Curried Vegetable Mushroom Soup

Soup is great to have in the refrigerator for a number of reasons. I love that it is better the next day as the flavors get a chance to marry. When you add beans to the soup it also provides protein, which I love. It is easy and reheats well for a quick lunch. If it is hot outside you can make it in a Crockpot without warming up your kitchen.

You are probably not surprised to see more mushrooms in this soup since I have been trying to get them into us every day for their antiproliferative properties. We hadn’t had turmeric in a while so I thought making an Indian flavored soup was a good idea. I decided to add a little coconut milk to the soup to add a rich background. I won’t buy full fat coconut milk due to the fat level. Consuming saturated fat concerns me so I only buy the reduced fat version. If all you have is full fat milk I would suggest using no more than 1/3 of the can of the full fat stuff since the reduced fat version has 68% less fat. Here is what I made for my lunch today:

Curried Vegetable Mushroom Soup
Makes 6 servings of about 2 cups each

Ingredients:

1 cup dried mushrooms
2 cups water
½ red onion, peeled and finely diced (allow to stand 10 minutes before cooking)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before cooking)
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, no salt added
13.5 ounce can of reduced fat coconut milk (Let’s Do Organic Brand)
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
½ teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
freshly ground black pepper to taste (I used about ½ teaspoon, be generous the piperine in the black pepper increases the absorption of the turmeric)
4 carrots, diced
1 cup moong dal (aka split mung beans)
2 cups of water, or what is necessary to cook the split mung beans
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely minced
6 tablespoons cashew crème fraiche

Directions:

Combine the mushrooms and 2 cups of water in a microwave safe bowl and heat until hot. Allow the mushrooms for soak for 30 minutes. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid to capture the sediment so it doesn’t end up in your soup. Chop the mushrooms into pieces that will fit on your spoon.

In a soup pot combine everything except the optional water, parsley and cashew crème. Simmer until the beans and carrots are tender. You may need to add water depending on how absorbent your beans.

Taste for seasonings and adjust before serving. To serve, top the soup with little fresh parsley and a dollop of cashew crème fraiche.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 253.95
Calories From Fat (25%) - 63.98

Total Fat - 6.91g
Saturated Fat - 3.77g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 71.94mg
Potassium - 996.81mg
Total Carbohydrates - 38.81g
Fiber - 9.86g
Sugar - 8.7g
Protein - 11.72g

Comments:

This is flavorful and very filling, not to mention healthy, of course. I love soups like this that have a little bit of everything. I could eat this soup for a week and be happy. You can serve this over a grain or potato if you like but I think it is good as it is.

Unrelated Note:

I debated about mentioning this but decided why not. If you like my blog and want others to realize that vegan food can be both cruelty free and healthy, please take the VegNews survey and write in my blog.  By responding to the survey you are also entering to win some nice prizes. Thanks for considering this. ;-)

Today has been a little busy at my house like most Monday’s. After I exercised I had a few things to do  around the house and spent a little time in the kitchen making the marinated veggies and this soup. The soup smelled so inviting I had to have a bowl for lunch though I knew it would taste even better tomorrow. To go with the soup I also had a cup of frozen grapes.

Don’t you just love the taste of healthy whole plant based food? I can’t imagine eating any other way now that I have completely committed to it. I really like that after I eat I don’t feel lethargic or sluggish. Somehow that makes eating so much more pleasurable. ;-)

I need to run for now while I figure out what I am making for dinner. Talk to you all later. I hope everyone is having a great day.