Harriette Halepis Professional Writer

I started off this evening’s meal by flipping through The Enchanted Broccoli Forest (Mollie Katzen), a book well known to vegetarians around the globe — Katzen is the author of the infamous Moosewood Cookbooks, and she also contributes to the many delicious recipes that can be found in Vegetarian Times.

The recipe I chose for this cold night is called Vegetable Soup, and Katzen lists a number of possible variations. I followed the recipe in most its entirety, though when I got to the end of the recipe I felt as though the soup was lacking. In the end, I would up with a Sweet Coconut & Cinnamon Stew that was gobbled up in record time.

Sweet Coconut & Cinnamon Stew:

1 Potato Cubed
1 Sweet Potato Cubed
4 Cups of Water or Broth
2 Tbsp. Butter
One Chopped Onion
Three Cloves of Chopped Garlic
1 Celery Stalk Chopped
1 Diced Carrot
3 Bay Leaves
1 Cup of Coconut Milk (or more if you prefer)
3 Cinnamon Sticks

Boil:
In a large soup pot, boil the cubed potato in 4 cups of water. In a separate pot, boil the sweet potato with enough water to cover it. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain the sweet potato and set aside while reserving the regular potato with its juices (you will be adding the rest of the soup to this pot).

Meanwhile:
Add butter, onion, garlic, and celery to a hot skillet, and cook all items until they are soft. Then, add the carrot to the mix cooking until the carrot is slightly soft (about five minutes). When finished, add all of the vegetables (with any juices left in the pan) to the large pot containing the regular cooked potato.

Mash, Mix, and Season:
Mash the sweet potatoes with a potato masher, and add the sweet potato to the soup pot. Then, add the coconut milk to the stew along with the bay leaves and cinnamon. Allow stew to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the liquid is slightly reduced. Season the stew with salt and pepper to taste.