Sweet Potato Apple Soup

I'm baaaaaccckkkk.  So much to catch you up on and to blog about, but let's just get right to it.  The most important thing we need to discuss is the fact that we narrowly escaped the Sriracha shortage.  Can you imagine?  Oh, I would have been heartbroken.  If you haven't heard, the people in the town of Irwindale, CA, where Sriracha sauce is made complained the air spelled too strong of garlic and pepper.  First off, if I were the judge, I would have sent them all on a trip to the Midwest (probably Iowa, because Iowa smells the worst) and asked them to kindly stay by a meat packing plant and ask how they like it.  Just imagine, those Southern Californian's coming back from that trip.  Garlic and peppers would be like fragrant flowers and they would welcome the improvement.  It's all perspective.  Since I'm not a judge, thankfully, the real one gave the 'ol smackdown and the people in Southern California will have to be okay with a little spicy air as production will not be interrupted.  Now, the plant does have to adjust and lower the amount of fumes, blah, blah, blah, but can I get an AMEN that clearly Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien is a Sriracha lover himself and on behalf of myself and all Sriracha lovers out there: thank you. 

You know on the news when in one sentence they transition horribly? "We were saddened to hear of the death of _______ and will keep you posted as more details developed.  Next, see Jennifer Aniston rock her bikini in Cabo."  (When I say news, I mean E! News.  Duh.) I only point this out because if Giuliana and Jason can do it, I can do it on my blog.  So here is my lame transition from Sriracha to soup, which have nothing to do with each other.  I'm just diving in. 

I found this recipe in a magazine.  Family Circle to be exact.  Why Family Circle has started coming to my house I have no idea.  I'm sure one of my brothers signed me up for it.  Back off boys, I'll have a family when I'm ready! :) I made this soup one weekend when I had "nothing" to eat in the house and wanted something quick.  I love it because it's delicious, comes together really quickly and I usually always have these ingredients on hand.  I still would say I prefer the butternut squash soup I've shared previously, but this is something different and like I said, perfect for a quick thrown together meal. 

 

 

Sweet Potato Apple Soup

Recipe from: Family Circle, September 2013

 

6 servings

 

1 T. olive oil (I use avocado oil)

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

3/4 pound Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed (I had red potatoes on hand so that's what I used)

2 red apples, peeled, cored and cubed

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup water

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

 

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion; cook for 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.  Stir in the sweet potatoes, potatoes, apples, broth and 1 cup of water.  Cover and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 20 minutes.

 

Use an immersion blender to smooth. (Place in batches in the blender if you don't have and immersion blender)  Stir in maple syrup, salt and pepper.

 

That's it!  So easy, right?  I decided not to add the maple syrup to the entire pot because I wasn't sure if I would need that much sweetener with the apples in there.  I just drizzled a bit on top of my bowl and that worked perfectly for me.  Don't forget-always buy 100% pure maple syrup.  The fake stuff is full of junk; never eat it.  The recipe suggested topping with apple chips, but I was hungry when I made this and there was no time for making apple chips!  I sprinkled a few pecans and it was delightful.  I hope you can try this next time you make some soup this fall.  Enjoy!

Breakfast Quinoa

I love quinoa.  It's so versatile, healthy, and extremely filling.  This is one of my favorite things to make for breakfast.  It comes from Jessica Seinfeld's book Double Delicious.

Her cookbooks (she has two) are all about sneaking healthy food into your meals so kids eat them.  Obviously, I purchased them because I like to try healthy things.  This was one of the first recipes I tried and it's a winner!  Plus, I usually always have the ingredients on hand so it's a great last minute breakfast when I'm wanting to switch it up.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1 tablespoon trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread (I use real butter)
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1/3 cup light vanilla soy milk or nonfat (skim) milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup, divided for garnish
6 teaspoons chopped walnuts or almonds, divided for garnish

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa in cold water and strain.  (Check your quinoa package.  Some of them are pre rinsed and you can skip this step) Add the quinoa to the boiling water and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 12 minutes, uncovered. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a separate pot, melt the margarine. Stir in the sweet potato puree, 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup, soy milk, cinnamon and salt. When the quinoa has finished cooking, stir in the sweet potato mixture. Divide into bowls and top with a teaspoon each of maple syrup and nuts.

Nutritional information: Calories: 186, Carbohydrate: 30 g, protein: 5.5 g, total fat: 5 g, saturated fat: 0.5 g, sodium: 100 mg, fiber: 3g.

I just mash my sweet potato.  You can add water and use a mixer to really blend it up, but I'm not trying to hide anything so mashing it with a fork works just fine for me. 

 

Here is everything all stirred up waiting for the quinoa.

 

Quinoa stirred in.  It looks much prettier in person. 

 The recipe says it's for six servings.  That's just hilarious.  Unless you eat like Victoria Beckham, you'll get three servings out of this, not six.  (Which equals 372 calories-still a great, healthy start to the most important meal of the day)  I made this recipe tonight while dinner was in the oven and placed it in three to go containers and breakfast is served for the next few days!  All i have to do is microwave it and pour some more syrup on top.