Coconut Ginger Vegetable Soup

Early last year I had the chance to go to Vegfest in Seattle. It is a food festival for vegans and vegetarians, and they are held all over the country. Chances are, if you live in the United States, there’s one not too far from you. It’s fun because you get to sample a lot of food products from well-known brand names, buy cookbooks, get freebies, and attend cooking demos.

While there, I attended a handful of cooking demos presented by PCC, a local co-op with locations in and around Seattle (very similar to Whole Foods, but smaller and member-focused – although anyone can shop there). I learned some interesting new techniques for cooking, as well as some inspiration for what to make next in my kitchen.

One of the demos showed us how to make a Thai coconut ginger vegetable soup, or Tom Kha Ja. It’s a lovely soup with some really interesting flavors and textures intermingling – lemony, spicy and creamy. The nice thing is that you don’t have to use the vegetables listed in this recipe if you don’t want – you can use whatever is on hand or others that you might prefer. The only things that I would recommend not skimping out on are the lime leaves (or lime peel), lemongrass (if you have it available in your grocery store), ginger, and of course, coconut milk. There are a few other key ingredients, but those really set the tone for supporting flavors.

Coconut Ginger Vegetable Soup
This recipe is based on the one created by Pranee Khruasanit Halvorsen, who also happens to be the person who demoed it, and who is a PCC Cooks instructor.

• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 8 ounces or one package firm tofu, diced
• 1/2 carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 8 button mushrooms, stems removed and diced
• 3 cups water
• 3 Thai or serrano chile peppers, smashed
• 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and smashed
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into 8 pieces and smashed
• 8 Kaffir lime leaves, or peel of 1 lime
• 4 shallots, trimmed, peeled and smashed
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 jalapeño pepper, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, optional but highly recommended
• 2 tablespoons coconut cream (the top layer on canned coconut milk), optional

Drain and prepare your tofu.

Cutting up tofu to fry

Heat a wok or skillet, then add three tablespoons of canola oil. Fry the tofu until all sides have a golden crust.

Frying the tofu

Remove the tofu from the pan, and set aside.

Dice your carrot, onion and mushrooms.

Diced carrot, onion and mushrooms

In the same pan you used to fry the tofu, sauté your carrot, onion and mushrooms with the remaining two tablespoons of oil for three to five minutes until translucent and fragrant.

Sautéing carrots, onions and mushrooms

Place the vegetable mixture in a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Adding the water

Prepare your chile peppers, lemongrass and ginger by smashing them all. Just use the flat side of your knife and give each of them a few good whacks. You don’t have to do it too hard or too many times. The key is to allow the soup to extract the flavors of these ingredients.

Trim the top, then smash with the flat side of your knife

Trim, then using the flat side of your knife hit the lemongrass a few times to smash it

Do the same with the ginger - using the flat side of the knife hit the ginger until it is smashed

If using lime peel, trim and roughly peel a lime with a knife.

Trimming a lime for its peel

Prepare your shallots by peeling and dicing them. I recommend that you use one full shallot or two to four shallot cloves (they look like very large garlic cloves).

Chopping up shallots

When your water comes to a boil, stir in the chile peppers, lemongrass, ginger, lime leaves or peel and shallots. Let boil for five minutes.

Nearly there - just a few more steps!

Prepare your zucchini.

Dicing zucchini

Remove the stem and seeds from your jalapeño, then dice. Grab your corn (I used a whole package of frozen corn).

Diced jalapeño and frozen corn

Add zucchini, corn and jalapeño to your pot and cook for two minutes.

Adding the rest of the vegetables to the soup

Stir in salt, coconut milk and lime juice.

Add some coconut milk to make it creamy

To serve the soup, remove the large pieces of lemongrass, ginger and chile peppers, as well as the lime peel and lime leaves, then ladle into soup bowls. Add your fried tofu and garnish with cilantro and one teaspoon of coconut cream.

Delish!

This is such a yummy soup – and so versatile and forgiving if you don’t have everything you need. I think potatoes would go nicely in this, as well as snow peas, and other kinds of mushrooms, too. To reduce the fat, use a low fat coconut milk, sauté your vegetables in water, and bake your tofu (without oil) instead of frying it.

What soups are you enjoying right now?

Easy chilled peach soup

Some of you may remember that last summer I discovered that I was seemingly allergic to one of my absolute favorite fruits: peaches. I was extremely disappointed when I found that my mouth felt like cotton and my tongue itched. These are weird sensations to experience anyway, but when it is in direct relation to a long-loved fruit like peaches, it is so disappointing. This year, I seem to not be experiencing the same symptoms – or at least not as strong – so I am trying to still get my fix of summer peaches.

But let’s get to the important matter at hand – cold soup, most specifically cold peach soup. Soup and summers don’t generally mix, but this soup does the trick. It uses what is in season, plus a few other ingredients that are always available at your grocery store, and it’s easy to make. My suggestion would be to serve this at brunch, or as a first course with a small side salad drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette. And of course, it’s perfect as a refreshing dessert after a heavy or spicy meal.

Chilled Peach Soup
Based upon the Pretty Peach Soup recipe found at Allrecipes.com
Serves 4 to 6

• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 3 cups fresh or frozen peaches, thawed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or the juice of 2 small lemons
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup peach nectar (you may substitute another nectar or fruit juice if peach nectar is unavailable)
• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt
• 1/4 cup vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Place raspberries in a blender; cover and process until smooth. If you are using frozen raspberries that have not been thawed, you may find that it will be easier to blend them with one or two tablespoons of water (or even three).

Making raspberry puree

Strain and discard seeds. It will be easier to strain if you use a spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Once it is strained, cover and refrigerate the puree.

Straining raspberry seeds

Whether you use fresh or frozen peaches, make sure they're pesticide-free

Place peaches and lemon juice in the blender; cover and process until smooth. If using frozen peaches that are not thawed, you may need to add one to two tablespoons of water in case they have a hard time blending. Transfer to a bowl.

Making a peach puree

Stir or whisk in nectar, vegan yogurt, vegan sugar if needed (if fruit is tart) and almond or vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

I taste-tested the soup before adding the sugar in case it wasn't needed, then I whisked it into the soup

To garnish with the puree, drizzle about one tablespoon of the raspberry puree in a large circle on top of each serving. Grab a toothpick or knife to start in on the design.

Now to garnish

Use a toothpick to draw six or eight lines toward the center of circle, forming a flower. Or you can do other designs, too. Just do whatever feels creative and fun for you, and if you mess up – don’t worry, it’s pretty anyway.

Making the final touches before serving

This soup is lovely and would be the perfect accompaniment to any meal. I would only recommend that you do not serve this on its own as it is quite sweet, and really needs something else to balance it out.

Beautiful for serving

Do you have any favorite cold summer soups?

Pretty any way you look at it

Curried Parsnip Soup

When we lived in New York we were members of a local community supported agriculture group (CSA), Hellgate CSA. The setup was that we would pay for a season of vegetables and fruits, then each week our farm(s) would deliver freshly picked produce to a central location where we would then gather our bounty. It was because of that CSA and those farmers that I have such a passionate interest in food. Yet, I admit that it wasn’t always perfect. Because of the way it was structured (and many CSAs follow this model), we didn’t have a huge choice in the food that we would get from week to week, so it was either an opportunity to discover something new to love or, yes, something to never want to eat again (I still have yet to figure out if I ever want to try bitter melon of my own accord again).

Not too long ago we joined another CSA run by Full Circle Farm in Washington. It’s modeled in such a way that we have more choice, however they still will send you a predetermined box of produce if you do not make any changes. A couple of weeks ago I saw that we would be receiving parsnips and I can’t say I was thrilled about them. I had parsnips for the first time in New York, likely thanks to our first CSA, and I recall that I roasted them along with some other vegetables, but I didn’t quite like the combination of flavors and never was inspired to eat them again. (Parsnips, if you have never had them, are similar to carrots in sweetness, but otherwise the flavor is somewhat unusual and savory.) But I realized that I couldn’t let parsnips go by the wayside this time, and so I left them on the list.

I’m so glad I did, because I wound up making this very creamy and delicately-flavored parsnip soup. It’s perfect as a starter to a meal or on its own with some salad or bread. While the curry in this dish does add additional spiciness, it is not hot. To add some heat, sprinkle some red pepper flakes to each individual bowl for a little kick.

Curried Parsnip Soup
Recipe based upon Spiced Parsnip Soup from Allrecipes.com

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cubed
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 3 1/4 cups boiling vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup vegan milk, plain and unsweetened
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes or paprika for garnish

Chop your onions. Melt the vegan butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, and fry the onion in butter until soft, about five minutes.

Sautéing some onions in vegan butter

Peel and chop your parsnips, and chop your garlic.

Chopping parsnips

Add the parsnips, garlic and curry powder to the pan, and fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavors.

Frying parsnips, onion, garlic and curry

Boil the vegetable broth, and pour into the saucepan with the parsnips, onions, garlic and curry powder. Stir to remove any bits of vegetable from the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 15 minutes or until parsnips are soft and easy to break with a spoon.

Simmering parsnips and vegetable broth

Remove from the heat, and blend with a hand mixer, immersion blender or regular blender for a good 30 seconds to a minute.

About to blend parsnips into a creamy soup

Pour back into the large pan (if using a regular blender), then stir in the vegan milk, and heat through, but do not boil.

Stirring in the vegan milk

Taste test, then season with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve in individual bowls, then garnish with red pepper flakes or paprika.

So smooth and creamy!

This is definitely a soup I’ll be making again, and I may try some variations with things like cauliflower or potatoes. Do you have any favorite parsnip recipes?

Vegetarian Udon Noodle Soup

I love many cuisines from Mexican to Italian to Spanish to good old fashioned American, but if I were really honest with myself I’d have to confess that my absolute favorite is Asian. I say “Asian” because I cannot commit to any particular aspect of the breadth of Asian foods. I’m in love with Indian breads, samosas, and papadum, I salivate over Korean kimchi and bibimbap, and I crave Japanese sushi rolls and inari for weeks at a time – and that’s just scratching the surface.

While I do prepare some Asian foods at home on occasion, I admit that I am still a little wary that I don’t understand how to cook it well enough. That said, I am really fortunate to live so close to multiple Asian markets, and I feel that I am slowly stretching my culinary wings. It’s easy to go into one of these stores, discover an ingredient remembered from a restaurant and have the impulse to buy it and try replicating the dish at home. This is what happened last week as I was wandering down the pasta aisle and came upon some Japanese style udon noodles. As soon as I saw them, I realized that I needed to learn how to make udon noodle soup.

After researching various recipes I have come to realize that udon noodle soup is less about recipe and more about what you have on hand. In many ways, it is very similar to how I am used to throwing together a hearty vegetable soup without wondering if I have added too many or not enough potatoes or carrots, or worrying if I have a specific ingredient on hand or not. It doesn’t really matter, because the end result will still be delicious. What I found is that most udon noodle recipes call for a broth, noodles, some vegetables and mushrooms, and a protein. It’s my opinion that the key is to get the broth down, and then experiment, experiment and experiment. Luckily my first try had me wanting to recreate it the next day, so this recipe I’m sharing with you is a winner in my book.

Vegetarian Udon Noodle Soup
Roughly based upon the Easy Udon Noodle Snack Recipe found on The Messy Vegetarian Cook
Makes 2 servings

• 3 cups water
• 1/2 to 1 cup mushrooms (you can use most any mushroom you like, but I used king oyster and the original recipe calls for shiitake)
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2 teaspoons mirin or rice vinegar
• 4 teaspoons tamari, soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos (if you do not have any of these on hand, you may also substitute 2 heaping teaspoons miso)
• 1/2 teaspoon vegan sugar
• 1 sheet nori, cut into small pieces or strips
• 2 dry red chili peppers, optional
• 1/4 cup tofu or another vegetable or wheat protein, optional
• 1/4 cup carrots, julienned
• Dry udon noodles (enough for two servings – this is usually one or two individually separated bunches of noodles)
• Salt
• Sesame oil (optional, but so divine – I highly recommend not skipping this ingredient)
• Green onions or chives (optional)

First prepare your broth. I used about half of a king oyster mushroom, and diced it into bite-sized pieces.

King oyster mushrooms are said to taste similar to abalone

Mince your ginger by first cutting off a small amount from the main part of the root, then peeling away the outer skin. You can also crush it like garlic.

Dicing fresh ginger

Julienne your carrots. “Julienne” just means that you’re cutting your veggie into little strips.

Julienned carrots

Place the water, mushrooms, ginger, carrots, mirin, tamari (or soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos), sugar and nori into the broth. If you are using chili peppers, you can add those in now, too.

Tip: If you are going to use miso as a substitute for the tamari, you will need to add that at the end after the broth has finished cooking.

Dried red chili peppers

If you don’t want your carrots to overcook, add them after the broth has boiled.

Bring your pan of ingredients to boil, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down to medium low or low.

Udon noodle soup broth

Add in your protein now so it will warm up.

Vegetarian Mock Abalone a.k.a. wheat gluten (and oops - this had MSG in it!)

Allow the broth to steep for about twenty minutes.

If you are using miso, you may add it after the broth has finished cooking and has been removed from the heat. Miso takes a few moments to dissolve, so be sure to stir the broth a few times.

Adding the miso to the broth

Cook the noodles as instructed with a little salt. These cook fast, so be sure you are giving these guys your full attention. Once they are done cooking, drain and rinse under cold water.

Japanese style udon noodles

Once the broth is done, add some noodles to a bowl, then ladle the broth over the noodles.

Almost ready!

Drizzle a small amount of sesame oil over the soup, add some sliced green onions as a garnish.

Tip: Be sure to rinse the green onions really well to get rid of any specks of dirt that may have gotten stuck inside the onion as it was growing.

Sliced green onion

Serve.

So so good!

I loved this soup. It was full of flavor, had tons of texture and really hit the spot. Plus it makes me want to come up more variations. Remember, if you don’t have a particular ingredient on hand, don’t fret – you can experiment and discover your own unique soup, too!

What is your favorite Asian cuisine or dish – or can you even decide?

Winter Squash and Bean Stew

Every Sunday I usually like to make a big pot of beans or soup for us to have for lunches during at least the first half of the week. It makes meals infinitely easier, and allows me to not have to think about what I’m going to eat while I’m in the middle of work. Because I do this fairly consistently, I do like to try new recipes and mix things up a bit.

When I found this recipe for stew, I knew I had to try it. For one thing, I don’t make stews very often, but I do really enjoy them. Another reason was because I still had a lot of my hubbard squash leftover, and I needed to use it. The final thing that drew me in? Chipotle. I love chipotle, mostly for its smoky flavor, but for its extraordinary heat as well. I was excited to try this combo of flavors.

Note: One nice thing about this recipe is that it does not require the use of a slow-cooker if you do not have one, although I am sure this would also cook nicely in one.

Winter Squash and Bean Stew
This recipe is taken from the Hubbard Squash and Pinto Bean Stew found on MyRecipes.com

• 3 cups dried pinto beans
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium-sized onions, chopped
• 4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled hubbard squash or fresh pumpkin
• 1 cup peeled and sliced carrot, about two medium-sized carrots
• 1 tablespoon chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped (for a gluten-free recipe, you can substitute about 1 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 3/4 teaspoon  salt
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin-seed kernels, toasted (optional)

Sort and wash pinto beans. Check out my post on how to cook dry beans to learn how to sort and wash beans, although you do not need to follow the remaining steps for this stew recipe.

I love the smell of beans cooking wafting through the house

Place the beans in a large pot, and cover with water to about two inches above the beans. Boil them for two minutes, turn off the heat and then allow them to sit for about two hours.

Cooking dry beans

Drain and rinse the pinto beans, then combine them and four cups of water in a large pan, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Cover and simmer an additional 30 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, prep your squash, carrots and onions. Take care while chopping your squash – refer to my post on hubbard squash risotto to see how I recommend cutting open the squash as well as chopping the actual squash meat.

Chopped squash, carrots and onions

Cut up about two chipotle peppers from your can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

Important: If you are following a gluten-free diet, I discovered that this can of chipotle peppers is not gluten-free. It contains flour, likely to thicken the sauce. I do not know if there is a gluten-free version of this product out on the market, but I imagine that you can use chipotle pepper powder as a substitute.

Chipotle peppers = smoky and spicy!

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, squash, carrot, and chipotle peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Sautéing squash, onions, carrots and chipotle peppers

Add to bean mixture, then stir in sage, thyme, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Stir in salt.

Finishing up the bean stew

Ladle the stew into individual bowls, then sprinkle with pumpkinseed kernels (if using) – and serve.

A hearty squash and bean stew

This was such a hearty stew, and perfect to eat throughout the week. The only thing that I might add next time is some textured vegetable protein (TVP) or some Tofurky Kielbasa or Tofurky Italian Sausage to bulk it up more. Otherwise, it’s a great stew and perfect to serve to your favorite omnivores.

What is your favorite kind of stew or soup?

Learn more about Vegan MoFo.

Coconut Squash Soup

There have been so many squash soup recipes coming out of the woodwork lately that you’d think that there wouldn’t need to be another one, but chances are that you haven’t seen one quite like this recipe. I first came upon this recipe several years ago when I was living in New York and the weather was cold. It sounded so unusual – creamy and spicy with a touch of sweetness – but also like a much needed warm salve to my chilled bones. I knew I was taking a risk in my household, too, because my husband liked neither winter squash nor coconut. It wound up being the perfect combination of flavors, though, because when I made it, he loved it, and these days asks me why I don’t make it more often.

Coconut Squash Soup
This is a variation on the Squash Coconut Milk Soup recipe found at TechSoup

• 1 butternut squash (2-4 cups worth of flesh)
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 to 2 cups water
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos
• 1 teaspoon chili paste
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 cups organic* spinach leaves, chopped
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the top of the butternut squash off to remove the remaining stem, then cut in half lengthwise – take care to not cut yourself as the squash is very tough raw. Scoop out the seeds and discard (alternatively, you can scoop out the seeds after the squash has baked).

Cutting a butternut squash in half

Place each cut side of the squash face down on a lightly oiled baking sheet, then add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water to the pan (this helps to keep the squash from drying out).

Preparing to bake the butternut squash

Bake the squash for about 30 minutes. If it is done, you will easily be able to poke a knife or fork into the flesh without much or any give.

Baked butternut squash

Chop your onion, and gather together the coconut milk and chili paste.

Tip: For a lower fat version of this soup, use low-fat coconut milk. If you do not have or like chili paste, you can omit it or substitute with sriracha, your favorite hot sauce or red pepper flakes.

Onion, coconut milk and chili paste

In a large pot, mix together and heat the coconut milk, one cup of water, onions, soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos, chili paste and brown sugar. Simmer on low heat for about ten or fifteen minutes.

Mixing together and simmering ingredients for the soup

Scoop out two cups of flesh for a light soup or four cups for a thicker soup, or you can use all of the flesh like I did. Add the squash to the soup.

Adding baked butternut squash to the soup

Stir together the soup.

Mix the butternut squash in first

Then use a potato masher to incorporate the squash into the soup. If the soup is too thick, add another cup of water.

Mashing the butternut squash

Cook for about ten minutes. To serve, place a small handful of spinach to a bowl, then ladle the hot soup on top. Add chopped cilantro and a lime wedge as a garnish, or serve alongside the soup.

Tip: To save time, you may also stir the spinach into the pot of soup after it has finished cooking.

Serving the soup

Suggested variation: Add a teaspoon of curry powder with the other spices for a twist.

Have you made squash soup yet? What is your favorite way of making it?

Coconut squash soup

A happy accident

Imagine the following scenario – you’re partway through cooking a standby recipe that calls for standby ingredients that you always have in your kitchen. Except, when you go to add that one ingredient you realize that you’re either going to have to turn off the stove or the oven, drive to the store and buy that vital missing link or you’re going to have to get creative. This is what happened to me a few weeks ago and I’m actually pretty glad, because it turned me on to a new version of an old recipe I’ve been making for at least ten years.

I make lentil soup pretty frequently, and I have never altered the recipe. I’ve pretty much been making the same recipe over and over and over, and couldn’t have been happier with the results. All you need is lentils, an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a can of tomatoes, a couple of bay leaves, some salt, a little oil and enough water you’ve got a hearty and delicious soup in about half an hour or forty-five minutes.

On that fateful day a few weeks ago I had all of those ingredients except for the can of tomatoes. This soup needs tomatoes. It begs for tomatoes. It just doesn’t make sense without tomatoes. I literally stood at the pantry with a quizzical look on my face for at least a minute or two wondering how on earth I was going to fix this dilemma when I spied a can of salsa.

You have to realize that I don’t like store-bought salsa all that much. I much prefer freshly made salsa with all fresh ingredients, but recently I’ve been on a chipotle kick and have been enjoying the chipotle salsa from Trader Joe’s. I grabbed the jar in my pantry, thought “Why not? I make this all the time, so what’s one bad batch of soup if this doesn’t work?” I added in a few tablespoons, then I threw caution to the wind and dumped the whole thing in there. That plus a can of corn, and I knew that this was truly a great solution to my kitchen dilemma.

Southwestern Lentil Soup
This makes enough to serve about four people.

• 1/2 pound dry lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, chopped coarsely
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Water
• 1 16-ounce jar of your favorite salsa (i.e. Trader Joe’s Garlic Chipotle Salsa) or 1 16-ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 16-ounce can sweet corn or 1 10-ounce bag frozen sweet corn

Ingredients for a southwestern style lentil soup

Sort and rinse your lentils, then put in a large cooking pot. Add water to about an inch above your lentils. You may need to add more water later, which is fine. Add your salt, oil and bay leaves and turn on the heat to medium-high.

First steps in making lentil soup

Chop up your onions and garlic.

Chopped onions and garlic

Add the onions, garlic and frozen corn to your soup and stir everything together.

Adding ingredients to vegan lentil soup

Allow it to cook for a few minutes, then pour in the jar of salsa (or can of crushed or diced tomatoes).

Adding salsa to the lentil soup

Allow the soup to simmer, and stir occasionally. At this point you’ll want to turn down the heat to about medium so that the liquid will not evaporate more quickly than the lentils have time to cook.

After about twenty minutes check the lentils to see if they have cooked through. You want to be sure that they are soft but not mushy. The liquid may have still cooked off a little bit, so you may want to add an extra cup or two to make sure it is still soupy.

Vegan lentil soup

Once the soup is done, discard the bay leaves (don’t eat them), then serve with vegan buttered bread or toast or with tortilla chips. For a creamier soup, add about a tablespoon of Vegenaise to an individual serving of soup.

Southwestern lentil soup

Do you make lentil soup? If so, how do you enjoy making it?

P.S. Check out my new vegan community on www.Lunch.com, Vegan Living. I am going to be sharing more about this in a future post, but wanted to let you in on the secret a little bit early.

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

One reason why we chose to move away from New York is because of the harsh winters. It’s a geographic region of extremes, and January and February are the absolute coldest, sometimes dipping down into the negative digits. Because it’s on the water, the wind can be bone-chilling especially for those who travel by foot and public transit. Eight years of that and we had definitely had more than enough.

So far the winter in Washington has been amazing. While we have had the constant rain and few sunny days, it has stayed pretty much in the 40s and 50s which has felt always like we’re on the cusp of spring. (This morning I even woke to the sound of birds chirping – it felt very April-ish.) Still, we have days where a nice cup of tea and a warm bowl of soup is much needed.

Lately I have taken to making a huge pot of soup to last us for a few days or a week, and have tried to experiment a little with recipes to mix it up. One soup I’ve made only twice is broccoli cheese soup, but I am pretty impressed with the results so far. I did something different the second time around, and that was to base the soup off of the vegan cheese recipe I shared with you a few months ago. It turned out really well, but I’d still change one or two things which I’ll note in the recipe below.

Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
Note: You can probably make this gluten free by substituting the flour with 2 or 3 tablespoons of corn starch or another similar thickener.

• 3 or 4 small heads broccoli, chopped and with most of the stems removed
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried yellow mustard powder
• 8 cups water
• 5 tablespoons vegan butter

Prepare your broccoli, then steam it for about 15 minutes. It will not have enough time to cook in the soup itself, so it needs to be cooked separately. Just be sure to not over-steam it.

Chopping broccoli

Tip: Also steam the onion with your broccoli, or at least for about 10 minutes. I did not do this and I wish I had.

In a large soup pot (which will need to be at least 3 or 4 quarts), mix all of your dry ingredients together, then whisk in the water until the dry and the wet have been well mixed. Add in the vegan butter and allow it to melt as the soup cooks.

Mixing the dry and wet ingredients

Turn on the heat to about medium high and stir constantly. It will take several minutes to thicken, but if you do not stir the soup it will burn on the bottom and not thicken evenly.

Make sure to stir constantly

At about this point I added in the raw onion. Unfortunately the soup thickened so fast that the onion wasn’t as well cooked as I would have liked. I will most definitely steam it next time along with the broccoli.

Add in the onion after it has been steamed

As soon as the soup thickens up to a consistency that you like, take the soup off the heat and stir in the steamed broccoli (and onion if you also steamed it). You can serve immediately, or you can store it and serve it later. It will thicken up more in your refrigerator, however as you heat it up again, it will return to a more liquid state.

Adding the broccoli to the soup

We really enjoyed this soup – it was hearty, creamy and had just the right amount of salt. We were both pretty impressed with this version. If you’re like me and you don’t care much for broccoli (I actually really like broccoli made in this way), I imagine that you could also make this with asparagus or cauliflower instead and also have a very nice end result.

Do you enjoy soup? What is your favorite?

Creamy broccoli cheese soup

Yum - garlic

It would seem that we are now officially in autumn, even though we never really had that real New York summer that we’ve come to expect from year to year. It’s as if we’ve had a late spring or early fall from April or May until now, with only a sprinkling of a few days of summer here and there. But now we’re getting real days of fall, with light jackets, scarves and sweaters.

I’ve discovered in the last couple of years that I love this time of year, and not just because of the turning leaves and change of wardrobe. I’m finding that one of the biggest reasons is because it allows me to get back into the kitchen in full force. I can turn on the oven or stove without having to worry about it heating up the house and competing with the air conditioner, and of course that always means a return to warm and hearty soups.

This is a twist on your typical potato soup and can be made in a variety of ways including a creamy variation (with soy milk or another preferred milk alternative), and isn’t based upon one particular recipe but is inspired by several.

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

• 4 heads of garlic
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch of salt for each head of garlic
• 6 to 8 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used Idaho potatoes, but you could also use red or white potatoes, or another preferred variety)
• 8 cups water or vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large onion, chopped
• Black pepper, if desired
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped, if desired

Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take a head of garlic and turn it on its side and slice off just the tops of the garlic, so that each clove is exposed and is still attached to the head.

Preparing garlic to roast

Put the head of garlic on a piece of foil and wrap the foil up around the garlic so that when you add the olive oil it does not escape. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil on top of each head of garlic, then sprinkle a pinch of salt on each head. Cover all four heads of garlic with one sheet of aluminum foil (some people do not completely cover the garlic, but I find that this makes it so the oil does not splatter your oven). Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.

Wrapping garlic in foil, then drizzling a little of olive oil on each

Once the garlic is done roasting, let it sit for a few minutes to allow it to cool.

Roasted garlic

You can then remove the garlic and place it in a small bowl or plate by squeezing it or taking a fork and pulling each clove out one by one. I wound up peeling the sides of each garlic and was able to scoop them out more easily that way, but it was still a messy process. Set the garlic aside.

As your garlic is roasting, prepare your potatoes and onions. I like to cube my potatoes straight into a large empty pot, then rinse them off. Add the water and salt, and bring to a boil (I added a vegan vegetable broth powder).

Cubed potatoes

Let the potatoes boil until they are tender, and then add in the garlic.

Take a potato masher and mash the potatoes and garlic directly in the pot, while still leaving a few larger pieces of potato intact.

Stirring and mashing the garlic and potatoes

Then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about ten minutes more.

Finishing up the soup

Serve with a dash of garlic and/or a teaspoon of fresh chopped parsley.

Roasted garlic potato soup

Alternate versions

• To make this a little bit creamy, omit one or two cups of water, and after you have mashed the potatoes and garlic, stir in one or two cups of vegan milk. You’ll need to stir more frequently to ensure the vegan milk does not burn.
• To make this a smoother consistency, blend about four to six cups in your blender until smooth, then return to your pan and stir it with the portion that you did not blend.
• Want this to be heartier? Add in other vegetables like carrots, celery or tomatoes. You could also roast one or two more heads of garlic to give it a stronger garlic flavor.

This is a really nice soup. The garlic is not overwhelming, but the taste is still definitely there. This goes very well with a slice of bread spread with vegan butter, like Earth Balance or Soy Garden.

How do you prefer your potato soup? Or do you like other soups more?

I’m not a big fan of winters here in the North East. Unless it snows, it seems kind of pointless to me to have it dip down well below freezing every day, and the process of bundling up is time-consuming. So you can well imagine that I’m so glad that Spring is here. We still get a few chilly days now and then, which means that hot soups are still in season.

One of my favorite soups to make is a hearty vegetable miso soup. Miso, as you may already know, is a fermented soybean paste and can be used in a variety of dishes.

However, it’s probably most well known as a base to Asian soups. I first started making my own miso soup a few years ago, and am probably not making it in an authentic Asian style, but the recipe that follows is delicious and is my own (although I’m sure I’m not the first to throw this particular set of ingredients together).

First things first, though. There are a few things to keep in mind when making this.

• Use whatever vegetables you want, but make sure that most or all are fresh.
• Don’t overcook the soup – you want the vegetables to have some life left to them.
• Don’t add salt if you don’t have to; miso has plenty of natural sodium already.

• Taste test the broth after you’ve added miso. If it’s not a strong enough flavor for your palate, add more.

Miso Soup

• 8 cups water
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 package white button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups bok choy or toy choi, chopped
• 2 cups spinach, fresh
• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 1 package medium firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
• 3 to 5 tablespoons miso

Bring the water to boil in a large pan.

As you’re waiting for your water to boil, prepare all of your remaining ingredients.

You can add the carrots to the water before it boils or just after, and cook for about five minutes.

Add the mushrooms, bok choy, and snow peas and cook for about a minute more, then turn off the stove and take the pan off of the high heat. Add in the remaining ingredients except for the miso, and stir.

Now, add in the miso one tablespoon at a time and stir until it is completely dissolved.

Taste test the broth, and if you feel that the miso needs to be a stronger flavor add another tablespoon and taste test again.

Continue this process until you are satisfied with the taste. I added a total of about five tablespoons which I feel was plenty.

I admit that I overcooked the soup you’re seeing in these pictures, and I wish that I had held back. The snow peas were too tender, and the bok choy could have been more firm. It’s a lesson that I should practice what I preach – less is more. There are some soups that require a good stew – like vegetable soup with lots of root vegetables: potatoes, carrots, turnips, but the flavor is best in this soup if you go for undercooking rather than shooting for making sure everything is well done.

Do you use miso in your cooking? What’s your favorite way of using it?