Dairy-Free Creamy Avocado Soup

by Amie on May 14, 2012

Happy Monday.

It was a glorious sunny weekend in Manhattan.

I spent all day on Saturday downtown at the Union Square Market where I loaded up on avocados, kale, collards and asparagus.

And all day Sunday with my family wandering around Central Park- passing the Great Lawn, Sheep’s Meadow, the reservoir and the lakes…climbing rocks and heading down trails- we were so deep inside the park that we couldn’t even hear a car or see any buildings…just pure trees, grass, fresh air, water and good ol’ Mother Nature.

It was a perfect weekend and a fabulous Mother’s Day spent with my amazing mother whom I miss already.

The sun was shining and it was in the 80′s…a bit hot in the sunshine but so nice and breezy.  It was pure bliss- and a nice welcome to the summer weather that’s right around the corner.

I came home from a long day in the park and wanted to make a refreshing dish.  I took one look at my food processor and the nice big bag of avocados on my counter and thought — chilled green soupy!

I swear it tastes better than it sounds.

It’s not like a green eggs n’ ham kinda thing.

So let’s make some soup, shall we?

This is my new favorite avocado soup recipe.  It’s nice n’ thick and creamy- full of yummy things like cashews, fresh herbs and green tea.

The super-ripe avocados makes it extra creamy and it’s best topped with a few diced chives and possibly another dollop of yogurt.

Trust me, the name ‘creamy’ rings true here as the dairy-free yogurt adds a smooth, rich touch.

Now don’t go thinkin’ this is some watery, chicken broth bland soup ’cause it’s not.

This is a belly chillin’-sun-shinin’-love-in-a-bowl-soup.

So go ahead whip out your food processor and be true to your inner avocado goddess. You know you’ve got one.

You can easily make it tonight with a quick trip to the market, guys and gals- I assure you- it’s a green winner.

Dairy-Free Creamy Avocado Soup

Print

Recipe type: Appetiser

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Gluten-Free and Vegan

Ingredients

• 3 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 2 cups plain dairy-free yogurt such as SoDelicious
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/3 cup cilantro
• 1/3 cup vidalia onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup green tea, brewed and chilled
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
• 2 chives, finely chopped

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine avocado, yogurt almonds, cilantro, onion, balsamic vinegar, green tea, sea salt and pepper; pulse until smooth.
2. Remove from blender; transfer to a bowl and cover. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Ladle soup into four bowls; serve chilled. Garnish with chives.

2.2.6

 

{ 9 comments }

Dole Summit

by Amie on May 11, 2012

O what an amazing trip…

Last week I had the pleasure of working with the Dole Fresh Vegetable team out in Monterey, California.

One word sums up the delicious vegetables, beautiful sights and incredible people.

Exceptional.

I had such an amazing time and was truly honored to be  invited out to Monterrey.  The folks at Dole were fabulous and I learned so much about how the vegetables are grown and was able to see the process from the fields to my plate.

We had a fabulous Salad Party on the outdoor patio of our hotel where we grilled romaine at the BBQ station, enjoyed crudites with guacamole and salsa in fun popcorn containers and had the chance to taste a little bit of everything- so many fun ways to eat veggies.

And you all know how much I love my veggies.

We took a trip to the Dole plant where they gave us a Lettuce Quiz and had us guess the type of veggie in each container- let’s just say there are more forms of lettuce that I had ever imagined.

I actually thought I knew every lettuce variety, but apparently not.

Dole has so many and it was fun to taste the distinct textures and tastes of each one from Romaine to Butter to Radicchio to Bibb.

Then we were off to the fields…

My pretty toes were mushed in the iceberg field.

And here’s the core of an iceberg lettuce head- I actually ate a whole head right on the fields. I’m sure you saw the funny pictures of me on Twitter with this- it was pretty hysterical but tasted SO fresh and delish.

I’ve never had better tasting iceberg in my life.

Honestly.

And I’m usually not an Iceberg Cheerleader.

Pretty rows of lettuce all in a row with the beautiful backdrop of the Monterrey mountains.

It was breathtaking and for a moment I thought I was dreaming. I mean- I’m surrounded by yellow cabs in Manhattan everyday and then all of a sudden here I am in the California sunshine eating heads of iceberg with tractors and mountains.

We spent a whole morning driving along the 17 mile drive and tour of Pebble Beach, which had by far the most beautiful and breathtaking views I’ve ever seen.

I kinda wanted to just jump into the water- veggies in hand and all. But I think it was a bit too chilly for that.

So I just decided to snap some pretty pictures for you to see – and I stayed dry, munched on my Dole cherry tomatoes and explored Pebble  Beach.

The Pebble Beach Golf Club- O my goodness what a beautiful spot. I’d be happy camping out there amongst some pretty fancy schmancy people and pro golfers.

Thank you Dole for an amazing trip. I for one am not kidding when I say I’m actually going to pick up more Dole Salad mixes than I did before this trip.

Why?

Well, ya see we learned about pesticide use and so many other incredible things that Dole does with their vegetables and it made me realize that I’m missing out on something pretty darn good.

They use such a small amount of pesticides and everything was incredible clean and perfectly monitored.

This trip was well worth the trip to the West Coast- I love California and met amazing foodies as well as the talented Dole team and learned a great deal about how Dole salads and vegetables are brought from the farms to our plates.

I don’t know about you but I’m having a Dole Salad Party on Memorial Day Weekend at my beach home and I can’t wait to serve the Dole Salad Mixes and start chowing down.

You probably already know I’ve never met a veggie I didn’t like but these salads and veggies are topping my list as favorites.  Plus, they look so pretty on the table- almost too nice to eat.

But that’s not stopping me.

I just munched on a head of Butter lettuce this morning with an avocado, cherry tomatoes and eggs.

So perfect. So simple. So Dole.

{ 7 comments }

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