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

Better Than Grandma's Tomato Soup

...that's what Derek said anyways, although I'm not 100% convinced! Our grandmas are all pretty phenomenal in the kitchen and my soup is pretty darn fantastic....so maybe we should call it tie and leave it at that.

Are you getting "tomatoed" out here on on Vegvacious??? I promise that this will be my last tomato recipe....for this week anyways :-D

Derek's been asking me to make some homemade tomato soup like his grandma does. My dad used to make a wickedly delish tomato soup when we were kids too, so I had lots of inspiration for this one and I have to say it turned out amazingly well. {a little pat on the back now and then is healthy for the soul!}

Homemade Tomato Soup
Serves 4

This soup is soooo delicious! I'm planning to freeze some fresh tomatoes, so that I can whip this up on a cold winter day because it will be perfect as a warm tasty comfort food on a cold dreary day!

6 c chopped tomatoes (I left skins on)
2 c veggie broth
2 c milk (I used 1% dairy milk because that's all I had, but unsweetened original almond milk would have been my first choice if I had some)
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp Earth Balance
sea salt & pepper to taste

Combine the tomatoes and veggie broth in a medium to large pot and place on high heat. Bring to a boil.

Reduce to medium high and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from the stove.

Add the soup in batches to your blender. Be careful because hot soup in a blender can make the lid pop off! I use an oven mitt to hold the top of the blender on. Pulse until the soup is to your desired consistency. I pulse each batch a few times.

Serve & enjoy. We garnished ours with additional black pepper and some crushed up multigrain pita chips.

Other fab toppings would be a swirl of sour cream, some shredded cheese, croutons or slivered basil --- the options are endless!!!

Eat up, but be warned that tomato soup fresh off the stove is HOT - Warning: tongue burning on the first bite is NOT GOOD! Then you won't be able to taste the rest and that really stinks (er, not that I would know from personal experience ;-) What is it with us food bloggers burning our tongues all the time!??

Do you have a favourite family recipe that you like to re-create?

Have a fabulous day!!! It's Thursday people ~ one more day 'til the weekend woot woot!!!!
Andrea

What I Ate Wednesday ~ Tomato Edition

I am officially tomato obsessed!

Derek & I bought a big basket of fresh tomatoes on Sunday afternoon and they were all gone by Monday night, so I had to stop again this afternoon to pick up some more!

I thought it would be fitting to do my WIAW in honour of the gorgeous and delectable tomato since my eats over the past 72 hours have included them in pretty much every meal!

Some of the eats I've been enjoying have been......

Sliced tomato with a sprinkling of red wine vinegar, basil, sea salt & pepper. So simple, so delicious! Derek told me he only likes white vinegar, but strangely enough he gobbled this plate up the minute I finished snapping a pic ---- shhhhh, our little secret, k?!

My fave sandwich this week has been a grilled tomato and cheese on whole wheat. Like I said in Monday's post. HEAVEN. I could eat this every single day for every single meal.

ooey gooey fabulousness!

Last night I whipped up a super easy tomato soup and I'm told it's as good as Grandma Bernice's. I've got to admit, it was pretty darn good. Keep an eye out for the recipe. It's a keeper and I promise I'll share.

We topped our soup with some black pepper and crumbled up pita chips ~ yum!

And if you love pasta, check out my roasted veggie pasta recipe from Monday. I took the leftovers to work for lunch and savoured every bite. The fresh tomatoes are the bomb-digity in this awesome dish!

So these are just a few of my fabulous eats. What was your favourite meal from the past few days? Favourite way to eat tomatoes?

If you're looking for more food inspiration head on over to visit Jenn at Peas & Crayons to see what all her other bloggin' buddies have been munching on.

Have a great Wednesday!

Andrea