Nutty Cauliflower Soup

This golden soup has a luscious, velvety texture and subtle sweetness. Start to finish, it's ready in under an hour.

What You Will Need:

• 2-3 tbs of olive oil
• One large onion, diced.
• 2 cups of pumpkin, cubed
• 4-5 medium carrots, sliced
• 2 cups of sweet potato, cubed
• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped any way you like
• 2-3 tbs peanut butter
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
• 4 cups of vegetable broth, stock or water
• 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1/4 cup chopped parsely
• salt and pepper to taste
• An immersion blender (unless you have some other method for pureeing large quantities of hot soup!)

Procedure:

1. Sautee the onion in the olive oil until wilted.
2. Add the pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato, cauliflower, ginger, nutmeg and liquid.
3. Simmer until vegetables can be easily pierced with a fork.
4. Turn off the heat and let the pot cool down until it stops bubbling.
5. Using an immersion blender puree everything in the pot. Keep going until there are no chunks of veggies left. Be sure the immersion blender is completely submerged and not tilted, because the soup is still HOT and it will come flying up out of the pot and land on you if you're not careful. 
6. Add coconut milk and peanut butter. Puree again until these are incorporated evenly throughout.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add chopped parsley and stir.
9. Eat!

Creamy Avocado Goodness

Aseer avocat. Avocado juice. Didn't sound appetizing to me either, until I tasted the creamy, sweet concoction made from avocado, milk and sugar. I know, I know. In the US, most of us add avocados to salad or make guacamole with it. Milkshakes usually aren't green. But around the world, people who live where avocados grow eat them sweet as much as savory. In Brazil, you might find an avocado custard or ice cream. In the Philipines, you can try avocado mashed and mixed with sugar, milk, and ice. The aseer avocat I tried was Moroccan, and absolutely delicious.

Here's a recipe for an Avocado Milkshake:

• 1/2 ripe Hass avocado
• 1 cup of milk (I use skim, but you can use whole, evaporated, soy, rice, almond... you get the idea.)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar (You can substitute honey, agave, etc. or leave it out completely.)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (optional)
• 1-2 ice cubes (optional)

1. Scoop avocado meat out of the skin and into the blender.
2. Add other ingredients.
3. Blend until smooth. Add a little more milk to thin to desired consistency and blend again.
4. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Some notes:

• Choose a ripe avocado. Make sure it's dark and a little soft. If it's too ripe, it may be a little rotten and it won't taste good, so don't choose a very mushy avocado either.
• You can make this already delicious avocado shake super rich and sweet by adding some sweetened condensed milk or cream.
• Try adding a teaspoon of cocoa powder to make this a Chocolate Avocado Shake.
• On a diet? Think avocados are too caloric? Check out this link to read about the health benefits of this creamy superfruit.
• Don't know what to do with the pit? Grow it into a tree!