Fire and Hell
I know, right, poor demon! I can’t help him but maybe he’ll like my cold minty soup recipe I’m posting below.
These past several weeks have been pretty rough that not even demons would like to experience: more ER and urgent care visits, sleepless nights and days feeling like I’ve lost all hope. I try to ride them like waves: some are small, and others look tsunami-high. It seems like an eerie whack-a-mole game, not knowing where or when some symptoms will appear. That’s the crazy gist of any autoimmune condition: the whole body is involved. I’m spending a lot of time in bed too as fatigue is the unfortunate staple of autoimmune diseases.
It’s not as good as you may think. You get tired of resting too.
Enough of the sad stuff though! Let’s talk about hot things. It’s hotter than hell in NYC now, 104F in the afternoon to be exact, as per my window thermometer. I briefly contemplated if I should do an experiment with baking cookies on a sidewalk, but I didn’t care about getting outside even for a minute. Supposedly it’ll cool down next week, till then I’m spending time next to AC and some cool foods to munch on.
Speaking of foods, today’s recipe was prepped to be posted some time ago before I fully started autoimmune protocol diet, so it’s not totally compliant but can easily be modified as most non-compliant things are just spices and egg topping that can be substituted with something else. And, the best part of this recipe is that it tastes good both cold and warm, so you can continue making it well into the Fall.
What’s Cooking This Week
Cold soups are mandatory during the summer I think. They help you stay cool and well hydrated, plus make a great lunch choice that you can pack with you to work or a picnic outside. This soup combines cooked and fresh vegetables, but, if you’re saving it for later, keep them separately as not to wilt the crispy texture of fresh veggies. As I mentioned, to make it completely AIP, use non-seed based spices and substitute eggs with roasted mushrooms, cold chicken or turkey pieces, bacon slices, or just double up fresh vegetable toppings.
Cold Broccoli-Parsnips Soup with Fresh Vegetable Toppings
The recipe is quite simple, which is perfect during the summer when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You probably have most of these ingredients in your fridge and cupboard already. Try to use organic broccoli so you can cook it with stems and not worry about pesticides.
Combine cut broccoli, parsnips, celery, and 2-3 mint stalks (whole, not chopped) with vegetable broth, bring to a boil. Add minced ginger and garlic, salt and spices, cover and cook till everything is soft. Remove mint stalks before blending it.
Blend the soup base using immersion blender or in a stand-alone blender. Taste in case you need to adjust salt and spices and add a bit more.
Chill it in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Prep the toppings of different fresh herbs, scallions, radishes, cucumbers, and either boiled eggs or cold meats.
Serve it topped with coconut cream or thick yogurt and sprinkle some sweet paprika, ginger powder or sumac on top.
Any way you serve it, it’s delicious!
Cold Broccoli-Parsnips Soup with Fresh Vegetable Toppings
Ingredients
- 1 small broccoli bunch cut
- 3 celery stalks cut
- 3 parsnips cut
- 2 mint stalks
- 32 oz vegetable stock
- 3-4 cups of water
- 1 Tbsp minced ginger
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 dried oregano
- salt pepper
- Toppings:
- hard boiled eggs cold meats, roasted mushrooms, or bacon pieces
- scallions chopped
- radishes chopped
- cucumbers chopped
- parsley and/or fresh cilantro chopped
- sweet paprika sumac, ginger powder to garnish
- coconut cream or dairy free yogurt
Instructions
- Combine water and vegetable stock, add broccoli, parsnips, celery, and mint stalks, and bring it to a boil.
- Add minced garlic and ginger, plus salt and spices, cook till all is done. Remove mint stalks before blending.
- Blend everything together with immersion blender, check if you need to add a bit more salt and spices.
- Chill the soup base for at least 2-3 hours.
- Chop fresh vegetables and herbs to top. Use boiled eggs or cold meats.
- Serve chilled or store fresh chopped vegetables separately till it's ready to be served.
Notes