SUPER GREENS SOUP

I love soups and I have a handful that rotate and are staples in my frig at all times. They can be used as a meal or a snack. They can be eaten hot or cold depending on the season and of course, your palette. I happen to love them for breakfast. WHAT???? Yep, they are ready to go, fill me up with just one cup and taste amazing. Homemade soups are so much better for you than a canned or prepared soup, mostly because of the sodium level. The invention of the instant pot has made making soup super easy and fast. I happen to like most of my soups blended ( I use an immersion blender) so I can sip them like coffee… no muss….no fuss! I didn’t even know what an immersion blender was till a year ago. Good old Amazon has them and I personally think they should be a staple in your kitchen, (I used mine to blend sugar and mint leaves for a citrus salad last night and it worked beautifully. So, many more uses than just soups!)

An important hint: always use fresh lemons or limes if called for in a recipe. This makes a huge difference and could be the difference between liking and loving a recipe. We live in Arizona 6 months our of the year and have a lemon tree. I can tell the difference between a fresh picked and store bought lemon. I sure would love to send each and every one of you a box of lemons. Our tree produces over 1,000 a season and we can’t give enough of them away. (Imagine my horror at a dollar a lemon when in Ohio…ugh!!)

I throw all the following ingredients into an instant pot, set the time for 25 minutes and do a slow release. I use an emulsion blender for my finished product.

2 TBL. olive oil

1 medium to large onion, chopped (you can never have too much onion)

3/4 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. Tarragon

8 oz. mushrooms (white or baby Portobello’s)

2 garlic cloves

3 cups of water

4 cups of veggie broth

1/3 c. Arborio rice

pinch of cayenne

one bunch of Parsley chopped, 2 handfuls of spinach and 2 handfuls of Kale (You can add any green leafy lettuce in addition to these listed. example: Arugula)

Cook and use emulsion blender…. ( 25 minutes in the instant pot..slow release)

After you have blended the above: Make this Tarragon cream sauce to stir into your hot soup. You can either do this with individual bowl or all at the same time. I used to add it to the soup mixture above and do it all at the same time but found the Tarragon and lemon lost most of its flavor with too much cooking. Now I add it to all of the soup after the emulsion blender step

6 TBL Go Veggie Vegan cheese (or cream cheese)

1 tsp. Tarragon

1 tsp. fresh lemon zest

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

** I add sriracha sauce to my soup each time I prepare a mug. Heats me from the inside out and is perfect on a cold morning or afternoon.

side note: I normally sauté the onion , garlic, oil and mushrooms in the instant pot while I gather the rest of the ingredients. This is not necessary but it sure makes your house smell good and motivates your time in the kitchen. .Be sure to play your favorite music in the background as you prepare your master piece.