Mushroom's Sweet and Savory Spaghetti Squash

Tony: Aha, okay. Hey, Joe! Butch-a he say he wants-a two spaghetti speciale, 

heavy on the meats-a ball.

Joe: Tony, dogs-a don't a-talk!

Tony: He's a-talkin' to me!

Joe: Okay, he's a-talkin' to you! You the boss! 

-Lady and the Tramp

Stoney and I survived Snowmagedden here in Nashville.  It was a good thing we had plenty of leftovers, though, because when we finally emerged from the apartment on Sunday to take our weekly grocery shopping trip, we were amazed at what we saw when we arrived at Kroger (the farmer's market was, predictably, closed).  Most of the produce was gone -- vast, empty shelves stood before us.  At this point we were starting to get nervous.  Nearly everything we needed to make dinner, which was to consist of spaghetti squash, mushrooms, and brussels sprouts, was missing.  We were able to find a small spaghetti squash on the shelf, but the other items were conspicuously absent.  Eventually, we stumbled on a restocking cart with a few containers of white mushrooms.  While not ideal for our sauce, we grabbed them.  We also struck out on one of the key ingredients for another recipe we will be making this week - homemade ruebans using sauerkraut that we made back in October!  The missing ingredient?  Rye Bread.  Le sigh.  After checking out at Kroger, we made our way over to the small, very nice (but also expensive) grocery store near our apartment.  Luckily, they had some beautiful brussels sprouts, so I was able to make dinner as planned.  

We even grabbed a handful of shiitake mushrooms to add to the white mushrooms.  However, we ended up having to settle on the bread for the ruebans, buying a multigrain bread instead.  Oh well.

Our "spaghetti" dinner was perfect for a cold winter's night.  Slightly sweet thanks to a little maple syrup on the brussels sprouts, and earthy and savory, thanks to the mushroom sauce.  The only issue we ran into was that we ended up with a very small spaghetti squash, and I had planned for a bigger squash, so my sauce to squash ratio was a little off.

What you need:

• 1 large spaghetti squash, halved, with seeds scraped out
• 1 lb Brussels Sprouts, quartered
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 cups mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 large shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1.5 cup raw cashews
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1.5 cup water

Although this recipe has a lot of moving parts, it's actually pretty simple.  Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.  Rub the inside of the spaghetti squash with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place face down on a greased baking sheet, cooking for 45 minutes.  

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a bowl large enough to hold your brussels sprouts.  Stir in the maple syrup, and then toss in the brussels sprouts and 1 tsp sea salt, making sure the sprouts are thoroughly coated.  Set the bowl aside.

When there is 20 minutes remaining on the spaghetti squash, place the brussels sprouts on a greased baking sheet (one layer) and place in oven, cooking for 20 minutes.

When everything is done, let the squash cool (or don't, we usually just use heat gloves for this part) and scrape the spaghetti-ness out into a serving bowl.

Next, heat 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and shallot, cooking until the garlic is fragrant.  Add in the mushrooms and cook until they have browned slightly.  

After the mushrooms have cooked, add mushrooms, water, nutritional yeast, and cashews to the vitamix and blend well.  Pour your sauce over the spaghetti squash, and garnish with brussels sprouts.

Viper Tomato "Bisque"

For christmas, I received an immersion blender, which is something I have been desperately wanting.  Although the vitamix is a miracle machine and I am still smitten with it after a year, it was always a hassle to ladle hot soup into it whenever I wanted a smoothly pureed, thick, creamy soup.  For my first recipe with the immersion blender, I decided to play around with tomato soup.  I love tomato soup, but my favorite type of tomato soup is generally filled with cream, which isn't really diet-friendly.  To revamp the recipe, I decided to veganize it and create a tomato "bisque" using tofu, a few cashews, and nutritional yeast (we call this stuff magical vegan fairy dust in my house - it's so good!).  Now, I am not sure that our recipe was 100% vegan, as I added in some white wine and I have no idea whether the brand I used was vegan friendly, but if you are interested in making the recipe and being 100% sure it is vegan, you can go to this website, which provides a handy guide to vegan wine (and other alcohol).

What you need:

• 3.5 lbs fresh tomatoes, cored and halved
• 1 14oz. container of tofu, drained (I used firm because that was all that was available, but I think silken would be prefereable)
• 1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted cashews 
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup dried basil
• 1 tbsp Emeril Essence Seasoning (or Old Bay)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 dried red chile pepper, de-seeded

Turn the oven broiler to high.  Place your tomatoes on an oiled baking sheet and place them in the oven to broil.  Let them broil until they have blackened slightly (around 5-10 minutes) and then put them in the crock pot.

In a blender, add cashews, 1 cup vegetable broth, and the red pepper, and blend until you have a nice puree.  Add that mixture to the crock pot.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat and then saute the onions.  Add the cooked onions to the crock pot, as well.

Dump the rest of your ingredients into the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  When you are ready to serve, use an immersion blender to make the soup into a beautifully creamy consistency.  Enjoy!  We served it with some hot, crusty bread, and it was a great way to stay warm and cozy on a cold evening!

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Blood Magic: Vegetarian Borscht

Stoney and I have been on a vegetable kick lately, and I decided to make a vegetarian version of one of my favorite soups: Borscht!  I've made borscht in the past using the stovetop, and while it's always delicious, it's a pain in the neck to make.  The solution?  Crock pot it!  I also had the vitamin to help me puree up some of the recipe, so that was an extra plus.

What you need:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 4 small celery stalks
• 4 small daikons, peeled and chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 leek, diced
• 3 beets, peeled and chopped
• 2 14oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 medium green cabbage, shredded
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt & pepper, to taste
• Optional toppings: yogurt or sour cream; horseradish or dill

To begin, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and then sauté the garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and daikon, seasoning with salt and pepper. Once everything has softened, pour it into a blender along with one can of tomatoes and puree it.

Next, sauté the leeks in the skillet that you used for the onion mixture, adding a little more oil if necessary.

 Put your puree in the slow-cooker, and then add in the other ingredients (except the optional garnishes).

Let it cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4).  I had planned to whip up some horseradish yogurt to serve it with, but I forgot yogurt at the store, so that didn't happen, but I still maintain that it would be outrageously delicious.  Sour cream and dill would also be a tasty addition.

Winter is Coming Pumpkin Alfredo

With fall officially winding down, I decided to make one last delicious pumpkin dish.  The "alfredo" sauce is incredibly easy to throw together, and it was really tasty with a big pile of zucchini noodles.

What you need:

• 4 zucchinis
• 3/4 cup raw, unsalted cashews
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (or more, depending on how much you like garlic)
• 2 springs fresh rosemary, stems removed and discarded
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (canned or make your own)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• salt & pepper, to taste 

Start by spiraling your zucchini into zoodles.  To keep the zoodles from getting too watery when you cook them, I recommend spreading them in a thin layer on a paper towel, sprinkling with salt, covering with another paper towel, and gently pressing the paper fowl down.  Let them sit this way while you get everything else ready, and that way a lot of the moisture will be pulled out of them.

The rest is pretty simple.   Blend the cashews and 1/2 cup of vegetable broth in a blender.   Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat, and then add in garlic and rosemary, cooking until fragrant.

I used more than 1 tbsp of garlic... it's just too tasty!

Turn the heat to low, add in your blended cashew mix - at this point, to get the last bit of cashew/broth paste out of the blender, I put the remaining 1/2 cup vegetable broth in the blender and blended with the remaining paste.  Pour that in your saucepan, too.  Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, and salt and pepper, as well.  Stir to make sure everything is blended and let it heat through.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat, and then toss in your zucchini noodles.  Cook until heated through.

Remove the zucchini noodles from heat and mix in your sauce.

Enjoy!

Summer Isles: Mango and Peach Tilapia Zoodles

Sorry doesn't make the noodles!

Mr. Ping, Kung Fu Panda

Noodles are great.  Noodles made of zucchini (and other squash)?  Even better, because you get to eat a ton of them and not feel bad!  I recently got a vegetable spiralizer and discovered zoodles, so I decided to take advantage of my new toy and make a really good, summer-inspired dinner.  If you don't have a spiralizer, you can either julienne the squash, or peel them into ribbons.

What you need:

• 3 large yellow squash spiralized
• 2 large zucchini spiralized
• 1 lb tilapia filets
• 4 tbsp peach hot sauce
• 1 cup frozen mango slices
• 1 cup frozen peach slices
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 6 tbsp vegetable broth
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro

Be sure to let your frozen fruit thaw (at least mostly). Obviously you can just bypass this step by using fresh fruit.

Heat the spiraled vegetables in a skillet, just to get them warm.  Drain and place in a bowl.

Brush the tops of your tilapia filets with 1 tbsp of the peach hot sauce, place the filets on a greased baking sheet, and broil on high for 6 minutes on each side (12 minutes total), or until fish is cooked through and flaky.

While the fish cooks, combine broth, fruit, lime juice, and the remaining 3 tbsp of hot sauce in a blender and blend until you have a smooth and creamy sauce.

When fish is done, use a fork to flake the fish, and combine the zoodles, flaked fish, cilantro and sauce in a large bowl.  Stir well so the zoodles and fish are coated in the sauce and cilantro, and serve!

The recipe makes about 4 dinner servings or more appetizer servings. 

Martell Gazpacho

It's not blood, it's tomato juice!

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

When I was in Spain, my favorite thing to eat was gazpacho.  Even the grocery store gazpacho was delicious.  It is the perfect summer dish, in my mind.  After getting the vitamix, I vowed to make a delicious gazpacho once the weather turned nice, and I am happy to say I succeeded in my goal.  It's an incredibly simple recipe, and took all of 20 minutes to make (and that includes the time spent rough-chopping the vegetables).  And the best part?  The only clean-up required involved wiping down the cutting board and the vitamix.  Couldn't be simpler.  The recipe makes about 8 cups, so serve it as an appetizer for a summer dinner party, have it for lunch during the week, or let it be dinner for a couple of nights!

What you need:

• 2 lbs Tomatoes, stems removed and quartered
• 4 inch slice of French Baguette (and then you can eat the rest of the baguette with the soup!)
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 1 small-medium yellow onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• Salt & Pepper to taste. 

Other than chopping your veggies, the only other prep you need to do is to soak the piece of bread in water, and once it is saturated, squeeze the water out as best you an and throw it in the blender with everything else.  Start by putting the tomatoes, poblano, and cucumber in the vitamix, and let it run just long enough to liquefy everything and give you some more room in the blender (assuming the veggies have filled it up!).  Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high until it is smooth.  Don't let the soup get hot!  Pour the soup into a large serving bowl or pitcher and refrigerate for at least an hour, to be sure it is nicely chilled upon serving.

Jack-Be-Lucky: Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—
Of cabbages—and kings—
And why the sea is boiling hot—
And whether pigs have wings."

 -Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

In the spirit of St. Patrick, I decided to do a green cabbage recipe last week.  I'm not a huge fan of the traditional corned beef with boiled cabbage and potatoes, so I opted for cabbage leaves stuffed with a cheesy sweet potato filling and topped with a creamy ricotta and butternut squash sauce.  To round out the Irish experience, we paired it with a Guinness.  Sláinte!

• 6 green cabbage leaves (removed from outside of cabbage head)
• 1 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
• 3 small sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 cup corn (I used some leftover frozen corn that I had in the freezer)
• 1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 bags frozen butternut squash, thawed
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 8 oz. low-fat ricotta cheese
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic
• 1 1/2 cup water

Preheat your oven to 375, get a small pot of water boiling, and have another bowl of ice cold water out.  As you wait for the water to boil, add one of the chopped onions and the garlic to a non-stick skillet, and saute until onions are translucent.  Add the corn, cabbage, and carrot to the skillet, and cook another 3 minutes.  Pour vegetables into a bowl, and stir in the cheddar cheese and mashed potatoes.

At this point, your water should be boiling, so immerse each cabbage leaf in the boiling water for 30 seconds, and then immediately immerse it in the ice water.  Now you can stuff your leaves.  I did one roll, so that the leaf was covering the filling, then tucked the edges in, and then finished rolling.  Place your stuffed cabbage leaves in a greased baking dish.

Stuffed leaf

Place squash, water, and the second onion in a pot and simmer until everything is tender, and then blend the squash mixture in a vitamix or food processor.  Stir in ricotta and parsley after blending, and pour the sauce over the stuffed cabbage.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven - delicious!

Sun and Stars Valentine's Day Feast

You are the moon of my life.

Game of Thrones

Card from my cat, Pangur.
She also apparently got Stoney to
buy me a bottle of wine from her.

So, a few days late, but it took me all of yesterday to recover from our feast.  I love excuses to eat fancy food, and since I was unwilling to let a restaurant rob Stoney and me for the privilege of eating at their establishment on Valentine's Day, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and make us a fancy dinner for the occasion.  I will admit, I was planning the menu back in January.  

It all started while watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations.  The episode took place in Croatia, and Tony spent most of his time there raving about the exceptional quality of Croatian wines.  He was particularly taken with wines he was served at BibicH winery.  So naturally, I started hunting for places to buy a bottle of this allegedly fantastic wine.  This led me to Blue Danube Wine, an online seller of wines from Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Georgia, and Montenegro.  I purchased a bottle of the G6 Grenache, and after a little research, decided on a lamb pairing.  Of course, any fancy dinner should have multiple courses, so I settled on a Lobster Bisque and White Burgundy (Louis Jadot pouilly-fuissé) for our first course, with Lamb and Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts for the second.  For dessert, it was a simple plate of chocolate covered strawberries and a Nectarine wine from Mountain Valley Winery in Pigeon Forge, TN.

Course 1: Lobster Bisque

What you need:

• 4 lobster tails
• 1/3 cup Sherry
• A little over 1/3 cup White Burgundy (or chardonnay of your choice, I suggest using whatever you plan to drink with it)
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Emeril Essence (this is an approximation, I just shook a little into the pot)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 5 oz. evaporated milk
• 1 1/3 cup half & half
• 1 cup chicken stock (I actually wanted seafood stock, but I didn't see any at the store, so I settled for chicken)

I ended up getting frozen lobster tails because they were on sale at Earth Fare, so if you do the same, make sure to put them in the fridge the night before to let them thaw.  When you finally have non-frozen lobster tails, grab your kitchen scissors and cut through the shell on the belly.  This makes it incredibly easy to peel the shell off.  Once you've gotten the meat out of the shell, cut it into chunks.  Next, place the meat in a bowl or shallot dish and cover with wine and sherry.  Cover the dish and set in the refrigerator to let it marinate for about an hour.  Once you've opened the wine, I'd recommend putting it in the refrigerator or a wine chiller to keep it cool and make sure it's ready to serve later.

Chop up all your veggies, and then melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat.

Once the butter has melted, toss in the veggies, the Emeril Essence, and salt and pepper to taste, and sauté until the veggies start getting soft.  Make sure to keep stirring as you go.  

When your veggies have softened, add in the tomato paste.  Let it cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, and then add in the flour, cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes and continuing to stir constantly.

Stir in your broth and lobster/wine mixture, and then stir in the evaporated milk and half & half.  Once you have the combined mixture bubbling, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Remove a small amount of the cooked lobster meat and set it aside for use as garnish later.  

Spoon your soup into a vitamin or blendtec blender and puree.  If you don't have a high-powered blender, an immersion blender would work just as well.  After pureeing the mixture, pour into a bowl, add in the lobster meat that you set aside, and serve immediately.

Course 2: Sautéed Lamb and Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts 

Course #2 was surprisingly easy to make, although I will admit that while I was searing the lamb, I generated enough smoke to make it look like the whole house was on fire.  I'm still not quite sure what went wrong there, because I seared the remaining lamb the following day without incident.  Just be prepared for the possibility.  If you have a fan or vent above the stove, this would probably be a non-issue.

What you need for the lamb:

• 4 lamb rib chops (I bought a rack of lamb and just cut four of the ribs off, reserving the remaining four chops for a lamb stew)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Herbes de Provence
• Salt & pepper to taste

Mix together 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic, Herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper to make a paste.  Rub the paste into both sides of each rib chop, cover ribs, and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Heat remaining oil per medium-high heat in a sauté pan.  Sear rib chops about 3 minutes on each side (really anywhere from 2-4 minutes, depending on how thick your chops are).  Let chops rest for 5 minutes before serving.

The lamb really did pair well with the G6, so I would highly recommend a Grenache with it.

What you need for the Brussels Sprouts:

• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (you can probably add up to 3 tbsp without making them too sweet)
• Salt, to taste
• 1 lb Brussels Sprouts

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut the Brussels Sprouts in half.  Heat the coconut oil and mix with maple syrup and salt in a bowl large enough to hold your brussels sprouts.  Mix in the brussels bprouts.  My the time you are done mixing, the coconut oil will likely have become solid again, leaving you with brussels sprouts that look like this:

Spread out your sprouts on a baking sheet, cook for 30 minutes, and then serve.  I didn't bother to flip mine and they came out great, but if you feel so inclined, you could flip them halfway through to get a more even cook.  

The North Remembers: Lentil & Sweet Potato Stew

This was after stew.  But then, so is everything.  When the first man crawled out of the slime and went to make his home on land, what he had for dinner was stew.

-William Goldman, The Princess Bride

This stew was the perfect dinner on a cold night.  It was full of flavor and incredibly satisfying.  Another plus?  It was incredibly easy to make!  We basically just there everything into a pot and let it turn into a thick, flavorful stew.

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups lentils
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• 2 tomatoes, blended in food processor or vitamix
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 4 cups spinach

First, combine the lentils, broth, water, onion, and garlic in a large soup pot and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.  Once boiling, add salt, turmeric, black pepper, and ginger.  Stir, reduce heat, cover, and let everything simmer for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add all of the remaining ingredients except for the spinach, stir, bring the mixture back to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for another 30 minutes.  

Stir in the spinach in the last 5-7 minutes of cook time.  This will let it wilt without overcooking it.  Serve and enjoy!

Mhysa: Amy's Vegan Pizza

John: If he gets the wormhole tech, what will he use it for?

Harvey: Faster delivery of pizzas

Farscape

My favorite frozen pizza of all time is Amy's No Cheese Roasted Vegetable Pizza.  What I don't love is the fact that pizza dough is so calorie dense.  So, I set out to re-create my favorite frozen pizza, but with a cauliflower crust.  In the end, I think it turned out really well, and I would absolutely make it again, but I will definitely make more dough next time so that I can have the crust fill me entire baking sheet.  The final product was a 100% vegan, 100% delicious, healthy version of pizza.

What you need:

• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1/4 cup corn flour
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp flax meal
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or almond, or rice, whatever floats your boat)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 can artichoke hearts
• 1/2 jar roasted red pepper
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms
• 2 tomatoes, seeded
• 1 jar tomato paste
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning

Making the dough:

To begin, place your cauliflower in a food processor or a vitamix and blend until the cauliflower is crumbly and has the consistency of cooked rice.  Once you have reached your desired consistency, place cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 4 minutes.  After microwaving, drain the water from the cauliflower using a towel or cheesecloth.  Mix the corn flour, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and nutritional yeast in with the cauliflower.

Next, mix together the milk and flax meal and let it stand for about 10 minutes before mixing it in with the cauliflower mixture.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  On a greased baking sheet, press your dough into shape, making the crust approximately 1/4" thick.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and cooked through.

Prepping the veggies:

Heat the oil and brown sugar in a skillet.  Cook the onion until it is nicely browned, throwing the mushrooms in for the last few minutes.

Drain the red peppers and artichokes, and slice the red peppers.

Making the sauce:

I actually ended up with sauce left over, but it was delicious, so I just put the extra in a jar and stuck it in the freezer.

Put the tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a Vitamix or other blender and blend until smooth.

When the crust has cooked through, pile on your ingredients and return the pizza to the oven for 10-15 minutes.

A Feast for Crows: Black Bean Soup

A census taker once tried to test me.  I ate his liver with some lava beans and a nice chianti.

Hannibal Lector, Silence of the Lambs

Ok, so I will give you that this soup looks less than appetizing, mostly owing to it's brown, creamy texture, but don't let the looks deceive you, this soup was delicious!

What you need:

• 1 can Bush's Black Beans Seasoned Recipe
• 1/2 Onion
• 2 tbsp garlic
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 cup corn
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 sweet potato 
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 cups vegetable broth

To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, cut the sweet potato into about 1" chunks and slice the jalapeño, removing the seeds.  Next, grease a baking sheet and lay out the corn, onion, jalapeño, and sweet potato in a single layer.  

Roast for approximately 20 minutes or until everything looks slightly browned and delicious.

While everything is roasted, blend the vegetable broth, cilantro, carrots, celery, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic, and lime juice.  When everything is combined in the blender, add the black beans and give it a quick blend.  Once all but the roasted vegetables have been combined, spoon in your roasted veggies, leaving out about a third of the sweet potato and a fourth of the corn.  

Blend everything until smooth and creamy.  If you are using a Vitamix, blend for about 8 minutes on high so the mixture will be piping hot.  Stir in the reserved corn and sweet potato after blending and serve.  If you are using a regular blender, transfer the mixture to a sauce pan, add in the reserved corn and sweet potato, and heat.