It’s really is winter out there. It’s cold, and so windy. In other words, there is no better time for a soup then right now! And there’s no better one than this adzuki bean soup, with kale and sweet potatoes.

People walk down the street like hugging themselves, wrapped in coats, hats and scarves. When you look at the people on the street it seems that they just want to arrive to wherever it is there’re going to. Quickly, without getting too entangled along the way. Just to get to where they need to get, preferably somewhere closed, dry and warm.

I feel like here in Israel we’re not built for winter, and not just because of the infrastructure. Because most of the time it’s sunny here, winter can feel weird… We will change plans, cancel events, wait for weather to calm down.

But above all the food… oh the food. Bowls of soups and stews, so much green vegetables… for me the highlight of winter is its food. Warm, family-friendly, cozy, just the opposite of the weather. As if looking to balance what’s going on outside with what we put into our body.

Vegan Adzuki Bean, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

This soup is just what you want in a cold winter day – it’s warm, delicious, full with things that are good for your body. I am a fan of soups, and in this weather – soup for me is a must.

At the base of the soup is the Azuki bean. With sweet and nutty flavors, this bean is both healthy and easy-to-digest bean. The adzuki bean cooking time is shorter than the regular white bean. Like most legumes, it should be soaked in water for a few hours, at least 6 hours, before cooking. Also, when I soak beans I always soak much more then I need, and then store the rest in the freezer, in suitable bags/containers each contains 1 cup of beans.

It’s important to remember not to add salt when you cook the beans, because adding salt while cooking legumes prevents them to get soft. That’s why, in this case, you should only add salt at the end of the cooking.

Love soups? Here are a few more for you :

• Vegan potato and white bean soup
• Green lentil and mushroom soup
• White corn and miso soup
• Coconut vegetable and tofu curry soup

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Vegan Adzuki Bean, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

beans soaking time8 hours hrs

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Soup

serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup adzuki beans, soaked in fresh water for at least 8 hours, well washed and drained. the amount is for the dry adzuki beans before soaking.
• 2 medium size sweet potatoes or one large one, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup kale, without the main stem (about 4-5 stalks)
• 1 medium onion (about 1 cup), chopped
• 2-3 sprigs of celery (leaves included), chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 6 cups water
• ½ cup parsley, chopped

Instructions:

• In a deep pot, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion, chopped celery, turmeric powder, ground nutmeg and black pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the azuki beans to the pot. Make sure you're adding the adzuki beans after they were soaked in water for at least 8 hours, well washed and drained. Add water, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes after boiling, over medium-high heat.
• Using a knife or your clean hands, remove the central stem from the kale leaves (the central stem has a woody and unpleasant texture). Cut the kale very coarsely, or tear it into large pieces with your hands.
• Add the chopped sweet potatoes and the chopped kale to the pot. Bring to a second boil and cook for another 30 minutes. If necessary – add more water to the pot. At the end of cooking, make sure that the beans and sweet potatoes have softened and only then add salt and mix. Turn off the heat and add chopped parsley. Serve hot and enjoy.

Notes:

• Note that as with most legumes, the salt is added only after the beans have been cooked and are soft. Adding salt to legumes at the beginning of cooking greatly inhibits their softening.
• The beans should be soaked in clean and fresh water for at least 8 hours. It’s highly recommended to change the water at least once during that time. After that, rinse them thoroughly and filter.

Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out!
comment below or share it on instagram and tag #thehappylentils

הפוסט Vegan Adzuki Bean, Kale and Sweet Potato Soup הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.

The alarm clock rings. I wake up to a total darkness. It takes me exactly a quarter of a second to snap out of the sleep I was in a moment ago. I get out of bed, take the clothes I set up for me the day before and change them quietly in the bathroom, all while washing my face and brushing my teeth. Then, I sit on the bathroom floor, put a sock on and then put my foot into the shoe and tie it up. The same with the other leg. Suddenly a slight sense of festivity, that can’t be explained, sneaks in.

I walk quietly down the corridor to the kitchen. Everyone is still asleep, and I open the refrigerator door for light. I grab and eat a few nuts, one date, and drink water. Finally I take my phone packed in his carrier and my headphones, and leave the house. It’s dark outside, and so quiet. There is no one on the streets. And suddenly, again, the same sense of festivity fills me up, but this time it’s justified. The ceremony begins.

I put the headphones on and play the most important playlist on the phone, the most private. You can find songs of David Bowie along with Kendrick Lamar, along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, along with Beyoncé, I don’t know why. that’s how I am. No matter what the first song is, I’m pleased. That’s it, I’m in my own world. I put down the volume so that it won’t be too loud, I’ll turn it up later, wrap the phone around my hand and start walking. In the dark. Alone. With music blowing in my ears. A few minutes later I turn on my running watch and start running. I know the road, I know exactly how many meters pass between each point, I know the rhythm of my breaths and the sensation of my legs along the way. And the silence. Oh, that quiet that won’t come back all day long. My silence, my breathing, my feet that land on the road time after time. A silence that is all about listening to myself, even if the music is at high volume.

The minutes pass and so do the miles. The sun enters the skies more and more, it’s quite clear that the day is coming. Five minutes away from my house, I switch to walking, adjust my breath and give myself a little smile. The sun is out and there are quite a few cars on the roads that were empty just a while ago. Next to my house I stretch and my neighbor from the first floor leaves the building for his work day. He looks at me surprised, and I return a small, almost apologetic smile: “Good morning,” I think he answers back but I’m not really sure because of the headphones. When I enter my house, everyone is still asleep. I know these are the last moments of quiet and I enjoy them so much. Again I scatter in the dark to find clothes, and go into the shower. After I finish I wash my running clothes and hang them to dry. When I walk down the hall to the kitchen, It’s not so quiet anymore. My time with me is up.

“mom…”

This recipe is one of my favorites, and it is also my “house granola,” which means that you will almost always find a jar full of this goodness on my kitchen counter. I like to eat it for breakfast with yogurt and fruit, and it always gives me the feeling that I’m doing something good for my body. The granola recipe is very flexible and forgiving, and you can easily replace all kinds of nuts / dried fruit / seeds in what you like and have available at that moment, as long as you keep the same quantities (more or less). Of course you can also play with the sugar quantities according to your own preference.

It is important to make sure to let the granola cool completely after baking and before adding the dried cranberries and goji berry (the same applies to raisins / dried apricots, dates or any other dry fruit you wish to add), otherwise they will harden and feel like stones in your mouth. and try it with hazelnuts! OK, now the recipe:)

The recipe is based on this recipe by Leah Shomron Finder.

Print Recipe

Homemade Granola

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

serves: 8 cups

Ingredients:

• 4 cups old fashioned oats, (400 gr/14 oz)
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup goji berries
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup demerara sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut or canola oil , (or other healthy oil)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened natural silan (date honey syrup)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C.
• Combine in a mixing bowl the oats, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, pecans, walnuts and almonds.
• Combine in a separated bowl the demerara sugar, coconut or canola oil, silan, water, cinnamon and salt.
• Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well and toss to coat.
• Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for about 45 minutes (depending on your oven). Toss every 15 minutes.
• Let the granola cool off completely before adding the goji berries and dried cranberries.
• Store in an airtight container (up to 3 weeks, but it wouldn’t last that long:))

הפוסט Homemade Granola הופיע לראשונה ב- The Happy Lentils.