Seasoned Tofu and Veggie Wontons

During the month of November, Hubbs and I had the amazing opportunity of running a pop-up organic, vegan cafe inside of an amazing bar called The Little Fleet in downtown Traverse City, Michigan.  It was called Koko's Cafe Pop-Up.  I worked for the owner of the bar during the summer season, running his food truck, and he decided to bring his food truck inside during the winter to be able to serve his customers delicious food and allow entrepreneurs to test the market with their new products.  We had an amazing month and feel very blessed to have been able to do that.  We had many great customers - a lot of whom cannot wait until we open our physical location.  And neither can we!  We are shooting for late spring to early summer.

At the end of the month we made a delicious homemade wonton soup stuffed with tofu, veggies and some awesome seasonings.  It sold very well and people were raving about how tasty it was.  It's something I have been making for a couple years at home.  I'm so glad people loved it the same way I do.

I can't give out the recipe since it will be used for our business, but I can say what the ingredients were (all being organic): tofu, green local cabbage, scallions, bok choy, carrots, tamari, toasted sesame oil, black pepper).  Check out the process below

One batch of many of the tasty wontons.

Close-up of the delicious filling.  Yum!

The finished wontons, before freezing

Koko

Mushroom Barley Soup ala Risotto

The countdown is on for Hubbs and I to move.  It is officially 4 weeks from today that we will make the drive from Brooklyn to Michigan.  Now is the time to start going through things and getting rid of stuff that isn't going to make the journey with us.  Since living in NY, I've invested in a small chest freezer as well as an additional refrigerator/freezer combo other than the one that comes with the apartment.  I have been teaching so many classes and doing so much testing that I simply needed more space.  Now that the time is drawing near, I'm trying to empty out the freezers and use up everything in there.  Mostly we have a lot of frozen fruit left and some baking chips, gluten free flours, etc.  That is until I discovered a ziploc baggie of mushroom stems.  Soup - the perfect answer!  Now I realize that this is not the perfect weather for soup (high 80's and crazy humid), but I could literally eat soup everyday, multiple times a day.  So I decided to make mushroom stock from the mushroom stems I saved every time I purchased a package of mushrooms.  It makes an amazingly delicious stock.  After going through my pantry as well, I came across half a bag of barley that needed to be used up.  What better way to use the mushroom stems and barley then by making Mushroom Barley Soup? 

I think the last time I ate this soup, that I can recall anyway, was in second grade when we made stone soup, which was actually a barley soup with stones speckled throughout.  Pretty gross to think of now, but it was pretty awesome back then!  This recipe, which I used the Candle Cafe's cookbook as a reference, turned out very tasty, but stupid me got busy packing more and more stuff into boxes, left the pot on the stove over low heat, and ended up not with a soup, but rather, almost a risotto.  But it was still quite tasty!



Mushroom Barley Soup ala Risotto:



Quite tasty.

Serves: 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cup medium diced carrots, about 3 medium
11/2 cups chopped celery, 2 stalks
1 cup medium diced onion, 1 medium
1 1/2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
3 cups mushroom stock
3 cups filtered water
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup barley, rinsed
2 bay leaves

1.  In a large pot over medium heat, add the olive oil.  Allow it to become hot, then add the carrots, celery and onions.  Stir and allow to cook for about 5 minutes, till softened. 
2.  Add the mushrooms and gently stir, trying to keep them whole. 
3.  Add the rinsed barley, stirring to coat with all of the ingredients.  (This is to keep the grains separate.  If you were to add them with the stock at the same time, they would clump together more.)  Once the barley is dry, add the stock, water, salt and pepper and bay leaves. 
3.  Allow the soup ingredients to come to a boil.   Reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about half hour, stirring periodically, until the barley is cooked all the way through. 
4.  To make it into the "risotto" I ended up with, cook it for about double the time over low heat.  ;)
Enjoy!

-Koko

Vegan "Chicken" Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles & Soy Protein

 Today is a day when the fridge is empty, it's time to go shopping and Hubbs and I are hungry, so I decided to make dinner with what I had on hand.  Homemade noodles are always a fun thing to make - something my Mom used to make all the time when I was a kid.  But of course she would make egg noodles and put them in "real" chicken noodle soup.  No worries, this is equally as good.  I have made this soup with homemade seitan before and also just the noodles and broth.  Those ways have been equally good, but with a hungry hubby constantly mentioning how hungry he is, I decided making homemade seitan was out of the question for today.  So a simple, hearty soup to make when you're hungry but don't have a lot of time or ingredients!

Vegan "Chicken" Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles:

Seriously delicious.  Ultimate comfort food!



Serves: 4-6

1/2 cup onions, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups vegan chicken stock, made with un-chicken boullion

1 cup soy curls

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pasta:

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (plus an additional 1/4 cup for kneading)

2 tablespoons minced parsley, optional



1.  Prepare the pasta: in a large bowl add the water, sea salt and olive oil.  Mix together till combined.  Add the flour and optional parsley.  Mix together with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.

2.  Sprinkle a clean cutting board with additional unbleached flour and roll the dough around in the flour to coat.  Press the dough into a disc and roll out to desired thickness with a rolling pin. 

3.  To make rustic pasta (the kind my mom would always make), slice the pasta into strips with a paring knife. 

4.  Sprinkle a baking pan with additional unbleached flour, carefully pick up the pasta and place on top of the flour.  Cover the pasta with a clean, dry towel and set aside until needed.

5.  Now prepare the soup part of the recipe: in a large pot, add the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until translucent.  Try not to let the onions color.

6.  Add the garlic and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.  Add the "chicken" stock made with filtered water and unchicken boullion.  Bring the ingredients to a boil.

7.  Once the liquid boils, reduce heat slightly and add the soy curls and black pepper.  Cook till the soy curls are just about cooked.

8.  Add the pasta: place once piece of pasta into the simmering water at a time to reduce the likelihood of the pasta completely sticking together. 

9.  Stir periodically until the noodles and soy curls are completely cooked through.  The pasta will rise to the top once it has cooked.

10.  Try to allow it to cool slightly before eating.

Enjoy!

Koko

Chickpea Vegetable Soup with Sweet Potatoes

I am fortunate to work in a place where I can purchase large bulk quantities of organic foods.  I do a lot of recipe testing and go through a lot of ingredients that are expensive when paying the retail cost.  I recently purchased a 25 pound bag each of organic unbleached flour, organic sugar, organic chickpeas and a case of soy free earth balance (the 2 lb. containers).  I've gone through almost all of the flour, 1/4 of the sugar and probably a couple pounds of the beans.  I use beans all the time in my cooking at home, the vast majority of the time I cook them from dry, using canned only when I am in a super hurry.  Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are by far my favorite bean - I put them in everything.  Sometimes when I am cooking them from dry, I get carried away and make too many.  I don't love the texture of frozen garbanzo beans, so I try to use them all fresh, but I would much rather freeze them than throw them away, so sometimes they end up in the freezer.  Whenever I freeze them, I use them in soup - how this recipe came about. 

I have pretty much been making soup 2-3 times a week in this cold weather.  Even though today is technically spring, it is still pretty chilly out, so I felt like making this tasty, comforting soup.  I am a fan of the brothier soups and love me some greens in my soups, added at the end to still have a nice bite.  Try this soup before the weather starts to actually turn nice and warm!

Chickpea Vegetable Soup with Sweet Potatoes:

 

So hearty with delicious chunks of sweet potatoes.

Yields: 2 1/2 Quarts (6-8 servings)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium yams, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons red curry paste
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 cups vegetable stock
4 large leaves kale, shredded
2 cups chickpeas, cooked


1. Place a large stockpot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Allow the oil to become hot.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, yams and garlic and sauté for several minutes.
3. Add the seasonings: red curry paste, sea salt, cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Toss to coat.
4. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Once the ingredients boil, reduce to a simmer.
5. Once the yams are just tender, turn off the heat and add the kale and chickpeas, stirring to combine.
6. Season to taste.  That's it!


Enjoy!

Koko

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This cold and wintry weather we have been having here on the East Coast has really made me crave soups.  I'm the strange kind of person that could always eat soup, even when it's well into the 90's in the heat of the summer.  Not sure why, but I love them.  Usually the brothier the soup the better.  Sometimes though, I find myself craving a thick, hearty soup.  That's usually the kind of soup my Husband loves to eat.  I had the idea for this soup from seeing it at the coop here in Brooklyn, although it was not vegan at all, not even vegetarian.  Definitely full of cream, butter, milk and of course bacon.  I have a great tempeh bacon recipe myself, so I could easily see this soup come together.  And who doesn't love potatoes, bacon (vegan that is) and smoky deliciousness?  So I wrote down everything I think would make this into a delicious thick and hearty soup and went from there.  And it turned out deliciously, with Hubbs eating two full bowls of it!  

Note that this makes quite a bit of soup (3 quarts), so you can either halve the recipe, invite friends over for a soup and salad party or freeze whatever you don't use for a quick dinner later.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup:



So creamy & delicious with those amazing toppings!


Makes 3 Quarts

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 quarts vegetable stock
4 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoons chipotle pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups unsweetened soymilk
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons earth balance

Toppings:
1scallion, chopped
2 tablespoons shredded vegan cheese
2 pieces homemade cooked & chopped tempeh bacon

1.  In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil and allow it to become hot. 
2.  Once it is hot, add the onions and garlic and cook for several minutes until translucent.
3.  Add the potatoes and all the spices: the salt, smoked paprika, onion and garlic powder, chipotle pepper powder and black pepper.  Toss to coat the potatoes and onions in the spices and allow mixture to cook for a couple minutes. 
4.  Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Once the ingredients begin to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are cooked all the way through.
5.  Add the earth balance and sour cream to the pot and allow to melt.  Stir to combine.  Add the unsweetened soymilk and stir. 
6.  In batches, transfer the hot soup to a blender of food processor (be very careful!!).  Place a dry towel over the lid of the machine and blend until completely smooth, but not too long or the potatoes will become gluey.
7.  Return the pureed soup back to a clean pot and bring back up to a simmer.  Season to taste.
8.  To serve, top with the vegan cheese, scallions and tempeh bacon. 
9.  Serve.  That's it!

Enjoy!

Koko

Gluten Free Wednesday: Vegetable Red Lentil Soup

Happy Gluten Free Wednesday!

I love soups!  I really do, especially when the weather is even a little chilly out.  It's a strange thing to be craving now when the weather is still nice and toasty, but that's what sounds good.  Not that you need an excuse to make or eat soup, but hey.  It is a little sad to me that the Hubby doesn't like soup as much as I do, because I go through these phases where I want to eat soup everyday for a week or so and be completely satisfied.  There was this time about 2 1/2 years ago where I made this soup (I already posted the recipe) and ate it everyday for several weeks and was completely happy.  As I'm typing this, I'm hungry, craving soup, but this time I really really want a delicious bowl of french onion soup.  Oh man is that stuff good!  

I was a guest chef at the Natural Gourmet Institute a couple years ago and made a menu that included french onion soup and it was seriously the most amazingly tasty soup I think I have ever made.  It's about time I make it again.  The only issue is that soups are so easy to make way too much of, and though I wouldn't mind eating it for every meal for over a week, Hubby would definitely complain.  I think making it for the family I cooke for is probably a better idea because I can then just take the extras home and enjoy it by myself.  I would like to try to make it with some kind of gluten free bread so I can post it for another Gluten Free Wednesday, and top it with some gooey, melty diaya on top. Yum!  That's next on the list!

Vegetable Red Lentil Soup:



Warm, Spicy Deliciousness!



Yields about 12 cups (freezes well)

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 stalks celery, sliced in half and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, small diced, about 1 cup
1 cup split red lentils, picked over and washed
10 cups water
2 medium carrots, small diced, about 3/4 cup
1 roma tomato, small diced, about 1 cup
1/2 green pepper, small diced, about 1 cup
1 red or yellow pepper, small diced, about 3/4 cup
1 stalk broccoli, cut into small florets, about 2 cups, stem reserved for another use
2 tablespoons unchicken boullion
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon red chili paste
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1//8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste

1.  In a large stock pot over medium heat, place the oil and allow to heat.  Add the onion, celery and garlic and allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant.  Add the drained lentils and stir to coat with the vegetable mixture.
2.  Add the spices and boullion and stir to coat.  Add the water.  Allow the mixture to come up to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes before adding the vegetables.  Split red lentils cook very quickly and because the vegetables are all cut the same size, they will cook very quickly as well.
3.  Once the lentil mixture has simmered for about 10 minutes, add all of the veggies and stir to coat.  Continue to simmer until the lentils and vegetables are both cooked all the way through.  Be careful not to overcook - it is important that both the lentils and veggies are just tender.
4.  Serve with additional cayenne pepper for extra heat, if desired.  The nice part about this soup is that the hotter it is, the better it is.  It made my nose run, and I was happy every minute of it.  Serve with rice or some other kind of grain on the side the help battle the heat. 

Enjoy!

-K

Gluten Free Wednesday: Thai Vegetable Soup

Happy Gluten Free Wednesday!

I love soup!  Hubby is not such a fan of it, so I am glad I was able to make it at work where I know people will appreciate it and eat it all!  I created this recipe actually for a gluten free cooking class I am going to teach, and this was the test.  After looking all over online for a decent Thai vegetable soup recipe, and not really finding one, I took ideas from at least three different recipes, combined them together and came up with this soup.  The great thing about soups, too, unlike baking and some other forms of cooking, you can experiment with it and keep adding things as you go.  If it needs more flavoring, just add it.  If you've added too much salt, add more water.  Done.  This soup turned out so deliciously!  I think everyone had at least two bowls of it and there was quite a bit left over for everyone to take home. 

The list of ingredients may look large and a bit intimidating, but don't let that fool you.  It is a little heavy on the prep (chopping and preparing veggies), but once that is all done, the soup comes together very quickly.  I loved the coconut milk element in the soup and would love to try more soups with coconut milk in them, especially as spring turns into summer.  It just reminds me of tropical places.  Although I did make a tomato basil soup once with coconut milk in it and it was strangely delicious!  Also, Hubby and I bought tropical fruit pops at Whole Foods a month or so ago that included coconut milk, shredded coconut, mango, pineapple etc.  I really want to make those at home this summer and sweeten them with agave, rather than sugar.  But damn were they tasty.  I've just got to find somewhere to buy those fruit pop molds! 


Thai Vegetables Soup:




I love the creaminess of the coconut milk &
the freshness of the basil!  So good!


Serves 4-6 as a meal

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, small diced, about 3 cups
1 jalapeno, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced, about 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced lemon grass
12 cups filtered water
4 medium yams, peeled and medium diced
5-6 tablespoons Better Than Boullion, No-Chicken Flavor
3 carrots, peeled and julienned
1/2 cup sugar snap peas, tough ends trimmed
4 scallions, white and green ends separated
3 1/2 cups kale, ribs removed and leaves sliced (about 1 small bunch)
1/2 - 1 full can coconut milk
1 tablespoon red curry paste
sea salt and black pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
6 leaves basil, chiffonadded

1.  In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, garlic and ginger.  Saute for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. 
2.  Add the filtered water, sweet potatoes, boullion, sea salt and black pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook just until the potatoes are barely tender.
3.  Add the carrots, peas and white parts of the scallions, cooking for about 2 minutes.  Add the kale and continue cooking for another minute.
4.  Remove the pot from heat and stir in the coconut milk, lime juice and cilantro.  Stir to combine.  Season to taste with sea salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper if desired. 
5.  Serve immediately with the chiffonnaded basil on top.  So delicious!

Enjoy!

-K

Veggie Soup with Chinese Noodles

This is by far my favorite quick go-to soup whenever I am short of time or want a soup that will not fill me up too much.  I have been making this soup since I moved to the city 3 years ago.  Truthfully, I used to make this soup when I was first living in Manhattan, spending so much money on my rent because I was terrified if I went outside of the city, I would be in terrible danger.  What a crazy girl!  I was convinced that Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx were the worst possible places one could find themselves in.  I was of course severely wrong, but didn't know it at the time and was busy paying my multiple thousand dollar-a-month rent.  That meant I had to be careful about everything else I spent money on, including and especially food.  There was a market four blocks up from where I lived, but I would purchase one plastic bag and the total would be more than $50 and I could barely make a meal and wonder where all the money went.  And don't get me wrong, I am a very thrifty shopper, it's just that there wasn't any possible way for me to be thrifty when I was paying ten times more that I should just because I was living in the city. 

It was about that time that my then roommate and I found out about China Town.  It was so crowded and the hundreds of Chinese people pushing you and themselves through the thick crowd initially really freaked me out, especially all the people shouting in heavily accented English "miss miss, handbag! handbag! dvd! dvd!", followed by shoving the item in my face.  But I quickly got used to it and then found my little place over on Mulberry Street that I have gone to now for over three years for my stock of wonton wrappers, nut milk bags, rice crackers, sesame oils, etc.  I love that little place, and that's where I got the idea for this soup after having purchased 3 gigantic plastic bags of groceries for like $25 and being able to eat for 1 1/2 weeks.  So here is this amazingly simple, delicious soup!

Veggie Soup with Chinese Noodles:




Deliciously simple soup with lots of red pepper flakes!

 Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, small diced, about 1 cup
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 green pepper, small diced
6 large kale leaves, thick center removed and leaves thinly sliced
5-6 cups water
2 tablespoons no-chicken boullion base
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 circles/nests of quick cook Chinese Noodles or noodles of choice
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

1.  In a medium-large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  When it is hot, add the onions, garlic, carrots and pepper and saute for a few minutes. 
2.  Add the water, boullion, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Cook just until carrots are tender.  Add the quick cooking noodles and the kale and cook for 1-2 minutes or until just tender.  Add the sesame oil and season to taste.
3.  Ladle the hot soup into soup bowls and top with as many pepper flakes as you can handle.  Serve!  It's simple, quick and delicious every time!

Enjoy!

-K

Christmas Dinner!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful ... !!!  Man is the snow really coming down out there.  Just walked in the door from coming back home from work, and let me say has the snow really come down!  When I left for work this morning, there was absolutely nothing on the ground, and when I peeked out the window at work, there were several inches already on the ground in Manhattan, meaning that Brooklyn must have a ton more snow - and I see now that it definitely does!  I wish yesterday would have been like this - it is so festive.  Oh well, at least it's here now.  The funny thing about snow is that I come from a state where there is so much snow so much of the time that coming here to NY was like living in a tropical place.  Now that I've been here for over three years, I find myself becoming wimpier and wimpier as the time goes by and cannot imagine my poor family trying to live and work in several feet of snow.  Let's move on, shall we, now that I have my hot tea in front of me?

I had a great Christmas, spending lots of time with the Hubby and hope everyone else out there did too.  I was somewhat on a time crunch this year with so much stuff to do that I didn't really cook as much as I wanted, which is not to say that we didn't have enough - we were sufficiently stuffed at the end of the meal.  I usually prepare the same kind of food for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but for some reason I didn't feel like eating the green bean casserole, unturkey and all that goes along with it.  I felt like eating a little bit lighter, so that's what the Hubby and I did.  We still had to have the staples mashed potatoes and stuffing of course, but we also added a bunch of veggies with a dipping sauce, baked seitan with a mushroom sauce, sweet potato casserole,  Peruvian style salad, etc.  I'm going to list a few of the main recipes I made.  I'm not going to write down the desserts, because frankly, I was a little disappointed in them and do not want to write them down until I have tried them a couple more times.  So here are some of the delicious things I made for the  Hubby and I to enjoy!



The Christmas Spread



Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 6-8

1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, diced, about 1 1/2 cups
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped, about 1 cup
6 cloves garlic, chopped
8 cups dark roasted vegetable stock
6 springs fresh thyme, stripped off tough stems
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2.  Place the chopped butternut squash in a large bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper.  Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through.
3.  Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, celery and carrots and saute for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant.  Add the chopped garlic and cook for an addition 2-3 minutes.  Add the roasted squash and saute until all veggies are well mixed. 
4.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the stock, sea salt, black pepper and thyme.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all the veggies are cooked through and the liquid is well seasoned.  
5.  Allow soup to cool down for 15-20 minutes and working in batches, blend the soup until smooth and creamy, placing the pureed soup in a clean pot.  Once all of the soup is pureed, taste for seasoning, adding more salt of pepper as needed.  Keep warm and serve.


Stuffing

Serves 6-8

10-12 cups dried bread
1 large onion, small diced, about 1 1/2 cups
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 1/2- 2 tablespoons better than boullion, no-chicken flavor*
1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2.  In a medium sized pot, add the onions and celery, along with the boullion, sage, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat.
3.  Add 4 cups hot water and bring contents to a boil.  Once it boils, turn down to a simmer and simmer just until onions and celery are cooked through. 
4.  Place the dried bread in a large bowl and pour the herbed onion and garlic broth over top.  Using a spatula, toss to coat, ensuring everything is well coated.
5.  Lightly oil a 9x13" pan and firmly press the stuffing mixture into the pan.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake, covered, for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the top is crispy and the edges are browned.
*Note: This mixture is supposed to taste strong.  My mum always told me that when you're making stuffing it should always taste too salty, to peppery and too sage-y.  That way, once it has cooked into the bread, which is extremely plain, it will be perfect.  This has always worked for me.  Also, this is a basic recipe .  If you'd like, just before mixing the bread with the broth mixture, you can saute half of a package of Gimme Lean Sausage Style and mix it in, baking it as indicated above.


Peruvian Salad

Serves 6-8

3 beets, peeled and small diced, about 3 cups
6 potatoes, peeled and small diced, about 4-5 cups
1 1/2 cups green peas, cooked according to package directions
2/3 cup vegan mayonnaise ( I like Follow Your Heart)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
(I like to add the following, but in the Hubby's purest view*, the above is perfect:
1/2 small sweet onion, small diced
2 stalks celery, sliced down the middle and small diced)

1.  In a medium pot, cook the potatoes and beets, separately, until just cooked.  Drain with cold water and place in a large bowl.
2.  Add the remaining ingredients and toss to coat.  The salad will have turned a beautiful pink color, which is what you want.  At this point, you can add the onion and celery, if desired.

*The hubby grew up eating this salad in the Dominican Republic and has pretty strong  opinions about what goes in it, but I feel like it definitely benefits from some added crunch, achieved here by the onion and celery.  But you can prepare it as you'd like.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Serves 6-8

5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons earth balance
pinch sea salt and black pepper
6 tablespoons raw sugar, divided
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Boil sweet potatoes until tender.  Drain well and return to pot.  Add the earth balance and allow to melt.  Sprinkle with the sea salt, black pepper and 3 tablespoons of the raw sugar.
3.  Mash potatoes until completely fluffy and lump free.  Season to taste.
4.  Lightly oil a 8x8" pan and scoop potato mixture into pan, pressing firmly with a spatula and smoothing out the top.
5.  Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons raw sugar on top, followed by the chopped pecans.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until warmed all the way through and sugar on top has caramelized.



All of the Delicious Food!


This was an amazing Christmas for the Hubby and I (our second together!) and we wish everyone great health, happiness and good eats as we make our way into the new year!

Enjoy!

-K

Minestrone Soup

I've been feeling pretty under the weather lately.  And I am sure it has to do with the fact that the weather here has officially changed overnight from fall to deep winter, from 50 to less than 20 degrees overnight.  So I've been fighting a losing battle with a head cold since Sunday and am feeling better everyday, but still a little stuffy with a funny voice.  I am hoping it goes completely away or at least that my normal voice will come back within the next day and a half because I have a gluten free class coming up this Friday and would prefer not to sound so nasally with my mic on! 

Soup has been my best friend these last couple days, although admittedly I have not been making it - the kitchen at my job has been making it.  Nothing better than a nice hot organic vegan soup to make you feel better, laced with a ton of cayenne pepper of course!

On Sunday I decided to try to make a Feel Better Soup from one of the many cookbooks I have, convinced that it would help me feel better faster because it contained huge amounts of great for you things - ginger, garlic and cayenne.  I made the soup with a few minor changes and expected it to taste potent, but damn!  It has to officially be the worst thing I have ever made.  Ugh!

I feel like I have been saying that several times over the last week or so.  You see, I am in the process of testing a bunch of gluten free, vegan, soy free recipes for the classes I'm going to teach next term, and even though I feel like I have been doing this forever, sometimes a recipe I test turns out absolutely disgustingly.  Rubbery, hard, gritty, too sweet or not sweet enough.  I feel like I've achieved one from every category this past week or so.  But, out of those failures came many successes too.

Back to the soup!  Last night was the first night I actually didn't feel like immediately crashing into bed when I got home and I was craving soup pretty badly, so I decided to look in the fridge, which was getting pretty sad looking and took out all the veggies I had and decided on a minestrone.  It ended up being delicious much to the Hubby's amazement (he is not really one for soups) and I even brought some to work for breakfast.  Yes breakfast!  When you work in a bakery, the last thing you want is something baked in any form, or really any kind of carbohydrate based food.  Soup is a common breakfast food for us, although some of the girls newer to the bakery have been known to have a slice of pie or cookie for breakfast!

Here is the recipe for the delicious Minestrone that has helped me feel better, and hopefully completely well by Friday evening!

Minestrone Soup:




Minestrone Soup with Multigrain Crusty Bread


Serves: 6-8

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, peeled, sliced into half moons
1 medium onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 large green pepper, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno, minced
4 garlic cloves, cut in half and sliced
1/4 cup sherry
2 cups cooked tomatoes in their juices
6 cups roasted veggie or dark stock
1 cup cooked elbow pasta
1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed well
sea salt to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed with fingers
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed with fingers
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1.  Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, jalapeno and garlic and cook until fragrant and browned.  Deglaze with sherry and allow to cook until almost evaporated.
2.  Add remaining vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring.  Add stock, stir and lower heat.  Add tomatoes, crushing with your hands if large.
3.  Add spices and sea salt.  Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until vegetables are just tender.  Add cooked pasta and beans.  Season to taste. 
4.  Serve.  Goes well with a nice piece of crusty bread.

If you really want this to help you get better faster, add lots of cayenne to your serving and once you start sniffling and crying, you'll know you've added enough!

Enjoy!

-K