Virgo soup (Virgo lunar cycle)

Virgo is an earth moon sign. This recipe is to help with digestion and liver health.

Ingredients

Yellow squash (remove seeds)

Pumpkin

Carrots

Sweet potatoes

Any cruciferous vegetables are good for the liver so you can add cauliflower to your soup. But I would leave broccoli or cabbage for a vegetable stew rather than a soup.

Brown onion – sliced

Fresh Ginger – chopped

A clove or 2 of Garlic – chopped or press with a garlic press.

1 tomato – sliced (optional)

Vegetable stock

Fresh Coriander – thinly chop some with the stem. Break the rest in little florets, you will use them to garnish the stew at the end.

Turmeric – optional

If using Cauliflower, I usually soak the florets in a bowl of tap water. This helps with the cleaning process.

Preparation

Lightly steam your vegetables so that they are a little soft but still green.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan and brown the onions for 10-20 seconds. Add the chopped garlic and the chopped ginger and brown for another 10 seconds. Add the Tomato if you wish and cook stirring constantly for 10-20 seconds. Add your vegetables and stir for 20 seconds, (it doesn’t matter if the vegetables break in the process).

Add your stock and enough water to cover the vegetables. Let it boil.

You can add a little bit of turmeric powder to your soup.

Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and personally I use a potato masher to press the vegetables (I like a bit of chunky vegetables in my soup rather than a puree) and then boil it a couple more minutes.  But some people prefer to use a blender if you prefer a puree soup.

Once the soup is ready garnish with coriander and serve with warm bread (Pita or baguette warm in oven first)

Ginger is good for the digestive system so finish your meal with a cup of ginger tea. (Make your own tea boil fresh ginger and lemongrass together until you smell that rich fragrance then pour the liquid in a cup. (Add half a teaspoon of honey if you wish).

Note: These recipes are creole recipes from when I was growing up. All creole recipes use fresh herbs and fresh spices. It gives more flavour to your food.

Our lifestyle in Australia might not be ideal to cook everything fresh.  Feel free to substitute to garlic or ginger paste or dry coriander.

 If you do not have time to cut your vegetables most supermarkets now sell chopped carrots, cauliflower or sweet potato and pumpkin all set to go. Alternatively chopped your vegetables and keep them in the fridge in an airtight container ready to use.

Cauliflower and Broccoli are always soak in a bowl of water for 5 to 10 minutes to give it a proper wash.

Let us know if you cook these dishes and how you like it.