Vegan Mofo 12: Edamame Soup

I used to eat taking more care to observe "5 a Day the Color Way." It's such an easy way to make sure that your veggie intake is both plentiful and varied. I usually knocked it all out in one meal with a big salad, sandwich, or pasta dish, and then the rest was a bonus.

I'm not as good at that these days, but I was still really excited to get my hands on Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Color me Vegan. The book is organized by color groups, each of which has an explanation of what you'll be getting from it, and ways to get more of it. That alone makes for a bright and beautiful book, with a lot of pictures. Each group also features the same categories: Starters and Salads, Soups and Stews, Sides, Main Dishes, and Desserts.

I also love that nearly every page has a Compassionate Cooks' Tip, Food Lore, or a bit of trivia. It's a fun book to just read while sitting around some afternoon.

The color groups are helpful if you're trying to boost your variety, but I find the real benefit is in the attractive presentation. Every dish is vibrant and tempting. I usually make meals that taste better than they look, but I've made quite a bit from this book and I take the day every time.

This time around I made Edamame Soup. It's probably a waste of time to say that soup is easy, but forgive me. I haven't made loads of soups in my time, so I'm a little new at this. At least my immersion blender is finally earning its stripes.

What is not a waste of time is to say that this soup is great. Of course when I say soup, I really mean pudding. It's extremely thick, and really serves as a meal. I topped it with the suggested toasted sesame oil, but next time I'll use chili sesame oil. I wanted to top it with hijiki, but I was out, so I sprinkled it with dulse flakes, which was pleasantly tasty. I will make this again to snack on while rolling sushi, but it's so filling I might really be making sushi leftovers.

I've gotta stop being lazy and taking poorly framed, poorly lit pictures right before I eat. For the record, I tried to snap a new picture before this was scheduled to post and burned the hell out of my hand!