This soup is really really delicious  and is ideal for these cooler days…….

 Ingredients:

750g pumpkin, peeled & chopped (Butternut pumpkin will make your soup sweeter)

1 medium sweet potato, peeled & chopped

1 large onion, diced

½ cup chopped celery

4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 inches knob ginger, chopped

Celtic sea salt

pepper

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon chilli powder

4 kafir lime or bay leaves

¼ bunch coriander finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter or organic coconut oil

1 dessertspoon massel chicken stock powder

1 cup organic coconut milk or cream (optional)

1 orange juiced – retain the peel.

Method::

Sauté in a large sauce pan the onion and garlic in a little butter or oil until soft and caramelized.

Add pumpkin, sweet potato, celery, ginger, spices, lime or bay leaves, massel chicken stock powder, coconut milk and enough boiling water to cover the vegetables. Cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes.

Prick the vegetables with a fork to make sure they are soft and well cooked. Remove from the heat then purée soup in a blender or bar mix and check seasoning.

Finely grate some of the orange peel, you will need approximately 1 tablespoon.  Add the orange juice, orange peel and  chopped coriander (retain just enough to sprinkle on top of each bowl, to the soup before serving. Reheat if necessary.

If you prefer soup with a thinner consistency add more hot water.

A good source of beta-carotene, this delicious warming soup is great for your immune system. Coriander is reputed to have heavy metal chelating properties too!

This is the most fabulous Dahl I have ever eaten. It does take some time in preparation, but it is really worth it. The lime makes it so tangy, the mustard seed creates pop in your mouth and the taste of the lentils and vegetables in coconut milk is sensational.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finely diced
1 carrot finely diced
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger finely diced (or 1 tsp minced ginger)
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground chilli (or chilli flakes)
1 tsp garam marsala
1 cup red lentils
1 2/3 cups coconut milk or cream
2 tins chopped tomatoes
Juice of three limes
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander in chunky pieces

Method:

Heat olive oil in pan.

Add onion and sauté until onion is soft.

Add carrots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin and mustard seeds and heat until carrots are soft and mustard seeds start to pop.

Add ground chilli and garam marsala and stir for one minute to prevent spices from sticking.

Add lentils, coconut milk, tomatoes and water and stir to combine.

Bring to the boil and reduce heat.

Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the juice of 2 limes and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir through coriander and juice of last lemon.

Serve garnished with a little coriander on top of each bowl.

Serves 4-6    Preparation and cooking time approximately 1½ hrs.

(c) Maxine Wright:  Advanced Dip Naturopathy – Medical Herbalist – Nutritionalist – Iridologist – Hemaview Tech - Health Coach – Weight Loss counsellor – Massage Therapist – Beauty Therapist – Speaker.  Step Into Health Wellness Centre - facebook - twitter.

This is such a beautiful soup – simple to make and can be served hot or cold. Ideal to drink if you are working on a mercury detox.

Ingredients:

3  large carrots peeled and chopped

8  ripe roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1  bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped.

¼ teasp powdered coriander

1  tablesp massel chicken stock powder

2  bay leaves

Boiling water to divide

Method:

To prepare the tomatoes – Place whole roma tomatoes into a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for a few minutes and then gently pierce the skin of each tomato. Continue soaking – if skin is not loosening and peeling back, add more boiling water. When you can gently peel all the skin off the tomatoes do so and then chop them and place aside.

In a medium saucepan add carrots, tomatoes, powdered coriander, stock powder and boiling water to almost cover vegetables. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are really soft – add chopped fresh coriander and return to heat for another 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and then blend or bar mix the soup.

Serve and add cracked pepper.

(c) Maxine Wright:  Advanced Dip Naturopathy – Medical Herbalist – Nutritionalist – Iridologist – Hemaview Tech - Health Coach – Weight Loss counsellor – Massage Therapist – Beauty Therapist – Speaker.  Step Into Health Wellness Centre - facebook - twitter.