Being a gardener in August is a wonderful thing.
Even for a Former Black Thumb! [Can I call myself a Former Black Thumb if I still kill indoor plants? I guess that is debatable…]
I now have enough organic kale to supply Whole Foods. ;)
The sweetest tomatoes I’ve tasted!
We’ve been enjoying toasted tomato basil sandwiches lately. Just toast some bread, spread on Earth Balance, layer on the fresh tomatoes and basil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Nothing beats it!
Spring onions:
Gorgeous red peppers, soooo very sweet and crisp.
and many that still haven’t turned colour yet.
Banana Peppers too!
I turned some of our garden bounty into a delicious tortilla soup last night. Eric strained his back doing renos on the weekend, so I figured a healing soup (and massage) was just what the doctor ordered. While I can’t say that I healed his back, it sure put a big smile on his face!
Sometimes, a smile and a huge bowl of tortilla soup is all that you can ask for.
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Vegan Tortilla Soup
A wonderful soup to transition from end of summer into Fall. It packs a bounty of summer flavours, with a warming comfort for those cooler summer evenings. Be sure to season well, as it will really bring out the flavours. We added a hefty handful of vegan cheese, chopped avocado, tortilla strips, and green onion on top to really round out this hearty and filling dish.
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 1 ear fresh corn
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
- 3 tbsp ground cumin
- One 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can chopped green chili peppers, drained (optional)
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
- 1.5-2 cups cooked black beans (or beans of choice)
- salt & pepper & crushed red chili pepper, to taste
- Fresh lime juice, to garnish on top
- Non-Dairy Cheese (I use Daiya cheese), for sprinkling
- Chopped avocado, for garnish
- Tortilla sticks (flour tortillas, olive oil, garlic powder, chili powder, to taste)
1. In a large pot over medium to low heat, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Preheat oven on medium broil setting.
2. Meanwhile, chop the peppers, zucchini, green onion, and remove corn from cob (I take a chef’s knife and slice down the 4 sides). Add the veggies into the pot and sauté for another 5-10 minutes.
3. Add in the crushed tomatoes, cumin, broth, and chia seeds. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on low-medium heat for 25-30 minutes. Stir in drained and rinsed beans just before serving.
4. Meanwhile, make your tortilla strips. Slice flour tortillas into 2 inch strips (see below). Place in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil to coat. Sprinkle on garlic powder and chili powder (to taste) and mix well with hands. Place on a lined baking sheet and broil for up to 3 minutes on medium. Watch very carefully. When golden, remove from oven.
5. After the soup simmers, ladle into bowls, and top with chopped avocado, fresh lime juice, cheese, green onion, and tortilla strips. Serve immediately. Keeps in fridge for up to 5 days or can be frozen for 1 month.
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The fresh corn added a sweet crispness to the soup. Much better than the canned variety!
All the veggies sautéing…
After adding the cumin, tomatoes, broth, and salt & pepper.
This soups really shines with salt, pepper, a bit of crushed red pepper flakes, and Herbamare. I didn’t add chili peppers as Eric isn’t a fan of spicy food, but if I was making it for myself I would to give it a nice kick.
I also stirred in 2 tbsp of chia seeds to pack in more nutrition and thicken the broth slightly.
While the soup was simmering, I made some tortilla strips by slicing up an Ezekiel tortilla and sprinkling on olive oil, chili powder, and garlic powder. I broiled it on medium heat for 3 minutes until golden and crisp. They tasted amazing!
Your healing dinner is served, complete with Daiya cheese, fresh lime juice, chopped avocado, tortilla strips, Herbamare, pepper, and green onion!
With a side of tortilla chips and salsa. :) I really wish we had some Food Should Taste Good Sweet Potato Chips instead of these white corn ones though. We have a little obsession with the FSTG chips lately, but we don’t buy them much because they are pricey.
We both loved this soup! The best part is that we have plenty of leftovers to enjoy for quick lunches this week. You can also freeze it for up to a month if you desire.
I just realized that I meant to add kale into this soup too! Oops.
Let the transition from Summer into Fall begin…
Don’t forget you have until tomorrow to enter my Lululemon giveaway!
Your veggies look amazing. Makes me wish I had a garden of my own. I’ve never had tortilla soup but I’m going to have try your recipe because it looks and sounds delish!
I’m so jealous of your vegetables! At least now that i’m in whistler I have access to lots of pemberton goodies at the farmer’s markets twice a week. You should try sautéed kale in your smoothies (especially when it’s made with garlic and herbs), it’s delish!
I made this soup just last night and it’s already all gone (I do confess that I added a bit of chicken and used chicken broth) – it has such a robust taste and my husband and I both really, really enjoyed it. Thanks for your recipes – keep up the good work! :)
I am in loveee with this post!! Your garden looks beautiful and I am inspired to make this LOTS for fall. Thank you so much for your recipes and photos. You really brighten up my food ideas and work day!
Wow, you must save a fortune on groceries! I am literally salivating over the veggie pics :) I laughed when I read your tomato basil sandwiches because my hubby and I eat a version on the reg. We call it, eh hem, “sex in your mouth sandwich” haha It is with tomato and basil but also spinach, pesto, daiya and I toast the bread with hummus instead of butter. I know your love for hummus, so you may enjoy it. Thanks for all the work you do, I love your recipes!
I’m drooling at the sight of your kale. I’m SO jealous!!! Can I have some? ;)
This soup looks delicious. I am a soup fiend!
I am also super jealous of your peppers, the only one we had make it was itty bitty and the dog keeps digging them up! But yours look so good they give me hope!
OMG! This looks sooooo good.
Hey! I made this the other day and it is so awesome – I still have enough left over for lunch today (if I can hold off until lunch). I’ve never had tortilla soup before, but this was fantastic!
Just a heads up, I made a post about it and linked back to you for the recipe. Credit where credit is due!
-Willow
I have a huge crush on your Kale patch!!
This looks like the perfect fall comfort food!
Oh my goodness I am in LOVE with this soup. I made a batch this weekend and it tasted amazing (i’m eating the leftovers for lunch right now :) ). Thanks Angela!!
MM, I have this cooking in the crockpot as I write this! Looks amazing, I love tortilla soup, I had it at cracker barrel one time years ago and still think about how yummy it was. I am SURE this is way healthier though! haha
Thank you for this recipe – it was easy to make and very tasty! I think the beans are missing from the actual instructions, but it is obvious enough when to add them in.
Thanks again for this delicious idea and congrats on your gorgeous garden!
Oh thanks for pointing that out, I added it in! Im glad you liked the recipe too :)
Dear Angela,
I still can’t find a line saying when to put in the beans (unfortunately, for me it is not obvious enough)…
This is a dream recipe! I absolutely fell in love with lime soup in Yucatán (Mexico) a couple of years ago, but it’s always filled with chicken or non-vegan ingredients. Will try this one! After you tell me when to put in the beans ;) I don’t want to overcook them or add them cold if that’s not the idea – sorry, not enough experience yet in cooking with beans!
Hi maria, Sorry about that! I added it into line #3 in the directions.
Hey Angela, I made this soup last night and it is tasty! However, I used the directions on your recipage instead of this post and it didn’t have the beans in the directions on that page. I didn’t realize that I’d forgot to put them in until we were half way through dinner! At least I can just stir them into my leftovers when I reheat them :) Just thought I’d let you know the beans are missing from that page though! Have a great Sunday!
Oh sorry about that, I will take a look!!
I’m trying this recipe in the crockpot right now- I’ll let you know how it turns out tonight!
I love Mexican tortilla soup, so thank you for this vegan one.
This recipe was perfect inspiration for my harvest out of the garden today. It was delicious!
I just finished preparing and eating this soup. WOW WOW WOW. I will be adding this in quite regularly :) Thank you for this amazing recipe, I can not wait to try many others.
I think between this recipe and the vegan enchiladas, I am quickly converting my fiance over to vegetarian/vegan! I’m a big fan of that. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
I love the idea of adding kale and happen to have a huge amount leftover from a pesto I made over the weekend. If you were to add kale to this soup, where would you recommend? (I’m thinking right before the beans….)
I’d probably add it just before the beans too…it wouldnt need to cook for long, 5 mins or just enough to wilt. goodluck!
I made this soup last week and it was so good I ate the leftovers for two days. The only thing I will change next time is put less cumin, 3tbsp was super strong (ok for me but too much for my daughter) , I will put half that next time. The lime,tortilla strips,cheese and avocado toppings made this soup close to perfect :)