Carrot-Ginger Soup

Carrot Ginger Soup
Basic root vegetable soup for those cold, winter days. Or in my case, breakfast!

With a healthy dollop of sauerkraut on top ;)

Ingredients:
2 T oil (1)
4 cloves garlic, chopped (2)
1" ginger, sliced
1 celery root, cubed (this and the kohlrabi just happened to be in my fridge so we tossed 'em in!) (2)
1 kohlrabi, cubed (2)
9 medium carrots (3)
6 cups water
6 T soy sauce (1)
1 T maple syrup (1)
1 t pepper (1)

Directions:
Heat oil, 2 T water, ginger and garlic in soup pan. Saute for a minute or two.
Add remaining water, soy sauce, pepper, honey, celery root, kohlrabi and carrots.
Bring to a simmer.
Cook until vegetables are soft and easily pierced by a fork, about an hour.
Remove pan from heat and allow soup to cool a bit.

In small batches, blend soup in a blender or food processor until smooth.
Spice to taste, I added some ground ginger and more pepper.

(1) Bulk section of the People's Food Co-op
(2) Labelled "Local" at the People's Food Co-op
(3) Left over from Snowtest

Conscious Consumption Potluck

A couple days ago was the Conscious Consumption Potluck, put on by Brewing Hope and Fair Tees.

Brewing Hope is a UM student org "dedicated to the sustainable production, equitable trade, and responsible consumption of coffee." They throw fundraising events in which all the profits go towards buying instruments for indigenous communities in Chiapas, Mexico. Fair Tees is another UM student org with the mission of "connect[ing] students with organic and fair-trade tee shirt producers." Their main supplier is the Nueva Vida Women's Cooperative in Nicaragua and they provide whole-sale, organic tees for about $8 per shirt.

Attendees of the potluck were asked to bring a dish made from locally, fairly, and/or sustainably sourced ingredients. Needless to say, I was pumped to go and it ended up being a great event with great people! I made a dish with AA Farmer's Market sweet potatoes, daikon, and maple syrup. Other dishes included vegetarian chili with local veggies and fair-trade chocolate, cooked Michigan butternut squash, local green bean casserole, and Brewing Hope coffee.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Daikon
I am so happy with how this turned out! I probably ate a good quarter of the dish on the way over to the potluck... Recipe would work for any root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, potatoes...).

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled
1 daikon, peeled
2 T oil (1 T + 1 T)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 c maple syrup
1 T apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F
Cut root vegetables into spears (about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide).
Mix together 1 T oil, the salt, and the cayenne pepper and toss with the vegetables.
Dump the vegetables on 2 lightly oiled baking pans and cook for 25 minutes, stirring halfway though.
Mix together 1 T oil, the maple syrup and the vinegar and pour over the root vegetables, mixing to make sure that they're evenly coated.
Return to oven and roast for 10 more minutes.
Season with salt to taste.