Ok, brrrr.
I swear Charlotte has no fall or spring- it’s seriously either winter or summer around here. It’s eighty degrees until early November, and then the temperature plummets. We’ve had a week of 50 degree days with rain, and I’m cold. Excuse me while I pad around the house wrapped in enough blankets to inhibit me from any real movement/productivity. (Not helping: I refuse to crank our heat above 65 because my grandmother raised me with good Puritan ideals that include freezing your rear end off in the winter.)
Out go my salads and sandwiches that I quickly throw together. Once it gets below 60 outside I want all of my meals to be warm. Bring on the toasted sandwiches, hearty pastas, and delicious soups. Patrick and I are also hoping to get more use out of our Crockpot this winter (by “more use” I mean “dust it off from the dark recesses of an upper cabinet”), and soups are a great place to start.
Bisques feel so indulgent as a vegan because unless I make them at home I can’t have them. This sweet potato version is such a favorite that the page its on in Forks Over Knives is literally covered in orange splatters from the time I pureed the soup without a lid on the blender. #oops. In my defense, I was extremely hungry. Also in my defense: it’s way easier to go right to that page now due to it being waterlogged and crinkly. My kitchen ineptitude aside, this soup is creamy and comforting without the heaviness of traditional dairy products. It’s chock full of antioxidants, and it’s pretty yellow-orange color really helps to brighten up these grey winter days. If you’re feeling on top of things, prep your ingredients in the morning and just toss them together on the stove when you get home. (Even better: toss in the Crockpot in the morning and just blend when you get home!)
Sweet Potato Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 large onion peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 large sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 6 cups vegetable stock 6 cups water + 3 veggie bouillon cubes
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, sauté onion over medium heat until translucent (about 10 minutes).
- Add the garlic, ginger, thyme, turmeric, nutmeg, and cinnamon and cook for one minute.
- Add the sweet potatoes, veggie stock, orange zest, and orange juice and bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat back to medium and cook for 25 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes can be easily speared with a fork.
- Remove from heat, and puree soup using an immersion blender or by putting small batches in a regular blender. Once pureed, add the almond milk and cook for an additional five minutes to heat through. Season with salt and pepper.
Notes
This may even warm you up so much you’ll be able to shed a blanket. Or three.
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