You know, some days are just plain old tougher than others. Days when you strap yourself into the roller-coaster ride and get taken on an adventure you had no idea was coming – sort of like hopping on what you thought was a carousel and learning that it was Space Mountain instead. And it’s on those days, my friends, when you may want to just come home, drop your gear, and call the pizzaman. But what may be a better idea is to roll up your sleeves and burn off that stress in the kitchen.
I was right there tonight – I didn’t feel like cooking, didn’t feel like eating a healthy meal, and just wanted a plate of good old fatty food instead. And believe me, I’m no prude when it comes to the fattier meals in life – I just knew that I hadn’t started the week with two workouts for nothing! So I pulled out my beloved Le Creuset, added the ingredients for tortilla soup, and got to work.
This is yet another magical recipe from Ginny Kay McMeans’ The Make-Ahead Vegan Cookbook, and like all the others we’ve tried, it’s a clear winner. And not for nothing, it used two of my favorite kitchen items – the aforementioned Le Creuset and my immersion blender! Love, love, love.
As usual, I won’t go into the ins and outs of the entire recipe since Ms. McMeans has a book to sell, but I will say that a chipotle pepper in adobo makes an appearance (luckily, I have plenty in the freezer after opening a can over the weekend!) and the fire-roasted diced tomatoes round out the brothy soup very, very nicely indeed. We garnished our bowls with tortilla strips, vegan sour cream, and hot sauce, and then dipped some tortilla chips in for good measure. The final result was perfection – a smoky, earthy taste that had plenty of heat without being overpowering. The blended onions and garlic sang, and the chipotle brought the spice!
We each went back for seconds – in LeeLee’s case, thirds! – which is always a measure of success. I can’t wait to try this soup again!
:)