Carrot Ginger Soup

3 Tbl olive oil

2 leeks, chopped (all of the white and some of the green part)

1 yellow onion

4-5 oz ginger, large slices

2 lbs carrots, cut in chuncks

1lb yukon gold potatoes (about 2), peeled and diced

4 cups vegetable stock

In a heavy pot melt the olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and onion, stirring until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the ginger, carrots and potatoes and mix together. Season with salt and pepper. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let it simmer for about 1 hour. Remove from the heat and discard the ginger. Let the it cool slightly. If you have a hand blender, blend in the pot and serve. Side note, Sur La Table has had hand blenders on sale for $29.95! Otherwise, once the soup has cooled add in batches to blender. Serve warm and top with a little yogurt and chives.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

We tested this Roasted Pumpkin Soup recipe from Martha Stewart Living and loved it! It is delicious, healthy and easy and makes great leftovers for work! You will start to find small, “sweet” pumpkins popping up all over the LA farmers markets. I got mine last week at the Santa Monica market on Saturday, from the guy with all the potatoes.

One of the best things about this soup is that it adds shiitake mushrooms, which are powerhouse nutrients for the immune system. It is so important to start incorporating shiitakes in to your diet as we move in to cold and flu season. And if you are serious about ramping up your immune system we recommend Avena Botanicals Immune Soup (it says “out of stock”, but I called and they have restocked).

Prep Time: 5 Min. Total Time: 40 Min. Serves 4

2 3/4 lbs sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, halved and seeded

1 onion, peeled and quartered

4-5 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps wiped clean

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

5 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium vegetable stock

1. Preheat oven to 450. Cut pumpkin into 2-inch pieces. Combine pumpkin, onion, mushrooms, and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Add oil and 2 teaspoons salt; toss to coat, then spread in a single layer. Roast until pumpkin is tender when pierced wit the tip of a sharp kinfe, about 30 minutes, rotating pan and tossing vegetables halfway through. Let cool, then remove skins.

2. Transfer vegetables to a medium saucepan; heat over medium. Pour 2 cups stock; puree with an immersion blender* until smooth. With blender running, slowly add remaining 3 cups stock, and puree until smooth. Bring soup just to a simmer. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Bonus Snack: You can also carve out a little space on the pan to roast the pumpkin seeds (try to get the pumpkin off them first) for about 15 min – a great snack while you wait!

*If you do not have an immersion blender, just blend the roasted veggies with some stock to liquify in a blender. Then add to a pot with remaining broth, stir together and heat.