YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Roasted Tomato Soup

Do you know that feeling when you have a dozen gorgeous tomatoes on the counter and you go grocery shopping, and you forget, and you come home with another eight gorgeous tomatoes? Yes, of course you do. 

This week, I decided to make fresh tomato soup, which I had never made before. I have loved tomato soup since I was a kid. I especially loved my friend Mendy’s tomato soup when we were in graduate school, which was half a lifetime ago. I added white beans to this recipe, but no one will know unless you tell them.

I was really delighted by how this recipe turned out, which means that it will definitely be appearing in the regular soup rotation. Just a word of caution: even though I am not traditionally an apron wearer, I do recommend wearing one for this recipe, especially for the immersion blender part. Luckily that occurred to me before I trashed my favorite pale gray sweater.

12 medium-sized tomatoes (on the vine), rinsed and sliced in half
2 Tbsp. olive oil + 2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and diced
1 tsp. coriander
1 heaping tsp. organic brown coconut sugar (I used Big Tree Farms brand)
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. ground pepper
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
3 cups vegetable stock
1 can (15 oz.) small-medium white beans, rinsed well
1 avocado, diced into small cubes for garnish (optional)

  1. Select a cookie sheet with raised sides, line it with foil, and spread it with the tomatoes, cut sides up. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. olive oil, and 1 tsp. each salt and pepper. Roast at 450F for 30-40 minutes, Begin to check at 30 minutes, and remove from oven once the edges of half the tomatoes have begun to turn dark brown. Set aside.
  2. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in soup pot on medium-high heat until fragrant. Add onion and stir to prevent burning. Add coconut sugar, coriander, and remaining pepper. Continue to stir (2-3 min.) until onion is softening and beginning to brown. 
  3. Slide the roasted tomatoes along with their juices into the soup pot, and stir everything together. Add the vegetable stock, white beans, garlic powder, and remaining salt.
  4. With immersion blender, blend together the ingredients in the soup pot for approx 1 minute until the texture is becoming smoother. Then let the soup sit at room temperature for an hour to allow the flavors to blend.
  5. Warm for 10-15 minutes on low if desired. Then serve with a teaspoon of avocado cubes on top, or a drizzle of olive oil if desired.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chicken with Split-Pea Gravy

This recipe inspires an entirely new approach to gravy. It’s extremely flavorful, the texture is spot-on perfect, and it is impossible to mess up. You should consider it when cooking for company, Friday nights or Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving and other holidays, or any time you want something rich, flavorful, creamy, and cozy, with leftovers guaranteed to keep you satisfied. When my children were elementary school age, it was one of their favorite dinners. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Spicy Stuffed Peppers

You may have noticed that I am working on providing you with a few recipes that warm you up through these winter months. I love heat, so this is a perfect recipe for me. But if your tastes tend more toward the gentle landing, I recommend skipping the jalapeño and reducing the red pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon. Or you can just forget both of them altogether. That’s because the chili powder will still provide some spicy excitement. For me though, I’m all in, which means that if my batch of jalapeños isn’t particularly hot, then I’ll happily add an extra one. So if you’re game, I’m going to recommend that you try letting this gorgeous fireworks of color land on your tongue all at once, because if you can tolerate the concert, your tastebuds will sing! Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Anya’s Salmon Soup

I published this recipe once many years ago, and haven’t made it in a long time. But Anya’s salmon soup is the perfect choice for this time of year, and I have all the ingredients I need to make some this week! It’s a beautiful color, exactly right for adding some brightness to your life as you start settling into the deepest part of winter. Also, the combination of ingredients is exactly right for bracing yourself for the coming Arctic temperatures. Continue reading


Self Care is Being Kind to Yourself, plus Lentil-Vegetable Soup

I spent my days as a practicing physician teaching people to be kinder to themselves, and that kindness manifested itself in three spheres: 1) eating patterns, 2) activity patterns, and 3) rest & relaxation patterns. The goal is to make small, incremental changes that result in nourishing your heart and soul with better food, more movement, and quality rest and relaxation.  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Two Brand New Salads

A couple of weeks ago we were making plans to a host dinner for a large group, and I got inspired to come up with a couple of new salads to add to our regular lineup. I sat down, started thinking, and before you knew it, I had come up with recipes for two brand new salads. And with a bonus — not only did they use up some of the contents of our pantry, they added only a few items to the shopping list!  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Carrot-Zucchini Soup

Here’s a lovely plant-based soup that I tossed together a couple of weeks ago. I made it in a little green Staub Cocotte that I’ve had for a very long time. It always seems like everything I make in that pot comes out so flavorful and delicious. Any soup pot will do of course, but it’s always nice when you have a favorite. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Mushroom Potato Stew (gf, vegan)

A dear friend of mine, a great cook, recommended this recipe to me a couple of weeks ago. She made it, her daughter made it, and now I’ve made it. A triple play! It was not originally gluten free, but I made it gluten-free by substituting tamari and oat flour for the soy sauce and wheat flour in the prior version. Easy peasy. 

Try serving this with a plate of sliced oranges, maybe sprinkled with a few berries. Nothing specific, just use whatever you can find in the fridge.  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Potato Kugel, Lebanese style

My dear friend Judith, an exceptionally talented cook, has once again outdone herself. This recipe is her version of potato kugel, loosely translated as “pudding,” though more Yorkshire than chocolate. Potato kugel was a mainstay of my childhood.  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Autumn Recipes for Pumpkin and Onions

If you are starting to think about Thanksgiving, I’d like to offer up these two recipes. I have posted these recipes once before, and made them many times in the past, though not recently to be honest. But they remain lifelong favorites. If you have been looking for a vegan main course, you may be interested to know that not only does the first recipe taste fabulous, but it also makes a very impressive presentation. The onions are just an unusual, beautiful and flavorful side dish. If you have time, I would recommend that you try to make the onions the day before you’re planning to eat them, because as good as they are, they taste even better the next day. And while these are great recipes for holidays and celebrations, you could also prepare them on the weekend, and then have them for dinner on a chilly Sunday evening. Something about this stuffed pumpkin recipe says love, love, love… Continue reading