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Summer, Love, and the Evolution of Summer Celebration Tortilla Soup

Last week, my husband and I celebrated the day we met 25 years ago! I was working as a live mannequin at a clothing store on Venice Beach. I was 17, and my husband was 22. My husband frequented the boardwalk with his friends, and decided to try to get my number, on a bet. I had noticed him several weekends before, in a crowd of people that had gathered in front of the store, and I felt a connection with him. I was really happy when he came to the store when I got off of work. We met, started talking on the phone, and started dating and the rest is history! So thinking back to that time, I wanted to give you a recipe that is near and dear to our hearts. This was in the early 90’s so we didn’t even have a computer, and food blogs were definitely not a thing! I had always loved cooking, and now that I had someone to cook for, I wanted to expand my repertoire a bit! Tortilla Soup was one of the recipes in one of the first cookbooks I bought. It looked so yummy, but it definitely wasn’t vegetarian. (I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 16). So I began to tinker with the recipe. My husband (my then boyfriend) loves Mexican food and this soup was an instant hit. Over the years I’ve perfected this recipe and it’s gone through many different variations. This latest one is our favorite, as it really celebrates the bounty of summer! So celebrate with us! Here’s to Summer! Here’s to wonderful summer veggies! And here’s to 25 yrs of being in love! I think that’s a lot to celebrate! 🙂

This is the perfect summer soup because tomatoes are in their full glory, and the soup is light, but satisfying. Heirloom tomatoes are the very best that summer has to offer. I prefer to buy the biggest, juiciest ones I can find! These are not the sad, grainy tomatoes that you have to make due with in the winter. These are savory, delicious, funky shaped, brightly colored tomatoes, that have retained the wisdom of their ancestors and have perfected the art of being a tomato. The seeds are passed down from generation to generation, and are not changed or modified by science. It is important to keep these vegetables around, as they are real food, that our bodies respond to as real food, and this soup celebrates them. I’ve made this soup more times than I can count, and the very best is when you make it from tomatoes that are picked fresh from the garden. So I recommend growing your own, going to a farmer’s market, or store where you can get the freshest tomatoes possible, and buying organic, heirloom tomatoes if you can! If, you can’t get heirlooms, any fresh summer tomatoes will work, and your soup will still be super yummy!

So the celebration begins in a large pot. I use a 6 QT. cast iron dutch oven, but any large pot will work. Saute the onion in the oil until they’re soft. Add cilantro, garlic and diced tortillas. It already smells pretty incredible by this point! After the tortillas are soft, about 5 minutes, add all of your tomatoes, cut into chunks. At this point you will also add your bouillon cubes, tomato paste, spices and water.

As you begin to heat over a medium heat, use an immersion blender to puree all of the ingredients. When you are done, the mixture will be pretty smooth.

If you do not have an immersion blender, you can remove the sauteed mixture from the pan and blend it with the tomatoes, and some water until smooth and then return to the pot. When the soup is smooth, bring to a boil.

After it reaches that point, lower heat. Add corn, zucchini, and the rest of the tortillas. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until zucchini is soft, but still has some snap to it.

This soup is great as a meal on it own, or you can serve it as an appetizer or a side dish to tacos, tamales, any summer BBQ meal. I like to garnish it with a few extra tortillas, some avocados and grated cheese.

I’m a big believer in gratitude. I believe that when you are grateful for the good things in life, more good things come your way! Leave a comment and share what you are celebrating in your life right now! I hope your summer has been fun so far, and that you enjoy this Summer Celebration Tortilla Soup! If you’d like to make sure you never miss one of my posts, sign up for my newsletter below, and you will get my gluten free and vegan recipes in your inbox, as soon as they are published! I’m grateful that you stopped by to read my blog. Enjoy the recipe! Thanks, Angel



Save Print Summer Celebration Tortilla Soup Author: Angel McNall, Cheftographer Blog Recipe type: Soup Cuisine: Mexican / Summer Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 55 mins Serves: 6 qt A full flavored vegan tortilla soup that is packed with the bounty of summer! Ingredients 1 white onion, diced

2 T olive oil

6 cloves of garlic, diced

10 Corn Tortillas, cut into strips

¼ C Cilantro, chopped

8 Large Juicy Tomatoes, cut into large chunks

6 C water

4 vegan "chicken" style Bouillon Cubes (I use Edward and Sons Not Chick'n)

3 t cumin powder

1½ t chili powder

optional: a pinch of red pepper flakes or ground cayenne pepper

salt to taste - I used about ½ t of pink himalayan salt

1 6oz. can of tomato paste

2 large zucchini, cut into large chunky pieces

1 can of corn

Optional Garnish: avocado, shredded vegan cheese, more cilantro, extra tortilla strips Instructions In a large pot (at least 6 QT.), heat oil over a medium heat (if it's too hot, your tortillas will stick!). Add diced onions and saute until they start to soften, then add 4 of the tortillas (cut into strips), garlic and cilantro. Saute for about 5 minutes, until tortillas are soft. Do not brown onions. Turn the heat off. If you have an immersion blender: Add tomatoes, spices, water, bouillon, and tomato paste. Puree the ingredients in the pot with the immersion blender until smooth. Heat to a boil If you do not have an immersion blender: Pour onions, garlic, cilantro and tortillas into a large blender and add tomatoes, spices, bouillon, tomato paste and only as much water as you need to blend until smooth. If your blender is small and you need to do this in batches, just pour the part that's done into the pot and begin again until all of the tomatoes are blended. When it;s all blended, add remaining water to pot and heat to a boil. After soup has reached a boil, turn the heat down to medium and add corn, zucchini. and the rest of the tortillas. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Soup is done when zucchini is soft, but still has a little snap to it. Soup keeps well in the refrigerator for about 5-7 days. It also freezes well. 3.4.3177