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: 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


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Crockpot Soup

Through the years I have shared quite a number of crockpot recipes with you on this blog. The crockpot is one of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment, and my family and I have a long history of looking forward to the recipes that come out of it. I even gave each of my children one as a going-away present when they left for college: a crockpot of their own, a simple recipe, a large package of dry beans, and a few small spice packets to allow them to fill their crockpot to feed themselves and friends whenever they chose.  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: Salmon Soup

I posted this recipe once a long time ago, but it’s such an elegant recipe that I wanted to share it again for all my readers who had not yet seen it. Not only is it a warm and beautiful color, perfect for the cold weather, but it is also a wonderful addition to the menu for friends whose celebrations include the custom of eating many different kinds of fish on Christmas Eve. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Liquid Sunshine Soup in November

Please enjoy this recipe, an earlier version of which I posted in November 2011:

This past week I found myself the proud possessor of a lovely hubbard squash. Add to that the butternut squash that came in a CSA box last month, and the bags of carrots that continue to come every week, and which are piling up in the refrigerator, and, as my dad used to say: “It’s time to get choppin’!” Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Soup for the Holidays

In the days when my house was full of school-age children, I used to make crockpots full of soup every weekend, and hope that it would last into the beginning of the following week to provide warm lunches or dinners until it was gone. I don’t make weekly crockpots anymore, but I still love using my crockpot to make soup in the fall, around the holidays, and in the early spring, before the weather begins to warm up.

This time of year, with the nights cooling and plenty of holidays on the calendar, it’s always a great feeling to fill the crockpot and see what develops. And it doesn’t have to be chicken thighs. You can also fill your crockpot with beans! An overnight crockpot fills the house with a sublime perfume, the stomach with a delicious and satisfying meal, and the hearts of those you feed with all kinds of warm and cozy feelings. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lemon-Chickpea Soup

I found this recipe recently, and decided to make it for dear friends who were coming to dinner to celebrate the completion of our new kitchen. And was I happy I did! I had no idea how fabulous this soup would turn out to be. So much more than the sum of its humble parts. Yes it looked good on paper, but you never know, do you? Lucky us.

Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Stuffed Peppers and Split Pea Soup

While our kitchen gets its makeover, the refrigerator, microwave, toaster oven, and water kettle have temporarily taken over a corner of the den, and we are doing our best to use up everything we have. It’s a little bit like camping out, except it’s inside your own house. So I’m trying to be extra-creative.

Our lovely little makeshift pantry has a variety of goodies including a half-empty bag of quinoa, and containers of various dry items such as peanuts, raisins, and cashews; and canned beans, baba ganoush, tomato sauce, and pickles.  Continue reading