Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge--First Entry!

I'm very excited to join my friend Lee on her deliciously fabulous blog,Vegaloca, for the Weekly Vegan Cooking Challenge.

Since we've been enjoying some unseasonably cool, crisp mornings here, I felt like some cozy-warm soup for lunch.  I turned to How it All Vegan by Tanya Bernard and Sarah Kramer for what sounded like a perfect blend of autumny-comfort and exotic spiciness:

Auntie Bonnie's Curried Apple Soup.


1 large onion
1 apple, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
3-4 cups vegetable broth or water
2 cups "Anything Goes" vegetables, diced (e.g., broccoli, zucchini, asparagus)
1/4 cup rice
salt & pepper (to taste)


In a medium pot, sauté the onions and apple in oil on medium heat until onions become translucent.  Sprinkle with curry powder, stir well.  Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Add the vegetables, rice, salt and pepper; cover and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes, until rice and vegetables are tender.  In a blender or food processor, blend 1/2 or all of the soup until smooth; return to pot and reheat.  Serves 4-6.

Overall, I really enjoyed this recipe.  I used broccoli and didn't add a full two cups because I wanted more of the onion-apple sweetness.  I still would have liked the overall dish to be a tad more sweet, the spiciness of the curry powder was a bit overpowering for my taste, but overall it was still hearty and delicious.  It's a great way to use up veggies and also to get rid of some left-over rice (I actually think it would be better to add pre-cooked rice as my veggies were all well-cooked before the rice got tender--this would also save time!)   My non-vegan husband also enjoyed the soup.  I'll definitely be returning to How it all Vegan! soon.