Garden Fresh Vegetarian Soup with Legumes!

 Mary's Making Garden Fresh Soup Part 1

  Seasonal vegetables are so essential to one's culinary practice when cooking. Many restaurants create their menus on the basis of what is available in order to keep our local growers in business and simply because of the change of season. Our society has been intensively talking about Farm to Fork for the past couple of years, although it has been a part of our past time for several generations. For example, every year my father tilled part of his backyard and planted tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, chili peppers, and of course he had fruit trees. His favorite were peaches. He also had grapes which grew freely from previous owners, and a lot of cactus which was initiated by my mother. (At times cactus reminds me of okra). I would ask him why only fruit trees? He would respond, it wasn't worth having a shaded tree if it didn't give fruit of some sort. It was what he was use too and grew up having the family's own farmland. So when a special vegetable is in season, I like to take some time thinking of a particular recipe to fit that one vegetable and make a specific meal celebrating it.  

  Who wouldn't want a vegetable soup? I mean it's has to be the best thing since the arrival of newcomers when they were dying, until the Native Americans came and helped them grow crops and contributed to their survival skills. When I'm not feeling well, I consider making a vegetable soup with plenty of vegetables which falls into the category of  a vegetarian dish. And if I want to get on a diet, this makes for a sure starter in changing some of my bad habits. I always include very green vegetation, more then three of the green groups. For example, spinach, green beans, zucchini, etc. And sometimes, I'll just look into my refrigerator and find all sorts of goodies to use. I may not want or desire vegetable soup at the time, but for me, it's a healthy habit, especially during those cold days. Vegetable soup is one of my favorite foods to make if I need to adjust my nutrient levels for my diet, so that I can feel better. And it has since then become my ritual as well. I made it for my parents when they were elderly. I felt that it was something I could make for them and share, if I felt helpless in other areas. Vegetable soup has become important part of diet.

  One can never go wrong with soups, and most importantly vegetable soups. Delicious and quite nutritious. Yeah, I know, I sound like a commercial! (I'm laughing at myself). But who cares! Frankly it's so true and I'm sure my doctor or any registered dietitian would agree. Really! If you need a "pick me up" as often as I do, and your bad cholesterol is saying, "Hi, if you don't change your eating habits, I'm here to stay and I'm going to eventually take your life". And after hearing those words, "Your cholesterol is too high and so is your sugar level"! Makes perfect sense on why mosquitoes attack me so much. Stay away mosquitoes!! You know who you are! It's just time to take care of self and place some nutrients back in my diet.

  What's real neat about this soup is that you can easily add some tofu, omit some of the carbs, like potatoes, although, I absolutely love them. But it can easily change if you choose to do it gradually. You can also add some of your favorite noodles to it if you get tired of potatoes, or even rice if you desire to have more of a variety of carbs, those fillers that make you feel so much better. But I will have to say, the less of those types of carbs, the better if you are going to wish to lose that weight and if your sugars are too high. I'm not an registered dietitian, but you can always ask your doctor, I'm sure. Anyway, it's better to have potatoes then sweet pastries. Right? OK, so make a vegetable soup to meet your diet goals. Simple as that! This one basically is a vegetarian soup.

  I probably was a bit tired when making this recipe video and didn't soak my chickpeas long enough. I mean who likes crunchy chickpeas? (I'm laughing at myself, once again). I mean, really!! Crunchy chickpeas?! So you don't have to be too concern about making comments; I already know about it. This one is for anyone who enjoys eating the bountiful foods of our earth. So simply enjoy!! Blessings!

Fresh Garden Vegetarian Soup with Legumes Part 1

Mise-en-place

Ingredients for recipe:

Chickpeas, 2 cups, thoroughly washed and soaked in water for at least 2 hours 

Lentils, 2 cups, thoroughly washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes

White or yellow onions, 1 cup, 1 medium whole, washed, peeled and small diced
Yellow bell pepper, 1 cup, medium diced

Celery, 1 cup, small diced
Carrots, 1 cup, small diced

XVOO and Canola oil, as needed (Tablespoon at a time)

Coconut oil, as needed

Potatoes, 3 large, peeled and medium diced in uniform with the other vegetables

Crushed tomatoes, 2 cups 

Vegetable broth, 32 ounces

Water, 16 ounces, preferably purified water

Roasted Italian peppers, 2-3, (discard skin) and small to finely diced

Mushrooms (sauteed in advance-optional), 10 ounces,  medium sliced

Okra, 1 pound (sauteed in advance), medium sliced, and lightly seasoned

Green beans, 2 cups, cut into 2"

Zucchini, 2 cups, medium diced

Cabbage, 2 cups, thin sliced and chopped
Chard, 4 cups thinly sliced and chopped

Seasoning of salt, pepper, granulated onion and garlic mixture, as needed

Fresh sage, 1 tablespoon, finely diced

Bay leaves, 2 whole leaves

Dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon
Dried oregano,1/2  teaspoon
Smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon

  Heat a large stainless steel pot with XVOO and canola oil, 2 tablespoons. Add onions, bell peppers, celery, and carrots. Season with salt mixture. Add the legumes and stir into the the onion mixture. (Please note: If you like chickpeas to be a a bit al dente, allow them to soak for a shorter period of time. The longer they soak the more tender they become). Add them to the mixture. cover and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. (You may need to add a little more of the oils, about another tablespoons). In between adding the vegetables, allow them to heat up and slightly cook. Make sure you cover the pot in between. For example, add the potatoes, allowing them to cook for another 4 minutes, then add next food item. Add the fluids, peppers, tomatoes, cover and bring to simmer. Season in between to taste. The salt will help to bind the flavors creating a beautiful symphony of delicious goodness. Ha! Add the green beans. Add the cabbage, zucchini, cremini mushrooms, and lastly the chard. Season with the  oregano, thyme, paprika, fresh sage and bay leaves. Cover and allow to simmer for 8 minutes. 

Sauteing the okra in a cast iron skillet

  Heat the cats iron skillet adding 1 tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil. Add okra and saute. Add my seasoning mixture of salt, pepper, granulated onion, and garlic.

Slightly charred okra...delicious! 

Add sauteed okra to soup. Makes the soup quite delicious and full of flavorful healthy ingredients.

Garden Fresh Vegetarian Soup with Legumes Part 2

Roasting the variety of Italian and Anaheim peppers on an open stove top flame

 Roast pepper. Sweat them in a plastic bag. Rinse discarding the skin and seeds. Dice, medium and add to the soup. If you wish to saute the mushrooms, set them aside and add to the soup.

Garden Fresh Vegetarian Soup with Legumes Part 3

Enjoy your soup!! 

Garden Fresh Vegetarian Soup with Legumes