Meatless Monday: Easy Sunny Yam Bisque

I hope you guys don’t get terribly sick of hearing what is going on with me and my dad. It is my life now. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, gentle prodding to get him to exercise, and staying connected with my community is now my life. I feel really blessed that I was able to connect with other vegetarians/vegans this weekend! I met up with a few people at Anvil Pub (Erin at VegeSpot and Jamey who runs Dallas Vegan) and treated myself to some nachos smothered in Daiya cheese and delicious chili.

Then Sunday I went to the once a month all vegan buffet at the Thai restaurant right down the street from my house (yeah how cool is that!!) with dad and we both enjoyed the food and dessert. I was eavesdropping on the group of people at the next table and decided to introduce myself. Turns out they were from the Ft. Worth Vegetarian Society!! (and they looked all over the age of 40 which made me so happy to know that it isn’t just the youngin’s that are veg!) I introduced them to my dad and they offered to connect me with all the other veg organizations, restaurants, potlucks, etc that are happening in DFW. HOW KISMET!!!

I feel so blessed. The Universe is truly providing for me here. I was really nervous about moving back and being able to connect with like-minded individuals. And here they are just showing up right in front of me! I can’t wait to go to more meetups and potlucks, and start teaching classes here!

Now on to the food. I’ve been cooking every day and developing new recipes for either the Southeast Asian cookbook or cookbook #3 that is in my head right now. It’s been so much fun getting back into cooking! And my dad has actually loved the food I’ve made. He even cleaned his plate see (you can tell how psyched I am about that)?!

I came up with this super easy as can be soup, that takes no time at all to make. It’s also gluten-free and has no-oil so it’s really low in fat! Check out my dad’s 70’s style dishes LOL!! Sorry for the crappy phone photo. Buying a nice camera is first on my list when I start working again!

Easy Sunny Yam Bisque
Makes 2 to 3 servings

3 cups water or broth
1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
Pinch salt or 1 inch piece kombu (if using water instead of broth)
3 cups sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Tamari to taste
Fresh herbs for garnish

Directions:
Bring water squash and kombu to a boil in a saucepan (or broth squash and pinch salt). Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato thyme and nutmeg. Bring back to a boil then simmer until all the veggies are tender about 10 minutes. Let soup cool slightly before pureeing in a blender until smooth. Return to pot add nutritional yeast and vinegar and simmer for a few minutes. Season with tamari as needed. Serve hot garnished with fresh herbs.