#soup – The GF Vegetarian

Wow this year is turning out to be a busy one. I don’t know if time is just going faster or the quickening of time is a by product of getting older. I think we just get busier as life goes on and I imagine it will slow down significantly at the end. Maybe that’s how it’s meant to be? So we can spend our last days (if we’re lucky) enjoying the slow pace of the life, watching, thinking.. Of-course by the time we get to old age we may have forgotten how to enjoy anything at a slow pace and criticize our quality of life in comparison to the fast paced vigor of our youth. Who knows.

One way to slow down time for a moment is to cook, like colouring in or going to the gym, cooking takes your attention and energy and focuses it on one thing. Maybe that’s why i enjoy it so much. Although I hate the washing up.

Tonight to distract myself and to take my mind of the impending law assignment that’s due in a few days, I made Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup. pumpkin soup1 (1108 x 576)

Roast Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup Ingredients

1/4 of a medium sized kent pumpkin
1/2 a butternut pumpkin
2 medium sized brown onions
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 vine ripened tomatoes (roughly chopped)
6 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon of dried basil
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 tablespoon of vegan dried stock powder (I use Massels)
2 table spoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
300ml coconut cream
3-4 cups of water

Let’s Cook!

Roughly chop the pumpkin and sweet potato, and quarter the onion.
Place the chopped veg into a large casserole dish and coat with the olive oil, place in the oven at 220° (fan forced) and roast the veggies for around 40mins, or until they are tender and soft.
Place tomatoes in a large saucepan with a little bit of water and cook on medium heat, stirring till the tomatoes breakdown (around 10-15mins).
Next, to the tomatoes add the stock, salt, basil, garlic and pepper.
Next (once they are ready) add the roast veggies to the saucepan, stirring them through the tomato sauce and using a wooden spoon to breakdown the pumpkin and sweet potato to create a mash. The onion won’t break down the same way, it’s OK to leave the onion in bits.
Finally stir in the coconut cream, sugar and water (only use as much water as you feel necessary, how thick/runny do you like your soup?).

Serve! I had some freshly squeezed lemon on top of mine.

Health and Happiness,

Katri x

I haven’t posted for a while, because the year has been getting increasingly busier. I started a new job and trying to organise kids and university is tricky stuff. But like many mothers (and fathers) before me , we just learn to juggle all the balls that get thrown at us. We have to, there’s no other option. However prioritizing is important, so when everything is happening at once you know how and where to categorize everything. My list of things fall into line somewhere like this: 1)kids 2)uni 3)work 4)everything else.

Health is of course all encompassing and I try to eat healthy as often as i can and look for openings in my schedule to sneak to the gym or go for a walk. Luckily I find cooking therapeutic, a exercise in mindfulness, concentrating on one task. I also find house work therapeutic, but let’s keep that on the down low.

Last week I made my girls Tomato and Lentil Soup with Roast Cauliflower. tomato n lentil soup

Tomato and Lentil Soup Ingredients

7 vine ripened tomatoes (skinned and quartered)
375g of uncooked green lentils
6-7 cups of vegetarian chicken style stock (I use Massels)
1 large brown onion (diced)
2 tablespoons of crushed garlic
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cauliflower

1 whole cauliflower
Nuttelex
1/2 cup of gluten free bread crumbs

Let’s Cook!

In a large saucepan saute onions in olive oil on medium heat till onions begin to soften, ad garlic and cook for 2 mins
ad tomatoes to saucepan and heat for 20 mins on medium stirring occasionally (tomatoes will breakdown and create their own juice)
Next ad the lentils and stir the lentils through the tomato liquid, till the lentils begin to wrinkle and puff up
Next ad stock, oregano, salt and pepper
Simmer on medium low for 45mins or till lentils are fully cooked

Cauliflower Cook!

Cover the whole cauliflower whole in Nuttelex
Pat on the bread crumbs
place in an oven proof dish, cover with aluminium foil
place in oven and cook at 200° for 40mins then remove aluminium foil and cook uncovered for a further 15mins

I served mine with GF toast, healthy and easy.

Health and Happiness,

Katri x zucchini and onion1