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118 Comments · October 7, 2020

Dreamy Vegan Tomato Soup

Name: Dreamy Vegan Tomato Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnishing; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped; 2 28- ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes in juice; 1 small head cauliflower, roughly chopped; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon dried basil; dash of red pepper flakes (optional); 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, more or less to taste; 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes; 1/2 to 1 cup water, if needed to thin soup; Pinch baking soda or small drizzle pure maple syrup, if needed to cut acidity; fresh basil, chopped (optional)

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This dreamy vegan tomato soup is soothing, comforting, and perfect for pairing with plant-powered grilled cheese. This recipe was originally published on January 8, 2014. The post has since been updated with new photos and a recipe video. The recipe remains the same!

The below story is one I shared back in early 2014. Take a trip down memory lane with me or jump right to the recipe if you prefer. Happy reading and cooking!

Sometimes it takes ~~falling~~ sliding down a ~~hill~~ mountain several times and picking yourself back up to enact the tiniest bit of positive change you had been willing yourself towards for over a year. After rediscovering the benefits of yoga in November of 2012, I promised myself that I would work hard to move the positivity of my practice off my mat and into the typical, everyday moments of life. Most specifically, I wanted to use mantras to help combat moments of stress, lack of motivation, anxiety, and frustration, which tend to rear their ugly heads all at once when I'm feeling like my plate is overflowing with tasks.

Although I had the best of intentions throughout the past year, it wasn't until a recent ski trip that I actually found myself in a position where all else had failed and it was time to use the mantras or plop down in the snow and sob. When Dan first brought up the idea of taking a couples' ski trip to Colorado for New Year's Eve, I cringed and reminded him that I had literally been skiing twice in my life and both times were on tiny ice-hills in the midwest more than 15 years ago. I didn't know how to stop, I didn't know how to turn, and I certainly didn't know how to get myself down a mountain in Colorado on a pair of skis. He assured me that I just needed to take a lesson or two when we arrived, and I would be fine.

So, I did. I took a beginner's lesson on the first day and learned all the basics; I learned how to get the skis on my feet (pretty important), how to use the poles, how to make a wedge shape to stop, and how to turn my way down the bunny hills. Dan met up with me at the end of the day for a quick run down a bunny hill and said he was impressed that I had already learned how to turn {insert ego boost here}.

On day two, our group of mostly intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders decided to ski the bigger green runs together for the first few hours. I confidently plopped down on the lift with Dan and our friends but became a bit fearful as the lift carried us up the mountain for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 minutes. This is a green run, right? Are you sure this is a green, Dan? It won't be steep, right? There won't be moguls, right? All questions I nagged Dan with as we climbed higher and higher. My fears diminished as Dan reassured me that I would be fine, and he'd make sure I got down safely. So with one glance down the mountain, I threw on my best façade of confidence and went for it...

I quickly noticed that squatting down very low while making wide turns that traverse the width of the entire run will actually 1) turn you into a moving target for people who actually know what they're doing and 2) rocket you into an uncontrollable speed. After zig-zag bombing down a portion of the run and beginning to wonder if this might be the way I die, I sat back on my skis and allowed myself to slide/tumble/slip to a stop. Dan quickly made his way down to help stand me up, brush me off, and encourage me to continue down the run at a slower speed. Slow down? Do I look like I want to be going this fast?

After a deep breath, I went at it again, and I wiped out again. I went at it again, and I wiped out again. This ski-and-wipe-out cycle continued over and over again until we lost our group of friends and it was just Dan and me. During one of the more epic falls, I slid a good 20 to 30 feet on my butt as my skis spewed snow in all directions before coming to a stop. When I glanced up through snow-stung eyes, I saw a man laughing hysterically at my mishap as he gracefully glided on his skis. You're right, sir, this is pretty funny stuff happening right here on this mountain. I laughed for a second or two and then stopped when I realized that I was covered in snow, shaking from fatigue, and feeling completely discouraged.

After more cheerleading from Dan, I followed him down another section of the run but took a wrong turn and went up a large hill while he went down another. I watched him disappear behind a patch of pine trees as I stood fearful on the top of a steep portion of the run, and I cried. Nothing like a quick and snowy minute of tears to reboot a first-time skier's confidence, I suppose. Somehow, in what must have been a ski-crisis miracle, I remembered the yoga mantra that usually helps me when I'm feeling completely overwhelmed by a tricky pose, and I began repeating it to myself. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. Yes, I can.

I then side-stepped my way down the steepest part of the slope (that mantra is only so powerful), and then pointed my skis downward and went for it. During moments when I felt like I was losing control and about to force a fall to escape my fearfulness, I repeated the mantra. I didn't fall the rest of the way down and more importantly, I started to enjoy myself. It turns out that during my beginner's skiing epiphany, Dan 1) hiked back up the mountain to look for me, 2) couldn't find me, 3) assumed I had likely tangled myself in a patch of trees/plummeted down a black run, and 4) decided he needed to alert the ski rescue crew. Fortunately, I found him right as he was walking over to alert someone. Embarrassing scene averted.

For the remainder of our trip, I used the mantra to move myself from fearful to empowered, and it allowed me to understand why people love skiing so much. I still ~~fell~~ yard-saled a few more times but learned that there is fun to be had in the process of falling.

Since returning home, I've been using mantras more regularly to push myself through moments when I feel stuck. Do you use mantras? If so, what are your favorites and when do you use them? Below are some of the mantras I find most helpful...

1| Let. It. Go.

2| Yes, I can.

3| The time is now.

4| Inhale love, exhale hate.

5| I am enough. I have enough. There is enough.

6| Quiet. Focus. Trust.

7| Breathe in peace, breathe out love.

8| Be true. Be kind. Be present. Breathe.

So what does this long, rambling ski story have to do with tomato soup?

Nothing other than the fact that it's the perfect meal to warm up after being out in the cold and covered in snow. Considering most of the midwest was in a blizzard/arctic freeze over the last few days, a soup recipe was warranted.

This vegan tomato soup gets its rich and creamy texture from puréed cauliflower and nutritional yeast. The addition of red bell pepper, garlic, and plenty of spices create layers of flavor that will keep you coming back for more.

It's the perfect meal to warm your heart during lunch or dinner, and it's pretty much a requirement that it be paired with grilled cheese.

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