With temperatures rising I also seem to be getting into the mood for soups. As weird as that may seem. They are such an easy dish to make, perfect for an evening where not much time is at hand to cook dinner.

Do you cook dinner every night? I’m putting a real effort into having regular home-cooked meals. Combined with a bowl of fresh salad from the garden. It just feels so good to nourish my body and soul with fresh vegetables. Even though sometimes it’s a bit of a burden, having to prepare yet another meal. But once I sit there and enjoy the delicious and nutritious flavours, I am glad that I made the effort.

This soup is one of those recipes that can be easily and quickly made. And you can view it as a base for other vegetables. Once you get into the habit, it’s easy as to cook it up. I love how it is vegan and gluten-free but also nut-free, which makes it light and not too filling

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Creamy Broccoli Soup with Roasted Pumpkin (Vegan, Gluten-free, Nut-free)

This vegan broccoli soup is one of those recipes that can be easily and quickly made. And you can view it as a base for other vegetables.

Course Soup

Cuisine German

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword Creamy, nut-free, Pumpkin, Soup, soy-free

Servings 2 large portions

Equipment

• stick-blender

Ingredients

• 400 g pumpkin
• 1 small onion finely diced
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon rice flour
• 400 ml coconut cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 300 g broccoli or more if you like
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder or more if you like
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 190° (top-/bottom heat). Chop pumpkin into little cubes.
• Place pumpkin cubes on lined baking tray. Sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Bake until soft and slightly browning (approx. 30 minutes).
• In the meantime, saute the onion in a medium sized pot, either using cooking oil or a small amount of water.
• When the onion has softened and turns slightly golden, add minced garlic and let cook for another minute.
• Sprinkle with rice flour and quickly stir to combine. Pour in the coconut cream and 1/2 cup water. Add ground nutmeg, salt and chili. Bring to the boil.
• Once it simmers, add the broccoli and let cook on low heat until it softens a little (I prefer not to overcook it). Blend it with a stick blender. Serve with the roasted pumpkin.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

In this recipe I used some of my favourite roasted veges: pumpkin, beetroot and onion.

But something makes it really special: the super yummy “cheesy” croutons. Try them and you’ll see what I mean

Makes two portions:

For the soup:
1/2 small pumpkin
2-3 small beetroots
1/2 large onion
1/2 bay leaf
salt to taste
1.5 to 2 cups (375 to 500ml) water

For the croutons & drizzle:
2 slices bread
1/2 cup cashews (alternatively macadamias), soak them in water for 4-6 hours, then rinse and drain
1/3 cup (90ml) water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/3 teaspoon smoked paprika
1-2 pinches salt
fresh, chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

For the soup:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C (top-/bottom heat).

2. Peel and cut pumpkin into smaller chunks. Halve the beetroots. Peel onion and cut into thirds.

3. Line baking tray with baking paper. Place pumpkin chunks, beetroot pieces and onion thirds on to it.

4. Bake until golden brown and soft (approx. 30 minutes).

5. In the meantime, in a pot bring 1.5 cups water to the boil. Add roasted pumpkin and onion to the water and bring to the boil once more. Then take off the heat.

6. Remove the bay leaf. Blend smooth with a stick blender. Add a little more water until the consistency is to your liking.

For the croutons:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C (top-/bottom heat).

2. Cut the bread into cubes. Place on baking tray, lined with baking paper.

3. Bake just long enough until the bread becomes firm (not golden).

4. Blend cashews and water until smooth (a powerful mini-blender is recommended). Take a few teaspoons of cashew cream aside to drizzle over soup later.

5. Pour remaining cashew cream into a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix.

6. Toss in the bread crumbs and stir until well coated.

7. Place bread crumbs on lined baking tray again and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until golden.

8. Place soup in plates, drizzle with cashew cream, then add croutons and chopped cilantro on top.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I call this recipe a roasted cherry tomato pasta soup & sauce, because it actually works brilliantly as soup as well as a simple pasta sauce! And all that while being vegan, gluten-free and low-fat

If you are interested where I got my beloved heritage seeds from, you can check out Koanga Institute, based in New Zealand, they are my go to herb, vege and flower seed supplier

Best results with high-speed blender.

For 4 portions you’ll need:

1kg cherry tomatoes
a few fresh thyme sprigs (alternatively 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
a few fresh basil leaves (alternatively 1 teaspoon dried basil)
1-2 garlic cloves (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 to 1 cup water (depending on how thick you like it)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (top-/bottom heat).

2. Line baking tray with baking paper and place cheery tomatoes, thyme and basil on it.

3. Bake for approx. 20 to 25 minutes, until some of the tomatoes are slightly browned.

4. Transfer tomatoes to high-speed blender. Remove thyme leaves of stalks and add as well basil leaves, garlic cloves and water. Then blend until smooth. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Soups are amazing, winter or summer! They are super easy to make, offer a whole bunch of variation and allow to pack them with lots of healthy stuff.

Dark leafy greens are one of my favourite ‘superfoods’, they are loaded with important nutrients and should be part in a healthy diet. I love them in my breakfast smoothie, but they are also amazing in soups. And lets face it, it isn’t that easy to have a good daily amount in our meals. But with this green power soup you can quickly add dark leafy greens to your lunch or dinner

For 4 portions you’ll need:

400g kumara (sweet potato, alternatively normal potato)
1 broccoli
1 onion
1 big bunch leafy greens of your choice (kale, chard etc.)
1-2 cups green peas

1 tablespoon coconut oil  (for low-fat option use water instead)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt & pepper to taste
4 cups water

Preparation:

1. Peel sweet potato and cut into even sized chunks. Peel and chop onion into small cubes.

2. Heat  coconut oil (or water) in pot and cook onion until golden brown. Add cumin seeds, 4 cups water and sweet potato and bring to the boil. Let simmer until softish (approx. 5 minutes).

3. In the meantime cut the broccoli in smaller chunks. Add to the pot when the sweet potato is softish. Let simmer for a few minutes until slightly tender. Don’t overcook.

4. When broccoli is tender, take off stove and add the dark leafy greens. Stir them into the soup until wilted. Then use a stick blender to blend until smooth.

5. Add green peas and salt & pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

Kale belongs to the group of leafy greens which are very important for a healthy, well-balanced vegan diet. They also are a fairly good source for calcium. [1]

For 2 portions you’ll need:

4 small to medium potatoes (400g)
1/2 onion
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon whole coriander
20 drops liquid smoke
salt & pepper to taste

3 cups water

5-6 large kale leaves (or more)

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes. Peel and chop half of the onion into small cubes. Wash the kale, trim off the thick stalks and then pluck it into smaller chunks.

2. Heat the coconut oil in a medium sized pot and cook the onions until they turn golden. Then add the coriander and let cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly.

3. Add 3 cups water and bring to boil. Once it is boiling, add the potatoes and cook until tender (about 15 minutes).

4. When the potatoes are soft, add the kale leave chunks and stir through the hot liquid. You don’t really need to let it cook, it is just fine if they only wilt.

5. Take the pot of the stove and blend it with a stick blender. Add liquid smoke and season with salt & pepper to your taste. Sometimes I like it with some extra cashew cream and chili flakes.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

[1] The Vegan Society – Vegan-friendly sources of calcium

Over the years I have tried quite a few dishes with capsicums. But I did not make soup with them. How can that be, I thought and created a new dish

I call this recipe roasted capsicum soup, but they are actually fried. Of course you can roast them in the oven (this would be the oil-free option also). Frying them in the pan simply is faster I have added some fresh chili to give it a hot kick. But it surely works just as well without it.

For 4 portions you’ll need:

250g potato (1 medium sized)
3 capsicums
1 small onion
some fresh chili (optional)
1 tablespoon ground paprika
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
3 cups water

Preparation:

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into small cubes. Pour the 3 cups water into a medium-sized pot and add the potato cubes. Bring to boil.

2. In the meantime, halve the capsicums, remove the seeds and cut them into chunks. Peel and cut the onion into fine slices. Chop the chilli into fine pieces.

3. Heat the coconut oil in a large sized pan (I love to use my wok for it) and fry the onion until they are slightly brown.

4. Add the capsicum chunks and let cook, stirring occasionally, until some of them have browned, even a little bit burned. I know it’s naughty, but it adds flavour

5. The potatoes should be soft by now. Sprinkle the ground paprika over the capsicums and stir well. Pour the potatoes with the water into the frying pan or wok. If it is too small, pour the capsicums into the pot with the potatoes instead. Stir well.

6. Take of the stove and blend with a stick blender until smooth. I like to leave a few chunks. Heat up again if needed. Serve with some raw capsicum strips.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

When a ripe cauliflower sparks a new Cauli Potato Soup

Now I have another cauli of Cookie’s more than ready to be eaten. So I have tried something new with it.

A creamy, vegan and gluten-free cauli-potato soup. With only a few ingredients and quick and easy to cook! I was very pleased with the result!

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Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup – Vegan & Dairy-Free

Now, I had another cauliflower that was more than ripe – so I decided to try something new.

A creamy, vegan, and dairy-free cauliflower potato soup, made with just a few ingredients, simple and quick to prepare! I was really happy with the result.

Course Main course (light), Soup

Cuisine European, German-inspired, Plant-Based

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Vegan

Keyword cashew cream, Cauliflower, creamy soup, dairy-free, potatoes, vegan soup

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cashew soaking time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 portions

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower
• 700 g potato
• 1 small onion
• some cooking oil
• 3 1/2 cup water
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 60 g cashews (soaked in filtered water for at least 3 hours, then drained)
• 1/2 cup water
• juice of 1/2 small lemon
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar optional
• some chopped parsley for extra flavor and healthy goodness

Instructions

• Peel and chop the potatoes in bite size cubes. Cut the cauli flower into small pieces (remember that you can also use the stalk after chopping off the hard ‘peel’). Chop the onion into little cubes.
• Heat the coconut-oil in a large pot and fry the onions until soft. Then add water and potatoes. Bring to boil and simmer for approx. 10-15 minutes.
• In the meantime blend the cashew nuts with the water until it is a fine cream. Place aside.
• After the potatoes have cooked for 10-15 minutes, mash them roughly inside the pot with a potato masher. Then add the cauli let simmer for approx. 5 minutes.
• Finish with cashew nut cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add lemon juice and apple cider vinegar just before serving.

Notes

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

I’ve added a little bit of millet to give it some more body so it can actually serve as a meal. Make sure you have some fresh basil at hand and you will be amazed how such little effort can create such a taste-bud explosion

For 2 big portions or 4 small portions you’ll need:

1kg beefsteak tomatoes
1/4 cup (50g) millet
1/2 cup water
2-3 garlic cloves
1-2 tablespoon cooking oil (I prefer coconut-oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 teaspoon chili powder
1 handful of fresh basil leaves

Preparation:

1. Wash the millet in a colander and rinse well.

2. In a small pot, roast the millet on medium heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly (this enhances it’s flavour but this step can also be skipped). Add 1/2 cup water to the millet and slowly bring to boil. With the lid on let simmer for approx. 10 minutes (until the water is gone). Let rest for another 5 – 10 minutes.

2. In the meantime wash and cut the tomatoes in half, removing the ‘stalk’ and then chop them into rough cubes. Place the chopped tomatoes in a blender and blend them for a few minutes.

3. Peel and chop the garlic into fine pieces. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot and roast the garlic for approx. 1 minute (don’t burn so it doesn’t get a bitter flavour).

4. Pour in the blended tomatoes and also add millet, salt, pepper and chili. Bring to boil and let simmer for a couple of minutes.

5. Serve with the washed and roughly pulled apart basil leaves. A dash of cashew cream is nice too

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think about this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! And if you remake this recipe, please share the picture with me on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.