the pollen count

I may eat soup everyday for the rest of my life! I am so enjoying making a few big pots of soup on the weekend and having meals ready all week long.  Last week I  made a really good vegetable soup but then I found my old Gypsy Soup Recipe from Molly Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook and decided to make a combination of the two recipes. I added lots more vegetables and 2 kinds of beans to make a very hearty soup. So here is my version of a “Variation on Gypsy Soup”. I will easily eat this one every day until it is gone 🙂 It is chock-full of healthy vegetables and a really great blend of spices that will make you want a second bowl!
Erin’s VARIATION ON GYPSY SOUP
(This makes a HUGE pot of soup, so if you want less cut the recipe in half, but you will wish you had made a big pot! It freezes well so you can prep and cook once and eat many meals…). It gets even better the next day. Do not be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, many of them are spices and you can add whatever vegetables you have in your fridge.  It really is worth the effort!

INGREDIENTS:
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP coconut oil
3 – 4 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium leek or 2 small
½ large yellow onion
2 large cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 – 5 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 “ cubes
1 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted diced organic tomatoes + their juice (Muir Glen is my favorite brand)
½ cup garbanzo beans (canned is fine, just drain them first)
¾ cup black beans (drained)
1 small zucchini, chopped into small rounds
½ cup fresh or frozen green peas and/or ½ cup green beans
2 cups chopped greens like kale, mustard, chard, etc.
8 cups vegetable stock (or water with 2 vegetable bouillon cubes I like Rapunzel brand it’s vegan, too)
2 – 3 tsps. turmeric
1 tsp oregano, dried or fresh (use more herbs if fresh)
1 tsp. thyme, dried or fresh
1 tsp. basil, dried or fresh
1-2 tsps. smoked paprika
1 tsp. regular paprika
1 bay leaf
½ – 1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. cayenne or red pepper flakes
1 TBSP Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh basil for garnish
NOTE: You can add more or less garbanzo and black beans and/or substitute other vegetables like green beans instead of peas, omit the zucchini and leeks (but add more onion if no leeks), add asparagus, etc.

DIRECTIONS:
Slice the carrots and celery, then chop the leek into very thin slices (just the white part after you wash it well). Dice the onion and and put all the above into a large bowl. Heat the olive and coconut oils in a big soup pot and pour all the vegetables from the bowl into the pot. Let them saute on low in oils for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the diced sweet potatoes and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Next add all the spices and then the vegetable stock or water and bouillon cubes. Let simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, covered, while you chop the zucchini, green beans if you are using them, and the greens.

Add the canned tomatoes, the green vegetables and the garbanzo and black beans and continue to simmer on low for about 15 minutes, uncovered. Add the Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (optional), a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional) and season with salt and pepper. Let the soup sit for another ½ hour or so to develop all the flavors.
Reheat and serve with some sliced fresh basil leaves. This soup has all the servings of vitamins, minerals, fiber and micronutrients you need for the day and is Yum! Yum! Yum!