Organic Granny

From what I've heard, authentic classic Thai dishes attempt to represent all possible ranges of palate experience with taste and texture: salty, sour, sweet, crunchy, creamy, spicy, cooling! While this is a HUGE challenge for any cook, I think that you will find the following Vegan take-off of a Thai Coconut Veggie Soup achieves this pretty well-- toss in some peanuts before serving to add 'crunchy'.   Most of the ingredients you will have in your kitchen already, but there are a couple of surprises that you might want to go out and purchase for your continued foray into the exotic!  But ALL Vegan! Thai Coco-Veggie Soup INGREDIENTS: * 1 medium, organic onion, diced * 2 red bell peppers, diced * 3 cloves organic garlic, minced * 1 organic carrot, sliced * 1 can chickpeas or sweet green peas (organic, please) * 2 tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil  * 1/2 tsp cumin * 1/2 tsp coriander * 1/4 tsp cayenne * 2 1/2 cups diced tomatoes * 1 cup coconut milk * 1 cup organic peanut butter...

  I have the great pleasure of having friends from a number of different African countries, so I know better than to label this post with something like "A is Also For African Soup". That being said, though, there are several "groundnut" recipes on-line that claim to come from various countries in Africa (eg., Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe). In that cosmopolitan spirit of sharing, here is my 'groundnut' (what we call peanut)soup. I know that some of the ingredients are not commonly used in African soup, but that is the blessing of 'inspired' fare-- the author can innovate! I once had a profusion of kale in my prairie garden and offered some to my friend N. She was elated and filled up two large plastic garbage bags with the leaves. I don't have kale in the house today, but I do have cabbage... so that is what I have used in this recipe. I also don't have fresh ginger, but pure Ginger Essential Oil (make sure it is pure- no petrochemicals used in p...