Autumn Soup

Tuesday morning November 2nd meant the final farmer's market at East York Civic Center until spring 2011 :(  

Bob Proracki from Round Plains Plantation (http://www.ontariosweetpotato.com) brought me 2 brand new sweet potato types that he grew for the first time this year. Unlike the bright orange, soft fleshed sweet potatoes most people are familiar with (Bob has those, too), these genres have a dry flesh. One is a bright purple fleshed  cutie called the Okinawa, and the other is white fleshed, equally cute, and is called the Mirosaki -- both named after places in Japan. I lived in Japan for a few years in the 90s, and fell in love with the dry fleshed sweet potatoes that the street vendors would roast up at street fairs ... My decade plus long search to find these same treats here brought me to Bob and his fabulous chemical free fare. Tuesday morning was also a fond farewell to our other East York farmer's market fave -- Hillsview Farms. We stocked up on some chemical free produce from them -- some of the best carrots I've ever tasted in my life, sweet broccoli, very nice squashes, bright happy tomatoes, and some adorable little mini cabbages.

In honour of our final farmer's market of the season, we made a lovely roasted vegetable soup when we got home. 

ingredients:

1/2  package dried lima beans, soaked overnight, and rinsed (made 14 cups of beans)

4 tomatoes

1 1/2 baby cabbages

1 carrots

1/2 small butternut squash

1 small onions

2 small (or 1 med/large) cloves of garlic

1 small or medium sweet potato (I just used the usual orange ones in this soup)

sea salt

pepper

coconut oil

marjoram

oregano

1 broccoli

directions:

1.  bring lima beans to a boil and then remove from heat and soak  for 2-3 hours or overnight

2.  rinse lima beans well, and put in a large stock pot with water just to cover

3.   add a few generous tablespoons of coconut oil

4.   add sea salt and black pepper

5.   chop tomatoes and add to pot

6.   dice carrot and add

7.  chop cabbage and add

8.  add salt, pepper, marjoram, and oregano

9.   cover the pot and bring it to a low boil or a heavy simmer. This will need to cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours

10.  dice the squash, and oven roast on a cookie sheet at 345 for 1/2 hour

11.  dice the sweet potatoes, and oven roast at 345 for 1/2 hour

12.  peel the garlic cloves, quarter the onions, and oven roast at 345 for 1/2 hour

13.  once the garlic and onions are cooked through, chop onions and add both to pot for simmering process

14.  once the lima beans are thoroughly cooked, add squash and sweet potatoes for a final 30 minutes of cooking. At this point, add in as much more water as you need to get the correct broth-to-solids ratio that will please your palate most. Adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper or herbs if needed. 

15.  chop broccoli and add for last 10 minutes of cooking

You can serve this with bread or crackers for a simple meal, or as a starter, if you prefer.

This will make about 4 quarts of soup, so you'll need your big soup pot or dutch oven to make this. It will freeze well in glass jars. Or you can halve the recipe like any normal person would do. :)

It is savoury, delicious, and comforting on a chilly evening. Yum