This soup is my latest favorite soup. It’s creamy, without the dairy, super healthy, filled with minerals and vitamins, and carries a perfect umami taste from the miso and it is gorgeous to look at from the stunning orange of the Kabocha squash.

This recipe was originally developed for my cookbook, Anna Getty’s Easy Green Organic. I was a long time fan of deviled eggs and adding curry powder was my special touch. Now I have revamped the recipe to include crispy Basmati Rice and Indian lime pickle which is at once spicy and tangy.

This garlicky, lemon artichoke dip is a real crowd pleaser. Perfect for entertaining, the last time I made it, it disappeared in 5 minutes flat, I am not exaggerating. I think it was the crispy Charred Shallots. The artichoke dip itself, is made with canned or jarred artichokes, available year round. It is garlicky, lemony and creamy, great with sliced vegetables, almond crackers or chips.

Here, finally is that nettle soup I promised you a few weeks ago. Nettle is another one of my favorite nutritional powerhouses. High in minerals and antioxidants including vitamin C. It may reduce inflammation, treat hay fever, lower blood pressure, aid in lowering blood sugar and treat enlarged prostate

The winter months bring an abundance of mushrooms. The health benefits of mushrooms are no longer a secret. The supplement aisle in your natural food market is robust with medicinal mushrooms for the immune system, the brain and beyond.

  It’s really no secret, broccoli is considered to be one of the top 12 power house vegetables we should be eating, according to webmd broccoli is filled with cancer fighting phytochemical compounds, vitamins including a serious dose of Vitamin C (135% of the RDI for one cup of  broccoli) and minerals. Its bioactive compounds reduce inflammation. As a matter of fact the compound sulforaphane amply found in broccoli, has been shown to decelerate the biochemical action of aging by optimizing anti-oxidant gene expression.

The creamy and pureed soup is dairy free, mild in licorice from the fennel and sweet in flavor from the pear. Since I featured GARA this week in my Visit With… blog, I decided to incorporate their fennel hydrosol, to add more fennel depth of flavor, distilled from organic fennel seeds. The fennel hydrosol of course is completely optional. The fennel hazelnut relish was something I concocted recently and I added chili flakes which gives this dish a little kick. It is a really tasty addition to the soup. Nutritionally, fennel bulb is a good source of Vitamin C, the bulb and the fennel seeds both contain manganese which has been shown to assist in enzyme activation, blood sugar regulation, cellular protection, wound healing and bone development. I love to drink a cup of fennel seed tea nightly because I notice it settles my stomach and benefits my digestion. Just put a spoon full of the seeds into a mesh strainer and pour hot water over the seeds and steep for 6-7 minutes. In the meanwhile enjoy this beautiful seasonal soup. Check out fennel’s many health benefits here.