Valentine’s Day 2026: Soup = Love

My husband Tom, is one of those people who loves cooking—and cooking for someone else is a major love language of his. I have greatly benefitted from this over the years. Just this past week life got busy, yet I still had deliciously rich and healthful soup for a dinner and now leftovers, since Tom decided to cook me some love. I had a bowl of it yesterday as a mid-morning breakfast! OMG—hot and so perfect on a cold day.

Since today is Valentine’s Day, I’m going to take a step away from my love of fabric collage and into our kitchen for a different sort of collage—one of colorful edibles (which I also love). This post features recipes for four soups—such as the Golden Tofu Coconut Curry (pictured above with a dollop of yogurt)—and a “best ever” chili.

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Let’s start with that Golden Tofu Coconut Curry, by Julie of The Simple Veganista. If the word tofu scares you, don’t let it. Tofu absorbs the flavors it’s cooked in and if you like curry, you’ll be good to go—or eliminate it or substitute chicken or something. Just don’t miss the rich brothy-ness of this soup if you’re a curry person. You also don’t need the black rice for serving if you don’t have it—I usually reach for a brown rice but some noodles would probably be good too.

Variations on the theme—it’s good to have choices

1-Pot Kale Sweet Potato Curry, by Minimalist Baker:

I think I’ve loved every recipe from Minimalist Baker that I’ve made—recipes of all sorts, not just baking. This soup is very similar to the one above and also very good—I trade it out for variety and to use ingredients I may have on hand. For instance, if I have a shallot, red curry, or kale available, I may reach for this recipe instead.

Slow Cooker Thai Sweet Potato Soup, by Ashley at Cook Nourish Bliss:

I’m including this third sweet potato curry recipe partly because I seem to crave that combo in the winter months (and maybe you do too), and also because it uses a slow cooker—very handy for busy weeks. I think I’ve only made it once quite awhile ago, and I can’t remember specifics about it. However there’s red lentils in the ingredients and I’ve got some to use up, so I’ll put this on the menu for early March when both Tom and I will be occupied with our 5-Day Live Online Fabric Collage Class.

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Two more recipes to love

Chard and White Bean Soup, from Sunset Magazine:

I usually make notes at the top of recipes that we make, even if it’s in one of my cookbooks. At the top of this soup recipe I wrote, “very good and simple.” This recipe has five ingredients and only two need to be chopped up. I don’t eat meat, so I substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth. I made this again a couple weeks ago and yes, very simple to make and the taste was fine, but “very good?” I checked the recipe to see if I’d forgotten something, which I hadn’t. Anyway, the longer the leftovers lasted, the more flavorful the soup became. The last bowlful was creamy and yummy. I have now added to my note, “best to make ahead—gets better as it ages.” I also recommend to add the optional cheese and a sprinkling of tamari—I’m sure both added some depth of flavor.

The Best Vegan Chili Ever, by Georgia at Full of Beans:

I will finish this Soup = Love post, with a chili recipe—it’s close enough to a soup, still a one-pot meal. This is Tom’s and my go-to for a hot, hardy, and extremely easy meal—most of the prep work involves opening cans. Like the word tofu, I think vegan may scare people away from a recipe—but it’s just food without meat or dairy—you can always add either one to a recipe if you wish. Tom picked out this recipe years ago as a vegan dish that he would like as well (I’m vegan and he isn’t) and it’s now one of his favorites.

 Happy Valentine’s Day & Bon Appétit

Above, one of our fridge magnets (this one is from Penzeys Spices).