Here in Bellingham, Washington the temperature has dropped and its snowing! In fact, the cold weather moved in last weekend and we had a little snow then and now its a beautiful winter wonderland!I had to buy the babies some down buntings so they could go out and play in it. As soon as we set them on the front porch, all toasty warm in their new blue buntings, they crawled down off the porch and began crawling through the snow and eating it as their faces brushed up against high drifts (they both walk now but for some reason prefered to crawl in the snow). It was the funniest site to see, something the girls never did! They crawled all throughout the yard, making tracks in their wake.
What better than to relieve the cold chill in the air than a steaming bowl of hot soup! We have been enjoying the Winter Vegetable and White Bean Soup this week (recipe in the soup chapter of our book). It is chocked full of warming winter vegetables, such as, yams, delicata squash, potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, and cabbage. (We had a bumper crop of delicata squash this year in our garden so I have been making more squash recipes than usual this season.) The white beans (I used navy beans in this batch) add extra protein and fiber. The tomatoes add zing and balance the heavy flavors of the root vegetables. The large amounts of onions, shallots, and garlic add robust flavors and help keep your immune system functioning well. The herbs add a subtle complexity in flavor.
This soup is a favorite of most and we hope you enjoy it too! The recipe makes a large batch, which for our family only lasts 3 days. The root vegetables don't freeze too well so if you find you have extra, I 'll bet your friends would be happy to share it!
I have some new recipes to post, but this is the Holiday Season and we have been enjoying spending time with our children playing Christmas songs on our new piano, baking Christmas cookies, playing in the snow, or just cuddling up on the couch with a good book. The boys will turn ONE YEAR this Friday! Hard to believe, it goes by so fast. I am going to create a recipe for a special first birthday cake, so stay tuned!
Happy Holidays!
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University. She is the founder of Whole Life Nutrition, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them, and offers elimination diet recipes, healthy gluten-free recipes, paleo and vegan recipes, as well as tips for feeding your family a nourishing, whole foods diet. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: 
That is one of our favorite soups! Perfect for this weather. Tonight your coconut curry with chickpeas - tomorrow white bean soup... love, april
ReplyDeleteThe soup looks yummy. I love winter squash and love putting it in soups. My little guy turns one this coming monday! Doesn't the time just fly by?
ReplyDeletethanks for the great pics!
sarah
btw, I meant to send you an email a couple weeks ago but life has been crazy. I tried your Upside Down Plum cake recipe from your website. However, didn't have any plums, so I used persimmons and apples. you can see a picture of it on my blog:
http://www.heartofcooking.com/2008/11/dairy-free-and-gluten-free-menu-planner-for-december-4-10/
It was very delicious. I made it to bring for thanksgiving to my inlaws because I am the only gluten-free one. It was gone within a day!
thanks for the great recipe. You will read my changes I made (due to not having certain ingredients) on my blog.
Great idea to use fall fruits for the cake, looks yummy. Glad you tried it. Thanks for sharing it here.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the sleep deprivation, we have good nights and not-so-good nights as far as sleep in concerned. We are working on it though, hopefully it will get better soon. Better go get some sleep while they are sleeping!
-Ali :)