So much vegan soup! (Introducing the Instant Pot Ace)

Standard / by / October 24, 2018 / No Comments

Oh, hi.

Remember me?

This poor old "blog" has been neglected  - and my radio show has been on hiatus - for the last few months. The two main reasons for my radio silence? I was working on a new cookbook over the summer months (details soon)...and we rescued a puppy!

Turns out, Harry - the [now] 10-month-old pup - is a lot of work. And worth every minute of it, I might add!

We're all settling into our new routine. And by settling I mean Oliver - the cat - is experiencing a love-hate relationship with Harry and we're trying not to force our human emotions and anxieties on the two fur-babies.

Believe it or not, though, I've been cooking a lot. Naturally, I was creating and testing recipes. But I was also cooking weekly meals for private clients and then focusing very simple, very fast meals for Dave and I. This last month or two, mostly quick soups and salads. And that's why I felt compelled to finally write a blog post today. If you follow me on social media (really, that's where I am all the time: mostly Facebook and Instagram) you have seen me playing with a brand new appliance: the Instant Pot Ace, a multi-use cooking and beverage blender.

I have a lot of blenders in my life. Of course, I have my trusty Vitamix - but I mostly use that in my cooking academy. And, yep, I have my Ninja. I keep that one on my kitchen counter because I like having a blender base that also is the base for my food processor. It saves space. But then I got my hands on the Ace and I was super-intrigued. I mean the thing cooks. And, no, I don't mean like how the Vitamix "cooks" (run it for a few minutes and the speed of the blades heat up the food). The Ace actually has a cooking element. And one of the options is "soup". Picture this: place water or broth + raw vegetables + beans or tofu + spices in the glass carafe, set it for creamy soup, and then watch the heat build, the liquid boil, the food cook and then, as the process continues, blending ensues. Creamy soup, all in one "pot." It's basically magical.

Above: Cannellini Cauliflower Soup (recipe below), Cheesy Broccoli Soup (recipe on Facebook), and Purple Cauliflower and Red Onion Soup (recipe on Facebook).

Oh. It makes plant-based milk, too. Yep, soymilk, almond milk, rice milk, and oat milk. I've made brown rice and soymilk and it's growing on me. The soymilk comes out much thicker than in my soymilk maker and it makes excellent yogurt.

And of course, it blends in the traditional way - think cashew cream sauce and frozen smoothies - and no, I wouldn't compare its velocity to a high-speed blender but I will say it's been easy to turn to it as a go-to these days. Mostly for the plant milk and soups.

And speaking of that - how about a quick recipe for Cannellini Cauliflower Soup?

 

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Cannellini Cauliflower Soup

Course Soup
Cooking Method instant pot ace
Servings 2 entree size servings
©JLFields JL Fields

Ingredients

  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/2 head cauliflower torn into florets
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon gochujang paste
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes
  • 1 can cannellini beans (or other white beans) rinsed and drained
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons pine nuts optional

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients in the order listed above. Select the soup function and toggle to the 20-minute options (chunky). Once doneE, pulse on medium for 5 seconds.
  2. Served with salt, pepper and pine nuts.

Recipe Notes

If you don't have an Ace, just put all of the ingredients in a pressure cooker or multicooker and cook on low pressure for 5 minutes, natural release, and then use an immersion blender in the pot or transfer to a blender to puree.

I should mention that this is not a sponsored post (and I don't make any money if you buy an Ace). I have worked closely with Instant Pot over the years after writing Vegan Pressure Cooking so they were kind enough to send me the device to try. But that's it! I'm just sharing my honest opinion after using it for about a month. If you're intrigued, the Ace is $99 and exclusive to Walmart in the U.S. If you try one, let me know what you think!

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