Roasted Curried Vegetable Soup

As is standard for gatherings thrown by my mom, there were loads of leftovers after my grandmother's birthday party yesterday.  So after the party, my sister and I filled bags and bags of food to take home.  My favorite goodie bag was my gallon-size bag of raw veggies (ok, maybe not my favorite - the Costco chocolate chip cookies are pretty exciting).

So, when I got home from work today, I immediately threw all the veggies on a baking sheet and put them in the oven to roast for a half hour while I played with Henry.  When it was done, I put them into a pot with some water and seasoning and let it simmer while I started to give Henry dinner.  For dinner tonight, Henry was going to have noodles, chicken, and then I hoped he would try some cherry tomatoes or baby corn from a salad we had.  Henry started to eat some of the chicken and noodles, but for the most part he was just playing and singing songs with me.

While he was still in his highchair, I quickly pureed the soup, and then added some cooked couscous/grain mixture that I had leftover from the weekend (the mix is Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's and it's delish!).  Since I finished making the soup so quickly, I decided to offer some to Henry.  He said he wanted some, and then took a bite.  He loved it, and then proceeded to ask for "more, more soup", and kept saying "I like soup" (his new thing is to say "I like" in front of different words).  It was a great way to get in lots of veggies - I just hope he'll eat it again tomorrow!

Roasted Curried Vegetable Soup
~2 pounds vegetables, cut up (I used cauliflower, string beans, broccoli, a couple of mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini)
1 onion, cut in wedges
2 tsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
5 cups water
3 tsp chicken consomme powder
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup canned chickpeas
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups cooked Harvest Grain Blend (or other cooked rice/pasta)

1.  Preheat oven to 450.  Mix together vegetables, onion, olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet, and roast for 30 minutes.

2.  Pour roasted veggies in a soup pot, and add all ingredients except the grains (from water to peas).  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and blend with a handblender.

3.  Add cooked Harvest Grain Blend and heat for a few minutes.  Then serve.

Happy and (mostly) healthy eating!