Raw Sprouted Pea Soup

I grew up in a home where most food was cooked. Not salads, of course, but most of the rest of the meal was cooked. While my mother was a not a fancy cook, she was a wonderful one who seemed to know what went well with other ingredients.

Needless to day, I grew up with the notion that "soup" meant something warm or hot. These days, I have soups nearly every day when I’m not traveling, and they’re neither warm nor hot! They’re raw and room temperature. My friend Jill calls my soups, "salad to blender to bowl."

Here’s a recipe with some alternatives. We prepare some variation of the soup rather regularly because we love sprouted peas. When the children were little, we found that they loved to watch the peas quickly sprout a little tail. We learned lots of ways to use the peas they sprouted!

Sprouted Pea Soup: 4 Servings
Ingredients 2 cups sprouted peas 1 cup snow peas or sugar peas 1 medium avocado 1 small-medium apple 1 ½ cups best available water ¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper Celtic Sea salt to taste (or use any highly mineralized salt)
Directions Prepare apple and avocado by removing non-edible parts. Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until it reaches the desired consistency. See a variety of suggestions below.

Sprouted Peas. We sprout these ourselves; however, some health food stores are now carrying peas that have been sprouted. I’ve pictured sprouted peas above, as distinct from pea sprouts (below), which are long with a leaf at the end. We purchase our peas for sprouting at a variety of places (see the left navigation bar in the "Sprouting Seeds" section for suggestions). Our special favorite is the San Francisco Mix at Sprout People. We use the peas when they’ve sprouted about 2-4 days.

Snow or Sugar Peas. To be honest, we usually make the recipe with sprouted peas. However, snow peas or peas right out of the pod are a nice addition. We have also added pea sprouts, as shown above, as another texture.

Avocado. Nicely ripened avocado makes this soup creamy and green, adding healthy fat and subtle flavor. When we’re ready to make the soup but without a properly ripened avocado, we use raw, soaked nuts. They also require proper timing, as almonds need to be soaked about 24 hours and cashews or walnuts need to be soaked 6-8 hours. Allow 3-4 nuts per serving.

Apple. We’ve prepared this soup without the apple and it’s just as tasty. The apple adds wonderful nutrients, crunch, and crispiness. "An apple a day …." If you haven’t had your apple that day, be sure to add one to this soup.

Water. Opinions abound about the "right" water to consume. I try to stay away from the controversy; besides, some people cannot get the water that raw food purists consider to be the best. So, you choose what you believe is the best available water.

Cayenne Pepper. We use ground cayenne pepper often. If that’s not to your taste, you’ll still find this a wonderful dish if you omit it. Because peas have a more neutral flavor than many vegetables, experiment with your own favorite herbs or spices.

Celtic Sea Salt. Be certain not to spoil this wonderful raw soup with "regular" table salt. What you want here is a highly mineralized salt, of which there are many to choose from. Sea vegetables are another alternative, about ¼ to ½ teaspoon. Another alternative is celery. When we add celery to this soup, we place the water and celery in the blender first to break down the fibers. Then we add all the additional ingredients because they need much less blending.

Texture. Varied textures create different taste sensations. This soup, as many raw soups, can be successful as chunky, smooth, or pureed. We usually prefer a chunky soup, as that reminds us to chew. Chewing is an important part of the digestive process. Here are some considerations for experimenting:

• Blend these ingredients into a puree. If you do that, be certain to save out some of the sprouted peas or pea sprouts for garnish.
• Create a nice texture this way: blend the ingredients briefly, remove most of the soup to a bowl, puree the remaining, and add the puree to the briefly blended soup. This thickens the soup, but without any artificial ingredients.

Temperature. At our house, we eat most of our foods at room temperature. If you like a different temperature, consider:

• For a warm soup, heat the water (be careful to keep it below 118° if you want a truly raw soup) or place the soup in the dehydrator or on a warming tray enough to warm it. Some people, especially in colder climates, prefer warm foods.
• If you like it chilled, start with refrigerated ingredients, then place the soup in the refrigerator for a brief period.

Whatever you eat, eat with a smile on your face and love in your heart.