Soup for the New Year

Happy New Year! After a few thoughtful posts, I think it is time for a recipe. And at this time of year, if you have had as much indulgent festive food as us, some good healthy soups and salads are needed. So today I will share a Thai Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup that I made a few weeks back. It was both easy and healthy.

Actually it is so easy that I almost didn't post it but it was very good. I made it while Sylvia was playing in the sandpit out the back where I could watch her. I need more soups like this and I love colourful vegies so I thought this might be good inspiration for me and possibly you.

Actually it was a bit simpler on the first night that we had it but it was not quite enough for E and me the second night around. I bought some baby spinach and tofu to add to it, which made it more of a meal. I also bought a cheese and garlic twist from Bakers Delight, partly because I thought Sylvia would eat it. She nibbled at it but loved the plain tofu far more.

Now after telling you about the soup, I will give you a peak at our New Year's Eve dinner last night. It was a hot night and not a great one to discover that our air conditioner was not working. I baked the haggis earlier in the day but when I came to making haggis nachos in the evening it was so hot that I spread all the nachos in a large roasting tray in one layer and heated them under the grill.

I had made sure that we had all the ingredients for the salsa and nachos but forgot about the guacamole and yoghurt that I normally serve on them. It was too hot and late to nip out to the shops so I made do. I created a vegan sour cream based on this recipe, which uses silken tofu.

We often have tofu in the house but the firm variety. So I used firm tofu and added a bit of seeded mustard, some garlic powder and a spoonful of soy mayonnaise and blitzed it in the blender. The tofu sour cream wasn't quite as smooth as my previous effort but it tasted good. Sylvia even dipped her corn chips in it. I will confess that for lunch today I had a sandwich with leftover sour cream, leftover haggis and some potato crisps. Not at all the healthy food that I need, but delicious!

We had a toast to the new year. E had some of the beer that he had joined with my dad in a day of beer brewing (though E didn't make the bottling day). You may notice a Collingwood Football Club theme on the labels to celebrate their AFL premiership this year. (My dad's choice, not E's.) They say it tastes different because it doesn't have the additives usually found in commercial beer. It is not my cup of tea. Instead, I have been quite fond of Delia's festive punch this year.

I have said before that I am not fond of New Year's Resolutions. But my one hope for 2011 that I will share this year is for my little lime tree in the backyard. We have had some fruit from the lemon tree but nothing so far from the lime. Right now there are a few baby limes on our tree, thanks to all the rain last year. I hope we might be able to pick a few fully grown limes this year if the weather continues to be kind to our tree. I hope the year is kind to you too.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Reflections on 2009
This time two years ago: New Year’s Feasting
This time three years ago: Still life with fruit and fudge (NYE pt 1)

Thai sweet potato and carrot soup
serves 4

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-4 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 x 270ml tin of light coconut cream
• 4-5 x 270ml tins of water (ie I just used the empty coconut cream tin as my measuring cup)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 dessertspoons of green curry paste
• 100g baby spinach, finely sliced
• 100g firm tofu, finely chopped

Heat oil in a stockpot and fry onion, carrots and celery for about 10-20 minutes over a low heat to soften. Add sweet potato, coconut cream, water and salt. Bring to boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until vegies are very soft. Blend using a hand held blender. Stir in curry paste and stir in spinach and tofu.

On the stereo:
Winter Songs: The Albion Christmas Band