Soups

Fresh Pea Soup
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cups fresh sugar peas or one 10 ounce package frozen peas
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt to taste
black pepper (optional)
extra virgin olive oil and vegan creamer for topping (optional)
Directions:
- Heat oil in pot over medium heat, add onion and a couple pinches of sea salt and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes
- Add garlic and celery and continue to sauté for about another 5 minutes until tender.
- Add fresh or frozen peas on top. Pour vegetable broth to just cover all vegetables, slowly bring to a gentle boil.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes until peas are tender. Remove from heat. Blend soup using blender until smooth.
- Pour soup into back to pot, season with lemon juice, sea salt and black pepper if using. Gently simmer for a minute over low heat.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and vegan creamer if desired.
Chef’s note:
Sometimes frozen peas have fibrous skin that is hard to blend to a smooth texture. Try to blend with higher speed settings. If you like a smooth silky texture, I would recommend using a high speed blender such as Vita Mix.
Make sure not to overcook peas since they can lose their rich green color. You might not need to cook for a full 2 minutes, especially using frozen peas. Once they come to a boil, they are almost done, and you should stop cooking if the bright green color starts to fade.

Creamy Celery and Leek Soup
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ medium onion, diced
1 medium leek, cleaned well, white and light green parts, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 stalks celery, strung and diced
3 cups vegetable stock or water
¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
⅓ cup full fat coconut milk
Celery leaves for garnish
Black pepper and sumac or sweet paprika powder for garnish (optional)
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium flame. Add onions and leeks with a few pinches of sea salt, and sauté for about 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic and celery, and continue sautéing for about 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Add vegetable stock and sea salt to the pot. Over medium-high flame, bring to a boil, then cover.
- Reduce flame to low and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes until the vegetables become really tender.
- Remove from flame, blend into creamy texture with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until creamy.
- Place the pot back on the stove over low heat, add coconut milk, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Serve the soup garnished with celery leaves and a sprinkle of black pepper and sumac or sweet paprika, if using.

Butternut Squash Orange Bisque
Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash, cut into halves
1 medium onion, diced (1 1/2 cup)
1 T olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1/2 t cinnamon powder (optional)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 t sea salt or to taste
Parsley, finely chopped
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Coat the butternut squash halves with olive oil, and roast them cut side up on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
- Heat oil in a heavy pot, add onions with a few pinches of sea salt, sauté the onion until they turn translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Scoop out the meat of the baked squash and place on top of the onion.
- Add about 2 cups vegetable stock to cover the squash. Sprinkle cinnamon on top, if using. Simmer for about 30 minutes until everything is tender.
- Remove from flame, blend into creamy texture with a blender, food processor, Vitamix or immersion blender.
- Place the pot back on the stove over low heat, add sea salt and orange juice, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Serve with chopped parsley for garnish.

Miso with onion, daikon, bok choy
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 inch piece of wakame
¼ cup daikon, sliced into thin half rounds
¼ cup onions, cut in thin half moons
1 cup bok choy, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 cups water
3 level teaspoons of brown rice or barley miso
green onion, thinly sliced for garnish
Directions:
- Rinse and soak wakame until tender in a small dish of water.
- Place wakame with the soaking water and onions in a small saucepan with 1 cup water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Let boil for 3 minutes, until onions are soft.
- Add the daikon and the rest of the water and boil for 3-5 minutes.
- In the meantime, place the miso paste in a bowl with a small amount of soup water and mix until dissolved.
- Turn soup to low (so it is simmering, not boiling) and pour diluted miso into the soup, mixing gently.
- Add bok choy and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped scallion.
Variation:
Place cooked mochi in your serving bowl, then pour hot soup over the mochi and serve.

Lentil soup
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 cups green lentils, rinsed and drained
5 cups water
1 inch piece of kombu
2 inch piece of wakame, torn into smaller pieces or 1 t wakame flakes
1 T olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
2 dried shiitake, soaked in ¾ cup water and diced
1 carrots, diced
1 T shoyu
2 t ginger juice*
chopped parsley
Directions:
- Soak the shiitake in ¾ cup water until soft, then dice.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat, and sauté the onion until soft.
- Add the celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the sautéed vegetables, shiitake, shiitake soaking water, kombu, wakame, lentils and 5 cups water in a pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the shoyu and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the ginger juice.
- Served garnished with chopped parsley.
*To obtain 1 T ginger juice, grate a 2-3 inch piece of ginger and squeeze out the juice.