What’s in a Name?
Yeah folks, this recipe has been named after someone that I trust 100% with her food tastes. She’s Uma, an old and dear friend. No, not the movie actress, although this gal could pass off as one. During one of our chats, she mentioned this very easy recipe and when she used the words “it was SO yum!”, I knew I could believe her. I had to make it right away, and blog about it….and when I did, I knew I had to name this recipe after her!
After all, how many well-known dishes do we know about that carry the names of either their founder or have been named after a famous personality that ate it? I know a few. Other stories exist, but I’ve picked my favorites. Let’s see…
That’s Uma!
Where Did Food Names Originate?
Fettuccine Alfredo: Alfredo was an Italian chef who invented the dish for his pregnant wife at his Roman restaurant and every tourist that visits Rome has to have it. I did too, in October 2019!
The decadent dessert, Peach Melba: Melba was an Australian soprano singer who took her name from her hometown of Melbourne. The story goes that a chef at the Savoy Hotel heard her sing in the late 1800’s and was inspired to create a dessert for her, which he named after her. The same Dame Nellie Melba was also the name behind the Melba Toast, since she requested for a very dry toast during a bout of illness.
In my own neck of the woods in Dallas, TX, Margarita the tequila/lime/orange liqueur cocktail was named after Dallas socialite Margarita Samas. She invented it in 1948 for one of her raunchy Acapulco parties.
One of my personal experiences was the Sacher Torte in Vienna, Austria last year. Apparently, apprentice Franz Sache created this cake for Prince Metternich; it became such a hit that it landed up on the plates of the Emperor and Empress of Austria. This decadent chocolate is lined with a thin layer of apricot jam on top, coated in shiny dark chocolate icing on the top and sides, and served with unsweetened whipped cream. We were frequent breakfast-time visitors to the Sacher Hotel by the Vienna Opera. It was SO good that we had it for breakfast all the days that we stayed in Vienna. The recipe is a closely guarded secret.
-
- Sacher Torte Story
-
- Our Daily Breakfast!
Anyway, I hope Uma’s Veggie-Medley Soup will reach far and wide and will be someday featured internationally. 🙂
What I Love About Uma’s Veggie Medley Soup:
This is a one-pot (one blender) recipe. Dump everything into the Instant Pot, cook it, blend it. Ta daa!
For those that love recipes without oil, this is your baby. I was surprised that this soup needs absolutely no oil but still lives up to its repute. If you wish, you can add some oil, but it won’t alter the taste.
Zero Waste!! I usually compost all my food scraps, but in this case, the food scraps can be added into the soup. Dill fronds went into another dish, and the leftover dill stalks went into this soup. I also had cilantro stalks which I threw in. Way better than composting, is to eat these nutritious scraps.
The soup is versatile and will accommodate any vegetable or herb or greens. Uma’s recipe had different vegetables, but because of the quarantine issue, I threw in whatever was growing in my garden, and whatever I had in the fridge.
I usually add vegetable broth to my soups. This recipe came in handy when there was no broth stock at home. And the best thing is – it didn’t make any difference that the soup was missing the broth. It was just as, if not more, tasty.
Instant Pot or Cook Top?
I used the IP for this recipe, but you can do this over a cook top. You will need to babysit it a bit to make sure it doesn’t burn at the bottom, but the results are pretty much similar. I suspect you may need to add a tad bit of oil if you are cooking this in a pan, to allow the vegetables to simmer and cook well. Do try and let me know how it works.
Love Soups? Spicy? Bland? Vegan? Nut Free? Raw? We have several for you to try out:
- Roasted Butternut Squash & Black-Eyed Peas Soup
- Vegan Creamy Mushroom Soup
- Tempered Yellow Lentil Soup
- Creamy (Sans Cream!) Broccoli Asparagus Soup
- Raw Red Bell Pepper Soup
- Chilled Cucumber Dill Soup
- Tomato Soup With Seasoning
- Yellow Mung Soup
- Thai Curry Vegetable Soup
- Spicy Buttermilk Soup
- Pepper Rasam – Zesty Pepper-Tamarind Soup
Literally LOADED with vegetables, spices and herbs, this flavorful veggie medley soup packs a nutritional punch of fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and the like. You will be “eating the rainbow” with the greens, whites, oranges, reds and yellows that you can add into this pot. Eating the Rainbow helps protect against illness, bone density loss, digestive problems, and with weight management.
Do you love our posts and recipes? We’d LOVE to see your creations so click a photo and tag us on Instagram with the hashtag #healthyindian3 and please give a star (★) rating below. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube & Tumblr for healthy, easy and delicious recipes and lifestyle tips.
*There could be affiliate links in this blog. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Uma's Veggie-Medley Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Green Chili Pepper - Chopped. Or to taste
- 1 Inch Cinnamon - Stick
- 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper - Whole peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic - Chopped
- 1 Cup Carrots - Cubed
- 1 Cup Cauliflower - Florets
- 1 Cup Celery - Chopped
- 1 Cup Sweet Potato - Cubed
- 1 Cup Tomato - Fresh or Canned
- 1 Teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt - Or to taste
- 1 Cup Cilantro Stalks - Or leaves. Optional
- 1 Cup Dill Stalks - Or leaves. Optional
- 1/2 Cup Mint Leaves
- 2 Teaspoons Sunflower Seeds
- 2 Teaspoons Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 Teaspoon Avocado Oil - Optional. The soup will taste great even without oil
Instructions
- To Instant Pot, add oil (optional and can be skipped), cut green chili, cinnamon stick, whole pepper corns, chopped garlic, cubed carrots, cauliflower florets, chopped celery, cubed sweet potato, fresh or canned chopped tomatoes and salt. Optionally, if you have discarded stalks of any greens, add them here. I've used cilantro and dill stalks. Mint leaves will also give a great taste.
- Pressure cook in the Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker) on high with vent closed for 4 minutes. Quick release (QR). Allow soup to cool.
- Blend in high speed blender like a Vitamix, until smooth. Top with sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds. Serve hot. Pictured here is homemade sourdough bread.
