Sunday, June 19, 2011

A So-So Soup and a Delicious Dip


Tomato-Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans

Father’s Day shone bright and sunny outside but inside the kitchen some of my efforts were not quite as successful.  I started by baking a chocolate cake which is always a hit and then popped two full bulbs of garlic in the oven for “Tomato Rice Soup with Roasted Garlic and Navy Beans” from Veganomicon. The soup is not exactly a summery selection but it was the only one I had all the ingredients for and it sounded hearty enough to anchor a meal. As the soup got underway, I whipped up an intriguingly titled “Mediterranean-Style Cashew Cucumber Dip” also from Veganomicon which the cookbook authors claimed as one of their favourites.


I’m happy to say the dip was delicious; much richer than the traditional dairy based tzatziki which inspired it. The cucumbers added a welcome freshness to the cashew base. I ended up slathering the remains on toast when we ran out of toasted bits of pita triangles.

The soup was disappointing but I shouldn’t have been surprised. The recipe called for two large cans of crushed tomatoes and I almost always find tinned tomatoes to have an awful flavour unless combined with many other ingredients or spices and then cooked for a very long time. The texture of the soup was good. The brown rice gave it a wonderful chewiness. It was a major disappointment to not be able to detect so much as a hint of the roasted garlic over the canned tomato. I think this soup could be very tasty if the canned tomatoes were replaced with fresh tomatoes plus tomato paste and some veggie stock. I’m glad I tried it because I enjoyed the rice and beans combination and look forward to experimenting with the soup base.

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For our weekly cooking challenge, the dedicated and always on time Kathryn has posted a scrumptious (and easy!) looking recipe for Dark and Fabulous (Vegan) Chocolate Pudding on her blog.  Check it out here.

4 comments:

  1. Glad the cake and dip were a success! Sorry about the soup: It looks delicious. A little Lisa hint: Whenever a certain amount of garlic is called for I tend to multiply it x 10. Seriously. But, I love garlic.

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  2. I tried this soup once and I really wasn't too impressed. I love Veganomicon, but I personally find the soups generally bland.. although the adzuki soup with shiitake is amazing.

    The cucumber dip is delish. I make it at least once a year.

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  3. I'm so interested in both your posts since I have the "Veganomicon" but haven't tried either recipe yet. I'm glad for the warning on the canned tomatoes but otherwise sounds like a yummy soup. And the dip sounds delicious! :-)

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  4. I am definitely going to try the adzuki bean soup. Thanks for the tip Babette.

    The dip is awesome and I have been trying other similar recipes with equal success. It's so easy and delicious to whip up a white bean dip.

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