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Before we get to this incredible soup, there are a couple things I need to get off my chest.
1) Eric and I have lots of nicknames for each other. Two of our favourites are: ‘Pinky’ and ‘The Brain’.
Remember that show?
Depending on the day, we fight over who is Pinky and who is The Brain.
2) When we are trying to decide what to do at night or on the weekends you can often hear us say to one another,
‘Gee Brain, what do you want to do tonight?’
‘The same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over the world! muhuauha’
3) We also have a special voice just for Sketchie. You may have heard it at the very end of the video on Sunday.
Eric said (in Sketchie’s squeaky voice), ‘Not impressed’.
We are totally normal.
Last night, Eric said I could be ‘The Brain’ because I whipped up this amazing soup.
I turned Eric, a former non-soup lover, into a soup lover in just over 10 years.
Never say never… ;)
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Holiday Soup For The Soul
This is hands down one of my all time favourite soups! Not only does it look festive just in time for the holidays, but it tastes incredible and warms the soul. It packs a wide array of seasonings and spices from cinnamon, nutmeg, and vegetable bouillon, to the saffron and curry. Somehow it just all works together magically!
Inspired by Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.
Ingredients:
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup red quinoa, uncooked
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube (not low sodium)
- 6 cups water, boiled
- One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1.5-2 cups cooked black beans (about one 15oz can)
- 1 tsp good-quality curry powder
- Pinch or two of cinnamon
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves, well rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Pinch of saffron threads (optional, but tasted amazing)
Directions: Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the chopped sweet onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the chopped carrots, chopped zucchini, and minced garlic, and continue to sauté for about 5-7 minutes.
Place your bouillon cube into a medium sized bowl. Boil 6 cups of water and pour over the bouillon cube. Stir well to dissolve. Add bouillon mixture, tomatoes, red quinoa, black beans, and spices + seasonings. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the roughly chopped spinach, stir well, and cover. Simmer on low for about 15-35 minutes. The longer you cook it the more the flavours will develop. Taste test and adjust seasonings if necessary. I also have a feeling this soup will be even better the next day! Garnish with nuts of choice if preferred.
Makes about 8-10 cups.
Gather up the troops!
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This recipe requires a bit of leg work, but the outcome is so worth it!
It took me about 30-40 minutes to prepare (plus cooking time) and that was including my photography, so perhaps a bit less time for you. ;)
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These ingredients will keep any seasonal cold at bay!
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I really enjoyed the zucchini in this soup. You can add in any veggies you want though.
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Chop the onions, carrots, and zucchini…
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Caramelize the sweet onion in the olive oil.
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Add veggies.
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Add everything else…diced tomato, spices, bouillon mixture, quinoa, etc.
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I also decided to add a pinch of saffron threads!
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I was so glad I did because the saffron tastes amazing in this soup. It is optional though, so not to worry if you don’t have any.
Simmer for about 20-30 minutes or so.
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Garnish with toasted nuts if desired.
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Serve in a huge bowl.
Eric said, ‘This is the best soup I have ever tasted!’
This soup is not only festive looking, but it is packed with nutrients, extremely flavourful, and perfect for cold and flu season.
I must go now. A chilly outdoor run followed by hot holiday soup awaits me… :)
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Ok spill the beans. Do you have any nicknames for your significant other or is there a nickname that your friends or family call you?
We also call each other ‘Snoops’ and ‘Babe’, among other things. ;) I also used to call Eric ‘Snitzlefritz’ and he HATED it, so now I only call him that when I want to annoy him. So about 6 times a day.
Please tell me we are not alone. I will sleep better at night.
My husband and I call each other some form of Boofer (boofer, boof, boofski, skboof, boof boof, boofies).
Growing up, my family always used that word to refer to rednecks/hillbillys. When we first start dating, I was telling a story about our hunting camp and I said ‘boofer’ at some point. He gave me this strange look, and asked what that word meant. I had no idea what he was talking about because my family used it so frequently growing up, I though it was a real word. ha ha He brought me over the dictionary to prove it wasn’t a word and ever since then it’s our nick name for each other.
We have about a million dumb nicknames for each other, mostly from TV shows. We also have special voices for the cats :)
Recently, my boyfriend has been calling me “Sarah,” because I can mimic Sarah Palin’s voice like a pro. I don’t really have any nicknames for him, but maybe I should start calling him Todd…
Love the soup! I have been making tons of soups lately…I never knew how easy it was until recently. Unlike you, I don’t sautee the veggies first…I just chop and add all my veggies, add water, seasonings, beans, just dump it all in one pot, boil for an hour and voila, I’m done. I used to be scared of it b/c my mom and grandma made it look so much harder than they really are!
Pet nicknames for each other. Yes. But not fit to print publicly :)
Other than just “T” by my family and friends, my boyfriend does call me “Monkey”, mostly because out of the last five minutes of my morning, before I go into work, I jump on top of him while he’s sleeping and cling to him sort of like a baby monkey to a mama monkey until I have to leave. Totally lame. I know….
I have yet to find a suitable nickname for him though…other than “dork” or “geek”.
The soup looks delicious! As for the nicknames, well, my husband calls me Bobs (I used to leave bobby pins all over the house) and I call him Shtoops, Bubbins, Nubs, Gibbins, etc. I think I change it up everyday. So you’re definitely not alone! We also have a voice for our cat Gusto but my husband does it best.
Oh my! Another amazing recipe Angela! I have so many bookmarked from you! Keep ’em coming! ;)
I wonder what saffron tastes like? I may have to google that…
I nicknamed my husband “Food Vacuum” after coming home several times astonished at the missing food from our fridge/pantry! One day I saw him open the pantry, and I went “Vrrrrr!!!” (like the sound of a vacuum). I think he was amused for a bit. He hasn’t nicknamed me yet – or that I remember ;)
To my mom, I am hunny bunny.
it’s cold and rainy here…nothing sounds better than this amazing looking soup!
I’m going out to buy the items to make this soup for tonight. I’ve been fighting a cold for a month now and am hoping this soup will help:)
I told a boy I loved that his face looked like a “persimmon” and then we saw one at a fruit stand together.
And he was like, “Umm?”
Hehehehehehe
I used to really hate soup, and I am still iffy on a lot of textures, but I generally love it now. Yours looks really good!
The only nickname I have ever had is Bull, and my dad is the only person that calls me that. I used to throw a huge fit over it when I was a teenager and go on and on about how I shouldn’t be nicknamed after a cow, but I guess that was just your typical pubescent brattiness. Now I think it’s cute. :-)
Oh gosh. Stephen and I are members of our own self-created guild! He would kill me if he knew I just commented about it…
this soup looks amazing! i’ve been craving a hearty soup for awhile now…i’ve just been too lazy to make one. hahaha.
If Scotty and I were ever on the Newlyweds game and we were asked this question, we would both chime in that our shared nickname is “Favorite”
But, we do have a couple wierd nicknames. On Saturday, Scotty likes to relax- we’ve dubbed it Scotterday. And he jokes about how he caught the Nicolitus bug. Now, why does he get a weekly holiday named after him and I get a disease? Beats me…
haha scotterday reminds me of caturday
lmho, you and Eric are so cute. Take over the world!! mwahaha!
Seems like most of your readers aren’t ready to spill the beans on pet names! I’ll confess, I’m not ashamed (and I’m pretty sure my bf won’t find out I told you) – Puppy(him) & Kitty(me)… is that bad?!
Oooh I could use some of that… definitely feeling run down today! Like I needed another reason to use quinoa lol! The nicknames I’ve had are all the usual ones related to Angela – Ange, Angie, etc. Then there’s my aunt and gran…. they are/were the only ones who EVER got away with calling me Angie Pangie.. *shudder* ;)