Comfort Soups for the Soul

Happy Thursday! My oh my has the weather taken a turn to chillier temperatures! I didn't even look outside this morning before I came prancing out of the house with sockless feet and sunglasses on top of my head. I was shocked to open the front door to dark gloomy skies and some seriously cool air!!!

As soon as the cold weather hits, my body starts to crave comfort food. I love thick creamy soups, casseroles baked in the oven and roasted squash and sweet potaters.

I started my blog back in January and since so many of you missed my first few months, I thought I'd give a shoutout to my favourite soup recipes in honour of the cool nights of Fall. Check out some of these fabulous recipes:

Comforting Cauliflower Soup
In my neck of the woods, fresh cauliflower is super cheap right now, so this is a great "budget" meal idea. You won't believe how creamy it is until you try it. It is truly too die for. Next time I make it, I think I'm going to add a little cheddar to mix it up!

Vegetable Stew

This was one of the first recipes I made completely from scratch that was absolutely scrumptious! I was like a proud mama bear after I made this!

It's especially delish when served with red wine and warm whole wheat biscuits!

Southwestern Veggie Soup with Corn Tortilla Strips

Perfect for those who like a little spice in their lives!

Homemade Tomato Soup

Now this is one of my more recent recipes. You all know how much I've been loving tomatoes and this soup is just one of the many recipes I have made this summer! I even have a bunch of fresh tomatoes in the freezer, so that we can enjoy this soup all winter long.

So there are just a few of my favourite comforting soup recipes. Do you have a fave recipe you'd like to share? Paste in a link to your recipe if I can find it online - I'm always looking for new & delicious recipes to try!

Have a great day.....& stay warm ;-)

Andrea

Comforting Cauliflower Soup

I can't believe how cold it is tonight. It makes me want to wrap up in my favourite fleecy blanket and hunker down for the night, but alas I have two sweet furry faces staring at me to go out for their nightly walk. I can't resist, so out we will go.....but first, I have something creamy and delicious to pass along...it's so warm and comforting and perfect for dinner on a cold winter evening, that I just have to share.

Check out my Comforting Cauliflower Soup recipe. I saw a recipe in The New Complete Vegetarian by Rose Elliot and I was inspired....so as soon as I got home from work I started cooking. First, I pulled out all of my ingredients.

For this recipe, you will need:

2 Tbsp of Earth Balance (or butter)
1 Tbsp of olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 head of cauliflower, chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic (I was out, so I used garlic powder)
4 c vegetable broth
1 tsp sea salt (I used Spicy Herbamare)

Heat Earth Balance and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes stirring frequently to avoid browning.

Add in potato, cauliflower and garlic and cook for 4 minutes. Again, stir frequently because you do not want your veggies browning.

Add the vegetable broth and sea salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the veggies are nice and tender.

Look at the simmering pot of golden goodness....trust me, at this point it is starting to smell like heaven and your stomach's about to start growling!

Pour the mixture into a blender ~ you will probably have to do it in 2 or 3 batches ~ and blend until creamy and smooth.

Season with salt & pepper and enjoy.

This soup is so delicious. It is creamy and rich and so healthy! You can hardly believe that it isn't full of butter and cream - my husband, Derek (aka: the ultimate taste tester) loved it and that means alot ~ especially when there's no meat involved! Okay, I admit I did give him a big loaf of buttery garlic bread & cheese, so he was a little distracted, but he did have seconds of the soup, so I know he loved it!

Well there you have it, the first ever recipe posted by this newbie blogger. I hope you enjoy it. Now go get bundled up and stay warm tonight!

Until next time...
Andrea