Creamy Mushroom and Kale Soup, Tempeh with Green Beans and Pine Nuts

I had some cremini mushrooms on hand and yesterday my parents gave me a quart of white mushrooms that they didn't want. I decided to make a creamy mushroom soup. My experience with my VitaMix is that many dishes come out fine ad hoc, but soups generally, at least for me, need a recipe to start with.

Anyway, I thought I would challenge that today and use my normally decent sense about what foods might work well together to create a new blended soup. I used a raw mushroom soup recipe that I found on the web as initial inspiration and came up with this recipe (the soup was so interesting and good that I may try to publish it at some VitaMix recipe sites).

1. I put into the Vita-Mix about 8 medium white mushrooms (a quart), 5 small cremini mushrooms, a large shallot (peeled), and 3 medium potatoes, similar to Yukon Golds
2. I blended briefly at 40% power, just to chop; much of the mushroom ended up pureeing, which was fine
3. I sauteed the mix over medium-high for about 7-10 minutes till it gave out a nice mushroom aroma and the mushroom was cooked down a little
   
4. I put in the Vita-Mix 2 cups of fresh homemade almond milk, 1/4 cup raw cashews, 4 leaves (stem and leaf) kale, 1T red miso, 3/4t cumin seed, half of a jalapeno (seeds and all; the soup had a little bit too much - but still quite acceptable and nice - of a "kick" to it, so next time I'd add a quarter jalapeno), about a tablespoonful of fresh lemon sage, and a pinch of salt
5. I added the sauteed vegetables and blended on high for about 5 minutes till steamy hot

I served the soup topped with a sauteed mushroom mixture (4 large creminis chopped and sauteed down, with about a tablespoonful of rosemary, mixed with some freshly ground black pepper). I also put some crispy prepared onions on top.

I made an interesting course of tempeh as well. I sauteed some tempeh over medium-high heat, adding green beans when the tempeh was almost done. Just before completion, I added some pine nuts, stirred for a half minute or minute till the nuts barely showed some browning, then served.

Dinner was good! The kale added a nice surprise to the flavor of the soup. I think this soup is a winner.