cup hulled barley

8 cups vegetable stock

3 whole garlic cloves

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

In a small pot, combine 1 cup barley with 2 cups of the stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate small pot, bring ½ cup of the stock to a boil. Add the whole garlic cloves and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until the garlic is fork-tender. Carefully remove the garlic and set aside.

In a soup pot over medium-high heat, sweat the onion in ½ cup of the stock. Once the onion is soft and translucent, add the fresh ginger and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the diced butternut squash and bell pepper and cover with the remaining 5 cups stock. Simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the squash is fork-tender.

Chop the garlic cloves and add to the soup along with the thyme. Remove half of the soup, transfer to a food processor, and blend. Blend all of the soup, if you want it completely smooth. Or if you have a handheld immersion blender, use it to blend the soup to your liking.

Return the blended portion of the soup to the pot and add the cooked barley. Continue cooking for 20 to 25 minutes more. Serve warm.

Tip:
Try this soup with Better-milk Biscuits (
here
).

By Renee Van de Motter

Jane’s friend Renee is a scientist, math teacher, and mom. Last spring when we challenged her to make gazpacho without oil, she didn’t hesitate for a moment. She said, “Okay, a little sourdough bread should do the trick, and spring tomatoes may not be as acidic as late-summer tomatoes, so you may not need as much bread.” Say what?!!

6 tomatoes, cut into cubes

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes

2 celery stalks, sliced

½ red bell pepper, seeded and diced

½ onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

3 slices sourdough bread, cubed and crusts removed

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

2 tomatoes, chopped (to be added into puree)

1 celery stalk, chopped (to be added into puree)

½ green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (to be added into puree)

¼ cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped (to be added into puree)

Chopped fresh parsley or cilantro, for garnish

Place the tomato, cucumber, celery, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, vinegar, and sourdough bread in a food processor or high-speed blender and puree until the ingredients are well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix in chopped tomatoes, celery, green bell pepper, and cucumber by hand.

Chill and serve garnished with chopped parsley or cilantro.

By The Healthy Librarian and The Soup Peddler

The Soup Peddler in Austin, Texas, is a local icon because when he started his business more than twenty years ago, he delivered all of his soup on the back of his bike. Today, he has a fleet of little trucks! One of his stellar soups is the mulligatawny. The Healthy Librarian has this great version of it, made with her famous Faux Coconut Milk and a stunning Apple-Celery Salsa.

3½ cups fat-free, low-sodium vegetable broth

1 cup small, dried red lentils

1 cup chopped onion

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

½ cup cauliflower, chopped

1½ cups unsweetened soy, almond, or oat milk

1 teaspoon coconut extract

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

½ teaspoon ground cumin

teaspoon ground turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

½ teaspoon salt (optional)

Apple-Celery Salsa (
here
), chilled, for garnish

In a soup pot, combine the broth, lentils, onions, carrot, celery, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil over a medium heat. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook 15 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together the unsweetened non-dairy milk and the coconut extract. Set aside.

Pour half of the mixture in the pot into a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pot with the rest of the mixture. Alternatively, blend briefly using an immersion blender.

Add the coconut mixture, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne to taste, and cinnamon to a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour this mixture into the soup pot, cover, and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until heated through.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Season with salt to taste, if using. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with ¼ cup of the Apple-Celery Salsa.

By Andrew Casesse

Andrew’s story is like that of many other Americans: He was diagnosed as prediabetic, overweight, and hypertensive. But after attending a weeklong Engine 2 retreat and committing to the plant-strong lifestyle for six months, Andrew now fits none of the above descriptors and is training for a sprint triathlon! His success and this recipe are great “carrots” to dangle in front of you!

2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro, plus a few extra sprigs for garnish

32 ounces low-sodium vegetable broth

2 to 3 tablespoons low-sodium tamari sauce

2 to 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

1 to 2 cups cooked brown rice

A sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes

½ cup raw peanuts, crushed

Put the carrots, ginger, onion, garlic, cilantro, and vegetable broth in a soup pot, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the carrots are soft.

Using an immersion blender or a food processor, blend until smooth. Return the blended mixture to the pot and add the tamari, peanut butter, and cooked rice.

Add red pepper flakes to taste and simmer until heated through.

Serve the soup warm, garnished with the cilantro and a dusting of crushed peanuts.

By Ann Esselstyn

The idea for this came from the Happy Herbivore’s Sweet Potato Dal recipe, which she calls “Dal-icious”! My mom turned this dal into soup and was more generous with the garam masala than the amount used in the original. Although conventional curry would work, garam masala is a key spice here. Get it—it’s worth hunting down in the spice aisle and is a must-have in the kitchen. This soup is delicious for lunch or dinner by itself, or over cooked brown rice or quinoa.

2 large onions, chopped

6 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

6 cups vegetable broth

1 cup dried red lentils

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

2 bunches Kale or greens of choice, stripped of spines, spines discarded, and cut into bite-size pieces

Freshly ground black pepper

In a soup pot, stir-fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes until the onions are limp. Add the pepper flakes, turmeric, and garam masala and stir to coat the onions and garlic. Add the vegetable broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, return to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the lentils are fully cooked and the sweet potatoes are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the Kale and cook 5 minutes more, or until the Kale is soft. Season with black pepper to taste.

Serve on its own or over a mound of cooked whole grains.

Tip:
Add hot sauce for an added kick!