Vegan Mofo: A Tale of Two Chard Soups

Creamy Chard Soup w/ Tostones, from The Inspired Vegan

 I have this vision that comes to me when I'm feeling under the weather. Since I'm already compelled to eat lots of garlic, my Dayquil-addled brain reasons, why not just roast a shitload then make it into a soup? Yes, roasted garlic soup! With some greens! Why not? It should work!

Roasted Garlic Soup (kinda)

But you know, it kind of doesn't. I mean, its not horrible or anything, but I've never successfully managed to bring out the rich, velvety flavor of roasted garlic without drowning it in broth. Well pas failures aside,  I tried my old trick again this week, this time spicing it up with some swiss chard, mushrooms, and a bit of miso. (And then, since I was sick and couldn't taste it anyways, I squeezed a bunch of lemon juice and put a bunch more diced up garlic in there too.) It was fine. It got the job done- the job being "transporting nutrients to my system"- but one couldn't really call it "Soul Food."

I will perfect this one day, troopers. But this week, I had to make room for another Chard soup, this one from Bryant Terry.

I actually spend a lot of time on this blog discussing how much I like Bryant Terry, I realize, but he actually is so freaking cool that he sort of deserves it. His cookbooks are packed full of exactly what I would describe as "Soul Food"- vibrant, multi-ethnic dishes with history and flavor that doesn't come from using fancy ingredients. His Creamy Chard Soup with Tostones (pictured above), for example, has very few ingredients- some chard, coconut milk, a pinch of cayenne, some plantains- but its all about the technique and the mix. He says its inspired by a Carribean dish, with Tostones naturally being a Latin American addition that brings some crunch to the subtle soup. (They are also a fun way to release aggression, I have learned.)

So thanks to Terry for saving the day. And now on to the next culinary soul food adventure!

Song of the Day: Sister Nancy- Bam Bam