Soup Binge

 

I've been on a bit of a soup binge lately. Its no coincidence that the weather has been especially cold this week (the low last night was -10 F!!). What could be more satisfying on a bone-chilling day than a steamy bowl of soup?

 

The night before last I made Potato - Asparagus Soup, inspired by a recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance and the need to use-up some asparagus left over from New Year's Eve dinner. The result was delicious, and dare I say, even a little bit fancy? It reminded me of something you'd eat while sitting outside at a cafe table at a little bistro. Plus it was green, which made it automatically more awesome. Even Matt, the consumate carnivore, said "it isn't hateful" (which, in Matt-speak, is the equivalent of saying, "This is totally awesome and I will eat it when you cook it.")

Last night, still craving soup, I made a Panera-style Black Bean Soup.

As a side note: I LOVE Panera's black bean soup, but it seems that they never have it anymore?? Every time I've been in a Panera over the past year or so (which hasn't been a whole lot, admittedly), its not on the menu. Therefore, this is one of the reasons my Panera attendance has been so low (the other, of course, is that I can't afford it!)

Anyway. The black bean soup turned out AMAZING. I had it for dinner last night, lunch today, and will probably have totally had it for dinner again tonight.

But enough rambling. Without further ado, here are the recipes:

 

Potato - Asparagus Soup

serves 1-2

1 potato (russet, yukon gold, etc.)
5-6 asparagus stems, cut into smaller pieces
2 cups vegetable broth
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
About 1 Tbsp of finely-chopped shallot (or onion, if thats all you have)
1 scallion, chopped
1/2 Tbsp olive oil, for sauteeing

1. Cube the potato and boil it until it is soft. Add the aspargus for the last 3 or 4 minutes of boiling. Drain and set aside.

2. In a saucepan, saute the garlic and shallots (or onion) in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the scallions and sautee a minute longer, then add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

3. Put the potato and aspagus mixture, and the broth, garlic, and shallot mixture in a blender. Blend until smooth.

4. Garnish wirh some ground black pepper and a few chopped scallions, and enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

Serves 2-3

1 29-oz can of black beans
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp onion or shallot, finely chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped (optional)
1/2 Tbsp olive oil, for sauteeing

1. In a saucepan, saute the garlic, shallots (or onion), and scallions in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the scallions (and jalapeno, if using) and saute a minute longer, then add the vegetable broth. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then add about 1/2 of the black beans. Simmer another couple of minutes.

2. Pour the contents of the saucepan into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into the saucepan (not over heat; only for the purpose of mixing). Add in the remaining black beans, stir, and serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Creamy Vegan Mac

Its so chilly today! I like to eat warm, hearty, savory foods when its brisk outside,

so creamy mac 'n "cheez" was a total no-brainer today.

 

Creamy Vegan Mac

makes 1 hearty serving

 

Ingredients: 1/4 cup uncooked elbow macaroni, 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I use almond milk), 1 Tbsp vegan butter or margarine, 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 Tbsp Tofutti cream cheese; optional: 1/4 tsp garlic powder, salt (to taste)

 

Cook the pasta in a small saucepan. Once its cooked, drain the pasta and return it to the pan, along with the margarine and milk. Reduce the cooktop heat to low, and return to the pot to the heat. Stir-in the nutritional yeast any salt and/or garlic powder, if you are using them (I do!). Finally, add the Tofutti cream cheese, stirring until it is thoroughly mixed.

 

Voila! Creamy, delicious vegan mac!

 

 

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

 

It's October!

And it definitely feels like Fall around here.

 

To celebrate, I made Apple Pie - Crumb Cake Muffins for breakfast.

Here's my recipe (adapted from Vegan With a Vengeance)-

 

 

 

For muffins:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 orange juice

1/3 applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup grated apple

1/2 cup chopped apple (1/4-inch pieces)

 

For topping:

1/4 cup all-purpose fluor

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

3 tbsp olive oil

 

Directions:

1. Prepare the topping by mixing all the dry topping ingredients together in a small bowl. Drizzle the oil in while mixing with your fingertips until crumbs form. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin.

3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Create a well in the center of the mixture and add the orange juice, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix, then stir-in the grated and chopped apple.

4. Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full. Sprinkle the crumb topping over each muffin. Bake for about 22 minutes.

Pumpkin spice and everthing nice.

 

Brrrrr, its a chilly, dreary day today!

It has been a sleepy day; the kind of day that calls for lounging on the couch, watching Liam Neeson movies, and drinking pumpkin lattes in the afternoon.

We had several of Matt's coworkers and their significant others over last night for drinks and guitar playing. We ended up going into town to watch some live music, and then to the Brewery for some dinner. It was so nice to meet some new people, make some friends, and enjoy our new town! Of course, it ended up being a bit of a late night - the last guests left around 1:30 this morning.

 

I recently found out that Starbucks' pumpkin lattes are NOT vegan - ahh! So I've been making them at home. Even Matt loves them! They're super quick and easy to make. Enjoy!

 

Vegan Pumpkin Lattes

Ingredients: about a cup of strong-brewed coffee (about a mug full should be enough for 2 lattes)

about 1/2 cup of soy or almond milk

2 Tbsp of canned pumpkin

Spices (to taste): cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar

 

Mix it all together on medium-high heat until it starts to boil, stirring so that the pumpkin dissolves completely. Pour and serve! I like to sprinkle just a dash of cayenne pepper on top. Mmm-mmm!



 

 

Maple Butter Blondies

My vegan Maple Butter Blondies were a big hit at Justin's Christmas party over the weekend. They're one of my favorite recipes to make, from this fantastic cookbook (I highly recommend it! It was a gift from Teddy a while back). They're pretty quick and easy to make, so they would be a great treat to take to a holiday party!

The recipe is actually for "Macadamia Blondies with Caramel-Maple Topping", but Teddy doesn't like nuts, so I've tweaked the recipe a little to create:

Maple Butter Blondies

FOR THE BLONDIES:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 ounces firm silken tofu (this is a half-package of the vacuum-packed kind; I know they sell it at Giant on the Organic/Specialty aisle!)
1/4 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups finely chopped macadamias (or walnuts) *optional

FOR THE TOPPING
1/4 cup margarine
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I use walnuts) *optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan.

To prepare the dough:
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a blender (or if you're like me, and you don't have a blender, you can use a mixing bowl and a whisk, just make sure you beat it to very smooth!) whiz the tofu with the rice milk until smooth. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla, and blend again. Pour the tofu mixture into the flour mixture and use a firm wooden spoon to combine everything well. Fold in the nuts. The batter will be thick and have a cookie dough consistency. Spread in the baking pan and bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the topping.

To prepare the topping:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the margarine, brown sugar, and maple syrup, and heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to bring to a boil for 1 minute. Stir in the nuts. Remove from heat.
Remove the blondies from oven and pour the topping over them (*I usually keep the topping separate, the blondies are easier to re-heat and don't get soggy, either), return to oven, and bake for 10 more minutes.
Let cool completely before serving. The topping should harden to a caramel-like consistency. Cut into squares and serve!

Yesterday

I had a so-so day yesterday. It was my day off from work (yes!), but Teddy had to work all day (boo!). It was rainy and dreary and kind of chilly, and I couldn't stand the thought of staying in the apartment all day, so I put on my cowgirl boots and headed straight for the Antique Mall. I hadn't been there in probably at least a year, and saw a billboard for it the other day, so I decided it was time to stop by. Man, am I glad I did. I ended up spending like 2 hours there, perusing the shelves for interesting little bits. I ended up getting some pretty things for the shop (which I'm going to try to add this afternoon, after work) and a paperweight with a scorpion in it for Teddy. There was so much I wanted to buy, but I just can't right now... I still have to come up with almost $700 still for the Wallops class! Not good.

I had the cooking bug again yesterday, so at about 8:15 last night I decided (ambitiously) to make vegan Shepherd's Pie. It was actually pretty easy; it just required me to be doing like 6 different things at once. All in all, it took a little less than an hour, and it was sooooo delicious. Teddy absolutely loved it, so that made me happy. :D

Vegan Sherpherd's Pie

"Meat" layer:

1 bag of Morningstar crumbles

1 small onion, chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

a few tablespoons of spaghetti sauce (optional, to taste)

Corn layer:

2 cups of frozen corn

1 cup of frozen green beans

spices: turmeric, garlic powder, salt, pepper (to taste)

Potato layer:

About 3 large potatoes, mashed

*I used instant mashed potatoes to save time. I used about 3 cups of flakes and ended up having a little bit extra. I added a little bit of garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the potatoes for some added flavor.

Nutrional yeast flakes for garnishing.

OK, here's what you do:

Saute the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil. Add the Morningstar crumbles and a little bit of tomato paste or spaghetti sauce, if you want. Simmer on low while you prepare everything else.

Cook the corn and greenbeans together in a pot; add the spices while they're cooking.

Make the mashed potatoes according to the directions on the box (or, if you're using real potatoes, just make 'em however you normally would!)

Once all of the layers are done cooking individually, layer them in a casserole dish in this order: meat on the bottom, corn/green beans next, potatoes on the top. Sprinkle the top with nutritional yeast flakes.

Poke holes with a fork through the mashed potatoes, all the way to the bottom, so steam can escape while it bakes.

Bake at 375, until the top is lightly browned, or juices from the 'meat' layer start to bubble up.

Enjoy!!

Today, I have to work a nice, short shift (9:30-2:00), run a few errands after work, then I plan on getting some inventory added to the shop! My 'shelves' are empty, as I've had a little influx of sales all of the sudden this week. 4 items sold in one week!

A Delicious Fall Treat!

I've been meaning to make some sort of pumpkin-spice cake or cookies for a few weeks now, and I finally got around to it today. It is absolutely heavenly, easy to make, and better yet, its vegan!

I didn't take step-by-step pictures because, well, I mostly made it up as I went along. So here's basically what I did.

Ingredients:

1 box of Spice Cake mix (if you're going for a vegan cake, just check the ingredients on the box. The one I used was Duncan Hines Moist-Deluxe)

1 can of pumpkin (instead of oil)

Ener-G egg replacer (equivalent of however many eggs your box of cake mix requires)

1 cup of chocolate chips (*optional; make sure they're vegan - I used Ghiradeli)

Directions:

Follow the directions on the box of cake mix, substituting Energ-G egg replacer for eggs and 1 can pumpkin (or applesauce, if you prefer it) for oil.

I stirred in 1 cup of chocolate chips for good measure (because isn't everything better with a little chocolate?).

Use baking times on the box - mine baked for about 30 minutes.

Let it cool completely before putting on icing.

The icing:

Ingredients:

1 block of silken tofu

3-4 tbsp. lemon juice (to taste)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

a pinch of salt (to taste)

Blend all the ingredients together (using a hand mixer) until creamy. Spread over the cake once its cool.

Eat up!