Roasted Sweet Potato Coconut Soup

I live in Sonoma County and a summer day here can mean 100 degrees at 2 pm and a chilly 52 degrees by bedtime. So, I guess a summer soup recipe isn't all that odd, really. Anyway, this soup is good enough to eat cold, so if you live in a 100-by-day and 98-by-night region, you can still enjoy this. (I grew up just about 90 miles from here in the Central Valley which was a 114-by-day and 95-by night kind of place. Yes, California has micro-climates!)

This soup can be super simple or you can add some wonderful tastes to it. Here's a medium-simple version:

Roasted Sweet Potato Coconut Soup
Makes 3-6 servings

1-2 medium Sweet Potatoes (you can sub a couple carrots for a potato)
1 med onion, chopped or sliced
1-3 cloves garlic
1-2 tbs olive oil or coconut oil 
1 cup veggie broth
2 cups water
1-2 tsp salt (if broth is no-salt)
1-2 tsp coconut aminos
1 can coconut milk

Flavors to add for variety: ginger, ground pepper, horseradish for heat, cinnamon. If you are doing nightshades, curry or chili is a nice touch.

Cut sweet potatoes into 1/4's and spray lightly with coconut or olive oil spray. Roast in 350 degree oven for about 10-20 minutes (depending on thickness of your sweet potato), turning once. They will be done when pricked with a fork and are soft all the way through. Let cool and then peel. (You can also roast your onions and garlic with the potatoes.) Cut into small chunks. (Chunk size is up to you. If you plan to puree this to a totally smooth soup, keep them big, it just doesn't matter. But if you want a chunky soup, them cut them into smaller chunks.)

If you haven't roasted your onions/garlic with your potatoes, fry them in the oil (or water) until tender, adding garlic half way. Add a little water to deglaze the pan, then add veggie broth, salt and water. Add your sweet potato chunks and simmer until warm.

If you like a chunky soup, spoon out some of the chunks and set aside. If you have a wand mixer, blend until the desired creaminess is attained, or scoop (carefully...it's hot!) into your blender or food processor to blend. Put it all back in the pot and add back in your chunks if you took some out. Now add in your coconut milk and heat/stir until warm. It's best not to overheat or boil once you have added the coconut milk.

The thickness of this soup will depend on so many things...how many potatoes you used and just how big they are; which kind of coconut milk/cream you use and how thick it is. Keep it on the thick side as you go since you can always make it thinner with more water. Making it thicker is harder...if you've got an extra sweet potato (or carrot) on hand, you can quickly microwave one and add it to the soup and blend again.

That's a Wrap! No-Peppa Hot Sauce!

I'm finally able to chew some soft things after my dental work last week. "Paleo Wraps" are these wonderful coconut wraps that are soft and not too chewy for me. Here's a "Tofu- Egg Scramble" I threw together. The recipe today is not the the scramble, but the "hot sauce" I came up with. I had just gotten used to using Sriracha sauce on so many things...vegan "mac 'n cheese" and tofu egg scrambles, but it's made with chili peppers and they are nightshades and nightshades are a no-no on the AIP plan. So I experimented the other day and came up with this...not bad if I say so myself.

No-Chili-Peppa Hot Sauce

Base recipe
1/2 cup chopped beets
1 cup chopped carrot
1 tsp ginger juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (or any hot peppercorn)
1/2 cup water

More water as needed

Add for heat:
Ginger juice
Natural horseradish

Blend base recipe ingredients well in a blender, food processor or Vitamix. Heat in saucepan with enough water to cover. Simmer until veggies are cooked, about 10-15 minutes, stirring often.

Here is where you need to experiment to find your own degree of heat and flavor...

Per 1/4 cup of the base recipe, I added another 1/2 tsp of ginger juice and/or 1/2 tsp horseradish, and stir. You can add more as you like. I found the ginger to make it a "sweet-hot" and the horseradish, a hot-hot. Add water as needed for the consistency you like. I had simmered mine down a little thicker than I wanted, and just added some water to get it more like a hot-sauce consistency. I'm not a "nose-running" hot spicy girl, so I probably went easy on the hot part...

I'm keeping the rest of the base recipe in the fridge and I'll add the hot stuff as I need it. Of course, with different herbs, you can make this a tomato sauce or ketchup. More on that later as I experiment.

I'll post my Tofu Egg Scramble recipe in the next few days, but I'd like to experiment with subbing cauliflower for the Tofu to make it more Paleo.

Bean there, fried that!

This is what I threw together after a day of not planning any meals–but I had stocked my kitchen with these fresh foods. I ate a little over half of this for dinner and the rest for breakfast the next day. Traditionally I would have served this with rice or another grain and my whole family would have eaten it. Since I plan on having rice now and then myself, I can see eating it that way, and reducing my portion with the addition of rice.

Bean There, fried that!
(Green bean/Kale/Carrot Stir-fry)
Serves 1-3
Protein per recipe: ~  9.2g

2-3 Tbs olive oil
1/3 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 1/4 cup green beans, cut 3-4 inches
2 tsp ginger juice* (or about 1 inch chopped/minced ginger)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 handfuls chopped kale

Medium to high heat. Heat oil in pan. Add onions until glistening. Add carrots, stir. Cook until tender, 3-6 minutes.  I added about a 1/4 cup water to the carrots and then let them steam with the lid on. Add green beans, cook about a minute. Add oil and ginger, stir. Add kale to the top and put lid on, let steam for a few more minutes. Total cooking time about 10-15 minutes.

Like with all stir-frys, try to keep your veggies bright and little crunchy. Right now I like things a little softer since I have a bad tooth.

I used sesame oil for flavor even though it is a seed oil. The Hartwigs in "It Starts with Food"* feel such small amounts are OK. You can always omit this without a huge loss in flavor.

* See resources tab.

Red, White and "Blew" It: AKA Beet Mustache Smoothie

For many reasons, this was a photo-shoot gone wrong! I was in a hurry to leave the house (and drink this since it was my breakfast). Most of the shots have a reflection of my tabletop which look like a white mustache. I'll re-shoot the next time I make this. But anyway...here's my "Red Smoothie"or as I might name it..the Red, White and Blew It.

Red, White and Blew It: AKA Beet Mustache Smoothie
1-2 Servings
Protein Content per recipe: approx 3.3g

1 cup water
1/4 cup beet
1 celery stick
1 green onion
3 baby carrots
1-2 cups mixed greens

Optional
ice cubes to make it colder
salt
pepper
natural horseradish for kick (hmm..maybe that's why they call it horse radish!)

Whir in blender til smooth. You can always strain smoothies like this if you just want juice, but then you lose some nutrition and fiber. Or add the strained items to a soup later.

Salute to Cilantro Smoothie

Salute to Cilantro Smoothie
Makes 1-2 servings
Approximate protein per recipe: 13 g

1/2 cup raw almonds (soaked overnight would be best)
1 cup water (coconut water would be great)
3 baby carrot
1 small plum
small bunch cilantro
1 green onion
handful of greens (mine was 50/50 baby spinach and mixed greens)
2-3 ice cubes to cool it down
optional: salt to taste
optional: 1/4 - 1/2 tsp natural horseradish

Whir in blender. I use a Vitamix, so I don't really have to chop up well or go in any order. You know your own blender.

If you hate cilantro, just use parsley and call this "Salute to Parsley."

Nut-free version: Just omit nuts. To keep it thick, and balance your carbs with some fat, you could add 1/2 to a whole avocado.

I was going to wait a day and play catch-up with posting my meals,  but I was just so excited about this one I had to post right away. I'm an experienced smoothie-maker, both sweet and green, and this just came to me as I went. I knew I wanted to start with almond milk from raw almonds, and I decided to not strain them to keep all the protein and fiber. You can strain yours if you want, of course. This really makes a nice smoothie/soup/sauce with any of the first 3 to all of the ingredients. I tasted it at each step and realized I'd love to pour this over veggies or eat as a cold soup. I added horseradish for my second serving since I would add a little Siracha hot sauce to my green smoothies for some kick. But alas, that is made from peppers (nightshades) and who knows what else.