Vegan Mulligatawny Soup

Mulligatawny Detox Soup from The Gluten Free Goddess

I ran across a nice hearty vegetable soup recipe this morning.  It's from the Gluten Free Goddess It's a vegetable soup full of flavor and warms the insides on a winter day.  I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand and it was a good way to use up some of the vegetables from the meals this week like the roasted yams.  I used those instead of the sweet potatoes in the recipe.  I had a red cabbage hanging around just looking for a home, and some other odds & ends like half an onion, a fresh pepper, and some carrots already diced up.

I served it with some toast lightly brushed with some of my homemade sage and rosemary oil.  The cream cheese on top is an herb cream cheese I made this weekend with blanched raw almonds, miso, and dried herbs from the garden.

Vegan Mulligatawny Detox Soup Recipe

This delectable post-modern version of mulligatawny is deliciously complex. The chick peas give it a boost of protein; the apple gives it a sweet-tart kick. Use organic vegetables for maximum detox. Adjust spices if you prefer a mild soup- cayenne pepper has heat.

1 tablespoon avocado oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
2 teaspoons mild GF organic curry powder
1 teaspoon organic turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less, to taste
1 medium sweet or red onion, peeled, diced
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup cauliflower florets, chopped
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 heaping cups thinly shredded cabbage
1 quart fresh spring water
2 cups organic Super Veggie Juice
1 14-oz. can organic chick peas, drained
A small pinch of sea salt, to taste
1 14-oz. can coconut milk, stirred
Juice from 1 medium lime, or to taste
1-2 teaspoons gluten-free brown rice syrup

For garnish:

Thin apple slices or shredded apple
Chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

For a slow cooker:

Combine all of the ingredients in a slow cooker except the coconut milk, lime juice and brown rice syrup. Cover and cook on high according to your manufacturer's instructions for cooking vegetable soup. When the veggies are tender, add in the coconut milk and lime. Taste test. Add brown syrup to taste. Heat through 15 minutes.

For stove top:

Heat the avocado oil over medium high heat in a medium size soup pot. Add the garlic, ginger, curry, turmeric and cayenne and briefly stir for to season the oil. Add the onion, carrots, cauliflower, apples, sweet potato and cabbage, and sauté until softened, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the spring water and chick peas; season with a touch of sea salt, if desired. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cover and simmer the soup, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, lime juice and brown rice syrup. Stir well. Taste for seasoning adjustments. Heat through gently; don't boil.

Winter Snow Holiday

It's been a good week inside my home. I mean inside.  I gave the car to my husband who normally rides a bicycle and just stayed home this week. Work was slow and the weather was icy and cold. I am reminded that it is a good time of year to take some vacation days. I have just loaded up on cooking staples recently at the coop and from the local organic farmer so I have plenty to play with in the kitchen. I am grateful my job allows for this time. It's safer not to drive and I just don't get that much "at home" time that doesn't include pre-planned activities. Having some time to myself, I took it slow all week, relaxed a bit, read a bit, did some home chores that have been on the list for awhile, cooked something fun toward our holiday meals every day and took the time to walk a few times when the sun was shining. It was tricky walking in the ice. I decided walking was just as dangerous as driving. I broke my ankle last year and didn't want to go through that again.  I took it slow and carefully. I also got to speak to my youngest son twice on the phone and we drove out to St. Helen's to visit him Saturday. My oldest son should be on his way to Hawaii from Afghanistan by Wednesday,  That's terrific news!

I am not too worried about my car in the snow, I do have a Subaru. The snow isn't really that deep, but what snow was there did freeze and there are an awful lot of people with sliding stories to tell. I can also hear some sliding and tire turning on the road below from the deck. I just thought it wisest to stay home and play, since I can. I got to see quite a few people, including a semi truck, work very hard to negotiate the ice on our own street. The truck did worry me some.  He shouldn't have even driven down our street in the first place, but since he did, he had to figure out how to get back out.  It wasn't easy for him.  I think it took him 45 minutes just to get by my house. His tires were turning, burning, and smokin' for quite awhile.  He even fishtailed in front of my house.  My car wasn't parked in front of my house as it usually is, thank goodness.  That would have been typical, stay home to avoid driving and have someone wreck the car anyway while it was parked.

Even though I didn't go very far from home this week, I wasn't bored. There was plenty of activity inside and outside to watch. I had Kaylee over for a couple of days and we did some grandma/granddaughter activities. It's winter for sure in my neck of the woods.

I got to see evidence of our regular visitors in the snow this week. It looks like the raccoons are still about and the deer are still cruising through.

I am grateful for all I have and I am reminded that there is a lot of love in my life.  I have decided though that coffee belongs in the disaster survival kit.  While being inside for so many days I got to thinking that I could survive if really stuck at home, I have lots of bottled water, dried beans, home canned fruits, vegetables, and dried herbs, but that I might run out of a couple items like coffee and tea. I will be adding some things to our survival kit downstairs after this week.

Dairy Free Cranberry Orange Bread

I like homemade cranberry sauce, but since I am the only one who will eat it, I decided to make bread out of the fresh cranberries I had.  Everybody at home likes them baked.

Dairy Free Cranberry Orange Bread

2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup agave
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons safflower oil
grated zest of orange peel from one orange, about 1-2 tablespoons
1 1/2 tablespoons egg replacer
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rough chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Bake at 350° for about 50 minutes.

Cute Turkey Cookies

Kaylee & I played with our food today.

A friend sent this to me in an email this week as a suggestion of something fun to do with Kaylee.  We both enjoyed it.  A tasty project with Grandma and Kaylee.