Winter Soup & Salad Recipe

Happy Sunday wanderers! Lately my body has been feeling like It just needed some nourishing and all I've been craving is a huge salad! I've been lacking in getting in my greens. So today I am bringing you a two in one eco recipe to get you through your winter slump. This recipe is revitalizing, energizing, high-raw, vegan, and needless to say healthy! It's eco friendly because nothing gets wasted or goes unused. First I prep some vegetables, the main recipe is a salad and at the end I show you how to make a vegetable soup stalk using your organic waste & the soup I made from it. These recipes serve two. Here's what you will need to follow along.

Greens of choice

Bag of large carrots

Bundle of celery

Radishes

Pumpkin or squash

Hummus of choice

Soy sauce

Siracha

Oil, salt & pepper

Can of beans, lentils, or chickpeas ​

When making this recipe I had just come back from the grocery store. I had a lot of vegetables which needed to fit in our tiny fridge on the boat so I decided to prep my celery, carrots and radishes for easy storing, snacking, and adding to recipes during the week. I set aside 2 large carrots, 2 celery stalks and a handful of radishes for the salad. While preparing your vegetables set aside all of your organic waste in a bowl or large pot for later use.

First combine a generous amount of your favorite greens into two large bowls. I used lettuce, kale and arugula.

Next take two large carrots and make them into ribbons. This can be achieved by peeling the carrots and then continuously peeling in one spot with added pressure. You can alternate the direction you hold the carrot as you go, it's easier to make them starting at the middle of the carrot and then peeling down so eventually you will need to flip it. When it becomes too flimsy to continue, just eat the leftover or add to your organic waste.

Next chop two stalks of celery and add.

Then slice a handful of radishes thinly.

Next take your piece of pumpkin or squash. I am going to use half of this piece which will equate to about 2 cups when cubed. 

Remove your pulp and seeds from the squash using a knife or spoon.

Next remove your seeds from your pulp and set them aside either into a cup or straight into the pot you will cook them in to avoid an unnecessary extra dish to wash.

Moving to the stove place your cubed pumpkin into a frying pan and your seeds into a small pot.

To your pumpkin add a drizzle of oil and soy sauce to help it brown. Put your burner on a medium to high heat and move the pumpkin around the pan occasionally. It is done when you can easily chop through it using your spatula.

To your seeds add enough oil to fully coat them, and again a drizzle of soy sauce. I like mine spicy so I also added a squirt of siracha and a few shakes of paprika. Add a couple of pinches of salt and make sure everything is well combined.

To cook them place your burner on a high heat and cover the pot. They will pop up when cooking so keep the lid on the whole time. Once they get hot enough you will hear them popping up and hitting the lid. Once you hear them start they will be done in under a minute. Like pop corn when the popping noises become more spread out and less frequent this means it is about done. Turn off the heat and don't remove the lid until the popping has stopped. The result will be a great crunchy topping for your salad.

For my dressing I chose to use this spicy black bean hummus and I thinned it out using water and soy sauce. I used about 4 spoonfuls of the hummus to make enough dressing for the two large salads.

To assemble your salads combine your greens and carrot ribbons. Massage in your dressing using your hands. Next add your warm pumpkin or squash. Sprinkle on your radish, celery and finally your crunchy seeds. Finish it off with some cracked pepper if you like. My suggestion is to enjoy the salad and come back to making your soup broth after.

My organic "waste" contained celery tops and bottom, the bottom of my lettuce bundle, kale stocks, radish ends, carrot peals and ends, pumpkin rind & seed pulp. These less desirable parts of vegetables still have so much flavor and life in them and are great for making vegetable stocks.

First combine everything into a large pot. Drizzle with a small amount of oil and a generous amount of salt. The salt is going to help extract the flavor and moisture from inside the vegetables. Place your pot on a high heat and cover with a lid. Let the steam condensate and vegetables reduce and grow soft. Once they are decently cooked down you can add your water.

I will be using recycled jars to store my stock so I measured out my water using them. Add a little bit more then you think you need to account for evaporation.

At this point I also added one vegetable bouillon cube for extra flavor, this is optional. Now let your stock simmer away for as long as you'd like. The longer the better but there is no need to overdue it. Once the color and taste is to your liking then it's done!

Turn off the heat and separate your waste from your soup stalk. I achieved this by pouring the contents into a strainer with a bowl beneath to catch my broth.

Then I moved my broth from the bowl to my jars. These can be stored in the fridge for later use throughout the week. You can now discard your organic waste in your compost.

For a quick and easy soup combine your broth with beans, chic peas or lentils and then add a generous amount of your favorite green. I think spinach and kale are the best in soups. Just bring the contents to a boil & it's done. I made this soup by using all of the broth, the leftover pumpkin, a can of black beans , and a generous amount of kale. This serves 2-3 people.

Alternatively you could use your stock to cook cuscus, quinoa, or rice to give your grains an extra kick of flavor. If you are into making homemade dressings or sauces you also know that sometimes you need a little bit of water to thin them. You could substitute broth during these times for extra flavor as well, perfect for vegan nacho cheese!

I completely accredit my ability to make soup to The Happy Pear, so if you want to learn more I suggest this video or your can explore their entire soup playlist on YouTube.

​I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek of how I make the most of my ingredients while cooking on the boat. I hope you are inspired to make a similar recipes.

Wander often & wonder always,​