Skeptics and Curried Sweet Potato Soup

On Saturday night my husband, Chris, and I went to eat at a new (for us) restaurant, Modern Market.  I was excited to learn that the Curry Sweet Potato soup was vegan so I order it.  It was delicious.  It was not what I expected and unlike anything I had eaten before.  I tried to get Chris to try it, but he raised his skeptical nose and said no.I wanted to make something new for this week’s Souper Soul Wednesday, so I pulled out some of the vegan cookbooks I have and began to look at recipes.  To my surprise, I found a recipe for Curried Sweet Potato Soup in Lindsay Nixon’s The Happy Herbivore.  As I read through the ingredients, I noticed it called for garam masala.  I had just bought this spice a couple of weeks ago as there was another recipe that I wanted to try that called for it. I ended up not making the recipe and I don’t even remember what the recipe was for now……but I still had the garam masala in my kitchen, unopened.  I got up and went to my kitchen, cut open the package and took one whiff  - it smelled just like the yummy soup I ate at Modern Market.I was so excited.This new spice is going to be my new best friend.The recipe says that for the best flavor, the soup should be made the day before it is served so I made this at home on Tuesday night.  While it was cooking, Chris came into the kitchen with his nose sniffing and his taste buds salivating.  He is always cautious of my plant based cooking as he doesn’t want to like it, but the words out of his mouth shocked me.  He said, “Why don’t you ever make anything good like this for us?”  Mind you, I have never before this day made any soup at Retreat House that I had not first served at home.  He didn’t want to try this soup in the restaurant, but now that he could smell the yumminess, he wanted to try it.  This is an easy recipe but only serves 2 as it is printed. Just expand it to fit your needs.  Enjoy!Curried Sweet Potato Soup1 medium sweet potato½ sweet onion, chopped3 garlic cloves, minced1 c vegetable broth½ to 1 tsp mild curry powder¼ to ½ tsp garam masala½ c non-dairy milk ( I use EdenSoy unsweetened soy milk)1/4 c cooked wild rice(I added some chopped jalapeño.  Next time I will try adding a dash of red pepper instead)Bake sweet potato in a 425 oven until fully cooked (45 min – 1 hour.)  (I like to steam my sweet potatoes in an Instant Pot for 20-25 minutes depending on thickness.) Cool potatoes enough to handle and peel, discarding skin.In a sauce pan, combine onion, garlic, broth, ½ tsp of the curry and ¼ tsp of the garam masala.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender and add the sweet potato.  Add non-dairy milk and blend until smooth and creamy.  Return to pan and heat thoroughly adding broth if too thick or more spice if need be.Enjoy!Deanna