Black and Orange Soups

As I mentioned previously, I've been craving a lot more savory than sweet, so I've been thinking of ways to celebrate Halloween through food, without it having to be full of sugar. :)

Soups are hands down one of my favorite Fall foods, so I thought it would be fun to share some soups that would be great for Halloween.

 The first one is a carrot ginger soup.
I LOVE fresh ginger so I knew this one would be up my alley. I liked this one that my friend made with potatoes {very tasty}, but then I found this one without potatoes and holy Batman. This is GOOD. 

My husband was skeptical, as you may be, but he liked it! I called it Halloween soup and my kids were sold on it too. :)
It's great for keeping your immune system healthy when the weather turns cold.

The recipe is found here. Try it. You won't regret it. I add two cloves of minced garlic to a halved recipe batch which ups the immunity boosting and flavor... and it tastes -  awesome. I also add a little more ginger than it calls for because I love ginger like that.

Sigh. I love soups that are a vegetable in every bite. :)

The next one is one of our family favorites.

Black Bean Soup

My sister-in-law Janet, first made it for Reid's baby blessing gathering with family {almost 3 years ago - how time flies}, and we've been hooked ever since! It's of course, from the America's Test Kitchen Cook Book. Most good recipes are. :)

And it's naturally black{ish}! How perfect for Halloween is that?!

This is the recipe:

Black Bean Soup

Serves 6 to 8
Prep time: 15 minutes, Total time: 50 minutes

1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
6 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp. chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper or "red ground pepper"
4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
salt to taste
limes weges (opt - but I LOVE it with it so I wouldn't dream of leaving it out)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro (opt) - a dash of cumin works nicely as well

 1. Heat oil in Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion, jalapeno and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in chili powder and red pepper. Cook for about 1 minute.

3. Rinse beans. Add beans, broth, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of water to pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

4. Blend in blender or with an immersion blender. An immersion blender is not only much easier but a lot safer because the steam from the soup can cause your blender lid to pop off. Only blend so most of it is blended but about 1/4 of the whole beans remain.

5. Add more water if the soup is too thick.
Off heat, season the soup with lime wedges and salt. You can also add cilantro, avocado, and sour cream.

So good to the last bite...

Some more orange soups...

The pumpkin soup I shared last year for Thanksgiving:

Which pretty much looks the same as the carrot ginger soup.:)

Go here for the recipe.

And here are two more orange soups I'm thinking about giving a try:

Spicy Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Or maybe this lovely one:

Acorn Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

Oh yum.

I'm sending warm thoughts your way,
and hoping you're having a lovely day!