A Simple Lentil Soup Recipe

A Simple Lentil Soup (plus tomatoes and brown rice)

I'm teaching a series of soup classes to a group of seniors at our local community center starting this week, and my first recipe will be a lentil soup. The goal of this soup series is to encourage seniors to cook healthily at home, rather than buy processed or prepared foods which can be high in sodium and fat.

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Creamless Cream of Cauliflower Soup

Creamless Cream of Cauliflower Soup

This week, I posted a recipe for Creamless Cream of Mushroom Soup, a rich flavored and luscious soup made without any cream. As I was thinking of more comforting creamy soups, potato leek soup came to mind, but I wanted to make something more nutritious (I like nutrient dense foods to get the most bang for the buck). Cauliflower is sometimes used as a substitute in mashed potatoes, so  I decided to try a creamless cream of cauliflower soup.

Cauliflower, one of a number of cancer-fighting cruciferous vegetables, are not only believed to prevent cancer from forming, but also enhance survival after cancer diagnosis. I came across a recipe for a pureed cauliflower soup in a publication I picked up at my local health food store. What caught my eye was the use of blood orange olive oil, orange zest and fresh pear in the recipe, as well as the beautiful red pepper puree served on top of the soup. Since I didn't have any blood orange olive oil, I decided to throw the peel of a clementine into the soup. I also added a sprig of rosemary for a classic orange rosemary pairing. 

Creamless Cream of Cauliflower Soup

I love the addition of pear to this soup as it adds some sweetness. The clementine peel and rosemary add a unique and unexpected fragrance. If you don't have rosemary, thyme would go nicely with the orange flavor too. The Roasted Pepper Puree and pumpkin seeds on top make an otherwise white soup pop with color and crunch.

Printable Recipe
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
the peel from 1 clementine
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 ripe pear (Anjou or similarly sweet pear), peeled, cored, and chopped

Roasted Pepper Puree
1/2 cup or 3 whole roasted red bell peppers
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Roasted pumpkin seeds

Remove leaves and stem from cauliflower and cut into even pieces. 

Slicing the cauliflower is faster than separating into florets.

I slice the cauliflower into roughly 1/2" slices, and then cut the slices crosswise into even pieces. Since the soup is going to pureed anyway, there's no need to cut the cauliflower into florets.

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until onions are softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add broth, clementine peel, rosemary and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook on low, covered, for 20 minutes until cauliflower is soft.

Remove from heat and add pear. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Return to soup pot and keep warm until ready to serve.

To prepare Roasted Pepper Puree, place roasted peppers and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Put a spoonful of Roasted Pepper Puree on top and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.

Serves 6-8.

Anticancer Ingredients: Cauliflower, Onion, Garlic, Rosemary

More Creamless Cauliflower Soup Recipes:
Leek and Cauliflower Soup, Caviar and Codfish (use olive oil in place of butter)
Bits of England and Cauliflower, La Tartine Gourmande
Saffron Cauliflower Soup, Blue Jean Gourmet (use olive oil in place of butter)
Curried Cauliflower Coconut Soup, Foodie Reflections
Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Leeks and Thyme, I Heart Kale

References:
Cruciferous Vegetables, Eat Right America 
Onions anti-cancer effects, Cornell News
Garlic: a review of its potential use as an anti-cancer agent, PubMed.gov
Sulforaphane, a possible agent in prevention and therapy of cancer, PubMed.gov
Inhibition of anticancer drug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein by rosemary phytochemicals, PubMed.gov

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Thai Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Thai Curried Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Soup has been on my mind a lot lately.  I have the opportunity to teach a soup series to a group of seniors at our local community center starting next week, and have been trying different soups out this week, hoping to come up with some tasty treats for my "students" (I know they can teach me a lot more than I'll ever teach them!).

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Creamless Creamy Soups {Creamless Cream of Mushroom Soup}

Creamless Cream of Mushroom Soup

Creamy soups are pure comfort. Not only are creamy soups lusciously smooth, but they provide pure and simple comfort, especially on a frigid day. Creamy soups can be made without any cream and you won't even notice, as long as the flavors in the soup are full flavored and the soup is pureed to a creamy consistency.

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A Healthy Way To Start Off The New Year

Start Off The New Year By Adding Eating More Fresh Produce

I hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration and are ready for 2011! One of the things I like about the start of the New Year is that it offers the opportunity to hit the "restart" button. So, for anyone who feels a bit bloated from all the celebrating over the holidays, and wants to hit the "restart" button, I'm offering up a challenge for you in January 2011. I challenge you to try all of these suggestions (or as many as you can) and see how you feel by the end of January.  

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