A Vegan Tortilla Soup, Margarita and a Roaring Fire

It’s officially Spring, the days are getting longer, the temps are warming and I planted some of my cold weather crops. This year Dan built me a hoop house for one of my raised beds and I’m excited to be eating spinach, lettuce, and radishes in the next week or so. 

While Fall is my favorite season, Spring is a close 2nd. It’s a time of rebirth - watching the trees and flowers bud gives me hope - and we could all use a little hope these days. 

Over the winter I studied for and finished my Master Gardener core course - now to get those volunteer hours in. I’m looking forward to being at the Arboretum after a year-long hiatus and volunteering in new places and spaces. 

As people get vaccinated and restrictions loosen, it will be great to get back out into the world and see people again. Also can’t wait until we can travel again, my list of places to visit continues to grow. 

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo this year in front of a roaring fire - MN weather is at best unpredictable, sometimes we experience more than one season in a day. I had a ripe mango so I made spicy mango salsa, which we enjoyed with chips and fresh guacamole. I was looking for a tortilla soup that didn’t require a trip to the grocery store and thanks to Vegetarian Gastronomy I found one that fit. The addition of the hot sauce added just the right amount of spice. 

Ingredients:

2 tsp avocado oil, or any cooking oil

1 cup white onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp ground cumin

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth - I used Better than Boullion 

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 can diced tomatoes - if it was summer I’d use fresh but winter tomatoes in MN are tasteless

2/3 cup frozen corn

15 oz black beans, canned, drained and rinsed thoroughly

2/3 cups zucchini or yellow squash, diced into small cubes

1-2 tbsp jalapeno, (optional) finely diced

Instructions:

Heat avocado oil in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until tender (~1-2 minutes). Mix in tomato paste and cumin. Add a few drops of hot sauce if using.

Add the vegetable broth, 1/3 cup cilantro, and a dash of salt. Mix and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add the tomatoes, beans, zucchini, jalapeno (if using), and corn. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender Season with salt/pepper to taste.

To Serve:

Top with any/all of the following: cilantro, avocado, jalapeños, and fresh fried corn tortilla strips. Add a few drops of your favorite hot sauce for additional spice. Enjoy hot!

Thanks for stopping by!