Cream of Tomato Soup

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: As you might have guessed, another blended soup! Seriously, we are elbow deep in soup over here, and pretty freaking happy about it. This time, Elizabeth simply blended canned diced tomatoes with a sautéed onion and some cashew cream, and voila, we had soup. A marinated kale salad with avocado and freshly sliced baguette made perfect side dishes to our homey main.

The Goods: No, really, we are obsessed with making soup. Pretty much everything that can be blended is going to be blended. Soup is like the new Robitussin. Got a cough? Eat some soup. Trapped in your snowed-in home? Soup. Just about out of soup? Add some water and blend it up—more soup!

Tomato Soup, Toasted Bread

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A bowl of Dr. McDougall's Chunky Tomato Soup and two slices of crispy, toasted whole-wheat bread, cut into triangles—the optimal shape for soup-dipping. I added some minced garlic and half of one fresh tomato to my soup to give is an extra kick of flavor.

The Goods: Cloudy, chilly autumn weather has finally come to San Francisco, and in honor of our overcast skies, I whipped up a bowl of warming tomato soup. If there's anything more comforting or fun than double-dipping fluffy bread into soup, I don't want to hear about it. Now that lunch is over—it's been a whole 20 minutes—it's time to think about dinner. When you spend your workday editing recipes and writing about food, it's inevitable that you'll come across a must-try recipe or two, or 13,000. So, tonight's meal might just have to be the Vegan Laksa Soup currently featured on VegNews.com. I swear I had no hand in selecting it, I'm just a shameless promoter of soup by nature.

Vegan Tom Yum Soup

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A vegan tom yum soup with tofu, seaweed, and rice cakes. The secret ingredients in this super-simple soup? Veggie chicken stock and tom yum paste.

The Goods: This might not be the prettiest soup on the planet, but I tell you what: it's freaking delicious. I love the chewy little rice cakes (not the puffed rice kind, these are gummy discs of joy), and the soothing quality of a huge bowl of soup. Maybe I was recently in Florida for four glorious days, basking in the heat, and maybe I needed a return to warmth when faced with today's drizzly SF weather—if only by way of soup. One more new find that's currently combating the cold is the yummy Red Velvet Tea that arrived today. Hello, cake in a cup! Between the tea and the soup, it's almost like being back on the beach.

White Soup and Crackers

The Chef: Chas

The Menu: A light, refreshing white soup filled with cannellini beans, snap peas, kale, Yukon gold potatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini, taragon, thyme, and oregano served with stone ground crackers for complementary soup dipping. Chas paired this satisfying soup and crackers combo with a super green salad made of mixed greens, celery, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shredded carrot, chickpeas, onion, and avocado tossed in a rice vinegar dressing. 

The Goods: Having Chas volunteer as VN Chef Extraordinaire is a little bit like living inside a soup and salad bistro—except legal and 10 times better. We're big fans of soups of all stripes, and this wholesome, hearty white soup was no exception. We're also big fans of dipping crackers into soup, making this all around perfect lunch as fun as it was tasty. In addition to sharing a fun, tasty lunch together, the entire VN staff also gets to indulge in a gourmet, five-course themed dinner tonight. Every spring Millennium Restaurant in downtown San Francisco hosts its annual Southern Comfort Dinner, a celebration of deep-fried, stick-to-your-ribs standards including everything from corn dogs to buckets of beer and mint juleps. Don't worry, we'll report back with full details for those of you who can't make it to this sumptuous shindig. 

Looks Like Lentils

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: Today Aurelia served up some mighty tasty lentil soup. It consisted of puréed tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and, of course, lentils. It was flavored to perfection with North African spices and a generous dash of cinnamon. The perfect complement to a flawless lentil soup is the perfect bread accompaniment, and Aurelia brought it home—literally—with this amazing Algerian flat bread called Kesra from her recent trip to Paris. With a side salad to boot, this meal was grade A, vegan style.

The Goods: Soup is a tough dish to capture in photograph. By the looks of this picture, or any of our soup photographs, you might not be 100-percent convinced of its deliciousness. So, we are asking you to take our word for it. Soup is quickly becoming a favorite around here, and we want our blog following to be just as stoked about the greatness of soup as we are.

Super-Easy Soup

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Easy-as-can-be roasted carrot soup was the main of our meal. Elizabeth was short on time today, so she let the oven do all the work. After chopping two bunches of carrots and a few Yukon Gold potatoes, tossing them in olive oil, salt and pepper, and curry powder, she let them sit in the oven at 450 degrees while she went about her work. After about 45 minutes, two cups of water, and a little visit from the immersion blender, voila! Soup! A fresh chopped salad with romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, and cucumber with a homemade mustard vinaigrette and slices of sourdough pugliese finished off the plates.

The Goods: Today it's get-out-your-bikini-and-hit-the-beach hot here in SF. Since we get about six days like this a year, it might seem a tad out of place to be serving soup during such sweltering weather. Thankfully, a light soup like today's curried carrot can be served just above room temp and won't leave you feeling like you've just consumed a huge, heavy serving. Any other not-too-hot (temperature-wise, that is) soup ideas? Want to see us try to come up with a week of them? Don't forget to cast your vote for the next Café VegNews giveaway!

Bright Green Soup!

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A delectable, raw Spinach Thyme Soup that included loads of green veggies, herbs and spices, hemp oil, agave, meat-free chicken bouillon, and a subtle kick of garlic. Elizabeth paired this nutritious, bright green bowl of soup with a similarly hued side salad complete with mixed greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and diced bell peppers. Were there also slices of sunflower seed bread to dip into our soup? Indeed there were.

The Goods: In case there were any doubts, this lunch acts as proof that we are still obsessed with making soup in five minutes in our new Vita-Mix. People, it's bright green soup! In five minutes! It will never get old. This light and fresh vegetable-filled lunch was exactly what we needed after a week of over-indulging in sweets. So, in true VN style, we followed our cleansing, healthful lunch with to-die-for desserts from Sticky Fingers Bakery. Yes, our publisher's did generously order us Valentine's Day treats from Sticky Fingers, and yes, we know that they are the best.

Soup Surprise

The Chef: Joseph

The Menu: A simply sumptuous soup and salad surprise from our very own Mr. Joseph Connelly. Let's start at the top, because seriously, this soup was tops. Joseph proves yet again that working with what you have on-hand is the best way to go, as he doctored up a dried red lentil and bulgur soup mix with mandarin oranges, sweet potato, and fresh spinach. In case, like us, you hadn't previously considered oranges to be soup ingredients, start considering. They were amazing little bites of sweet in perfect harmony with the warm, filling soup. But wait, there's more. The salad was also fantastic, with both romaine and spinach, shredded carrots, apple, sunflower seeds, and Joseph's secret dressing. The pièce de résistance: super-garlicky garlic bread. If eating four pieces of garlic bread in one sitting is wrong, no one here wants to be right.

The Goods: Joseph invented lunch. No really, it's true. Okay, he invented the VegNews staff lunch, and we are all pretty thrilled that he did. It's not every day that he works from the office, so it really is a treat when he busts out a lunch like this one.

Stand-Up Soup

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Goods: Soup! Even though the sun was bright and shining today, a few of us are still fighting off colds, so soup seemed the simple solution. Elizabeth whipped up a "cream" of broccoli, using potatoes as the base for this thick, hearty soup. Yes, the broccoli on top is being totally supported by the soup underneath it. For an extra immune-system boost, there might have been enough garlic in the pot to keep us all healthy for the next year, or at least there was enough to make the soup yummy. To balance the density of the main course, Elizabeth made a light salad and served the remaining basil biscuits from yesterday.

The Goods: We easily could have sat outside and soaked in the sun all afternoon, but then there's this whole "publishing a magazine" thing that's supposed to happen. In case anyone wants to invent some sort of device that allows for maximum editorial productivity while simultaneously absorbing our necessary daily vitamin D by sitting in lounge chairs, we might know a few eager customers.

Lentil Soup Win

The Chef: Joni

The Menu: A bowl of homemade lentil soup, made of brown lentils, veggie broth, carrot, onion, mushroom, ginger, garlic, sage, rosemary, oregano, basil, and fresh kale, and scented with a sprig of fresh rosemary
 

The Goods: No shame—this is literally about the fifth bowl of lentil soup I’ve eaten this week. I regret nothing, as this soup is ridiculously amazing. I spent all day on Sunday cooking up a soup storm because the weather forecast predicted cold, damp grossness. Fortunately for me, those consistently incorrect forecasters were true to form and now I have my favorite soup and my favorite weather—a huge win. Speaking of wins, have you seen the beautiful cover of the Veggie Awards issue of VegNews? It’s only the prettiest thing that will ever sparkle on the newsstands. But you don’t have to wait for that; advance copies are available for pre-order right now. Today is a day full of victories, so perhaps I should challenge my office-mates to some Bananagrams in hope that the trend continues… 

No-Chicken Noodle Soup

The Chefs: Rashida and Amy's Kitchen

The Menu: Savory vegan noodle soup with a splash of OrganicVille Foods Sriracha hot sauce

The Goods: A humble bowl of soup may not the most glamorous lunch, but the weather is crummy and the trek out into the land of delicious veg food (aka the Mission) seems completely unbearable. What better to warm me up than a delicious bowl of Amy’s soup? The No Chicken Noodle soup was soothing and filling—especially after devouring the raw veggie burrito Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig prepared using an upcoming recipe from our May+June issue, hitting newsstands in May. Sadly, the summer months feel a world away, but there are plenty of great things on the horizon this spring. For one thing, our March+April Man issue will be hitting newsstands March 1. Can’t wait that long? You can preorder an advance copy from the VegNews Store today! While you wait for it to arrive, take a cue from me and stay warm with one of Robin Robertson’s internationally inspired soups!

Lentil Soup

The Chef: Rashida and Trader Joe's

The Menu: Lentil and quinoa soup topped with Garlicky Green Parma.

The Goods: I originally trekked to Trader Joe's to track down some of the famous Cookie Butter with which, thanks to my VegNews colleagues, I'm now completely obsessed. Since unfortunately Cookie Butter on its own doesn't count as lunch, I also grabbed a generous cup of TJ's Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains. This warm soup was the perfect antidote to San Francisco's brisk weather, which has been going strong this week despite deceptively sunny skies. My soup-topper, Garlicky Green Parma, is a mostly raw parmesan substitute that pairs well with just about everything. If you're interested in the raw food movement, check out Associate Publisher Colleen Holland's interview with raw-foods pioneer Victoria Boutenko, who dishes about her decision to bring cooked foods back into her diet.

Tomato Soup, Fluffy Bread

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A hearty bowl of Campbell's Select Harvest Tomato Basil soup sprinkled with fresh black pepper and spinach leafs. To accompany my bowl of soup toasted two slices of whole-grain Dave's Killer Bread—perfect for dipping.

The Goods: This is my favorite accidentally-vegan soup ever, as unlike many Campbell's soups, it uses clean ingredients and steers clear of unpronounceable preservatives. This satisfying soup offered a nice lunchtime break from an otherwise chaotic day here at the VNHQ—moving day! Yes, that's right, as of Monday, September 27, the VN staff will be working out of our new offices in San Francisco's Mission District. We're totally excited for the big move, and in the spirit of cleaning house beforehand, we'll be closing the office tomorrow, and hosting our first-ever Great Big Vegan Garage Sale this weekend. Stop by, meet the staff, and pick up a piece of VegNews history!

Butternut Soup Bliss

The Chef: Jenny

The Menu: Today Ms. Jenny whipped us up a perfectly thick and rich butternut and potato soup. If the bright yellow hue wasn't enough reason to love this soup on its own, the array of spices Jenny included gave us ample loving ammo. Nutmeg, both dried and fresh rosemary, and the super secret ingredient—roasted nutritional yeast(!)—imparted a distinctly savory flavor. Accompanying our staple soup was a nice side of pumpkin seed and tarragon couscous. And our new favorite starch ever, another variety of French Meadow's rolls, the Sprouted Organic Peasant Rolls with Ezekiel Grains. Just as delectable as their hemp counterparts and unbeatably hot out of the oven, these were devoured with all available haste.

The Goods: After Lisa's fantastic pasta interlude our soup theme was back in action today. Coincidentally (or is it?) the sickies in the group have almost all made complete recoveries. And despite a little rain early this morning, the skies even seem to be clearing. Anyone else have good news to share? We're all ears!

Asian Combination

The Chef: Jenny

The Menu: A pan-Asian treat of stir-fry and soup! First we enjoyed a very green stir-fry which featured green beans, collard greens, tofu, and noodles. Delicious? Yes. An excellent method of incorporating everything from the fridge? Indeed. Alongside the main course Jenny served up a Thai-inspired coconut-avocado soup. Yes, it would have been appropriate if we had all died of gustatory pleasure after eating this decadent, slightly spicy soup. Yum!

The Goods: We were slightly suspicious that Jenny—who's an avowed sci-fi fan—might have been secretly replaced by a Jenny-bot today. The cause for our concern? The soup was raw! That's right, Jenny (or her android alter-ego) whipped up the incredibly luscious soup without so much as lighting a burner. Since her fiery Cuban disposition lends itself more to cooked foods than raw foods, this was a first for Jenny—and definitely a trend we'd like to encourage, even if the amazing food is robot-produced.

Butternut Squash Soup with a Twist

The Chef: Lyndsay

The Menu: Butternut soup infused with ginger, peanut butter, and a pinch of cayenne, and a slice of bread—to dip in the soup, of course!

The Goods: Believe it or not, I made this soup within 20 minutes, and the prep time was less than five. It's a very simple recipe from The 4-Ingredient Vegan by Maribeth Abrams and Anne Dinshah, which is a cookbook that specializes in fast and easy recipes. Yes, the soup came from a carton—sometimes a working girl needs to take the easy route—but it was super good, especially with the other additions. Just to let you know, tomorrow is the last day to subscribe in time to get the July+August 2011 issue of VegNews. You don't want to miss out!

All Kale Caesar (Salad)

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A hearty, veggie-filled lentil soup perfectly balanced with a fresh kale salad. Our super savory soup consisted of red lentils, celery, carrots, and garlic and was just the warming main course we needed. In classic soup-and-salad combo style, Elizabeth paired our tasty main with a heaping side of kale and apple salad, tossed in a spicy, tangy mustard vinaigrette dressing.

The Goods: We don't know what's happening with the weather, but we're putting in a request that it cease and desist. Lately, our windows shift from sunny skies to heavy downpours within what feels like a matter of minutes, making this soul-satisfying soup and zesty salad exactly what we needed to perk up our moods. Does Elizabeth get extra points for steaming today's soup water in our tea kettle? She just might. Did we follow our delicious lunch with birthday cake leftovers? We just may have. Speaking of cake, if you're planning to bake a birthday cake for a friend or coworker—or, ahem, us—look no further than VN's Recipe Club!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A rich, delicious, blended cream of broccoli soup that featured potatoes, cashews, garlic, onions, carrots, and, of course, broccoli, which Liz topped with toasted breadcrumbs. A spinach salad with grated carrots and halved cherry tomatoes, toasted baguette slices, and a helping of brown basmati rice made mighty good sides to our mouthwatering main.

The Goods: As you might have read recently, the VNHQ is now home to a shiny, new Vita-Mix. We pretty much spend every spare second here talking about what foods we want to blend up, and the ideas so far have spanned from the ridiculous (burrito soup, anyone?) to the ridiculously delicious, like today's lunch. Yes, you can pretty much expect every meal this week to have some sort of soup, smoothie, or other blended item. Feel free to tell us your favorite recipes!

Quinoa Salad and Black Bean Soup

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Soup and salad, the perfect combination. Colleen makes this black bean soup for us every once in a while, and it's stellar. Rich, tasty, and filling, it was a lovely complement to her veggie-filled quinoa salad. Zucchini, spinach, carrots, red onions, and kalamata olives all starred in this "souper" side dish. See that? See what we did there? The salad was served as a side to the soup!

The Goods: OK, back in reality we are gearing up for SF Vegan Drinks, which will feature a hot dog time machine! Well, fine. We're not 100-percent sure that the hot dog machine at Martuni's doubles as a time machine, but we are sure that there will be hot dogs, and they will be vegan. And, of course, all the usual fun you've come to expect at Vegan Drinks!

Roasted Tomato Soup & Giant Kale Salad

The Chef: Jennifer 

The Menu: Roasted tomato soup and a kale salad.

The Goods: Yes, my co-workers (they shall remain nameless) teased me about the size of my kale salad. The leaves were literally falling off the plate. But I have a good reason for eating half of a bunch of kale. After baking/eating the top cookie in our Holiday Cookie Contest—chocolate sugar cookies with peppermint candy cane frosting—I needed to eat my weight in greens. The tomato soup, my friends, is one of the best I've ever had and it's the Veganize It! recipe from the January+February  VegNews. As Managing Editor Elizabeth Castoria aptly described it, "This soup is a great grilled cheese dipper." I'm lucky that my husband is the king of vegan grilled cheese sandwiches. Thanks, Daiya! If you're running low on your favorite vegan pantry items, enter our $100 Pangea shopping spree giveaway. Now, I'm off to finish the rest of my salad.