Curried sweet potato soup

I've been making a lot of soup lately, since the weather has finally cooled down. I make soups all year long, but there's something comforting about eating soup in the fall. I think its the warming spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, curry, ginger, cumin and cayenne.

Do you share my love for soup? If so, what's your favorite? The Kitchn just posted 25 soup recipes if you need some inspiration.

This is a simple soup and you probably already have most of the ingredients at home. If you don't have sweet potatoes, you can use carrots instead. But to make it creamy without adding dairy, add a tablespoon of oats, Arborio rice or potatoes when you add the stock. After you blend the soup, you'll notice that it has a thicker consistency.

Curried sweet potato soup

1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

dash of cayenne

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (2.5-3 cups)

2 small carrots

3.5-4 c veggie stock

1 T lemon juice
1 tsp ginger juice*

sea salt to taste

Add the coconut oil to a pot over medium heat. Add the onions, cover and sweat for about 5 minutes or until they are translucent. Add the garlic, curry, cumin and cayenne. Stir for about a minute. Then add the potatoes and carrots. Let the vegetables sweat for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil (make sure the liquid covers the vegetables). When it reaches a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the veggies are cooked well. When done, blend with an immersion blender or put into a blender (be careful with hot liquids). Stir in the lemon and ginger juice. Add sea salt to taste. Garnish with a drizzle of lemon-tahini dressing or yogurt, paprika and cilantro.

*To make ginger juice: Cut an inch piece of ginger, peel and grate or mince very finely. Wrap the minced ginger with cheesecloth and squeeze over a small bowl. You should get about a tsp or more of ginger juice. 

Makes 3-4 servings.

The perfect fall lunch

It's amazing how our bodies react to cooler weather. We tend to yearn for warm foods like soups and stews instead of cold salads and raw foods. Warming spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves and nutmeg seem to find their way into our soups, coffees and baked goods. Pumpkin-spiced latte anyone?

This dish is the perfect fall lunch or dinner. Caramelizing the onion not only makes this dish taste better, but also heartier. It also takes advantage of those winter squashes that are popping up all over the market—acorn, butternut, kabocha, spaghetti or pumpkin. Feel free to substitute the acorn squash in this dish for your favorite winter squash.

Kale with squash, chickpeas, caramelized onions and cilantro-yogurt dressing
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 T olive oil
1 bunch kale, washed
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash of pepper
dash of red chili flakes
1 acorn squash, cooked and cut into cubes
1 c cooked chickpeas
1 T cilantro, minced
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp tahini

1 bunch of cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped

1/2 c yogurt

In a saute pan over low heat, add 1 T olive oil. Add a dash of sea salt and the onions. Let cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. It's best if you walk away from the stove and start prepping the kale, so you won't be tempted to stir. The onions should slowly start to brown and caramelize.

Destem the kale leaves with your hands. Keep the stems and dice small. Take the leaves, roll them, and slice thinly into a chiffonade (very thin slices). Heat remaining 1 T of olive oil over low-to-medium heat. First add the kale stems (since they take longer to cook than the leaves), then add the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes, stirring frequently. About five minutes later, add the kale leaves. If the leaves start to stick to the pan, add a little water. Cook for a few minutes or until the kale starts to wilt. Add the garlic cloves, cooking until fragrant and remove from heat. The kale will cook down to about half the size it was, when you put it into the pan.

In a large bowl, add the squash and chickpeas. In a small bowl mix together the cilantro, lemon juice and tahini. Pour over the squash and chickpeas, and mix carefully.

Blend the cilantro and yogurt until smooth.

To assemble, start with a bed of kale. Add the squash and chickpea mixture and top with caramelized onions. Drizzle the dressing around the dish.

Makes about 4 servings