Vegan MOFO: Soupy Sales Saturday–Peachy-Keen-Arino Chilled Soup

Soupy Sales was an old-school slapstick comedian. I'm sure I first saw him in his later years on shows like What's My Line? or Hollywood Squares. He hosted many a radio or TV show from the 1950s on through the 1980s. One early show was called "Lunch with Soupy" and an evening show called "Soup's On." He was famous for throwing cream pies (or getting one in the face himself). Only the frozen one did any damage. (See Wikipedia for more Soupy info.)

I remember him as a funny guy with a big smile on his face. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 83. I hope he had a great run at life and enjoyed the fun he brought to others.

In researching his name, ironically, I found that it's quite the un-vegan nickname! His older brothers had been nicknamed "Ham-bone" and "Chicken-bone" and he was given the nickname "Soup-bone" which was later shortened to "Soupy."

Well, fear not vegan friends, I will include no bones in my recipes or any Soupy Sales Saturday creations (soups and pies, maybe?). Just maybe a funny-bone or two.

The names of a couple of Soupy's characters are inspiring me with meal ideas. There's "Peaches" his girlfriend (played by him in drag) and Onions Oregano, a stinky-breathed henchmen. Today, I think I'll go with Peaches...

Peachy-Keen-Arino Chilled Soup
(adapted from a Whole Foods recipe)  
6-8 servings

6 large ripe peaches 
2 1/2 cups water 
1/2 cup apple or orange juice 
1/8 cup agave 
2 drops liquid Stevia  
1 lime, zest and juice of 
Salt and pepper to taste 

Optional: Some powdered or freshly grated ginger. 

Mint sprigs or orange peels for garnish.

My own easier directions: Put all ingredients in your Vitamix and blend away. Chill and serve. Or replace 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup ice cubes and serve right away. (The Whole Foods instructions have you blanch the peaches and take the skin off. I think there are plenty of nutrients in that skin!)

Smoothie Alternative: For 2 Smoothie Servings: Reduce all ingredients by half (omit salt and pepper) and use only 1 cup water and a few ice cubes for a refreshing Smoothie. 

Paleo/AIP: Omit sweeteners and juice. Maybe throw in a couple dates when blending. If your peach skin is bitter, peel peaches first.

Vegan MOFO: Love Me Tender Taco Tuesday–No Peppa Srira-cha-cha-cha

 (No-Tomato Sauce with oregano and basil for Italian sauce)

I've been trying to go nightshade-free for a few months now. Some camps believe that plants in the nightshade family can cause problems–inflammation, leaky gut, achy joints, etc. These foods include tomatoes, potatoes (sweet potatoes are not in the nightshade family), peppers (chili, bell, etc.) and eggplant. Spices include red pepper, paprika and cayenne (curry often includes these spices). Black pepper is not in the nightshade family.

I have found a few recipes online for "No-Tomato Sauce" which are pretty basic and start with carrots and beets as their main ingredients. From there, you can add the appropriate spices to make it taste like a pizza or spaghetti sauce or in this case, a hot sauce. No, it doesn't taste exactly like sriracha, but it's a nice way to get a bit of heat into your tacos without the chili. I had just come to love putting sriracha sauce in so many things–tacos, tofu scramble, mac n' cheese. This is a nice alternative.


No-Peppa Srira-cha-cha-cha Sauce

Base recipe
1/2 cup chopped beets
1 cup chopped carrot
1 tsp ginger juice*
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (or any hot peppercorn)
1/2 cup water

More water as needed

Add for heat:
Ginger juice
Natural horseradish

Blend base recipe ingredients well in a blender, food processor or Vitamix. Heat in saucepan with enough water to cover. Simmer until veggies are cooked, about 10-15 minutes, stirring often.

Here is where you need to experiment to find your own degree of heat and flavor...

Per 1/4 cup of the base recipe, I added another 1/2 tsp of ginger juice and/or 1/2 tsp horseradish, and stirred. You can add more as you like. I found the ginger to make it a "sweet-hot" and the horseradish, a hot-hot. Add water as needed for the consistency you like. I had simmered mine down a little thicker than I wanted, and just added some water to get it more like a hot-sauce consistency. I'm not a "nose-running" hot spicy girl, so I probably went easy on the hot part...

I'm keeping the rest of the base recipe in the fridge and I'll add the hot stuff as I need it. Of course, with different herbs, you can make this a tomato sauce or ketchup. More on that later as I experiment.


*Ginger Juice by the Ginger People. Available at Amazon and plenty of other places.
I think I got it at Whole Foods. I love the ease of use. Just Ginger and Citric Acid. Refrigerate after opening.