Servings: This recipe with my notes made 5 liters of soup.

3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked
6 cups vegetable broth 6 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 sweet or yellow onion, diced 1 sweet or yellow onion, diced
3 medium carrots, chopped 3 medium carrots, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped
11/2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potato, regular potato, or butternut squash 1½ cups peeled and chopped sweet potato, regular potato, or butternut squash
2 stalks celery, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices
1 tablespoon 10-Spice Blend 1 tablespoon 10-Spice Blend
Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves 2 bay leaves
1 to 2 cups baby spinach or de-stemmed torn kale leaves (optional) 1 to 2 cups baby spinach or de-stemmed torn kale leaves (optional)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas or other beans, drained and rinsed (optional) 1 15-ounce can chickpeas or other beans, drained and rinsed (optional)

In a blender, combine the soaked and drained cashews with 1 cup of the vegetable broth and blend on the highest speed until smooth. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
Add the carrots, bell pepper, potato, celery, diced tomatoes with their juices, remaining 5 cups broth, the cashew cream, and the 10-Spice Blend. Stir well to combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with salt and black pepper and add the bay leaves.
Simmer the soup, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and black pepper.
During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach and beans, if desired. Remove and discard the bay leaves before serving.
Tip: If you don’t have the ingredients on hand to make the 10-Spice Blend, feel free to use your favorite store-bought Cajun or Creole seasoning mix and add to taste.
HOMEMADE 10-SPICE MIX (MAKES 1/2 CUP): subheading: HOMEMADE 10-SPICE MIX (MAKES ½ CUP):
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons fine grain sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (this makes it super spicy. Ok for heather but not for me).

Heather and I made this for A Zenner Xmas. The 10 spice mix makes 1/2 cup and you are only supposed to use 1 T of it but Heather didn't read the directions and added all of it. After a good laugh we determined that it was really good with all the spice!  Heather and I made this for A Zenner Xmas. The 10 spice mix makes ½ cup and you are only supposed to use 1 T of it but Heather didn't read the directions and added all of it. After a good laugh we determined that it was really good with all the spice!
Heather and I made this soup again at her house.  Heather and I made this soup again at her house.
We used 8 cups of broth instead of 6.  We used 8 cups of broth instead of 6.
We had a quart of cherry tomatoes that we threw in. We still added two cans (14.5 oz.) of diced tomatoes, one of the cans was the fire roasted tomatoes.  We had a quart of cherry tomatoes that we threw in. We still added two cans (14.5 oz.) of diced tomatoes, one of the cans was the fire roasted tomatoes.
We used 4 stalks of celery.  We used 4 stalks of celery.
There was probably about 2 full cups of butternut squash.  There was probably about 2 full cups of butternut squash.
We used 4 bay leaves because they were small.  We used 4 bay leaves because they were small.
We used 1 an of great northern white beans.  We used 1 an of great northern white beans.
We used 2 stalks of Kale.  We used 2 stalks of Kale.
It took us about 1 hour to chop and gather all the ingredients. We used the new chopper that I brought fro Heather and that saved us a lot of time.  It took us about 1 hour to chop and gather all the ingredients. We used the new chopper that I brought fro Heather and that saved us a lot of time.
We put in all the spice like the first time we made it. The basil, dried Thyme, and dried Oregano were from their garden.  We put in all the spice like the first time we made it. The basil, dried Thyme, and dried Oregano were from their garden.