Curried Cauliflower Coconut Soup

A super easy, vegan curried cauliflower soup made with coconut oil and dried coconut for extra creaminess. Perfect for those avoiding dairy, or for those times when there isn’t enough homemade broth or stock to make soup.

Chop and saute onion and garlic: Chop 1 yellow or red onion and saute it on medium heat in a large pot with 2 tablespoons of virgin coconut oil. When the onion becomes translucent, add 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and saute for a few more minutes.
Chop cauliflower and add to pot: Once the onions have very lightly browned and become fragrant, add the chopped cauliflower and saute for another few minutes.
Heat water: In a teapot or other pot, add 6-7 cups of filtered water and heat. Pour into pot with cauliflower, onions and garlic, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or so until cauliflower has cooked.
Blend and add seasoning: Using an immersion blender (it’s easier than transferring to blender), blend the cauliflower, onions, garlic and water into a creamy puree. Add 3-4 tablespoons coconut manna (dried coconut), and blend again to melt and incorporate the flavors. Spice it up by adding the turmeric, garam masala, allspice, cumin, coriander, and crushed cardamom pods. Add salt and pepper to taste, blend to mix in spices, and serve while hot, with a few drops of fresh lemon juice if you wish.

Meaty Chili (GAPS Legal)

This is my very favorite soup to eat. It is satisfying, has a little kick, and my kids will actually gobble it up. Making it with homemade stock gives the soup an extra nutritional punch. Enjoy this before the weather gets too hot!

In a large pot, melt butter. Stir in ground beef and onions. Break beef up as it browns then add carrots, tomatoes, pepper, and beans. Add in spices and pour in chicken stock until about 1/2 inch above the beef/vegetable mixture (you can add more or less to your liking). Bring to a boil, then simmer until serving - it can be simmered anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or so. Stir in the garlic near the end of the simmering time. Check seasoning then top with sour cream, cheese, guacamole/avocado and enjoy!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Don’t pop open that can! Make this creamy soup and serve with freshly baked bread and butter. Great for lunch or dinner on a cold winter day. You can also use this in casseroles or as a pasta sauce.

In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat.
Add in the chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes.
Add in the sliced mushrooms, stir well, and put the lid on.
Cook 10 minutes until the water has come out of the mushrooms and they are becoming soft.
Take the lid off and cook for 10 more minutes.
Add in the beef broth and simmer another 10 minutes.
Mix the corn starch together with the cold cream. Add to the soup.
Bring the soup just to a boil, stirring frequently, until it thickens.
Using an immersion blender (or regular blender in batches), blend until creamy with a few mushroom pieces left - you don’t want to completely cream it.
Salt and pepper to taste.

A Meal Fit for a King: Molokhia Soup

Molokhia (also known as molokheya and mloukhieh) is a viscous green soup traditionally made with leaves from the Jute Mallow plant that are steeped in a garlicky-coriander flavored chicken, duck, meat or shrimp broth. Super healthy and absolutely delicious, this Egyptian specialty is ideal on a cool fall or winter’s day!

Make the base broth (some of which will be used to make the molokehya stew): Rinse the organic chicken under running water, rub with salt, rinse well, and place in a deep stainless steel pot. Add enough water to cover the chicken and set on high heat. Add onion (chopped in fourths), bay leaves, cardamom pods, salt and pepper to the boiling chicken. Lower to medium heat and cook for 45 minutes (for an organic chicken) or 1-2 hours (for pastured chicken with tougher meat) until chicken is fully cooked and has reached an internal temperature of 165 F).
Roast the chicken: Remove the cooked chicken and place it in a baking dish. Add a tablespoon of ghee, and your herbs or spices of choice, spread it on the chicken, and broil in the oven for 10-12 minutes on a temparature of 400F until golden brown, flipping the chicken on the other side to roast midway.
Make the garlic-coriander mixture: Using a mortar and pestle or a handheld electric grinder, crush 15 cloves of garlic. In a separate pot, melt 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee and add the crushed garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of ground coriander and a few drops of lemon juice to the garlic. Sauté the mixture for 2 minutes or until a little browned.
Mix it all together: Add 8-10 cups of the freshly made chicken broth to the garlic-coriander mixture. Simmer for 2 minutes. Try to break the molokhia (if frozen) into a few pieces first, then add them to the soup, stirring continuously to break up the frozen pieces. Boil only for 3-5 minutes until the molokhia is well mixed and then boil for a few additional seconds. Make sure not to overcook or keep boiling as molokhia needs to be suspended (overcooking makes the leaves fall to the bottom).
Eat the stew: Many people add rice to the molokhia, and some add crushed pieces of toasted pita bread. Others, like my grandma, would add the roasted chicken or duck, cut up into pieces into the molokhia. Personally, I now do neither. If I have rice, I only add a spoonful of organic sprouted rice. And I enjoy the roasted bird or meat on the side, to better savor the flavors individually. But of course, there is no hard rule about how to eat molokhia – it is a matter of preference and tradition! In any case, the only rule is to savor every bite and to eat it while hot, because the flavor of molokhia is unparalleled.

“Good for You” Cream of Broccoli Soup (Don’t Throw Away the Broccoli Stalks!)

Eating broccoli stalks doesn’t have to be a chore … and don’t you dare throw those healthy stems away! Simply blend them into a delicious and healthy cream of broccoli soup!

Prepare the bone broth or stock: If you have no broth or stock on hand, use some saved bones (that you’ve previously frozen) from pastured birds to make a nutritious broth by simmering the bones overnight in a pot-full of filtered water, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, an onion, some carrots and celery, and spices. You can also make stock in advance by boiling the pastured bird for an hour or two with an onion, some bay leaves and cardamom seeds, and some salt and pepper. For either, make sure to filter the veggies, bones and spices out before saving the liquid in a glass jar. This recipe assumes you have either bone broth or homemade stock previously prepared.
Chop and saute onion: Peel and dice an onion. In a large stainless steel pot, melt a tablespoon of grass-fed ghee or pastured butter, and saute the onion on medium heat until it has caramelized a bit and has become fragrant, stirring occasionally throughout.
Chop broccoli and carrots and add to pot: Peel the broccoli stalks and chop into small pieces. Chop the carrots as well. Add chopped broccoli and carrots to the pot and saute on medium heat for a few minutes with the onions, stirring frequently.
Pour the stock or bone broth in the pot: Measure approximately three parts stock to two parts veggies, and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and leave to simmer on low for 35 minutes, until the broccoli stalks and carrots have become soft.
Puree the soup, and add milk and spices: Using an immersion blender, blend the soup into liquid. Then, add a cup of raw whole milk to the pot, and blend once again to integrate the flavors. Finally, add the ground ginger, fresh chopped sage leaves and unrefined salt and black pepper, and bring the hand blender to a final whirl. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings as you see fit.
Add the cheese and lemon juice (optional): If you wish, you can add a few drops of fresh lemon juice to the soup for a little zest. In individual plates, you can also add thin slices of hard tasty grass-fed cheese for a little extra flavor and for the texture of melted goodness. Either way, make sure to serve warm, and enjoy!

Creamy Salmon Chowder

This is a quick and easy, yet comforting bowl of creamy salmon soup that goes great with fresh sourdough biscuits!

Melt butter and saute onion, sweet potato, celery and garlic until soft. Stir in arrowroot, then slowly add milk and broth, stirring until thickened. Add in seasonings and partially puree with a hand blender. Stir in salmon and cheese, and let simmer until heated through.

Slow Cooker Greens & White Beans Soup

Here is a soup that takes 10 minutes to assemble, is super frugal, and any leftovers freeze well. Not to mention it’s GAPS-friendly and gluten-free and your family is getting a healthy amount of protein, iron, fiber, trace minerals, immune boosters, and tummy soothers. According to my calculations (said in my nerdiest voice), each serving costs about $1. If you really need to cut corners, skip the sausage. That works with the ol’ grocery budget, yes?

12-24 hours before assembling soup, soak beans in lots of warm water and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar in a non-metalic bowl (the longer you can soak them, the better). Cover.
Rinse beans thoroughly and place in crock pot. Add stock, sausage, thyme, red pepper flakes, vinegar, & greens. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
Right before serving, stir in garlic, salt, and pepper. Serve as-is (nice and chunky) or first blend with an immersion blender to consistency of choice (totally smooth, kinda chunky, or anywhere in between). I do suggest spooning as many pieces of sausage out before blending and adding them in afterwards. It’s prettier and yummier. Just trust me on this one.

Creamy Chicken Soup for the Sustainable Soul

A hearty and creamy chicken soup to warm your sustainable soul. I used my mom’s basic homemade chicken broth recipe for this, and it turned out really great!

Chop veggies: Chop carrots, celery and onions and add to a large pot with 1 tablespoon of melted pastured butter or grass-fed ghee. Saute over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add orzo, broth, and spices: Stir in a cup of orzo, 3 or so cups of organic chicken broth (hopefully made from scratch at home), and the spices mentioned above (oregano, basil, sage, savory, salt, pepper). Bring to a boil then reduce to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.
Now for the creaminess: In a blender (I used my dinky bullet blender), combine 1 and 1/2 cups organic whole milk with 2 tablespoons of sprouted flour and blend for 10 seconds to mix evenly. Pour into soup slowly, stirring constantly until mixture starts to boil and get thicker - usually about 2-3 minutes.
Dice chicken and add to soup: You should use cooked chicken, so you can easily use some leftover from the day before (as I did). Cook for a couple of minutes until chicken is hot. If you find that the soup has become too thick, add more broth (from the stock you have left) until you reach a desired consistency.
Enjoy a bowl (or two): Add a few drops of fresh lime juice and enjoy! (I usually end up adding a bit more salt too ’cause it’s tastier that way!)

Creamy Chicken and Bean Soup

Soup is my favorite wintertime meal, and because it is so easy to make in bulk it is also my favorite stock up meal. I love that it takes just a tiny bit more effort to make soup for 3 meals as it does for 1 meal. This soup has it all for me, creamy and still brothy, chicken and beans to fill me up, and of course veggies. This recipe make about 9 cups and can easily be doubled or tripled to make more to stock up.

Brown your meat in a large pot, with a little salt and pepper, when browned, remove from pot and set aside.
Place your stalk/broth in the pot and add the beans bring to a boil, then reduce heat to keep the soup at a simmer Simmer until beans are just about cooked trough, about and hour, it really depends on how long you soak them, the temperature they are cooked at, altitude, and etc. Just keep checking them every half hour to start with and then every 15 minutes when they start to soften some.
When the beans have about 30 minutes left (they will be slightly soft but still a little hard), add your carrots and seasoning and simmer until carrots are softened but not mushy (unless you like mushy carrots). I find that about 30 minute of light simmering is just perfect for us. You may need to adjust the time depending on how you like your carrots.
During this time you will want to make a rue to thicken your soup. In a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted add your flour and whisk until the flour has absorbed the butter, let cook on low for about 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally, to get rid of the flour taste.
After the carrots and beans are cooked, add the chicken. Now it’s time to add the rue and kale. The order of this doesn’t really matter. I like to add the rue first because then you don’t have the kale getting stuck in the whisk. Take the rue and add about half to your soup and whisk. Make sure you get it all mixed in well without clumps. Don’t add all the rue at once, you can always add more rue but you can’t take it out. Make sure the soup comes to boil and starts to thicken before adding more. Add enough to make your soup just a little thinner than you would like. It will thicken just a little more when you take it off the heat. After it is as thick as you would like add your kale and stir it in and let it cook for just a couple minutes more to cook the kale and you are done.
If you don’t or can’t use wheat you can thicken your soup with arrowroot or tapioca starch. To get the creamy color in the soup just add a little bit of milk at the end so that it won’t curdle. Make a slurry of about 1/2 cup starch and 1/2 cup water. Add some slowly to the soup and mix, let this thicken and then see if you need to add more. If you do need more, add a little at a time waiting for it to do it’s job until you get to the thickness you want.
Serve with some warm Foccaica Bread for dipping.

Delicious, Fresh Ingredient Zuppa Toscana Soup

I’ve been wanting to make Zuppa Toscana soup, similar to what they serve at Olive Garden, for awhile now, but I wanted to make a version that didn’t use processed ingredients. After browsing through multiple variations online to get an idea of the proportions used, I came up with a version that turned out to be a big hit with my family! It’s definitely a keeper. I used Italian chicken sausage from our natural meats co-op. The red pepper gave a nice kick, but it was a little spicy for my littlest two, so take that into consideration. I used Russet potatoes since I had them on hand but plan to try red potatoes next time.

First, I sauteed the sausage and red pepper in a cast iron skillet. I used a full two lbs.
While that was going, I fried up a small skillet full of bacon.
Next, I sauteed the onions, garlic, and bacon together in a large pot until the onions were soft.
When they were done, I added the chicken broth to the pot and heated it to a boil. Meanwhile, I sliced the potatoes.
Once the broth was boiling, I added the potatoes to the pot and turned the heat to medium.
When the potatoes were soft (about 30 minutes later), I added the cream and continued cooking just until heated through.
Last I stirred in the sausage and kale and cooked just a few more minutes to heat them through.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup (Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free)

Inspired by Paul Bertolli’s super simple cauliflower soup recipe, I made a version of it with chicken broth, and it rocked my world! It’s a perfect easy recipe for a cold winter’s day.

Make chicken broth: If you don’t have fresh broth on hand, you can easily make it in under an hour. Refer to our post on making broth here. If you prefer making a vegetarian version, simply replace broth with filtered water.
Chop and saute onion: Chop 1 onion and saute it in a large pot with 2 tablespoons of grass-fed ghee or olive oil (I prefer the taste of ghee to oil).
Chop cauliflower and add to pot: Once the onions have lightly browned and become fragrant, add the cauliflower and saute for another few minutes.
Add broth to cauliflower: Add the broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and leave to simmer until cauliflower is tender - about 20 minutes.
Blend and add seasoning: Using an immersion blender (it’s easier than transferring to blender), blend the cauliflower, broth and onions into a creamy puree. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve while hot.

Slow Cooker Beef & Root Stew

We all have that day in the week when we can feel just a wee bit crazy with all the goings on. Tuesdays are my loco day. To calm some of the crazy, Tuesdays are also crock pot dinner days. Here’s a simple but super comforting and satisfying stew that is oh so gentle on the ol’ grocery budget and gives extra grace for those full days. The beef. It falls apart at the touch of your spoon. I love me some tender meat.

Place beef in the slow cooker and add water, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, onion, paprika, cloves, potatoes, carrots, and optional roots. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Before serving, mix in garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir arrowroot powder into cold water, then mix into the stew to thicken it up. Let sit for about 5 minutes, stir again, then serve.