No Croutons Required - June

For this month's No Croutons Required I asked for vegetarian soups or salads where one or more of the ingredients were roasted or grilled. It is, after all, that time of year, well at least it would be if someone told the weather. We live in hope and while we are waiting these recipes are sure to cheer us up.

1. Carrot and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Janet (The Taste Space)

Janet just loves soup, so she is ideally placed to tell us just how good this one is. Her friend's baby is fussy about soup, especially if it contains onion or garlic, so as this contains both, Janet says this is an adult soup. I have a strong suspicion that my Cooper would love this soup. He is one soup loving bubu. Carrots, sweet potato, dry sherry, roasted red peppers, thyme, miso & soy milk, along with those onions and garlic. Sounds great, doesn't it? I'm bringing Cooper to dinner Janet. Yum!

Toronto, Canada


2. Herbed & Spiced Tofu Tikka
Ranjini & Ruchira (Tadka Pasta)

Such a great setting of the scene by this pair of wordsmiths. Very evocative. I can almost smell the cut grass and the smoke from the bbqs and my oh mu do these tikka skewers look good. And the tofu, wow the tofu, such a marinade, such powerful spices along with the smoke of the grill. It just sounds amazing. I think you may not want to try tofu any other way after trying this way. The tofu is bathed in green chutney, thick yoghurt, ginger-garlic paste, fenugreek leaves, chaat masala,
red chilly powder, garam masala, paprika, lemon and turmeric. And that is just the tofu. Just look at all the lovely vegetable. Roll on Summer!

USA


3. Indian Spiced Roast Potatoes
Michelle (Food, Football & a Baby)

Michelle decided to play about with the traditional potato salad and do something different. She loves her mother-in-laws roast potatoes. So crispy on the outside and soft inside. So Michelle thought why not use roast potatoes in a potato salad, but Michele is nothing if not instinctive when it comes to cooking and knew that what the dish needed was some spices and fresh coriander. Michelle says she will get around to sharing her own recipe for garam masala, which she included in this dish and if that happens we will be doubly lucky.

Edmonton, AB, Canada


4. Sweet Corn Soup
Aarthi (Yummy Tummy)

Aarthi usually makes this soup with chicken, but says it is equally as good without it and gives us a vegetarian option and some lovely step-by-step photos to guide us. Sweet corn of course, which would be lovely grilled first, carrot, capsicum, cabbage,
baby corn, which you can see by looking at the photos, gives a lovely texture to the soup& green chilli to name but a few of the ingredients in this sunny soup.

India


5. Grilled Vegetable & Mozzarella Salad (not in vote)
Jacqueline (Tinned Tomatoes)

I always do things at the last minute, well when it comes to challenges anyway. I always think I have loads of time and quite often miss deadlines altogether. Yep, that is exactly what I did this time! A plan to make a grilled salad this past weekend was trampled on by work, father's day and a trip to Ikea. Oh well, I am sure you will forgive me and enjoy this archived grilled salad instead. Aubergine, courgette, orange peppers & artichoke hearts, grilled and served in a basil dressing alongside some sundried tomatoes and lovely fresh mozzarella.

Dundee, Scotland


6. Vegan Roasted Corn Chowder
Raven (Cook.Eat.Delicious)

Raven loves corn, let her count the ways. OK, so that has me thinking of a wee poem, so here we have a little interlude, forgive me for it will be going through my head all night otherwise.

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Anyway, you get the idea, Raven loves corn and came up with this lovely soup accompanied by step-by-step photos (which I always enjoy) and she even shucked the corn herself. Something I have never done. My husband would be only too quick to point out the mess I would make.

California and Mexico


7. Smoky Pumpkin and Corn Soup
Johanna (Green Gourmet Giraffe)

As you can see corn is ever popular and I love the stuff myself. My friend was over for dinner last night and we had mushroom and spinach quiche with anya potatoes, broccoli and corn. I had to pass his plate to Graham as I had forgotten his aversion to corn. I just can't understand it. Corn is so sweet, juicy and tasty, not to mention the beautiful sunny colour it adds to a dish, but nope he hates it. Odd! Anyway, back to Johanna's soup. I do seem to be rambling more than usual tonight. I will try to stay focused! Johanna made this soup for a dear friend and her daughter. She grilled both the pumpkin and the corn to add a fabulous flavour to the dish. Johanna also added some spice, paprika and maple syrup to her roasting pumpkin. I often laugh out loud when I read Johanna's post and did this time when her husband said "he loved the soup with the burnt corn", so Johanna said she won't be turning to him for recipe names any time soon! Hehe! Typical husband! Sounds good though, huh?

Melbourne, Australia


8. Sicilian Aubergine Salad
Adam (Yogi Kitchen)

Doesn't this salad looks so appealing. I just loved it before I even knew what was in it. Adam has a real way with salads. When I saw this one was Sicilian I thought, oh oh, lots of garlic, but I was forgetting that Adam forgoes onion and garlic in line with his yoga practises during the week, so there wasn't any in this dish. The last Sicilian pasta dish I made called for 8, yes 8 cloves of garlic. I reduced it to 4 and it was still extremely garlicky. I am not saying it wasn't good, it was delicious, but wow the fumes! Sorry Adam, I am off again! Aubergine, celery, tomato puree, harissa, oregano, bay leaf, tomato, red wine vinegar, honey, raisins, capers, olives, parsley, basil, wow!

Tarifa, Spain


9. Roast Veggie & Mozzarella Couscous Salad
C (Cake Crumbs and Cooking)

C isn't a great fan off soup, so she was glad when this month rolled around and as we are supposedly in the summer months, it is a great time to enjoy salads. This salad can be served cold, but C says it is great served hot because the mozzarella goes all melty. Mmmmmmmm! C roasted peppers, baby tomatoes, red onions and aubergines in the oven until tender then mixed them with some cooked giant couscous and mozzarella and seasoned. Simple but sensational is my verdict.

Northwest England


10. Grilled Vegetable Salad
Valerie (City|Life|Eats)

Valerie is the lunch box queen and if you visit her blog you will see what I mean. Lunches like you have never imagined and so prettily presented too. This day's offering was no less. A symphony in green. Asparagus (grilled on her George Foreman), zucchini, white beans, scallions, parsley & raw spinach all dressed in
extra-virgin olive oil, lime juice, mustard, salt and pepper and served with:

* Grilled vegetable salad
* Grilled Twin Oaks Tofu (the Italian Herb flavor)
* Mushroom Walnut Pate from Veganomicon with spinach bread
* Gena's Protein Packed Kale Chips
* Almond Mocha Chia Pudding

See what I mean?

Washington, DC


11. Grilled Tomato, Cashew & Rosemary Soup
Sweatha (Tasty Curry Leaf)

Now back to a good old bowl of soup and you can't get better than a roasted or grilled tomato soup for flavour. Sweatha added a herby flavour to this soup with some rosemary, a herb I never think of using myself. First she grilled the tomatoes, she used the cahews as a natural thickener and seasoned the soup with rosemary one of her particular favourites. Sweatha liked serving this soup with tortilla chips.

Bangalore, India

12. Bulgar Wheat with Feta & Roasted Vegetables
Anne (Anne's Kitchen)

And now to round of the challenge to a full dozen we have a salad from Anne and a very moreish salad indeed. Ha, Anne's colleagues are laughing on teh other side of their faces now! (such a funny turn of phrase don't you think?)You will have to visit Anne to find out what I am talking about. The salad is courgettes, pepper, mushrooms, carrots, feta and basil mixed with blugar wheat and dressed for a night on the town!

UK

And so the roundup draws to a close, but this is only the beginning. The voting poll now opens and the competition begins. Please do vote for your favourite dish, wvwn though it is hard to choose.