Sweet Potato Soup

Tony was out tonight, one benefit of which is that I can eat whatever I want! Usually I eat things like beets or fancy salads, you know, things that make him gag or that he only indulges in once in a blue moon, but tonight I felt like making soup. Plus, I had a bunch of vegetables that needed to be cooked. I managed to make a really delicious soup and I'm going to blog about it right away in case I decide to try to recreate it later, since I didn't follow a recipe.

First, I peeled a big sweet potato and cut it into big chunks, which I threw onto a plate with a tablespoon of water and popped in the microwave for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, I diced half a yellow onion and started softening it in some butter. When the microwave beeped, I gave the potatoes a quick stir and put back in for another 4 minutes.

I had four small-ish carrots, which I peeled, chopped, and tossed in with the onions. Then I added a head of garlic, which I probably should have just started with the onions but honestly the garlic was an afterthought. I also had about a half a can of pumpkin puree (frozen) so I tossed that in there as well along with another half a can of evaporated milk (also frozen). When the potatoes finished cooking, I gave them a rough smash and tossed them into the pot with about a cup and a half of whole milk, and let the whole shebang simmer. I seasoned with about a tablespoon of salt, and a bunch of spices which I just used to taste: cumin, chili powder, white pepper, red pepper, thyme, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric. I would have added paprika as well, but I forgot I used it all up this weekend when I mixed a batch of cajun seasoning. Whoopsie.

After simmering for about 10 minutes, I removed the pot from the heat and used my immersion blender to smooth it out. It was a bit thick, so I added a bit more milk, and tasted for seasoning. I amped up the red pepper, salt, and turmeric at this point, but was super happy with how quickly it all came together. When I served it, I topped with Slovenian pumpkin seed oil and roasted pistachios.

After eating, I split what was left. One half I'll freeze to eat as is another time, and to the other half I plan to add coconut milk and curry powder, and probably more ginger. That was my original plan for tonight, until I saw the evaporated milk in the freezer and tasted the batch halfway through. It didn't really need anything else, but it made a pretty large batch so I figured I'd change the flavor profile a little for the leftovers. Using the microwave for the potatoes while I got everything else chopped really saved some time, and I sense more simple soups in my future!