Red Hot Sweet Potato Broccoli Soup

I've recently moved from NYC to a small, quaint island on the coast of Maine. For those who aren't familiar, google Mount Desert Island and you'll find a little town called Bar Harbor. This is where I've plopped myself these days. The weather has been rather cool, especially with our 6-ft of snow that's living on the ground, but then again I've never been this far north.  In the big city, I'm used to the skyscrapers to keep us warm.  It snowed this morning again today, but by 6:00pm the sun was shinning.

So, I decided to whip up this spontaneous soup to get the chill out of my body.  In craving something sweet (after just coming from from a short run outside) I put together this recipe.  Feel free to modify!

Ingredients:

• Japanese Sweet Potato 
• 1/2 head of broccoli 
• 1/2 onion
• X-virgin olive oil (cold pressed)
• Sea salt
• Black pepper (optional)
• Red Pepper flakes (optional)

1. Wash and peel the sweet potato. Today we're not going to use the skin, so you can throw it away, compost it, or save for stock. 

2. Dice the sweet potato into small chunks and put aside. Do the same for the broccoli and onion. 

3. Heat your pan and add about 1-2 tbls of olive oil. Be careful not to heat too much. 

4. Add the onion and sauté. When start to clear add a pinch or two of sea salt. 

5. Add your seasonings of course to taste (red pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic, etc). Careful my crohn's and colitis friends, you may want to leave this step out especially if you're symptomatic. 

6. Add the sweet potato and a few pinch of sea salt. Sauté a few minutes, you want to make sure the sweet potato is starting to get soft before you add the broccoli. 

7. Add the broccoli with a pinch of salt and sauté to cost with oil. 

8. Add water to completely cover the vegetables. Bring to boil, and cover. 

9. Cooks for about 5 minutes. 

10. Let soup cool for 5-10 minutes. Add to blender and purée. 

Serve immediately and enjoy the kick!