Dilly Sweet Pea Soup

Simple. Delicious. Hearty. Lovely. 

Enough said; Get to work.

This recipe was inspired by one I found in a book named "Raw and Beyond" by Boutenko/Sarno/Love, although very much deviated from the original.  

1 bag defrosted organic peas

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

1 teaspoon Herbamare (herbed salt)

1.5 cups boiling water

1 whole head of dill, stems may be omitted

Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Spicy Vegan Split Pea Soup

I was blessed with a mother who is an amazing cook.  This is her recipe, and I post it here with her permission.  

What's great about this soup is that you can make it as thick or thin as you want, simply by adding more water.  Also, there's not a drop of oil, just hearty, thick winter veggies for those cold blistering days (but don't fret, Spring is just around the corner!)

1 cup split peas
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped fine
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped fine
3 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
3 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 onion, peeled and chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
7 cups water
Chipotle pepper, added at the end

In a pressure cooker, combine all ingredients together (except for chipotle) and cover with the lid.  Lock in place and bring the pressure up until optimal (on my pressure cooker, the little yellow tab shoots up to say it's reached pressure) and lower the heat to low.  Cook for about 30 minutes and let the pressure drop on its own.  Enjoy with a good sprinkle of chipotle pepper.  

Dilly Yellow Spring Soup

I've been in a bit of a "lazy, I don't want to cook" funk recently...actually, it's not a funk and I LOVE every minute of it! It's still me, just toned down and simplified by about a billion!

It involves throwing veggies into a vitamix with some kind of healthy fat (avocado, cashews, etc.) and some type of seasoning (dill, basil, etc.) and voila.  It honestly can't be simpler and more delicious and no excuses for those of you who think raw foods are difficult!

One side effect of eating this way is that you (1) lose weight, (2) gain loads of energy and the best (3) find time for things you love to do like hiking, playing with your children, reading a great book, cleaning out your tea drawer.  Simplification at its best, I say!

This was a soup that I made by accident...I had had some odds and ends from a recent raw food class and I just blended them up together with some dill and some savory seaweed.  It's absolutely delicious. 

But don't stop there - make your own creations! How about:

1.  Cucumber, tomato, garlic, basil

2. Tomato, avocado, pepper, cilantro?

3.  Fresh peas, onion and dill?

The possibilities are endless.  

½ yellow pepper

½ avocado

¼ cup seaweed

½ inch slice jalapeno

1.5 cups peeled yellow squash

1 small tomato

1 tablespoon fresh dill

garnish:  chopped dill and raw sunflower seeds

Blend everything together in a vitamix (no water needed, but allowed if you'd like it more thin) and decorate with more chopped dill and sunflower seeds.  Yum!