Friday, October 9, 2009

Susan V's Creamy Zucchini and Basil Soup

Sorry I've not been keeping up with my food blog. I have been keeping up with eating nutritionally though, just swerved off-plan a little here and there.

I want to take a few minutes to brag about Susan Voisin at http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ . Many of her recipes have helped me to stay on track. I'm sure many of you would say the same thing. There were times I cried when I first began E2L. I thought I'd never enjoy food again.

I thank Susan and others like her who offer so many recipes to choose from. Some of the recipes I've tried have put a smile on my face, and have given me hope that I really can enjoy eating nutritionally and continue to enjoy cooking also.

The only criticism I could offer would be why it took so long for this particular recipe to arrive. :-) I ate half of the soup tonight. I could have eaten the whole thing, that's how good it was.

The only thing I did different was to use plain old green cabbage for some crunch instead of the zucchini Susan has spiraled atop her bowl. I think the zucchini looks prettier, but I am needing to up my intake of cruciferous veggies. I added some tomatoes for color, variety and taste. Tomatoes and basil go together like peanut butter and jelly, don't cha think? :-) I also added about 1/2 cup of unsweetened soy milk, and a little extra basil. I LOVE BASIL.

Give this recipe a try. I think you'll be glad you did. Oh, and I love the color too ......GREEN! hee hee

Creamy Zucchini and Basil Soup

2 pounds zucchini (about 5 small to medium)
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 cups vegetable broth (I used Imagine No-Chicken)
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
3 tablespoons raw cashews
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
additional salt & pepper, to taste

Set aside one of the zucchini; trim and coarsely chop the rest.

Cook onion in a large saucepan for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Stir in the chopped zucchini, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the broth and simmer until zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes.

Pour into a blender (in 2 batches, if necessary) taking care to avoid burns by not filling the blender more than halfway. Add the basil, cashews, and nutritional yeast and blend until smooth.

Return soup to the pot, season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm. Shred the remaining zucchini with a spiral slicer, mandolin, or grater. Pour soup into bowls and sprinkle grated zucchini over top.

Servings: 6

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks really good; the next time I go out I'm going to get the ingredients. I just read through your entries - and I'm a lot like you, not liking the taste of some of the recipes. It was encouraging to read that you persevered and did find recipes you liked. I'll just keep trying (I tried the eggplant wrap tonight and the tomato sauce was overpowering - and I only used half of what it called for).

Thanks for posting!

Anonymous said...

That looks really good - thanks for posting it! I need more good recipes.

Laina said...

Hi, Wanabemore.

Keep trying recipes that use ingredients you like. The vegetarian chile recipe was a dish that has seasonings and ingredients I enjoy so I knew I would like it without the meat. No sodium was a challenge though. :-)

There are some others that have become favorites of mine so I'll post some of those, and I'll be adding new ones. I try new recipes usually at least once per week.

Fellow E2Lers have helped me by making helpful suggestions and comments, so my hope is that I in turn can help and encourage others along the way.

I hope you like this particular recipe. All the best to you!