Happy New Year, everyone! I recently flew back to Boston after spending my Winter Break with my family in California & I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back here. Not that I don’t love my family, I absolutely do, but coming back & seeing it snow is breathtaking. Walking about to the grocery store, cheeks rosy & face numb, with the snow drifting analogously to confetti was magical. It’s so beautiful here, but let’s not forget that it’s also a good deal colder here than it is in California. Channeling my inner Elsa, the cold never bothered me anyway, but that’s also because I’m equipped with recipes for comforting warm soups! Curious what’s in my arsenal? Spice up your life with my new spicy soup recipe that’ll keep you warm during this frosty season. If you’re on the West Coast or Florida–well, I suppose 18 ºC (64 ºF) is “cold” to you–this soup will suit you just fine. I present to you my Spicy Sweet Potato Soup, a cold buster whether it’s the weather or if you’re feeling under the weather.
Gluten-Free
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love food that’s been thoughtfully prepared like hidden treasure such as dumplings, wontons, casseroles, & stuffed vegetables. Thanksgiving’s traditional turkey is not traditional without its stuffing & my mom made the best kind: a Vietnamese French fusion stuffing featuring pork, peas, carrots, onions, bean threads, mushrooms, & a whole lot more. I was so used to this stuffing that whenever I ate the traditional stuffed turkey, my body secretly yearned the “porkloaf” my mom made. Last year, I made one of the best stuffings I ever had & no animal was involved. Well, that’s not entirely true because I stuffed the turkey with my stuffing, but the point is the stuffing was vegan. While it doesn’t hold a candle to my mom’s “porkloaf” (oink oink!) made with some secret part of pig, my stuffing was still quite delicious.
While these hidden gem meals are more time consuming to prepare, I find that I would much rather have a well prepared bowl of dumplings & noodles than a simple grilled fish with a side of vegetables. No hard feelings if you disagree, but for all of my vegetarians/vegans/pescetarians/people who just want a nice Meatless Mondays meal, invest in stuffing! This recipe for Nutty Stuffed Peppers can easily be altered to one’s tastes & is naturally low in calories, bad fats, cholesterol, & low carb! It’s also gluten-free, so if you’re the 1% of Americans suffering from Celiac’s disease, have at it!