Eat Well: Eat it, SOPA (de tortilla)!

As by now I'm sure you're well aware, many websites went dark today in protest of SOPA/PIPA. I have no idea how to go dark SO instead I waited until nightfall (dark) to post this recipe for sopa... de tortilla. Because puns are my revolt! For more information on the SOPA strike go here. If you haven't already, you can sign google's petition, here and/or write your congressperson, here.

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The following post was written by my mom, WWW who is as pro sopa (de tortilla) as she is anti SOPA (de stupido). Thanks, mom!
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I am LOVING experimenting with my Vitamix. Of course it makes amazing smoothies and you can increase vitamin intake by sneaking kale, spinach or other greens into fruit smoothies. Or, add more protein via nuts and seeds. My favorite nut smoothie so far is 2 handfuls of almonds, 1 banana, and 4 dates blended with unsweetened almond milk.
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This is a meal in itself. The Vitamix is also great for making veggie drinks. I can’t believe that a carrot blended in the Vitamix becomes liquid. No need for a juicer and that’s great because they are such a pain to clean.

The Vitamix comes with a cookbook, but I have heard from several sources that it isn’t the greatest. I tried the tortilla soup and it was kind of bland, so I came up with my own recipe. It got rave reviews from Larry. Make sure you use a good quality vegetable stock to start with. My favorite is Imagine Vegetable Cooking Stock. (Not their vegetable broth. There is a BIG difference). Of course if you have time, homemade stock is the best. You can make a lot of it and then freeze it to use for the base of your soups.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup (Sopa de Tortilla)
4 cups good quality vegetable broth, homemade or bought
3 ripe tomatoes, halved (or ½ can drained whole tomatoes)
1 cup hominy
1 large carrot, halved
1 stalk celery, halved
1 slice onion
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and halved
1 slice cabbage
3 teaspoons taco seasoning
1 teaspoon cumin
1 handful of cilantro leaves
½ can black beans

1. Place all ingredients except cilantro and black beans in the Vitamix in order listed and secure lid.
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Select variable 1. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed to variable 10, and then to high. Blend for 5-6 minutes or until heavy steam escapes from the vented lid.

Add cilantro and black beans and mix on variable 2 for about 10 seconds.

Pour mixture into a saucepan and add: 1 can drained organic corn.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes:
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Adjust seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Add: The juice of 1 lime

Pour hot soup into bowls. Add:
-Chopped avocado
-Crushed good quality tortilla chips
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(Serves 3-4)

Love,
WWW

12 comments:

Mama Smith | 8:57 PM

This looks great and I've heard so many wonderful things about the Vitamix. I still can't decide if it's worth the splurge and how it's really different from the assortment of food processors and blenders that I have now... but since no one that has one has ever had anything but rave reviews there must be something to it! Thanks, I love your recipes :)

Amelia | 10:39 PM

This looks fantastic and I'd love to try it, but I don't have a vitamix, and I doubt we'll be getting one soon, any chance for a translation for those without it?
My email is Searchingforamelia@gmail.com if the answer is yes. :)

SimpleIslandLiving | 11:20 PM

A Vitamix is definitely on my things-to-dream-about list. We're making do with a 13 year old blender. This recipe sounds fab though, can't wait to try it out using...food processor? Maybe that will work!

Trisaratops | 6:56 AM

I am soooo on the fence about a Vitamix, but so leaning toward one. I can tell you this: they are a local, family-owned company down the road from me in Cleveland, Ohio, and they do a TON to give back to the community. Which, for me, is pretty much enough reason to bite the bullet and pay more for their product. I played around with a friend's juicer and it was SUCH a pain to clean...Vitamix really makes carrots into juice?! WOW!

Oh man, that soup looks fabulous. I really need to just get one of these!

Anonymous | 7:09 AM

These look delicious!

My favourite smoothie: 1 banana, a dollop or two of organic almond butter, a small handful of cocoa nibs (this is the kind of thing I indulge in when I have some extra cash to throw around :P), and unsweetened almond milk.

Andrea | 7:39 AM

Not to play favorites I do love reading all your great work Rebecca, but I look forward to Wednesdays a whole lot because of your mom's great recipes and I love like big sloppy kisses my vitamix. I guess you could say the way to my heart is food. lol

Wendy Woolf | 11:48 AM

Amelia and others...If you make this without the Vitamix, it just takes longer as you have to cook it like a conventional soup. I would just add a few more tomatoes and a whole onion (and maybe more cabbage) and cook all the vegetables and spices together until the veggies are cooked, about 40 minutes. Then add the hominy, corn, and beans and cook another 10 minutes. It won't be as thick, but if you want to thicken, you can blend some of the hominy in a blender or food processor and add it to thicken it. What the Vitamix is great at is taking raw vegetables and pureeing them them so that they don't have to be cooked, giving you more nutrients.

Asha Dornfest {Parent Hacks} | 5:16 PM

Can I just say FIST BUMP FOR PUN LOVE, and also, thank you for bringing a little levity to a pretty sobering topic. Sopa de tortilla! I'll be giggling about that every time someone mentions SOPA from now on.

Anonymous | 2:18 PM

This sounds great. But do you use dried or canned hominy in the tortilla soup?

Thanks!

Jamila | 8:04 PM

Made this last night for guests (traditional cooking, no Vitamix), and it was a big hit. We all loved it. I served it with avocado, cilantro, and Greek yogurt, and forgot to put the tortillas chips on top! Will make it again soon to experience the full effect with tortillas, but even without, it was delicious! Thank you!

Anonymous | 6:57 PM

Used your recipe tonight. Thank you very much!

Tortilla Mejicano | 12:06 PM

First time I heard about Vitamix, I guess I will have to try it one day:)! Thank you very much!