Sweet Potato Peanut Soup
October 25, 2012 § 23 Comments
Have you ever been in the crossfire of someone’s bad day? Ugh.
There was that woman behind me in line at Trader Joe’s who made sure to confirm her dirty look to me, when I asked to buy a 99 cent reusable bag that apparently resides on the other side of the store. I’m only trying to save the environment, jeeeeeeez.
And when at JCrew, the cashier wouldn’t give me an ounce of sympathy, because I couldn’t provide a school ID for the student discount… Probably because I’m not a student any more… But let’s face it, we could all use a little 15% off.
Really though, it’s that fire you see coming out of the ears of the person who flicks you off on the highway– the same one who weaves through bumper to bumper traffic, rushing and rushing. They will soon find that they will arrive at just the same time as their buddy who’s cool as a cucumber in the right lane. (so cool… as a cucumber. @$#&*!!!!)
These ‘tudes have the ability to be contagious; they run through hallways, across buildings, and jump into your own body.
Because each time, I walked away with their feeling of vengeance, wishing I had told them what I really thought. I wanted to call them out on their bad day, to remind them that mine was just fine, and that their sour attitude should be left at the door.
But a wise man once told me, “if they’re going one way, you are going the opposite.”
That wise man, being the doorman downstairs, was absolutely right. We’ve all got to get far and away from those toxic people.
Ironically though, I think we all know, it takes one to know one. I was having my own kind of “stupid day” and decided I needed some warmth & comfort.
This soup’s ingredients are creative, and work surprisingly well together. The vegetable juice grounds the sweetness of the sweet potato & peanut butter mixture. The onions and green chiles add texture, and a little spice. It’s a vegetarian recipe (and possibly vegan? help me out!) but hardly lacking that heartiness that meat eaters seek. Best of all, this soup is thick without a drop of cream. The flavors are supposedly West African, but they were far from exotic. In fact, they reminded me of home.
sweet potato & peanut soup
makes around 5 servings
adapted from eatingwell.com
2 large sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups vegetable juice or tomato juice
1 4-ounce can of green chiles
2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp allspice
1 15-ounce can of vegetable broth
1/2 cup smooth or crunchy NATURAL peanut butter*
ground pepper to taste
cilantro to garnish, or chopped scallions
Cook sweet potatoes as you desire (oven or microwave), plain. Set aside to cool.
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sautée chopped onion, around 3-4 minutes. Stir in juice, green chiles, ginger, all spice. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes. Purée one of the potatoes, adding the peanut butter, until completely smooth (you don’t need a food processor to do this). Chop the other potato and put into the large saucepan on the stove.
Thin the soup to your desire with the vegetable broth, slowly adding and stirring. Let the flavors come together; leave for 10 more minutes.
Season with ground pepper. Garnish with cilantro, or chopped scallions if you prefer.
Wow, this is SO unique – I love it! I’m definitely giving this a try. I would have never thought to combine sweet potatoes and peanut butter.
Yeah isn’t that the strangest thing? It crazy how shockingly good it was. let me know if you give it a whirl!!
I tried to use my student ID for a 15 percent discount too, and the cashier told me it wasn’t applicable because the store was running a promotion. So strange. Katie, I think you read my mind; not only do I need to hit up Trader Joe’s today, but I also want to make soup. :)
What did you end up making?? NYC grocery stores cramping your debit card these days?
I made red lentil soup instead; this is on the list, though! And grocery shopping is such a problem. I pop into Whole Foods for literally two things … and $30 later … yikes!
Oh, my goodness that looks so damn tasty. It’s 9pm here and I think I might get a little creative in the kitchen.
Did you do it?! Didja?! I’m in suspense over here…
Yes! My husband and I ate it at 11pm and then again for lunch. I’m surprised that he enjoyed it. He always says that Americans have strange tastes but he ate more than I did. Keep sharing those yummy recipes…
Love it!! Always a good sign when both man and woman can agree to love and enjoy the same dinner :)
Sounds yummy, I used to make a stew with peanut butter, chicken all kinds of spices, etc. and it was supposed to be African as well…was delicious. This sounds much easier and I love all the ingredients. Is it on Pinterest, my fav. way of saving recipes? I will pin it just in case. Sorry you had such a bad day. :-)
Oooo that sounds good- hand that recipe over!! I haven’t pinned this yet – go right ahead!
Bad days are over, good times are coming! A little excited for this storm to march in…
It’s terrible how bad days can be contagious among strangers. Hope you were able to rise above!
It can be so hard to shake them off! It’s like they want you to go down with them. Not next time though, there is some truth in the “killing with kindness” mechanism..
Well, you know what they say: misery loves company. Killing it with kindness is essential though, I agree.
Hard to bite your tongue, in the moment.. However…
This looks so good– sweet potato + peanuts sounds like such a good flavor combination.
It is surprisingly delish, once you get over how strangely mushy they are together.
This looks lovely! But what kind of vegetable juice do you use? Do you mean like…V8? Could I sub vegetable broth instead?
Also, I love how you write about THOSE PEOPLE and THOSE DAYS. I feel like I have one every time I drive now, which is bad! I need to learn to go the other way! (But drivers in Texas are just such. jerks.)
Ya exactly! V8 will work. You can even use straight tomato juice if that’s all you can find. But definitely don’t make the mistake of just using vegetable broth. The vegetable juice really adds a nice base to the sweet potato & peanut butter mix.
I had no idea you had some aggressive Texas drivers, but you know what they say, don’t mess with Texas!
Lol truer words were never spoken! Thanks for the quick reply :) I’ll have to go stock up on some tomato juice then!
Of course!!! Let me know if you happen to make it and what you think!!
Booo to moody people!! That’s a bummer these all happened so close together. I hate when people get huffy at TJ’s about wanting a bag, that happened alllll the time when I worked there. At least you made up for it with this amazing looking soup!
Ooh look at your with the new picture! Love it! Are you missing TJ’s? Also, clarify for me, is this vegan? (Pb?) I just discovered the Spinach and Kale yogurt dip at Trader Joe’s and I’m thinking I need to replicate it at home. Amaazing…