West African Peanut Soup

Adapted from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

This is one of my husband's favorite soups. The ingredients are easy to find, and it doesn't take long to fix. The worst part is cleaning up the blender afterwards!

It has a little spice, so add less cayenne if you can't tolerate the heat. I fix this throughout the year.

2 C chopped onion	2 C tomato juice
1 T vegetable oil	1 C smooth peanut butter
1/2 t ground cayenne	sugar to taste (< 1 T)
1 T gratet ginger
1 C chopped carrots
2 C chopped sweet potatoes
4 C water
2 vegetarian bouillon cubes

Saute onions in oil until translucent. Stir in cayenne and ginger. Add carrots and saute a couple of minutes. Stir in potatoes, water and bouillon. Bring to boil then simmer for ~15 minutes until vegetables are tender.

(note: I often cook vegetables earlier in the day when I have a few extra minutes. Makes fixing dinner much faster!)

Puree vegetables and cooking liquid in blender. Return to pot and add tomato juice. Stir in peanut butter. Make sure not to scorch! Add sugar to taste (not always needed, depending on sweetness of vegetables).

Serve with warm brown bread and butter. Can easily make a double batch.