Vegan red pepper corn soup

This recipe makes for a very healthy vegan soup. The sweetness of the corn blends nicely with the bell pepper. The only seasoning I use is salt, pepper, and raw garlic because I like keeping things simple. But I added seasoning that can kick the soup up a notch. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

-2 cups of water

-1 ear of large corn

-3 cloves of garlic

-1/2 red onion

-1 tsp salt

-1/3 c soy milk

-1/2 butterfruit aka avocado (optional) OR 20 cashews soaked overnight

Optional Seasoning 

-Sugar

-Raw garlic

-Pepper

-Salt

-Chili powder

-Lime

-Turmeric

-Prepare your veggies by dehusking the corn and scrape for the kernels. Slice the bell pepper into reasonable size pieces. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Because these ingredients will get blended soon, you really don’t have to worry about even-sized pieces of bell pepper or onion.

-Place 3 cups of water, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, ½ onion, your newly-chopped bell pepper and corn kernels into a soup pot. Also add a teaspoon of salt.

-Boil the ingredients for approximately 10 minutes.

-Use a handblender (my personal preference) or transfer the heated mix into a blender and pulse until smooth.

-Wait for 10 minutes until the concoction has cooled off a bit, then blend 1/2 cup of soy milk and ½ of a butterfruit or the soaked cashews.

-Season to taste. Recommended seasoning is salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. I also add 1 clove of raw garlic (2 gets boiled, 1 gets added raw) to my soup.  Other possible spices include turmeric, gram masala, or a bit of chili powder for a nice kick.

Enjoy!

Cooking addendums:

I understand butterfruits are fickle and highly seasonal, so the alternative is to soak 10 cashews overnight. These ingredients basically suffice as the “cream.” That said, I’ve had this soup without either of these ingredients and it’s still tasty. Just not creamy, is all.

This is an unconventional method of cooking soup. In most cases, people sautee the onions and garlic in some oil before adding the water and veggies. You could also sautee the red pepper and corn for a "roasted" taste. Feel free to do this. For me personally, I prefer staying away from cooked oil because of these health reasons.

I do not recommend boiling soy milk, nor do I advise boiling butterfruit. Waiting until the mixture has cooled maintains the integrity of the fat in both ingredients.