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: Yoga-Inspired Recipes

During the recent holidays past, I was given the gift of a yoga calendar by my beloved friend Lee. Tearing off a page every morning has now become an especially joyful and expectant way to start my days. Most of the pages are filled with beautiful messages (some of which are so very special that they get pinned to the cork board the next day), or sometimes a special yoga-position-of-the-week. Very occasionally, I find an inspirational recipe. What I find most awesome is all the different kinds of spices, and the fact that roasting them brings out infinitely more complex flavor profiles. Here, below, are the recipes I’ve enjoyed most of all (so far). Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lebanese Potato Salad

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of collaborating with a friend on a collection of recipes for a beloved young couple starting their married lives together. Many of the recipes came from my friend’s mother and her grandmother, who came to the U.S. from Lebanon so many, many years ago. In honor of my friend, Judith, therefore, and the culinary heritage that she has been so lucky not just to inherit but to perpetuate, here is a recipe for Lebanese Potato Salad. Continue reading