Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

I love sweet potatoes. They are very nutritious (fiber, vitamins A, B6, and C), they are filling, they are versatile, and most importantly, they are delicious. To create this recipe, I used the base of another sweet potato soup that I've been making for a long time. Then I added a twist with chipotle peppers. I served this soup with a side of Spanish rice (Near East is my brand of choice). This soup is quite spicy, which I love, but you can always reduce the quantity of chipotle peppers to tone the spicy factor.

CHIPOTLE SWEET POTATO SOUP
-2 tablespoons olive oil
-2 large sweet potatoes, diced
-1 onion, diced
-1 red bell pepper, diced
-2 carrots, diced
-4 chipotle peppers, seeded and chopped, along with 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (recommended: Goya chipotle peppers in adobo)
-salt and pepper
-pinch nutmeg
-pinch ground ginger
-1 tbsp brown sugar
-5 cups vegetable stock
-scallions, cilantro, or other green garnish

-Heat oil in a large pot, then add onion, red bell pepper, and carrot. Cook about 7-8 minutes, until softened.
-Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Stir and cook about 1 minute.
-Add vegetable stock and sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
-Remove soup from the heat. Use either an immersion blender or a traditional blender to puree the soup until desired smoothness. *WARNING* If using a traditional blender, be sure to only fill the blender a third of the way and leave the lid cracked to prevent explosions. I am not kidding! Take the time to blend in batches and avoid a catastrophe. Or just get an immersion blender. It's worth the expense if you make a lot of soups and purees.
-Bring soup back up to temperature, and serve, topped with scallions or cilantro.

SOUP WEATHER!

Obviously, I am excited that summer is over as far as I am concerned, because that means it's soup season! I am one of those people who does not eat soup at all in the summer. i can't get behind eating hot, liquid based meals when it's sweltering outside. but today the high was 71 and that was all I needed. To celebrate impending autumn, I made one of my all time favorite soup recipes. It's called Nutty Sweet Potato Soup, and the recipe is care of Ellie Krieger. Now, Mark and I differ on our opinions of Ellie. She might be overzealous about healthy eating (which some people might say about me), and her eyes might open a little too wide when she gets excited, but I don't even care. She makes lots of tasty meals, and a many of them are vegetarian. Anyway, this soup is stellar. You can find the recipe here.

Do NOT change a thing, because this recipe is perfect. Well, tonight I did switch out regular sweet potatoes for white sweet potatoes. Still delicious. And on top of that, this meal is super nutritious. There is literally nothing bad for you in this recipe, and it includes a few nutritional powerhouses, like the sweet potatoes and the carrots. You even get some protein and healthy fats with the peanut butter in there. Plus, it's the perfect meal to make if you are vegan, or having vegan guests over.

My inspiration tonight was soup and sandwich. Obviously, I went all out with the soup, so I cheated on the sandwiches. I picked up a loaf of fresh bread on my way home today and simply cut a few slices, put some shredded Cabot reserve cheddar cheese on top, and toasted them up in the oven. Voila, cheater grilled cheese. Healthier too, since you avoid all that butter you would need in a pan on the stove. This hit the spot with the soup. So, be prepared! I apologize in advance if this turns into a soup blog until June, but at least you won't be disappointed when you try this recipe (and many others to come)!

Beans and Sweet Potatoes

As I was perusing the recipe section of the New York Times, I came across a recipe for Refried Black Bean Soft Tacos.  It caught my eye because I love refried beans, but they are usually super bad for you when you get them at a restaurant.  It's not unusual for refried beans to be made with some kind of animal fat.  So when I read through the recipe and discovered that they were fried in just 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, I was pleasantly surprised.  That and the fact it used so few ingredients sold me.  You can find the original recipe here.  I made a few small changes, such as adding a couple of minced garlic cloves when i put in the spices, adding some fresh cilantro just before the beans were done, and I also skipped the last two items (which weren't integral to the beans anyway).  Anyway, these beans came out so good I couldn't believe it, and it took practically no effort.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  One important note: buy no salt added black beans if at all possible, since you need the bean liquid for this recipe.  You can't rinse them.

I went a little crazy with the garnishes for the tacos.  On the table I put out the soft flour tortillas, freshly chopped ramapo tomatoes from my garden (these are so good they deserve their own post), chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, shredded cheddar, and last but not least, the leftover peppers and onions (reheated in a skillet) from the Shrimp Fajitas I made the other night.  They might have been tastier this time around.  

As if this wasn't enough food!  I had sweet potatoes in the fridge that needed to be used, so I went for my old sweet stand-by: Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  This is a side dish that really gives you a bang for your buck, since sweet potatoes are typically cheap, and they are chock full of nutrients.  On top of that, it's easy.

CHIPOTLE MASHED SWEET POTATOES

-sweet potatoes (about 1 per person should do it, and leave you some leftovers)

-vegetable stock

-pureed chipotle peppers, to taste

-Cut the sweet potatoes into uniformly sized cubes.  You can leave the skin on or take it off, it's up to you.  

-Put the cubes into a large pot of cold water, enough to cover them.  Bring the pot up to a gentle boil.  Cook the potatoes for 10-ish minutes, or until a fork goes easily through the pieces.

-Drain the potatoes, and toss them back into the hot pot. 

-Get your electric hand mixer ready.  If you cooked your potatoes in something cast iron, leave them there.  If not, transfer the potatoes into a glass or ceramic bowl (just make sure it can stand up to the mixer). 

-Add a splash of vegetable stock to the potatoes, and spoon in as much pureed chipotle peppers as you can handle (these suckers are spicy).  You can either buy a jar of pureed chipotles, or you can just use a small can of whole chipotles in adobo (go with Goya) and minced them up really finely.

-Mix everything together until the potatoes have reached the texture you like.  You can add more stock if need be.  Serve!