Week 3 Cooking assignment

Vegan White Bean Soup with Potatoes

This week I made this veggie soup from a recipe that I wanted to try for so long. 
Source: Ela vegan: vegan white bean soup with potatoes - https://elavegan.com/vegan-white-bean-soup/
Ingredients:
- 2 medium potatoes, diced 
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 5 celery stalks
- 2 cans of cooked white beans, rinsed
- 1/2 coconut milk can
- 2 handful, cut kale
- 1 L vegetable broth + 1 cup of water
- 5 tbsp EVOO
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder 
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- Salt (variable amount depending on taste)
Process: 
Firstly, I diced all the veggies, minced the garlic and sliced both the onion and carrots. In a big pot, I heated up the EVOO, and added the veggies with all the spices and herbs. I sauteed it all for a couple of minutes. After that, I poured the vegetable broth and the water and let it boil for 5 minutes. I simmered the mix for 10 minutes more or less, then added the beans and coconut milk. Simmered it for another 5-10 minutes. I divided the soup in 2 and blended one part. I mixed it all together again to get a different color and taste. Finally, I adjusted the taste with salt and pepper and let it rest. I garnished my bowl with some chopped cilantro. Absolutely gorgeous! 

I made that for lunch, on a rainy day. I must say this recipe is perfect for the fall season. Brings in so many different flavors, aroma, and nutrients. You can adapt the recipe to the ingredients you have available and to your preferences. For example, I didn't have onion powder, suggested in the original recipe, and substituted that with garlic powder instead. I also thought it'd be nice to mix broth with water, instead of using only broth. I added more celery, onion (not in the original recipe) and more beans. If I had wanted it more creamy, I would have let it simmer longer. Using kale in this recipe gave a different texture and crunchiness to the dish. Very yummy with the soup!
For the weekly technique, I sliced the carrot and the additional onion to get different shapes in the soup (recipe only chops ingredients).