3 Favorite Soups

Welcome back! I am writing to you from my bed, warm and cozy and ready for the week ahead. Are you ready for this week?

As the weather gets cooler my pallet craves warm soups. I love all soups. Thin soups chalked full of veg, noodle soups, creamy soups and even just broth. I love any hot liquidy meal that warms up my insides.

This post is a collection of my three favorite fast and delicious soups to make. I found two on the internet and the third I just made up, using some online recipes as a guide, using what I had in the flat.

30 Minute Vegan Ramen from Carrots and Flowers

Photo taken from the Carrots and Flowers Blog.

Just as the name suggests, it takes just 30 minutes and is absolutely delicious. I don’t remember where I saw the recipe but I made it for the first time December 2017 and about a dozen times after that. I have never found mushroom broth, I have a look in every grocery store I go to, instead I use the homemade veggie broth we make from our veggie scraps. Reading her comments, it changes the flavour of the broth but I do what I can with what I have. Other than that, the rest of the ingredients are easy to come by.

Thai Ginger and Lemongrass Soup from Sobremesa

Photo taken from Sobremesa blog.

During one of my trips to visit the Captain in London he took me to a Thai restaurant where I had lemongrass soup for the first time. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I decided to find a recipe that would satisfy that craving and I did. Again, this recipe is fast and the ingredients are fairly easy to find. Even my local Tesco Express carries lemongrass. I haven’t found the black rice that you see in the picture, I just use whatever rice we have. Sometimes I blend the broth if I want a smoother soup. The tofu is not easy but if you just marinate it and bake it on a tray it is still delicious and crispy.

Roasted Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup

I didn’t really follow a recipe for this. We had just received a load of veg from my brother-in-law’s allotment the day after we did our weekly grocery shop. We had a lot of fresh veg and needed to do something with it. To roast the veggies I roughly chopped them, coated them in olive oil, salt and pepper, spread them on a tray then tossed them in the oven at about 200c. When they were good and roasted with some browned edges, I pulled them out, added them to the homemade veggie broth, sprinkled in some cayenne pepper and blended it when my submersion blender. I didn’t use any herbs because this batch of veggie broth was made with leftover rosemary. Typing this I realize that some of you might want the recipe. Don't worry about perfectly chopping the veg, it will all be blended anyway.

Ingredients

Butternut squash- peeled and diced Onion (any kind)- cut in fourths Cloves of garlic- 5 (I love garlic) cut in half Carrots- peeled and cut (I used 4) Parsnips- peeled and cut (I used the last one we had) A sage leaf- we had it, I used it Olive oil Salt and pepper Veggie broth- 4-5 cups, depends on how much veg you have Salt and pepper to taste Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Roughly chop the veg and coat in olive oil and salt and pepper. 2. Roast the veg on a tray at 200c and about 350f. Just watch the veg, when the edges are brown and you can easily stick a fork in the carrots and butternut squash. 3. While the veg is roasting heat up your veggie broth. 4. Once the veg is done roasting add it to your broth with any added spices and blend.

5. Serve with salad, garlic bread or any of your favorite sides.

What are your go to winter soups? I looking to add more to my rotation. I definitely make more soups than these but they are the only ones that I have made more than once.

Let me know if you try any of these, I’d love to know what you think. Also, I’ve never written a recipe before so if I left any information out, please let me know!

I hope you enjoyed this post. Stay warm!

xx Mariam