Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Part 66

2 hot red chiles, seeded and sliced thinly

1 yellow summer squash, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly (about 3 cups)

3-4 cups vegetable broth

1 teaspoons salt

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk (lite is fine)

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

1 whole nutmeg

PREHEAT THE oven to 375F. Cut the stems off the peppers and pull out the seeds. Place on a rimmed baking sheet (cover with baking parchment to protect the sheet, or just ignore that if you don't care about your sheet) and bake for about 40 minutes, turning once. The peppers should be very soft and collapsed.

When the peppers are done, place them in a plastic bag for about 30 minutes. This will steam them and make the skin very easy to peel away. Remove from bag, peel away the skin, and roughly chop the peppers.

Preheat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion in the oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and chiles. Saute for another minute or so. Add the corn and squash, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until moisture begins to release from the squash. Add the roasted peppers, vegetable broth, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, covered.

Add the coconut milk and puree the soup, either by using an immersion blender or by slightly cooling and then transferring the soup to a food processor or blender in batches.

Let the soup heat through again and grate the nutmeg with a microplane grater directly into the soup. Add the maple syrup and lime, stir, and serve!

BAKED POTATO AND GREENS SOUP WITH POTATO-WEDGE CROUTONS.

SERVES 6.

TIME: 30 MINUTES, NOT INCLUDING BAKING THE POTATOES.

Kids really love this soup, as far as we can tell, so if your kids says they don't, please explain that we said yes, they do. There's a giant french fry in it, for heaven's sake-that is, a potato wedge that's been dredged in cornmeal and lightly fried. As for the healthy part, we use kale here, but escarole or spinach would be good, too. Make the baked potatoes the night before so that you can have this soup ready in thirty minutes. Or microwave them instead; just don't tell us about it. Sincerely, the Anti-Microwave Squad.

6-8 baking potatoes (3 pounds), baked and cooled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large yellow onion, sliced into short strips

3 cloves garlic, minced

teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon dried thyme

teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1 teaspoon salt

Plenty of freshly ground black pepper

cup dry white wine (or just more broth if you prefer)

4 cups vegetable broth

4 cups kale, torn into bite-size pieces (about 6 leaves, rough stems removed)

cup plain soy milk

Potato wedges: 2 heaping tablespoons coa.r.s.e cornmeal

teaspoon dried thyme

teaspoon paprika

Generous pinch of salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil in a spray bottle (or enough for light frying)

This soup tastes great with either homemade or store-bought vegan bacon. Vegan with a Vengeance has a great tempeh bacon recipe that will work. But you don't need to own the book since the entire world has published the recipe on their blog; just Google it!

Don't know how to bake potatoes? Sigh. Preheat the oven to 350F, poke the potatoes with a fork a few times, and wrap them in aluminum foil. Place in the oven and bake for about an hour or until easily pierced with a fork.