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Kitchen Witch

Sweet Potato and Ginger Soup

by Lily

Winter is the time of year when the vegetable patch has been put to rest and people feel the need to stay indoors and relax, maybe in front of the fire or under a warm blanket. It's cold, and often wet, and the sun goes down early (perhaps even before you get off from work).

In the dark time of the year, the inward time before the flurry of activity that heralds Spring, we need to nourish our bodies and strengthen our connection to the Earth. Sweet potatoes and carrots, root vegetables dug from Her rich black soil, ground us. Ginger heats us up to keep us warm on cold Winter nights.

Chant a spell as you stir:
Root and herb from within the Earth,
Chopped and stirred upon my hearth,
Stir in nourishment, rest, and health,
This food a gift of Gaia's great wealth.
Heal and warm us from within
Until the air grows warm again.
Blessed be.
 

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes
8 carrots
1 onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 to 2-1/2 Tbsp. fresh ginger (not powdered)
1-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper
4 to 5 cups of milk (soy milk works great)

  1. Peel the sweet potatoes (and carrots if you wish) and chop into chunks. Boil them in a large pot of water until they are tender (about 20 minutes), then drain out the water and set them aside.
  2. Peel and chop up the onion, then sauté in a saucepan with the olive oil until the onion is soft and caramel-colored.
  3. If you are using fresh ginger root, peel it and mince it. You can also use crushed ginger.
  4. Put the sweet potatoes, carrots, onion, ginger, spices, and 3 cups of milk in the blender. Purée it until the texture is smooth; you might need to add some more milk if it is too thick.
  5. Pour the purée back into the large pot and add another cup of milk. If the soup is too thick, you can add even more milk.
  6. As you stir to blend in the milk, envision your body healthy and whole, healing itself in whatever ways it needs. You can also envision healing for the Earth, and offer a bit of soup poured out onto the ground after it is charged.

This soup is great served with a hearty wheat bread. I like to serve it in a loaf of round bread that has been sliced across the top and hollowed out inside to make a bread "bowl."

May you never hunger.