Afternoon, everyone!

I hope everyone is doing well.

Today, I got creative in the kitchen.

I wanted tomato bisque, but I had no idea how to make it.  I looked online for a non-dairy version, and still couldn’t find any information on it.

Fine.  I’ll do it myself.

The cast of characters.

So, yeah.

I have never made tomato bisque before, and as far as I know, I’ve never even tasted it.  However, I was craving my own mental-image of what I thought tomato bisque would taste like, and thus this recipe was created.

I gathered my ingredients — basil, sage, oregano, rosemary, garlic, thyme, green peppers, onion, hot red pepper, full-fat coconut milk, and a tin of unsalted diced tomatoes.

In a slightly oiled pan, I added 1/4 cup of chopped tomato and 1/4 cup chopped onion.

My bisque is happy to see you.

When they were aromatic and tender, I added a teaspoon each of the oregano, basil, thyme, garlic, and rosemary.  I added a quarter teaspoon of sage, and a pinch (1/8 tsp?) of hot red pepper flakes.

I sauteed them in the pan until sizzling and fragrant.

I then transferred all the ingredients into a tall container, and added in the tomatoes.  When they were thick and chunky, not totally emulsified, I added them back to the pan.

With a drizzle of coconut milk on top. Delish!

I let it simmer over medium heat for approximately ten minutes, until the tomatoes had broken down (and confessed to where they had hidden the jewels and vowed to give up the life of crime) and about half of the liquid had cooked off.

At that point, I prepped myself a toasted cheese sandwich.

I heated up another pan over medium-high, and slipped a bit of vegan cheese (it’s over a month old, wish me luck that I don’t re-encounter this sandwich later tonight) between two slices of Udi’s.  I sprayed some olive oil directly onto the bread, as well as the pan.

When it was browned, I threw it into the microwave for fifteen seconds on half-power to melt the “cheese”.

Simple sandwich satisfaction.

When my tomato soup was ready, I slowly stirred in 1/4 cup of full-fat coconut milk.

Mmm, perfection!

I drizzled a tablespoon of coconut milk onto the bisque, then sprinkled a dash of salt and a few grinds of fresh-cracked black pepper onto it as well.

After dipping my sandwich into the bisque, I threw my spoon out the window — the sandwich was the perfect vehicle for this delicious bisque.

However, three bites later and I was out of sandwich, thus obliging me to crawl out the window after my spoon to retrieve it.

Omigosh, so good!

Vegan Spicy Tomato Bisque:

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup green pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp sage

1/8 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1/4 + 1 tbs full-fat coconut milk

Sautee onion and pepper until tender and fragrant.  Add spices.  Remove from heat, add tomatoes, puree until thick but not liquid.  Return to heat.  Simmer ten minutes, until liquid is reduced.  Slowly stir in coconut milk.  Remove from heat, add to bowl.  Drizzle remaining tbs of coconut milk onto bisque.

Honestly, it tasted like a frikkin’ awesome spicy marinara sauce, which is probably what I made, since I have no idea what bisque tastes like.  So, if you’re in the mood for a creamy, vegan marinara sauce for your pasta, give this recipe a whirl.  Or eat it as a bisque, which is what I did, because I’m cool and that’s what all the cool kids are doing these days.

Whoa, a bit ripe there, ain't ya, buddy?

For dessert, I had the Pear of Frankenstein staring me down, so I decided that since I already had some adzuki beans prepared and a tin of coconut milk open, why not use all three?

Plus, it would give me a chance to sneak in some protein, since my lunch was a bit light on the satiety scale.

I chopped up this deliciously over-ripe pear, then mashed 3/4 of it into about a half a cup of adzuki beans.  I threw in a teaspoon of sugar, for good measure.

After transferring it to a clean bowl, I topped it with the remaining pear slices, and tablespoon of coconut milk.

Unusual, it worked.

After tasting it, I realized it needed a bit of cinnamon, and sprinkled it directly onto the mess.

Delish!  Seriously.  Not too sweet, but curiously tasty.

Do you like tomato soup/bisque?  What is your favorite soup/stew? Feel free to share a recipe, if you wish!

Thanks for reading!

❤ Kaz