While standing in line at Starbucks, a guy behind me said: “Let me guess, you’re going to order a pumpkin latte, because all white girls are obsessed with pumpkin.” What the heck?! How dare he stereotype me!  With the most indignant look I could muster, I responded: “No, I’m getting an orange juice!” I might have mumbled “pumpkin hater!” under my breath a little bit. “So you ARE obsessed with pumpkin, aren’t you?” he persisted. I shifted from foot to foot, averting my gaze while fiddling with my pockets. “Ah ha, I knew it!” he exclaimed. Damn it – cold busted!

Okay, yes, I am a total pumpkin head. (Wait, that came out wrong.) I have pumpkin on the brain throughout the fall and winter, and why shouldn’t I?  It’s such a cozy, delicious, healthy food! It’s utterly packed with fiber, which not only keeps your intestines clean, it also helps people lose weight since it makes you feel fuller longer. It’s also got loads of beta-carotene, which fights off cancer and wrinkles, and it has oodles of Vitamin A, which helps your eyesight. So bring on the pumpkin cookies, curries, risotto, muffins, pancakes – I’m in!

If you want to satisfy your pumpkin fix with a crazy-simple, incredibly delicious 10-minute vegan pumpkin soup, give this one a try. It is the easiest thing in the world to make and it’s so rich, delicious, hearty and unique (thanks to the secret ingredient: Chinese 5-spice powder) that you, your family and friends will be begging for more. So go ahead, embrace your pumpkin obsession with pride – this soup is so good that it has the power to convert even hardened pumpkin haters, and carnivores will be happy too since it will give them that satisfying full-belly feeling they love.  With Thanksgiving fast approaching, add this to your menu and everyone will be glad you did, especially you since it takes so little time and effort to make this lovely, impressive soup. Enjoy!

Cimeron’s Tasty Ten-Minute 5-Spice Pumpkin Soup
From fridge to table: 10 minutes
Serves: 8

1 – 28 oz can organic pumpkin puree (plain pumpkin, not the pie mix)
1 cup plain almond milk
4 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
A dash of cinnamon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Dump all the ingredients into a large soup pot and whisk over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper, then serve. Seriously, it’s that simple. And it’s crazy-delicious, too!

Have you ever heard a friend tell you: “Oh you really like this soup? I just whipped it up using whatever I could find in my fridge, it only took 15 minutes.” And did you force and smile while thinking: “A-hole! I haven’t even found time to shower today.” Well my friends, never fear, for today you will become that a-hole! That’s right, with this simple, hearty and delicious dish, you’ll be that much-envied home chef who can magically create a scrumptious and healthy soup from scratch in no time at all using scraps from your cupboard and fridge. And bonus: it’s a one-pot meal, so clean-up is quick and painless.

Thanks to the Israeli couscous, orzo, quinoa and chickpeas, this savory soup is quite filling and has a nice backbone to it. The rich flavors of the tomatoes and red pepper really shine, and they do a great job of hiding the zucchini and carrots (which is essential for those of us who want our veggie-averse loved-ones – like my husband – to eat and enjoy this soup). It’s also versatile – if you’re more in the mood for a thick stew, just use less broth.

So get ready to make your taste buds and your body very happy! It’s a perfect meal to make at the end of a busy day. And if you share a bowl with your friends and tell them how quickly you cheffed up this yummy soup using “just a little of this and that I found in my fridge and pantry,” be sure to enjoy watching them force a fake smile to mask the fact that they’re screaming “a-hole!” inside their heads.

Super Simple Savory Multi-Grain Soup

From pantry to table: about 20 minutes
Serves: 4

½ of a large onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chili de arbol, broken (optional – if you want a spicy little kick)
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
½-3/4 cup carrots, chopped
4-6 cups vegetable broth (use for if you want stew, 5-6 if you want a thinner soup)
½ cup “mixed grains” *
1 tsp dried oregano
2 zucchinis, sliced lengthwise then cut into half-moons
salt and pepper to taste
fresh lemon juice, to taste

* For your mixed grains, be sure to choose those that take the same amount of time to cook. For example, I like using Israeli couscous (which is fatter and chewier than regular couscous), quinoa, orzo and chopped chickpeas. Trader Joes has their own blend of this called “Harvest Grains,” which is quite nice.

In a large soup pot over medium-high, sauté the onion in about 1 tbsp of olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue sautéing for 1 minute, then add the red bell pepper and chili de arbol (if using). Continue stirring until the onion is limp and translucent. Add the tomatoes and oregano and cook for 1 minute, then add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, toss in the carrots and mixed grains and stir well. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, stir in the zucchini, cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

Season with salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice. Enjoy!

By now you know that I am perfectly comfortable tricking my carnivore husband into eating incredibly healthy vegetarian and vegan meals. How else am I going to get him to try things he’d normally declare are strictly for “tye-dye wearing bark-eaters?” You know, like foods that are really “out there,” such as carrots.  Yeah, I said carrots. Or as John likes the call them: orange twigs of death. “But they’re so good for you! They prevent cancer and heart disease, reduce the risk of stroke and they’re great for your skin,”  I say, trying to reason with him as he picks the orange flecks out of his salad while shaking his head. Well, I’ve finally figured out a way to get him to eat carrots: Curried Coconut Carrot Soup.

In this super simple little recipe, carrots are disguised in this rich, creamy soup. The beguiling, exotic flavors of garam masala curry and coconut milk are the primary flavors you taste in this delicious soup, and maybe you’ll even pick up a hint of fresh ginger. But the taste of carrots? Nope! Even though they’re the main ingredient, you wouldn’t know it since they simply provide a platform for the other flavors. But you still get the awesome health benefits of the mighty carrot, so it’s the best of both worlds! John loves this soup and if it has the power to convert a carrot-hating carnivore into adoring it, I have a feeling you’ll like it too!

By the way, I have yet to confess to John about the fact that this is a carrot soup. Whenever he asks what it is, I mumble, “Oh it’s a curried coconut cwagha blah blah mubah soup…here, have a beer!” (Note: distraction is a perfect complement to trickery).

Curried Coconut Carrot Soup

Serves: 4
From fridge to table: about 40 minutes

3/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated/microplaned
3/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 tbsp garam masala (or regular curry powder)
4 cups carrots, thinly sliced
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut  milk
1 1/4 tbsp fresh lime juice

In a soup pot, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion, ginger, green onions and garam masala until the onion is translucent. Add carrots and broth, stir well and bring to a boil. With your heat still at medium, cover the pot and cook until the carrots are soft, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and add coconut milk and lime juice. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until creamy and smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste, and add more lime juice to taste as well (but be careful – too much lime juice can make the soup a bit astringent). Enjoy!

Hello. My name is Cimeron and I’m a tomato addict. I ignored all the warning signs, like when I planted 18 tomatoes in my garden last spring. I convinced myself that it was normal and declared it would be a fun challenge to make use of all the tomatoes once harvest time rolled around. Little did I know that I’d have pounds and pounds and POUNDS of tasty, delectable tomatoes. John and I are utterly drunk on tomatoes! Perhaps it’s wrong to be addicted to garden-fresh tomatoes, but it tastes so right!

Even if it’s not raining tomatoes in your yard, you can still head to the farmer’s market and pick up some delicious tomatoes that are bursting with summer-fresh flavor. While my favorite way to eat them is raw so we can taste all their tangy, sweet, juicy goodness, this vibrant soup also highlights the bright, fresh flavor of ripe tomatoes. It’s so good that John always asks for seconds, and our friends request it frequently. There are some interesting secret ingredients that help the tomato flavor pop even more: ginger, orange zest and a hint of clove. Trust me on this: this is a mouth-wateringly good soup.

So get out to your garden and pick some fresh tomatoes, or pick up some vine-ripened flavor-bombs at your farmer’s market and prepare to feel your taste buds dance for joy!

Cimeron’s Off-the-Vine Tomato Soup

Serves: 4-6 as a meal, or 8 as a starter
From vine to table: about 30 minutes

3 tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
18 mid-sized tomatoes (between golf ball and baseball size) or 13 big suckers, chopped up
2 tbsp grated ginger (fresh ginger, peeled)
3.5 tbsp grated orange peel
A pinch of ground cloves
A big handful of fresh basil, chopped very finely
A handful of croutons

In a big pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions until they’re see-through, which takes about 8 minutes or so. Add the orange peel, ginger and cloves, stirring/cooking for 2 minutes to release the fragrance and flavor of the additions. Then reduce heat to medium, toss in the tomatoes and cook – uncovered – until the tomatoes have broken down, which can take about 15-20 minutes. Be sure to stir them every now and then so they don’t stick to the bottom and burn. Turn off the heat and then with a stick blender, puree the soup. You could also use a blender or food processor, but since I hate to clean, I like to just put the stick blender right in the pot and go to town on it.  Season the soup with salt (preferably smoked sea salt if you have it) and pepper.  Serve the soup hot with some fresh basil on top and a couple of croutons. Enjoy!