Cauliflower Vegan Soup

For a colorful soup use purple Cauliflower. It tastes the same as regular white Cauliflower. 

I used purple Cauliflower because it was at my local 99c only Store on sale. I used to get them for a buck, but now they are in the $1.49 range for a whole Cauliflower.

For my deliciously quick and easy Vegan Cauliflower Soup use any color of Cauliflower you find cheaply. 

I only ate Cauliflower a little, but when it showed up at my local 99c only Store I felt I had to do something with it.

I made my Cauliflower Soup two ways, with milk or cream, and another way with Almond Milk. I enjoyed both versions. What follows is my vegan version.

I basically steam Cauliflower florets in a pot with sauteed onion and garlic until tender. I allow the steamed and tender veggies to cool down some then blend it all. 

After blending I return the Cauliflower Soup to the pot and add Almond Milk, season it with salt and pepper, and heat it through. It really is a simple recipe. 

If you do not have a blender, mash the cooked veggies with a potato masher or a large fork. Hey, it's a rustic soup then. 

I like veggie soup and my Cauliflower Vegan Soup will satisfy your vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners.

Cauliflower Soup - Video              Play it here. Video runs 4 minutes, 12 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here. 

Ingredients (about 2-3 servings)

• Cauliflower - 1 head of cauliflower. Broken apart in smaller florets. It's okay to use any color including white, yellow, and purple.
• 1/2 Onion - chopped.
• Garlic - 1 teaspoon chopped.
• Vegetable Oil - 1 tablespoon.
• Water - 1 cup.
• Milk Substitute - 1 cup. Use any favorite like almond, soy, oat, hemp, coconut, etc.
• Salt and Pepper - about half a teaspoon or to taste.

Directions

Add one tablespoon of oil to a pot over medium heat. Saute chopped onion for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Add chopped garlic and saute for a minute.

Pour in a cup of water. Add Cauliflower florets to the pot with garlic, onion, and water. 

Bring water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until Cauliflower florets are tender and easily pierced with a fork or knife.

After the Cauliflower is tender turn off the heat and allow the veggies and liquid to cool down for a few minutes. 

Add cooked, cooled veggies and liquid to a blender. Cover and blend until smooth, for about 1 minute. Make sure veggies and liquid are not hot when blending - things can get too hot to handle. 

It's okay to mash Cauliflower, onions, and garlic with a potato masher and even a large fork. You can mash ingredients roughly or finely.

Add one cup of milk substitute to a pot over medium heat. Add blended Cauliflower.

Finally salt and pepper to your taste. Heat Vegan Cauliflower Soup to a low simmer. 

Serve when warm or hot. It's okay to serve cooled and at room temperature. 

Gazpacho - Veggie Soup Recipe Video

 This recipe is for all you home gardeners! And my Gazpacho video is just in time for the end of summer vegetable harvest.

Even if you don't have a summer garden, all the veggies in this recipe are easily had from local farmer's markets and roadside fruit and vegetable stands. I get my ingredients from a local Latin grocery store, too. All are for less than a buck per pound.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Tomatoes are the most expensive veggie, but they often come on sale somewhere. Cucumber and bell pepper are cheap, and onions are the cheapest veggie by far. I sometimes use garlic from the jar, but I also like a fresh chopped extra-pungent clove.

The other main ingredients are olive oil and vinegar. I get extra virgin olive oil in small bottles from my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. While not the best quality, hey it's good enough for me. And you can use any expensive olive oil, flavorful oil like avocado, or a nut-based one.

Gazpacho is a cold vegetable soup originally from Spain. They use Sherry Wine - use that if you can find it, but I find  Red Wine Vinegar is an easy substitution. It's okay to use any vinegar you have on hand like apple cider or white vinegar.

There is no cooking involved, all you do is roughly chop all the veggies to fit in a blender or food processor - you can use a hand blender. Pour in a half a cup of olive oil and a couple tablespoons of vinegar, then blend it all together for a minute or so, until smooth and creamy.

I like to serve Gazpacho chilled and topped with a sliced fresh herb like basil. I add a sprinkling of fine-chopped tomato and cucumber for extra color, and crunch.

The veggie balance is up to you. Some recipes call to peel and remove seeds from the cucumber. The cucumbers I've gotten lately are almost seedless, or the seeds are very small and soft. If you peel the cucumber the Gazpacho will be a brighter red color.

I used green bell pepper, but any color on sale will do. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are a bit sweeter but more expensive.

Tomatoes are the main ingredient. So let them fully ripen on your kitchen counter or windowsill. I use a couple pounds of tomatoes, and you can use as much as you like with an extra-large crop to harvest. Adjust the veggie amounts to suit your tastes.

My patio garden tomatoes.

So get to chopping and blend my summer fresh Gazpacho Soup for a cool and refreshing appetizer or light lunch.

Gazpacho - Video

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 48 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds tomato - roughly chopped, about 3 to 4 cups. I used 4 regular sized tomatoes.
• 1/2 onion - roughly chopped
• 1 bell pepper - remove seeds and white membrane.
• 1 cucumber - Some recipes just throw in a chopped and unpeeled cucumber with seeds. Okay to peel and remove seeds for a more colorful soup.
• 1 clove garlic - 1 teaspoon chopped. Fresh or from a jar.
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar - usually sherry vinegar is used, but any type of vinegar will do.
• 1/2 cup olive oil - okay to use any favorite flavorful oil.

Directions
 Chop veggies to fit in a blender or food processor. The veggies don't need to be finely chopped, just a quick couple of slices will do. If you have a hand blender then put chopped veggies in a large bowl.

Remove seed and white membrane in the bell pepper. Some recipes say to remove cucumber skin and seed. The type I get recently have little to no seeds. If you peel the cucumber the Gazpacho will be brighter orange or red.

You can add or subtract the amount of garlic, onion, bell pepper, and cucumber. Just make sure to add plenty of tomatoes! I do remove the stem part, but I keep the seeds.

Add veggies to a blender or food processor. Pour in a half cup of olive oil or favorite flavored oil. It's okay to add more or less olive oil, to suit your tastes.

Finally, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar. I use Red Wine Vinegar, but it's okay to use any you have on hand including balsamic vinegar. Add as much or as little as you like.

Some recipes call for adding a slice or two of bread to the blender for a thicker soup. I leave it out for this recipe.

Cover and blend it all together until smooth and creamy, about one minute.

Chill Gazpacho until ready to serve. I like to top my Gazpacho with a fresh sliced herb and a small amount of chopped veggies like tomato and cucumber, for added crunch and color.

Gazpacho - Veggie Soup Recipe Video

 This recipe is for all you home gardeners! And my Gazpacho video is just in time for the end of summer vegetable harvest.

Even if you don't have a summer garden, all the veggies in this recipe are easily had from local farmer's markets and roadside fruit and vegetable stands. I get my ingredients from a local Latin grocery store, too. All are for less than a buck per pound.

Click on any photo to see larger.

Tomatoes are the most expensive veggie, but they often come on sale somewhere. Cucumbers and bell peppers are cheap, and onions are the cheapest veggie by far. I sometimes use garlic from the jar, but I also like a freshly chopped extra-pungent clove.

The other main ingredients are olive oil and vinegar. I get extra virgin olive oil in small bottles from my local 99c only Store and Dollar Tree. While not the best quality, hey it's good enough for me. And you can use any expensive olive oil, flavorful oil like avocado, or a nut-based one.

Gazpacho is a cold vegetable soup originally from Spain. They use Sherry Wine - use that if you can find it, but I find  Red Wine Vinegar is an easy substitution. It's okay to use any vinegar you have on hand like apple cider or white vinegar.

There is no cooking involved, all you do is roughly chop all the veggies to fit in a blender or food processor - you can use a hand blender. Pour in half a cup of olive oil and a couple tablespoons of vinegar, then blend it all together for a minute or so, until smooth and creamy.

I like to serve Gazpacho chilled and topped with a sliced fresh herb like basil. I add a sprinkling of fine-chopped tomato and cucumber for extra color and crunch.

The veggie balance is up to you. Some recipes call to peel and remove seeds from the cucumber. The cucumbers I've gotten lately are almost seedless, or the seeds are very small and soft. If you peel the cucumber the Gazpacho will be a brighter red color.

I used green bell pepper, but any color on sale will do. Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are a bit sweeter but more expensive.

Tomatoes are the main ingredient. So let them fully ripen on your kitchen counter or windowsill. I use a couple pounds of tomatoes, and you can use as much as you like with an extra-large crop to harvest. Adjust the veggie amounts to suit your tastes.

My patio garden tomatoes.

So get to chopping and blend my summer fresh Gazpacho Soup for a cool and refreshing appetizer or light lunch.

Gazpacho - Video

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 48 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Tomato - roughly chopped, about 3 to 4 cups. I used 4 regular-sized tomatoes.
• 1/2 Onion - roughly chopped
• 1 Bell Pepper - remove seeds and white membrane.
• 1 Cucumber - In some recipes just throw in a chopped and unpeeled cucumber with seeds. Okay to peel and remove seeds for a more colorful soup.
• Garlic - 1 teaspoon chopped. Fresh or from a jar.
• 2 tablespoons Wine Vinegar - usually sherry vinegar is used, but any type of vinegar will do.
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil - okay to use any favorite flavorful oil.

Directions
 Chop veggies to fit in a blender or food processor. The veggies don't need to be finely chopped, just a quick couple of slices will do. If you have a hand blender then put chopped veggies in a large bowl.

Remove the seeds and white membrane in the bell pepper. Some recipes say to remove cucumber skin and seed.  If you peel the cucumber the Gazpacho will be brighter orange or red.

You can add or subtract the amount of garlic, onion, bell pepper, and cucumber. Just make sure to add plenty of tomatoes! I do remove the stem, but I keep the seeds.

Add veggies to a blender or food processor. Pour in a half cup of olive oil or your favorite flavored oil. It's okay to add more or less olive oil, to suit your tastes.

Finally, add 2 tablespoons of vinegar. I use Red Wine Vinegar, but it's okay to use any you have on hand including white, apple, and balsamic vinegar. Add as much or as little as you like.

Some recipes call for adding a slice or two of bread to the blender for a thicker soup. I leave it out for this recipe.

Cover and blend it all together until smooth and creamy, about one minute.

Chill Gazpacho until ready to serve. I like to top my Gazpacho with a fresh sliced herb and a small amount of chopped veggies like tomato and cucumber, for added crunch and a colorful presentation.