I bought the latest issue of Forks Over Knives magazine because I need some inspiration around here. I'm dancing a ton (and it's awesome) but I'm not in the mood to cook. I took today off from work to help the situation. I flip through the magazine and a soup recipe catches my eye. Yum, I think, I'll make that today.
I realize I don't have two ingredients, no worries I think, I can substitute.
As I put in the ingredients, I realize I'm recreating this soup that I used to make all the time. Ha. (Sometime around the new year, I did review my blog and think I should make that soup again.)
The recipe in the magazine was very similar and my substitutions led to the old soup I used to make. It should be good. It's cooking right now. Note: The recipe in the magazine didn't include peanut butter, but you can add it if you want (see my recipe).
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
One rainy day (October 16)!
I made two soups...
Split Pea soup and a Chipotle Mexican soup
Here's the Split Pea soup recipe:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups dried split peas
1 teaspoon salt -- (I didn't think this was too much, but you may want to start with 1/2 teaspoon or less if you're watching your salt intake)
6-7 cups veggie broth (I split 3 veggie broths between two soups, so I'm not sure how much exactly. Also, if you broth is salty, this will relate to how much salt you add.)
2-3 carrots, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
pinch dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the oil, onion, bay leaf and garlic for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the peas, barley, salt and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme and ground black pepper. Simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. The split peas should get very soft and start to fall apart. See picture!
Next time make more as 4 of 5 of us really like this soup! (P.S. I like to add a little sriracha to my split pea soup!)
Chipotle Mexican soup recipe sometime soon.
Split Pea soup and a Chipotle Mexican soup
Here's the Split Pea soup recipe:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups dried split peas
1 teaspoon salt -- (I didn't think this was too much, but you may want to start with 1/2 teaspoon or less if you're watching your salt intake)
6-7 cups veggie broth (I split 3 veggie broths between two soups, so I'm not sure how much exactly. Also, if you broth is salty, this will relate to how much salt you add.)
2-3 carrots, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
pinch dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the oil, onion, bay leaf and garlic for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add the peas, barley, salt and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, parsley, basil, thyme and ground black pepper. Simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. The split peas should get very soft and start to fall apart. See picture!
Next time make more as 4 of 5 of us really like this soup! (P.S. I like to add a little sriracha to my split pea soup!)
Chipotle Mexican soup recipe sometime soon.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Tomato Soup, by Tia
When Tia was little, under 2, she was sitting in my lap while I was eating dinner, I looked down and saw her grabbing the tomatoes out of my salad and licking them. The phrase, "don't lick my tomatoes" was born that night. (File under a phrase you never thought you'd have to say.)
She does love tomatoes. She and Kira wanted a tomato soup. We tried one recipe last Thanksgiving, and I liked it, but the girls wanted something a little different. Here's what Tia found; she made it and they loved it. (It's a winner, all 5 of us like it!)
http://coalefinnsoftball.blogspot.com/2016/06/today-i-made-tomato-soup-with-my-nanny.html
This summer, we are doing our reading and writing program. The reading program started years ago, probably 6 or 7 years ago, and the girls would get paid a penny a page for reading. The books had to be at or above their reading level and they had to write the titles down, the name of the book, the number of pages, and then at the end of the summer they'd have to total up what they earned. They all read a ton. They like to read so it's an easy way for them to earn some summer money.
As they grew older, and all are fantastic readers, we decided the program should evolve a little. They started blogging for money a couple of summers ago. They get paid a penny a word. They blog, and at the end of the summer we grab all the blog posts and word count them in a word processor. Again, they are responsible for the tallying and they get paid.
We now have a limit on how much money you can earn by reading (it's $75) and no limit on what you can earn by writing. (Actually, the rule is apparently a little more subtle... After you earn $25 in blogging you can earn more by reading... Next summer it's going to be the simpler rule of 75 for reading and no limit for blogging.)
This summer, I decided that we should evolve the blogging program a little more and if you find a recipe, make it, and blog about it, you get $5 for that post. (You get $7 if you create a recipe and blog about it.) I like new recipes and I like the girls to cook. (We'll see if the payment stays as high for next summer.) So far, we've gotten a few new recipes. This post links to the first one this summer. Go Tia!
She does love tomatoes. She and Kira wanted a tomato soup. We tried one recipe last Thanksgiving, and I liked it, but the girls wanted something a little different. Here's what Tia found; she made it and they loved it. (It's a winner, all 5 of us like it!)
http://coalefinnsoftball.blogspot.com/2016/06/today-i-made-tomato-soup-with-my-nanny.html
This summer, we are doing our reading and writing program. The reading program started years ago, probably 6 or 7 years ago, and the girls would get paid a penny a page for reading. The books had to be at or above their reading level and they had to write the titles down, the name of the book, the number of pages, and then at the end of the summer they'd have to total up what they earned. They all read a ton. They like to read so it's an easy way for them to earn some summer money.
As they grew older, and all are fantastic readers, we decided the program should evolve a little. They started blogging for money a couple of summers ago. They get paid a penny a word. They blog, and at the end of the summer we grab all the blog posts and word count them in a word processor. Again, they are responsible for the tallying and they get paid.
We now have a limit on how much money you can earn by reading (it's $75) and no limit on what you can earn by writing. (Actually, the rule is apparently a little more subtle... After you earn $25 in blogging you can earn more by reading... Next summer it's going to be the simpler rule of 75 for reading and no limit for blogging.)
This summer, I decided that we should evolve the blogging program a little more and if you find a recipe, make it, and blog about it, you get $5 for that post. (You get $7 if you create a recipe and blog about it.) I like new recipes and I like the girls to cook. (We'll see if the payment stays as high for next summer.) So far, we've gotten a few new recipes. This post links to the first one this summer. Go Tia!
Saturday, January 30, 2016
(Almost Instant) Hummus Soup
I found this recipe on a "new to me blog."
3/4 cup chickpea flour
1 mashed garlic clove or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
(another ingredient listed below)
Put in a pan and whisk! Keep stirring as it cooks (mine boiled) for about 5 minutes. Turn the burner way down, add the (additional ingredient) juice of ½ lemon and let sit for a few minutes.
Serve with bread/veggies (I like it with broccoli).
You can add sriracha if you like... YUM! So easy!
3/4 cup chickpea flour
1 mashed garlic clove or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
3 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
(another ingredient listed below)
Put in a pan and whisk! Keep stirring as it cooks (mine boiled) for about 5 minutes. Turn the burner way down, add the (additional ingredient) juice of ½ lemon and let sit for a few minutes.
Serve with bread/veggies (I like it with broccoli).
You can add sriracha if you like... YUM! So easy!
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Sunday equal Funday
These are basically these... (original recipe) except we used these incredible chocolate chunks, made 1 batch of PB and 1 batch of Sunflower butter, and didn't use coconut oil. (One batch is kind of small for 5 people--especially with 3 growing girls.)
What we did:
WET INGREDIENTS:
Flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water mix and let set for 5 minutes)
Flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water mix and let set for 5 minutes)
2/3 cup sunflower seed butter (or PB)
3/4 cup brown sugar for sunflower seed butter cookies (1/2 sugar cup for PB cookies)
3/4 cup brown sugar for sunflower seed butter cookies (1/2 sugar cup for PB cookies)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, processed into flour (or 1.5 cups oat flour)
1-2 teaspoons non-dairy milk (only if needed to moisten batter--we needed more, but pour slowly!)
100 grams finely chopped dark chocolate (1 chocolate bar)
DRY INGREDIENTS:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, processed into flour (or 1.5 cups oat flour)
1-2 teaspoons non-dairy milk (only if needed to moisten batter--we needed more, but pour slowly!)
100 grams finely chopped dark chocolate (1 chocolate bar)
Mix all the wet ingredients together (very well) with an electric mixer. Mix all the dry, except chocolate chips, and then pour into wet. After mixed, add the chocolate.
Make into cookies--we made about tablespoon scoops and patted them down. Bake at 350 for 13 minutes.
I love baking with my girls!
Making this soup for dinner... (but I'm too full of cookie dough to eat anything else. Oops.)
p.s. raise your hand if you remembered a song because of the title.
p.s. raise your hand if you remembered a song because of the title.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Black bean soup
Basically this recipe http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/cuban-black-bean-soup/, but tripled.
My vegan who doesn't like vegetables loves black bean soup. She asked if I'd blend the onions so she couldn't see them. I did.
1 small onion (blended into juice)
1 tablespoon (heaping) cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 cans black beans (drained)
4.5 cups of veggie broth
1-2 garlic cloves
salt to taste (I used 1 teaspoon as our beans were unsalted)
Put the onion and a little broth in a soup pan and cook for 5 minutes or so.
Add everything else listed above; cook for 20-30 minutes.
Put 1 container of salsa (15 ounces) <--one more ingredient not listed above, in blender with 1/2 to most of the beans. Blend. Pour back in the soup pan.
Add 1 tablepoon lime juice <--and again one more ingredient not listed above.
Cook for 5-10 more minutes.
Serve with chips, rice, or quinoa and whatever toppings you like (the vegan who doesn't like vegetables loves Daiya cheese).
Very easy and very tasty.
My vegan who doesn't like vegetables loves black bean soup. She asked if I'd blend the onions so she couldn't see them. I did.
1 small onion (blended into juice)
1 tablespoon (heaping) cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 cans black beans (drained)
4.5 cups of veggie broth
1-2 garlic cloves
salt to taste (I used 1 teaspoon as our beans were unsalted)
Put the onion and a little broth in a soup pan and cook for 5 minutes or so.
Add everything else listed above; cook for 20-30 minutes.
Put 1 container of salsa (15 ounces) <--one more ingredient not listed above, in blender with 1/2 to most of the beans. Blend. Pour back in the soup pan.
Add 1 tablepoon lime juice <--and again one more ingredient not listed above.
Cook for 5-10 more minutes.
Serve with chips, rice, or quinoa and whatever toppings you like (the vegan who doesn't like vegetables loves Daiya cheese).
Very easy and very tasty.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Soup! Vegan Cauliflower "Buffalo Wings"
I love Sriracha... I just discovered my deep love for it this year. I know it's been around for a long time, but sometimes I'm late to the party. Better late than never is all I can say!
I found this recipe pretty much as soon as it came out and I KNEW I needed to make it. I actually followed the recipe pretty closely and that never happens. (I added some more smoked paprika.) Full credit to Kitchen Treaty for the recipe. I'm just posting it here in case the Internet goes down or something.
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium stalks celery, diced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
4 cups cauliflower florets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 cup unsweetened (home made) almond milk
I put everything in the soup pan except the paprika, sriracha and almond milk. I let it all cook for about 30 minutes. I pulled out about 1/2 of the soup and blended it (I need to get an immersion blender!). I poured in about 2 cups of almond milk and 2 tablespoons of our sriracha sauce. Next time I'll start with just one tablespoon--it was a little spicy for the girls--tasty but spicy!
I'll definitely make the soup again. We made the oven broiled bread, too, and the girls loved it! Yum! A fun night and yummy dinner. (Kira took charge and made the bread--she followed the directions on the other page.)
I took no pictures. I was too busy eating! Go look at the pictures on Kitchen Treaty's page.
I found this recipe pretty much as soon as it came out and I KNEW I needed to make it. I actually followed the recipe pretty closely and that never happens. (I added some more smoked paprika.) Full credit to Kitchen Treaty for the recipe. I'm just posting it here in case the Internet goes down or something.
1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 2 cups)
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium stalks celery, diced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
4 cups cauliflower florets, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 cup unsweetened (home made) almond milk
I put everything in the soup pan except the paprika, sriracha and almond milk. I let it all cook for about 30 minutes. I pulled out about 1/2 of the soup and blended it (I need to get an immersion blender!). I poured in about 2 cups of almond milk and 2 tablespoons of our sriracha sauce. Next time I'll start with just one tablespoon--it was a little spicy for the girls--tasty but spicy!
I'll definitely make the soup again. We made the oven broiled bread, too, and the girls loved it! Yum! A fun night and yummy dinner. (Kira took charge and made the bread--she followed the directions on the other page.)
I took no pictures. I was too busy eating! Go look at the pictures on Kitchen Treaty's page.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Vegan Thanksgiving
We celebrated at home with just us. I made:
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Yukon gold potatoes (4)
Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Cashew Cream (about 1/3 of a cup)
Salt
Pepper
A little soy milk
A little earth balance
(I could probably make runnier cashew cream and omit the soy if I wanted to.)
I had never MADE mashed potatoes before so I just LEARNED that you need to make them RIGHT before eating so they are nice and hot. I had to heat them up in the microwave. They were still yummy.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
(I made it with Cashew Cream)
A big green salad
Romaine
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Red Pepper Spread (with Sourdough)
Pumpkin Pie
I made the filling from this recipe and just used a store bought vegan crust for one of the pies and plain chocolate chips as the crust for the other recipe (it falls apart, but it is YUMMY!). (The crustless pie is topped with Rice Whip.)
What a yummy day! We'll do another celebration with friends on Saturday.
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Yukon gold potatoes (4)
Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Cashew Cream (about 1/3 of a cup)
Salt
Pepper
A little soy milk
A little earth balance
(I could probably make runnier cashew cream and omit the soy if I wanted to.)
I had never MADE mashed potatoes before so I just LEARNED that you need to make them RIGHT before eating so they are nice and hot. I had to heat them up in the microwave. They were still yummy.
Creamy Cauliflower Soup
(I made it with Cashew Cream)
A big green salad
Romaine
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Red Pepper Spread (with Sourdough)
Pumpkin Pie
I made the filling from this recipe and just used a store bought vegan crust for one of the pies and plain chocolate chips as the crust for the other recipe (it falls apart, but it is YUMMY!). (The crustless pie is topped with Rice Whip.)
What a yummy day! We'll do another celebration with friends on Saturday.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Alphabet soup
Very hearty, tomato-y, yummy!
I found a recipe online and decided I had to try it because it had SMOKED PAPRIKA in it! However, you should know by now how well I follow directions. I do not follow them very well at all. In fact, I followed the directions so poorly that I'm not even linking to the original recipe.
Here's what I did:
6 cups veggie broth
1 onion diced
1.5 red bell peppers diced ('cause that's what I had--could be 1 or 2)
3 small yukon gold potatoes
2 cans garbanzo beans
3 carrots diced
3 stalk celery diced
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
I diced all the above veggies and through them into a big pan with the veggie broth. I added all the ingredients above this line and let things cook for 30 or 40 minutes so they got nice and soft.
Next, I added all these ingredients:
1 24 ounce jar of tomato sauce
1-2 teaspoons dried basil
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (could be more, but I didn't want it to be too spicy for the girls)
I let things cook a bit longer... 20 or so... maybe longer. I was doing other things around the house.
Then a couple hours went by and the soup was on "low." I had to taken a sick kitty to the vet; when I got back and looked at the soup (and tasted it) I decided it would be PERFECT to add alphabet letters to!
So I added:
1 cup alphabet letters
3-4 cups water 'cause it was really thick and I knew it would just get thicker. (You can add whatever amount of water you want, really. I could have added a little more.)
After the letters cooked, I added a LOT of baby kale. Then my husband asked if I could stick in a vegan sausage for flavor, so I stuck in one Italian one.
Serve! Enjoy!
Add black pepper to taste
Results:
5 out of 5 ate it and liked it. The youngest liked it the least well and that was surprising to me, but she did like it.
Here's what I did:
6 cups veggie broth
1 onion diced
1.5 red bell peppers diced ('cause that's what I had--could be 1 or 2)
3 small yukon gold potatoes
2 cans garbanzo beans
3 carrots diced
3 stalk celery diced
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
I diced all the above veggies and through them into a big pan with the veggie broth. I added all the ingredients above this line and let things cook for 30 or 40 minutes so they got nice and soft.
Next, I added all these ingredients:
1 24 ounce jar of tomato sauce
1-2 teaspoons dried basil
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (could be more, but I didn't want it to be too spicy for the girls)
I let things cook a bit longer... 20 or so... maybe longer. I was doing other things around the house.
Then a couple hours went by and the soup was on "low." I had to taken a sick kitty to the vet; when I got back and looked at the soup (and tasted it) I decided it would be PERFECT to add alphabet letters to!
So I added:
1 cup alphabet letters
3-4 cups water 'cause it was really thick and I knew it would just get thicker. (You can add whatever amount of water you want, really. I could have added a little more.)
After the letters cooked, I added a LOT of baby kale. Then my husband asked if I could stick in a vegan sausage for flavor, so I stuck in one Italian one.
Serve! Enjoy!
Add black pepper to taste
The letters!
Results:
5 out of 5 ate it and liked it. The youngest liked it the least well and that was surprising to me, but she did like it.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
loving cashew cream, but kicking it up a notch
I have growing girls who like yummy treats so I make a lot of things with nuts:
Cashew Cream Cheese
Chocolate Chia Brownies
Blueberry Bites
Dixie Pie Bites
Chocolate Frosting
and the list could go on.
Since I cook with nuts so frequently, I need to kick it up a notch at the gym. (Some of my jeans are getting snug. It's still warm and summery, so it doesn't matter, but come fall, I don't want to have to buy new pants.) Nuts are full of fat and calorie laden, but oh so good. So now it's extra trips to the gym!
I'd like to do more cardio, 'cause I'm a cardio kind of girl, but this fall, is all about muscle building. Having more muscle makes it easier to burn off calories when you are just sitting--muscles require them. Cardio burns off calories and can burn off muscle, too. (I'm not explaining it very well, but I don't feel like getting technical.)
My goal is to add in 2 strength building classes each week. I was only doing one strength building workout a week; a Pilates on the reformer workout. I think I've found a good schedule of 3 days strength training, 2 days of tap, and 1 day of heavy duty cardio day (plus walking as much as possible). (I'd like to get one more day of heavy duty cardio in there, but I don't have time until my class is over in December.)
I do love the reformer. My back, so sore for many years because of an injury and 3 pregnancies, is now not sore most of the time. From 2002-2008, it hurt more days than it didn't. I remember that if I stepped funny of a step or curb, I would be in pain. Some experts said to take it easy and rest it and some said, do more core work. Back then, I wasn't sure what a core was, but I finally figured it out and I'm glad I chose to move and not rest. It took a while to get strong, but now my core is strong and my back doesn't hurt. I don't like doing the strength building classes but not hurting is worth an hour of strength building 3 times a week!
Okay... new recipes soon. I hope. Yesterday, it was hot and summery, we even went swimming, but I decided to make soup! I made this one Veggie Soup with Kale. Except I had no Kale. So I used cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli (and potatoes). I might add tomatoes next time or use Kale. Soups are fun 'cause you can improvise and it always works. Even the time when you add cashew cream to minestrone (I don't think I ever told you about that), but still, it worked--if you didn't think of it as a minestrone. I froze one dinner's worth of that soup (for the five of us) and have two more dinner's worth in the fridge. Next week, hopefully I'll do another soup. I made it a goal last year to make a soup every Sunday. That lasted a few weeks and then I was sick of making soup. I did get a lot frozen, and it was helpful to have them over the course of a busy year. Over the next couple of months, I'll try to make 3 or 4 kinds and get some of each kind frozen. It's all about EASY around here!
Cashew Cream Cheese
Chocolate Chia Brownies
Blueberry Bites
Dixie Pie Bites
Chocolate Frosting
and the list could go on.
Since I cook with nuts so frequently, I need to kick it up a notch at the gym. (Some of my jeans are getting snug. It's still warm and summery, so it doesn't matter, but come fall, I don't want to have to buy new pants.) Nuts are full of fat and calorie laden, but oh so good. So now it's extra trips to the gym!
I'd like to do more cardio, 'cause I'm a cardio kind of girl, but this fall, is all about muscle building. Having more muscle makes it easier to burn off calories when you are just sitting--muscles require them. Cardio burns off calories and can burn off muscle, too. (I'm not explaining it very well, but I don't feel like getting technical.)
My goal is to add in 2 strength building classes each week. I was only doing one strength building workout a week; a Pilates on the reformer workout. I think I've found a good schedule of 3 days strength training, 2 days of tap, and 1 day of heavy duty cardio day (plus walking as much as possible). (I'd like to get one more day of heavy duty cardio in there, but I don't have time until my class is over in December.)
I do love the reformer. My back, so sore for many years because of an injury and 3 pregnancies, is now not sore most of the time. From 2002-2008, it hurt more days than it didn't. I remember that if I stepped funny of a step or curb, I would be in pain. Some experts said to take it easy and rest it and some said, do more core work. Back then, I wasn't sure what a core was, but I finally figured it out and I'm glad I chose to move and not rest. It took a while to get strong, but now my core is strong and my back doesn't hurt. I don't like doing the strength building classes but not hurting is worth an hour of strength building 3 times a week!
Okay... new recipes soon. I hope. Yesterday, it was hot and summery, we even went swimming, but I decided to make soup! I made this one Veggie Soup with Kale. Except I had no Kale. So I used cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli (and potatoes). I might add tomatoes next time or use Kale. Soups are fun 'cause you can improvise and it always works. Even the time when you add cashew cream to minestrone (I don't think I ever told you about that), but still, it worked--if you didn't think of it as a minestrone. I froze one dinner's worth of that soup (for the five of us) and have two more dinner's worth in the fridge. Next week, hopefully I'll do another soup. I made it a goal last year to make a soup every Sunday. That lasted a few weeks and then I was sick of making soup. I did get a lot frozen, and it was helpful to have them over the course of a busy year. Over the next couple of months, I'll try to make 3 or 4 kinds and get some of each kind frozen. It's all about EASY around here!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
pumpkin soup
1.5 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup cashews
1 cup water
2 cans canned organic pumpkin
1 large-ish onion, sautéed
1-3 garlic cloves, sautéed (with onion)
1/2 - 1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sautee onions and garlic in a little veggie broth (in a soup pot) until nice and soft (about 15 minutes). (I let onions and garlic cool and then I did the next steps.)
Place all ingredients into your blender (including onions and garlic) and blend. (I started by blending the water and cashews, to make milk and then added the onions and garlic and broth. I then added everything else and blended.)
When it's blended pour it all back into the soup pot (note only one pot and one blender for clean up this way) and heat up--let simmer for 15-20 minutes so the flavors can really marry.
YUM!
Note, you could add more cashews for a creamier soup. I happen to really like cashew cream so I think I'll do this. You could also blend everything and then heat up right before your meal so that it's easier timing on the soup.
Nutrition facts based on 1 cup serving size.
1/4 cup cashews
1 cup water
2 cans canned organic pumpkin
1 large-ish onion, sautéed
1-3 garlic cloves, sautéed (with onion)
1/2 - 1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Sautee onions and garlic in a little veggie broth (in a soup pot) until nice and soft (about 15 minutes). (I let onions and garlic cool and then I did the next steps.)
Place all ingredients into your blender (including onions and garlic) and blend. (I started by blending the water and cashews, to make milk and then added the onions and garlic and broth. I then added everything else and blended.)
When it's blended pour it all back into the soup pot (note only one pot and one blender for clean up this way) and heat up--let simmer for 15-20 minutes so the flavors can really marry.
YUM!
Note, you could add more cashews for a creamier soup. I happen to really like cashew cream so I think I'll do this. You could also blend everything and then heat up right before your meal so that it's easier timing on the soup.
Nutrition facts based on 1 cup serving size.
8 cups of glorious pumpkin soup!
Edited to add: I really liked this soup, but then I added a healthy teaspoon of peanut butter to one of my bowls of soup and WOWZA. It hit it out of the ballpark for me. Obviously, if you add PB, you're adding some fat and calories and the nutrition facts (above) are all wrong. It was worth it to me to add it.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
8 quarts
Last weekend, I made 8 quarts of this lovely creamy cauliflower soup. You can see a picture at that link and get a link to a variation. I've already frozen some and tomorrow I'll freeze some more. Yay!
And! I have a recipe for pumpkin soup that looks lovely, easy and yummy... I'll share it with you after I try making it. Stay tuned!
And! I have a recipe for pumpkin soup that looks lovely, easy and yummy... I'll share it with you after I try making it. Stay tuned!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Low-key weekend
We took it easy this weekend. We needed it! When we don't have a lot going on, I love to have cooking weekends and this weekend my biggest helper and I made:
Apple Crisp
Right now, we have a lot of fuji apples. I need to research more about organic apple farming. Even though we have a lot of apples, we're losing a lot to the bugs. Boo!
Right now, we have a lot of fuji apples. I need to research more about organic apple farming. Even though we have a lot of apples, we're losing a lot to the bugs. Boo!
Blueberry Energy Bites
I waffle back and forth and change up the kinds of nuts I use. I always use walnuts, but sometimes I add cashews. Sometimes I add oats and sometimes I don't. This time we made these just with walnuts and no oats and they were AMAZING. See the link for a picture and the recipe. We have streamlined the making process and instead of little balls, we just put it on wax paper and get it rolled flat (put wax paper on top, too) and then cut off little pieces.
I waffle back and forth and change up the kinds of nuts I use. I always use walnuts, but sometimes I add cashews. Sometimes I add oats and sometimes I don't. This time we made these just with walnuts and no oats and they were AMAZING. See the link for a picture and the recipe. We have streamlined the making process and instead of little balls, we just put it on wax paper and get it rolled flat (put wax paper on top, too) and then cut off little pieces.
Potato Soup
I just made it last week, but my husband requested it. I doubled the recipe this time, so I could have some to freeze. Last week, we didn't have any left over to freeze. It was a big hit! This time we added corn to it, and I have more ideas to doctor this up and make it even more exciting. It's a great soup base! I'll share the new versions as it evolves. (I knew it would change!) And remember, it's soup on Sunday!
I just made it last week, but my husband requested it. I doubled the recipe this time, so I could have some to freeze. Last week, we didn't have any left over to freeze. It was a big hit! This time we added corn to it, and I have more ideas to doctor this up and make it even more exciting. It's a great soup base! I'll share the new versions as it evolves. (I knew it would change!) And remember, it's soup on Sunday!
Cornbread--home made, vegan style, but I left a little oil so I need to work on this one--no recipe today.
Low sugar PB cookies
The girls really like these! So do I! They are "not bad for you" and I let them be a breakfast cookie! The girls love eating cookies for breakfast.
The girls really like these! So do I! They are "not bad for you" and I let them be a breakfast cookie! The girls love eating cookies for breakfast.
Pancakes!
I make these nearly every week--yea we're kind of boring around here, but I have 3 hungry girls who like these and the recipe makes so much that we have EASY breakfasts for M,T, & W. Just heat up the leftovers. (Timesavers are needed around here!)
I make these nearly every week--yea we're kind of boring around here, but I have 3 hungry girls who like these and the recipe makes so much that we have EASY breakfasts for M,T, & W. Just heat up the leftovers. (Timesavers are needed around here!)
We also had tortilla and almost homemade pinto beans and quinoa. For lunch, the next day, we spiced the pinto beans up with a little Mexican Chipolte vegan sausage. Yum!
The rest of the weekend, we cleaned and tried to get organized... Remember, we just moved at the end of July.
We also walked.
I got a fitbit. Did I tell you about that? I'll save it for another post. Exercise is one of the accepted topics around here.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Potato Soup
It's Sunday. Since I just declared I'd make a soup a week for simplifying my life, I needed to make a soup. Nothing on my blog jumped out at me so I decided to try my hand at a simple potato soup. Here's what I did:
3 yukon gold potatoes somewhat peeled, but not all the way
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
10 ounces of frozen cauliflower
32 ounces of veggie broth
~2 cups of water
1 cup cashews (to make into cashew cream)
Soy milk (for cashew cream or any type of non-dairy milk)
Cut up the veggies and cook until soft. Don't worry about cutting them small as you'll be pureeing them after they are cooked--just cut them in even sized chunks. I cooked my large chunks (~1 inch or so) for about 30-40 minutes.
After the veggies are soft put all the veggies in the blender and puree. I had to do two batches of blending. Turn the blender on slow so it the hot vegetable mix doesn't burst out of the blender. Tonight, I didn't have any blender accidents, but I have in the past. The vitamix can be left on high (BAD DESIGN) and then when it's turned on it's going super fast. It's not pretty when that happens! After everything is blended, keep some of the warm, blended soup in the blender and make cashew cream. Add 1 cup of cashews and ~1 cup of soy milk (could be whatever kind of non-dairy milk you like). I blended and then poured it all back in the pan. If you don't add enough warm soup, your cashew cream will be "lumpy" when you mix it into the pan. You can remedy this by re-blending the soup.
I added ~1 teaspoon of salt and quite a bit of black pepper (didn't measure).
Yum! Simple and delicious. We ate it with baguette and 4 out 5 of us loved it. The vegan who doesn't like vegetables tasted it and said she didn't like it.
I'll be playing with the recipe and potentially adding pepper and corn to the recipe as I think this would make a great base for corn chowder! Or nutritional yeast and broccoli for "cheezey"broccoli soup. I'll keep you posted on what evolves with this one. (Tomorrow, I'll try to get a picture. I forgot tonight.)
3 yukon gold potatoes somewhat peeled, but not all the way
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
10 ounces of frozen cauliflower
32 ounces of veggie broth
~2 cups of water
1 cup cashews (to make into cashew cream)
Soy milk (for cashew cream or any type of non-dairy milk)
Cut up the veggies and cook until soft. Don't worry about cutting them small as you'll be pureeing them after they are cooked--just cut them in even sized chunks. I cooked my large chunks (~1 inch or so) for about 30-40 minutes.
After the veggies are soft put all the veggies in the blender and puree. I had to do two batches of blending. Turn the blender on slow so it the hot vegetable mix doesn't burst out of the blender. Tonight, I didn't have any blender accidents, but I have in the past. The vitamix can be left on high (BAD DESIGN) and then when it's turned on it's going super fast. It's not pretty when that happens! After everything is blended, keep some of the warm, blended soup in the blender and make cashew cream. Add 1 cup of cashews and ~1 cup of soy milk (could be whatever kind of non-dairy milk you like). I blended and then poured it all back in the pan. If you don't add enough warm soup, your cashew cream will be "lumpy" when you mix it into the pan. You can remedy this by re-blending the soup.
I added ~1 teaspoon of salt and quite a bit of black pepper (didn't measure).
Yum! Simple and delicious. We ate it with baguette and 4 out 5 of us loved it. The vegan who doesn't like vegetables tasted it and said she didn't like it.
I'll be playing with the recipe and potentially adding pepper and corn to the recipe as I think this would make a great base for corn chowder! Or nutritional yeast and broccoli for "cheezey"broccoli soup. I'll keep you posted on what evolves with this one. (Tomorrow, I'll try to get a picture. I forgot tonight.)
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Modifying another recipe: Mexican Soup
I'm going to try to make soup on Sundays so that we have something quick and easy through the week and then have some (hopefully) extra to freeze. This is one of my tips here. It's a tip other people give; with tips like these, it's good to say them over and over because they are so easy to forget, but they really do make a difference and make life easier. It's the little things.
This past Sunday, I went back through my recipes and decided I wanted to make an old recipe that I have on here, but I wanted to change a few things. It's rare when I don't change something in a recipe when I make it. I cook by taste and by mood. My recipes often evolve. For me, Mexican Soup started here and now it's here:
Makes at least 8 servings. (We've had 5 servings and we still have a lot, so I'm guessing more like 10-12)
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cubed sweet potatoes (I used a bag of these)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
2 zucchini diced
1 16 oz. jar of salsa (I used a "medium" chipolte salsa from Whole Foods )
1 tablespoon cumin
2--14.5 oz. can of black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cans of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes (make sure they are diced, otherwise the chunks are too big and you'll have to dice them yourself)
6 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth + 2 cups of water
1 cup cashews blended into cashew cream
1 bag of kale/spinach (I used about 6 ounces of kale, but you can NEVER add too much kale, in my opinion).
Optional: Add 1 1/2 cups of frozen roasted corn
Throw in some quinoa for the last 20 minutes of cooking (or make it on the side).
Preparation:
Roast the corn and the red pepper to bring out the flavors. I microwaved the frozen sweet potatoes and then threw everything in the pot, brought it to a boil, and then let it all simmer for about hour. Add the quinoa at the 45 minute mark (or start cooking it in another pan).
After about an hour, add salsa, cumin, black beans, & broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes.
While it's cooking make your cashew cream. (I used 1 cup cashews and 3/4 cup water and blended. Tip: Use warm water to make the cream blend into the soup more easily.)
Add in cashew cream. Whisk well and make sure the soup is hot. If you have the quinoa in the soup, it's a meal in a bowl. If you don't have the quinoa in the soup serve with rice, bread, or whatever else you'd like!
Let me know what you think and I'll let you know if I make any more changes to the soup.
This past Sunday, I went back through my recipes and decided I wanted to make an old recipe that I have on here, but I wanted to change a few things. It's rare when I don't change something in a recipe when I make it. I cook by taste and by mood. My recipes often evolve. For me, Mexican Soup started here and now it's here:
Makes at least 8 servings. (We've had 5 servings and we still have a lot, so I'm guessing more like 10-12)
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cubed sweet potatoes (I used a bag of these)
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
2 zucchini diced
1 16 oz. jar of salsa (I used a "medium" chipolte salsa from Whole Foods )
1 tablespoon cumin
2--14.5 oz. can of black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cans of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes (make sure they are diced, otherwise the chunks are too big and you'll have to dice them yourself)
6 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth + 2 cups of water
1 cup cashews blended into cashew cream
1 bag of kale/spinach (I used about 6 ounces of kale, but you can NEVER add too much kale, in my opinion).
Optional: Add 1 1/2 cups of frozen roasted corn
Throw in some quinoa for the last 20 minutes of cooking (or make it on the side).
Preparation:
Roast the corn and the red pepper to bring out the flavors. I microwaved the frozen sweet potatoes and then threw everything in the pot, brought it to a boil, and then let it all simmer for about hour. Add the quinoa at the 45 minute mark (or start cooking it in another pan).
After about an hour, add salsa, cumin, black beans, & broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes.
While it's cooking make your cashew cream. (I used 1 cup cashews and 3/4 cup water and blended. Tip: Use warm water to make the cream blend into the soup more easily.)
Add in cashew cream. Whisk well and make sure the soup is hot. If you have the quinoa in the soup, it's a meal in a bowl. If you don't have the quinoa in the soup serve with rice, bread, or whatever else you'd like!
Let me know what you think and I'll let you know if I make any more changes to the soup.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Quick soup
I've never made soup in my Vita Mix, but recently, when we were at Whole Foods, there was a demonstration of Vita Mix soup making.
They made a vegan variant of the minestrone in their cookbook that they called tomato bisque. Here's my interpretation of what they told me they did. (They didn't have the recipe written down.)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can of diced tomatoes (or 4-5 fresh ones)
1 garlic clove
1 small carrot
1 small onion (I might go with 1/2 a small onion)
1 stalk of celery
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt (if no salt in your tomatoes)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
Blend it up and when it's blended, turn it all the way up to (very) high for 6-7 minutes. They say the blender will heat the soup up and you'll see steam after that amount of time on high. Add a little Kale and blend it until the pieces are small, but not all the way blended. I'm going to try it and see if it works. The soup was yummy. I figure, if it doesn't work, I'll just blend it and stick it in a pan on the stove for a little while.
This would be yummy and more filling for girls with some pasta added. My vegan who loves vegetables tasted it at the store and enjoyed it. I think my vegan who doesn't love vegetables might like it without the kale. I think my vegetarian (girl) will like it, too.
They made a vegan variant of the minestrone in their cookbook that they called tomato bisque. Here's my interpretation of what they told me they did. (They didn't have the recipe written down.)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can of diced tomatoes (or 4-5 fresh ones)
1 garlic clove
1 small carrot
1 small onion (I might go with 1/2 a small onion)
1 stalk of celery
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt (if no salt in your tomatoes)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
Blend it up and when it's blended, turn it all the way up to (very) high for 6-7 minutes. They say the blender will heat the soup up and you'll see steam after that amount of time on high. Add a little Kale and blend it until the pieces are small, but not all the way blended. I'm going to try it and see if it works. The soup was yummy. I figure, if it doesn't work, I'll just blend it and stick it in a pan on the stove for a little while.
This would be yummy and more filling for girls with some pasta added. My vegan who loves vegetables tasted it at the store and enjoyed it. I think my vegan who doesn't love vegetables might like it without the kale. I think my vegetarian (girl) will like it, too.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Fast, easy, and good for you!
+
=
fast and healthy dinner.
A friend asked for tips on making fast, easy, and good for you food. One trick is to cook up a whole bunch of a food and eat it all week. This is certainly not a new trick, but it works. Earlier this week, I made a big pot of Pinto beans. These are similar to my almost homemade black beans.
The girls had this for dinner a couple of nights this week and I had it for lunch a couple of days. It turned out we were a little burned out on pinto beans, but no worries, you can either use them to make a "bean burger" or freeze them. Since I'm a little out of time right now (we just moved!), I chose to freeze them. They'll microwave quickly in a couple of weeks for a VERY fast dinner. They are already spiced nicely.
I also made a bunch of quinoa to go with the beans. You can have the
beans with rice, quinoa, veggies (my fav is brocolli) or tortilla. We
eat a lot of salsa, too.
A big batch of soup is also really handy. I made one this week, and we had soup for a few dinners / lunches, too. We almost ate it all, but I managed to put some in the freezer before we did. When I make a big batch of something, I like to freeze some of it. It's a great treat to find a frozen batch of soup in the freezer on a night when you are really busy. As we get ready to start school, my goal is to get a few more things in the freezer. A helpful tip is to label the items and date them when you freeze them. I haven't always labeled things and I managed to move a couple of "mystery" items. One has already been composted and one will be tossed in the compost bin soon.
Monday, July 15, 2013
A revision of my favorite...
Remember Creamy Cauliflower Curry Soup?
I love it. I love it with PB. Natalie (my vegan who loves veggies) doesn't. She loves soups and she loves veggies, but she doesn't like PB. I decided to make the soup so she'd like it.
What'd I do? (Look, here I am modifying my own recipes.) I'm short on time, so I'm not going to re-write the recipe. I'm guessing, if you're interested, you can read the other recipe and make the modification. Maybe someday, I'll re-write the recipe (it's linked here and at the top of the post). Not this week. We're moving very, very, very soon.
I took out the PB and substituted 1 cup of cashews blended with water to make cashew cream. I may have added a little extra tumeric--it looks like it from the picture! Whatever, it was yummy.
I love it. I love it with PB. Natalie (my vegan who loves veggies) doesn't. She loves soups and she loves veggies, but she doesn't like PB. I decided to make the soup so she'd like it.
What'd I do? (Look, here I am modifying my own recipes.) I'm short on time, so I'm not going to re-write the recipe. I'm guessing, if you're interested, you can read the other recipe and make the modification. Maybe someday, I'll re-write the recipe (it's linked here and at the top of the post). Not this week. We're moving very, very, very soon.
I took out the PB and substituted 1 cup of cashews blended with water to make cashew cream. I may have added a little extra tumeric--it looks like it from the picture! Whatever, it was yummy.
Nat loved it and so did Tia, my house guest, Nick, and me. I really love it when people (who aren't vegans) come to visit and like the vegan food I make.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
I really can't follow recipes...
I was going to make the soup linked in the blog post below. I ended up making a different soup. I started off with lentils and most of the spices Oh she glows recommended, but then I changed it up a bit.
The ingredients:
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8th tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes
12 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1.5 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup of cashew cream (1 cup raw cashews blended with a 1/2 cup water)
salt to taste (1 teaspoon)
10 oz. of raw baby spinach
What I did:
Sauteed the garlic and onion in the olive oil for a few minutes. I actually added a little broth while sauteing.
Added spices, tomatoes, broth, water and lentils and let it cook for 25 minutes and then tasted the soup. I loved it, but Nick thought it needed to be thickened up a little. We didn't want to do PB 'cause we ALWAYS do PB. I decided to try cashew cream.
You're supposed to soak the cashews in water for at least 4 hours for cashew cream but I just threw caution to the wind and threw the raw cashews into the Vitamix with some water and made a thick cream.
I added the cream to the soup and that didn't work out so well... It got all clumpy. I couldn't stir it out so I added some of the soup and the lumpy cream back to the blender. Can I just say I love my Vitamix? The soup came out beautifully.
I added a little salt to the soup 'cause the cashews made it taste less salty; then, I added the spinach. Then, I ate too much.
I'll try to make this recipe again. Oh yum!
The ingredients:
1 teaspoon of olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8th tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 14-oz cans of diced tomatoes
12 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
1.5 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup of cashew cream (1 cup raw cashews blended with a 1/2 cup water)
salt to taste (1 teaspoon)
10 oz. of raw baby spinach
What I did:
Sauteed the garlic and onion in the olive oil for a few minutes. I actually added a little broth while sauteing.
Added spices, tomatoes, broth, water and lentils and let it cook for 25 minutes and then tasted the soup. I loved it, but Nick thought it needed to be thickened up a little. We didn't want to do PB 'cause we ALWAYS do PB. I decided to try cashew cream.
You're supposed to soak the cashews in water for at least 4 hours for cashew cream but I just threw caution to the wind and threw the raw cashews into the Vitamix with some water and made a thick cream.
I added the cream to the soup and that didn't work out so well... It got all clumpy. I couldn't stir it out so I added some of the soup and the lumpy cream back to the blender. Can I just say I love my Vitamix? The soup came out beautifully.
I added a little salt to the soup 'cause the cashews made it taste less salty; then, I added the spinach. Then, I ate too much.
I'll try to make this recipe again. Oh yum!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Soup! Wintery! Vegetable!
From one of my favorite veggie cooking blogs...
The modifications I'll make include olive oil instead of coconut oil, no celery, more cumin--probably more of all the spices... I just bought some red lentils so I'm excited to try them out! Hopefully, I will make this tomorrow!
The modifications I'll make include olive oil instead of coconut oil, no celery, more cumin--probably more of all the spices... I just bought some red lentils so I'm excited to try them out! Hopefully, I will make this tomorrow!
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