Creamy Mushroom Soup

After a butt kickingly AMAZING yoga class tonight, it was back to the kitchen to really relax. And by relax, in my crazy world I mean cook. Or bake. But my waistline begged me to take a baking break (at least until the bake sale!). 

So, after scouring the fridge I realized that I had a pound of fresh mushrooms that needed to be used ASAP. I also had cashews soaking that were ready to transform into something creamy and delicious. 

I don't know about you all, but when I grocery shop my FAVE thing is to buy the reduced produce/products. There's the obvious factor of saving money, but I also like that it forces you to get creative. (And if you have a mental block you can always google "XYZ + recipe"!)

Anyhow, no google needed tonight- creamy cashew + mushrooms? Soup was in the cards! 

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 lb yellow onions, diced

1.5 tsp garlic powder

1.5 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

2-3 tbsp earth balance

1.5 cups cashews, soaked

4 cups vegan 'chicken' broth 

In a sauce pan melt the earth balance. Add in the onions and when about half done add the mushrooms. Sprinkle with all of the spices, cover and let simmer until mushrooms are soft and onions are cooked through. 

In a blender, blend the cashews with equal parts stock. Pour into the pot, and top with the remaining broth. Stir well and cook for another 3-5 minutes on low heat. 

I like my soup with a rich base and good sized "chunks" of vegetable. I used an immersion blender to break up most of the mushroom and onion while still leaving pea sized pieces. You could blend it completely, to your taste.

I had a small taste bowl- divine! 

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the soup in any sort of appealing presentation. I did get a picture of it cooling in a storage jar. 

Good enough? It'll have to be, folks! This hot mess is tired! 

Cheers! 

No-Chicken Noodle Soup

If you're in the cold that is Canada like I am, this is the soup for you. Hearty. Healthy. Delicious. No-Chicken Noodle Soup. You'll need:

Celery (I used half a bunch)

Carrots (I used a whole bunch of small organic ones)

Parsley (about a fist full)

Vegan Butter (I used Earth Balance)

1 tsp Habanero Powder

1 tbsp Dried Basil

1 tbsp fresh chopped garlic 

4 large white mushrooms, cubed 

4 cups of vegan chicken broth

2 cups boiling water

2 cups noodles of your choice

In a large pot, melt butter and add in garlic, basil and habanero. Then add fresh chopped parsley. Next, add celery and carrot and cook on low until the carrot begins to soften. Now add the mushroom, chicken broth and water and bring to a boil. Once boiling add in your noodles and cook until soft. Enjoy!  

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup

Yum. Yum. Yum. Yum. That's what this soup should be called. It smells divine. It tastes divine and it's super healthy. Win-win. Huzzah!

Ingredients:

2-3 onions, diced

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

1.5 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp mild curry paste

1 tsp nutmeg 

Coconut milk (1 can)

1.5 tbsp tomato paste

4 cups vegetable broth

1.5 cups red lentils 

Pour oil into a pre-heated pan. Add onions and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add curry powder, paste and nutmeg. Continue to cook until onions are soft but not mushy. Add in coconut milk and stir well to mix. Next, add tomato paste and broth and bring to a boil. Lastly, add the lentils in and cook on med-low heat for 20-30 minutes. 

Finally, gobble it up! It is nice and easy to make, with minimal prep and can easily be doubled. :) 

Corn Chowder

There is something so comforting about a nice thick sweet corn chowder. Paired with the jalapeño biscuits it's divine! What's even better is that it's so simple to make!

Ingredients:

2 onions, diced

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp sugar

1 medium carrot, sliced and quartered 

3 medium potatoes, cubed 1/2"

2 ears of sweet corn (or two cans)

4 cups of vegetable stock

2 cups of water, 1/2 cup reserved

1 tbsp starch (potato or corn)

Salt to taste

On medium heat add oil and onion. When the onions are clear sprinkle the sugar and cook until browned, or caramelized. 

Add in the carrot and the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling add corn and potato cubes and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove about half of the soup and set aside. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup into a "rough" texture. Then add in the soup set aside and bring back to a low boil. 

With the 1/2 cup of warm water set aside, stir in the tbsp of starch and once dissolved stir slowly into soup. Voila! Perfect corn chowder! If you like more vegetables in yours you can add them. 

New England 'Glam' Chowder

Ok, so Faith requested that I make a vegan clam chowder and had she not also included a recipe (compliments of the awesome Post Punk Kitchen) I would have told her to go eff herself. Nicely, of course. :D

This recipe in particular uses mushrooms in place of seafood and nori for the "sea" aspect of things. My personal opinion is that mushrooms are nothing more than fungus grown in shit and there is no way I'm ingesting them voluntarily. However, I respect that for some reason people like them, and I'm quite fond of Faith so away I went. 

Ingredients:

· 1 cup cashews, soaked for 2 hours

· 2 cups vegetable broth

· 4 teaspoons organic cornstarch

· 1 tablespoon olive oil

· 1 large yellow onion, diced medium

· 2 medium carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/4 inch thick half moons

· 3 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick

· 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

· 8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick

· 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks

· 3/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste

· Fresh black pepper

· 1 to 2 nori sheets, finely chopped 

· 3 cups vegetable broth

· 2 tablespoons tomato paste

· 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

You can find the full recipe and instructions here:

http://www.theppk.com/2013/10/new-england-glam-chowder-video/ 

So the verdict! The cashew cream was a really nice consistency and easy to make. That's all I tasted to be honest. 

However, a direct quote from Faith might sum it up more positively for the fungi lovers out there; "The combination of ingredients almost perfectly simulated the taste of a New England style clam chowder. Texture and flavour wise the mushrooms truly enhance the dish. Awesome winter dish." 

Potato Leek Soup

Potato & Leek soup is one of my faves!

Ingredients:

3 large bunches of leeks

10-12 small/med potatoes

4 cups broth (I used vegetarian chicken broth)

2 cups hot water

1 tbsp ground thyme 

2 tbsp parsley 

1 tbsp oil

Salt/Pepper to taste

Wash and slice the leeks. Add them to a saucepan with the oil and simmer covered on low for about 10 minutes. Stir and don't let them brown. 

In the mean time wash and cube about 10 small potatoes. When the leeks are cooked, add in the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Stir in the thyme and parsley and let simmer. 

If you want the soup to be chunky, remove half and purée it in a blender and then stir it back in. I like it smooth so I used my immersion blender to purée the whole thing.  If it is too thick for your liking you can add hot water to thin it out. 

When serving, for a little flavour kick green Tabasco sauce stirred in is delicious! Enjoy! 

Hot & Sour Soup!

Ok, so Faith has been hella demanding lately wanting such delicacies as lamb stew (which was surprisingly easy) and now hot and sour soup.

Personally, I don't like the soup. It has a thick gelatinous base with cabbage and mushrooms. Three strikes- I'm out. Faith on the other hand lives and breathes for the stuff! To each their own. Anyhow, seeing as I've grown quite fond of her I made the damn soup!

I got the recipe from this website:

http://veganmiam.com/recipes/hot-sour-noodle-soup-v3

The ingredients are mostly easily available except for a few. Chinese black vinegar was the most difficult to find. I eventually found it at Oceans but that in itself was a real ordeal and another blogpost altogether. The other thing that was hard to find was vegan "beef" broth but luckily Healthy Planet to the rescue!! 

Anyhow, on a difficulty scale I'd say it is pretty easy. About a 4/10. I'd suggest doing all of the prep of the veggies ahead of time and it will be a lot easier than doing it as you go. 

And, the fruits of my labour! 

'Tis The Season...

For soup! There is nothing like a hearty bowl of soup to ease the woes of the day, especially as we head into drizzly dreary weather. 

Also, soup is so easy to make! I mean you can throw just about any leftover into a cup of broth, immersion blend the hell out of it and call it soup. 

That's basically what I did for tonight's dinner. Creamy red pepper and tomato soup with garlic, shallots, oregano and basil. (Unsweetened almond milk for the creaminess...)

Topped with some rye crackers. Perfect dinner for an otherwise gong-show kind of day. 

And when I'm done, tonight's adventure is vegan mango cupcakes with mango cream cheese icing. 

Stay tuned! 

Recipe (More/Less)

1tbsp of olive oil

3 shallots sliced

1 red pepper chopped

3 large tomatoes diced

1 tsp each dried basil & oregano

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened)

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Basically in the oil sautee the red pepper and shallots. Add in the vinegar, garlic and spices. Then add tomato and stock and bring to a boil. Immersion blend it then add the almond milk and boil again. Simmer and enjoy!