The air is frosty already and the leaves are beautifully shriveling. Comfort of food is needed. Otherwise, I have to turn on my floor heater (which is ah-mazing) and spend all my food money on heating. Frankly, I’d rather spend it on ingredients.

SOUP! It is soup time in the world of South Korea. (Actually, Koreans eat soup all year long for damn near every meal, but I’m working with my sensibilities.) Cold weather means soup to me and since I’ve grown to like tofu and don’t buy cream anymore, it seemed like the perfect consistency for a cream alternative.

This was a kitchen experiment so the amount is quite small, perhaps enough for two bowls of soup. You can always double the recipe or add alternate ingredients to bulk this puppy up. The soup is basically a nondairy cream alternative that can be used as a base for creamy soups. And it tastes goo-ood.

The trick is to take away the tofu smell-taste. That’s where the garlic comes in! Garlic covers a multitude of sins in the cooking world.

Ingredients:

• 600 grams silken tofu (about 2.5 cups)
• 2 TBS chopped garlic
• 2-3 TBS olive oil for garlic & tofu
• salt to taste
• 1 cup seasonal vegetables (I had mushrooms and zucchini on hand.)
• 1 TBS olive oil for veggies
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

In a pan, add the 2/3 TBS of olive oil and cook garlic until just browned. In a blender, blend the tofu, garlic and oil until very smooth. Add everything to a pan and heat up until there are bubbles around the edges and it thickens just a bit.

In a pan, saute your veggies with salt & pepper then add it to your bowl. Pour tofu soup on top. Add a bit more pepper.

Add in/Side  options: shredded kim (Korean seaweed), sesame seeds, roasted or grilled seasonal veggies, poached egg, croutons, rice, chunk of bread, seafood or shredded chicken, drizzle of olive oil