Dal

With ginger, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds.

Lemongrass & Greens Soup w/ Raw Garnishes

I got some lemongrass stalks and Thai basil from my friend Sara, so I thought I’d try to put them to good use and also eat plenty of raw in the process.

I made a broth with pureed coconut shreds, broccoli stalks, and kale, coconut water and homemade vegetable broth, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, a green chile, salt, and a small amount of the basil.  Then I cooked the broccoli florets in the broth but still found something was missing…..roasted peanuts!  They really changed the flavor of the soup for the better.  The garnish is carrots, bok choy, kale, avocado, and Thai basil. 

 It was really tasty but I think in the future I may just keep things more simple and start eating more raw broccoli.  I had previously thought I didn’t like it raw, but I had a few bites of a stalk and liked it.  Of course a sauce with the lemongrass would be excellent even raw!

Guest Star, Tunisian Chickpea Soup

Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen

Coming to you all the way from California….some hot chickpea soup to combat the freezing weather and subsequent snow that covers the www.vegan.com headquarters.  This is one of my favorite soups ever, with cumin, carmelized onions, and harissa.

Veganomicon - Spicy Eggplant & Peanut Soup

Veganomicon

I’ve been eating peanut butter or cashew-macadamia butter every single day like a madwoman, so I figured why not make the eggplant & peanut soup from VCon.  It’s legendary by now; all of the testers loved it!

I didn’t put the green beans in because I don’t like them very much and I added chives and sambal oelek because the soup wasn’t very spicy for me.  It’s very appetizing and creamy, with chunks of tender eggplant here and there. 

Have I mentioned I like eggplant? 

White Bean & Sweet Potato Soup w/ Cranberry Coulis

 

1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes

The recipes in this book that appeal to me are the ones that are more vegetable- and legume-based; I find that there are a lot of cheesy and uninspired recipes, but with so many to choose from, it’s hard to NOT find one that you want to try.

This soup has white beans, sweet potatoes, and a Granny Smith apple, all pureed and then topped with the swirl of cranberry sauce.  I’ll say this - it’s one of the most simple soups I’ve ever eaten, with no added fat, but it’s also one of the tastiest!  I really like it a lot.

VeganMoFo - Beta Carrotene Bisque

150 Vegan Favorites

A spoonfully good soup with sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and garlic.  Spiced with ground coriander and curry.  I never take my immersion blender for granted, per se, but it’s on days like this that I appreciate it that much more.

I am still trying to figure out what my favorite vegetable is! 

Chili w/ Tamale Dumplings

 

Chili - 150 Vegan Favorites

Tamale Dumplings - Lighten Up!

Anticipating this chili all day has been very burdensome to my stomach!  It’s been in the crockpot since 9:00 a.m.

The recipe called for merely kidney beans; I chose to use black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans and also roasted the bell peppers prior to adding them.  This is a deeply-flavored chili, with little bits of tomatoes, celery, and onion.

I think the dumplings could more descriptively be called “masa harina dumplings”; I’d hate for someone to be excited about a surprise inside of the ball of dough, when really, it’s just a hunk of corn flour deliciousness.  As the name of the book suggests, these are low-fat dumplings!  And the chili is low in fat, too - these two guys were meant to bond.

The dumplings didn’t stay together perfectly, but the taste was phenomenal!  Picture shown with the chili garnished with green onions and sun-dried tomatoes.

VeganMoFo - Veganomicon Leek & Bean Cassoulet

Veganomicon Leek & Bean Cassoulet with Biscuits

Mighty tasty meal of a creamy stew topped with flaky biscuits (made with whole-grain spelt flour)!  It has leeks, carrots, onions, potatoes, and peas.  I think if I make it again, I will leave the carrots out.  This was just such a great medley of vegetables and the white beans!  And any time I can break out my cast iron and throw the thing from the stove to the oven, I’m excited. 

VeganMoFo - Trying a New Grain

Well, slap me and call me an empress, because I’m now about to try forbidden rice, a package of which I’ve had in my cupboards for nearly a year.  As an appetizer to my most royal meal, I had collards and brussels sprouts with gluten-free soy sauce, ginger, and toasted sesame oil.

(Photo blurred due to steam.  :))

While my collards were cooking, I made a broth with wakame, dulse, sweet potatoes, celery, and cilantro.  I used this broth to make my Forbidden Seaweed Soup.  Not a recipe, really.  I just used the above-mentioned broth, added about 1/2 cup of dried forbidden rice, cooked that for 30 min., and then added gluten-free soy sauce, ginger, maple syrup to taste to the soup, along with miso and strips of nori. 

Next time, I might cook the rice separately, but how many chances do you get to have dark purple soup (no photo taken)?!  No, honestly, even though the color was something a little different, I don’t think I’ll be making forbidden rice this way again.  Even so, it was nice to eat the miso and seaweed, some of what I consider the healthiest foods available!

Tip:  For a gluten-free soup with miso, you must use a gluten-free miso. 

Ancho-Lentil Soup w/ Pineapple & Lime

 

Veganomicon

I felt like Isa and Terry were in the kitchen with me when I read that “we” were going to make our own chile powder!  (In fact, I love the feel of the whole book - it’s like your best friends are guiding you through the process.)  It was a piece of cake and I’m sure enhances the spiciness of the soup.  This is kind of a “set it and forget it” soup.  Once you’ve got everything in the pot, you let it simmer for 30-45 min., stirring here and there, and then finally prepping your pineapple for grilling or broiling.  I used my immersion blender to get a creamier texture.

Is it good?  Well, around the PPK, the phrase “fork yeah” is seen often, but that wouldn’t be appropriate for soup.  So…..SPOON YEAH!  Especially with a touch of Frank’s hot sauce.