Healing Vegan Hot and Sour Soup

Has everyone around you been getting a cold or a flu? Are you feeling a little stuffy? Achy? Sore throatiness? Well, join the club.  It seems everyone is getting sick lately.  There was something that went around my office and now it's coming back around again!  I really wanted a brothy, cleansing, healing soup to chase away all that muck that was starting to surface in my body.  

Well, here is the perfect soup to warm you up and clear you out....perfect for this cold, sick season that has been upon us.  Leeks, celery, green onion and dark winter greens are simmered in a clear vegetable stock with miso, tamari soy sauce, and a squeeze of lemon. You can make it spicy by adding a few dashes of Sriracha, hot sauce, or chili oil to taste.  I left it out and just let the steam do it's heat work on me.  If this doesn't cure what ails ya, I don't know what will!

 Vegan Hot and Sour Soup (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

-2 quarts vegetable stock (clear kind of broth)

-4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

-2 medium leeks, tough part cut off and tender bottoms thinly sliced

-1 bunch lacinato kale, de-ribbed and thinly sliced (can use spinach or any other green)

-2-3 tbsp tamari soy sauce (or regular soy sauce)

-1 tbsp mellow white miso (use a little broth to make a miso paste in a bowl, then add to pot)

-Juice of half a lemon

-1/2 bunch green onions, chopped all the way to the white part

-1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Add vegetable stock to pot, put on medium-high heat.
2. Chop celery, leeks and add to pot along with black pepper.  Let cook at a bubbling simmer for 5 or so minutes, then add kale.
3. When vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes of cooking, add soy sauce, lemon, chopped green onion, and miso.  Serve hot.

Light Lo Mein with Soy Steamed Vegetables

Lately, I've been digging somen noodles (and also one pot meals). Somen noodles are thin and light and, best of all, cook in 2 minutes! The other night I wanted to make a vegetable noodle dish and began throwing things together for a stir fry dish.  After I got to the point of no return (I cooked a huge pot of noodles), I realized we were out of sesame oil.  Darn, there goes the asian marinade I was planning.  Then I got the idea to make a peanut sauce, saved! Oh darn, we are out of peanut butter too? And also chili paste?  What have I done!

I scratched my noodle and then just used what had on hand: lime juice, tamari soy sauce, almond oil and a little freshly grated ginger. Voila!  Dinner was saved and it wasn't too bad after all.  Actually, it was better and much healthier than what I was originally planning to make! YESSSSS!!! This dish is not saucy and wet, it's more dry and noodley.  Also, since we're using no oil, the noodles stick together a little bit, but luckily not too much because somen noodles are awesome like that.  Just deal with it and think of your heart and waistline...or maybe that bikini bod you're been meaning to get since New Years?

Light Lo Mein Noodles with Soy Steamed Vegetables  (Serves  4)

 Ingredients for Soy Steamed Veggies:

-Three carrots, cut into half moons

-1 small head broccoli, chopped

-2 lb crimini or white mushrooms, sliced 

-1/2 cup water plus 2 tbsp soy sauce

-1 small bunch of green onion, thinly sliced for garnish

-1/2 cup roasted UNsalted peanuts, chopped for garnish

Ingredients for Noodles & Sauce:

-1 lb somen noodles, cooked and drained

-1 tbsp almond oil

-3 tbsp tamari soy sauce

-Juice of 1/2 a lime

-1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger, zested in zester or finely minced

Directions:

1.  In a large pot, placed sliced carrots, water and soy sauce on medium-high heat. Put lid on and let steam for ~5 minute while you prepare the other veggies.
2. Chop broccoli floret and stem and place in pot with carrots, put lid back on.
3. Wash and slice the mushrooms.  Remove the lid from the pot and add the mushrooms and another few dashes of soy sauce and leave the lid off.  The mushrooms with release water as well so it's good if the water has mostly evaporated by the time the mushrooms are put it.
4. Allow to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionaly.
5. When veggies are tender to your liking, remove from pan and set aside.  Fill pot with water and bring back to a boil.
6. When water is boiling, put in somen noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender. 
7. Add the almond oil, tamari, lime and ginger into a bowl and whisk with fork.
8. Drain noodles and toss them with the marinade in the pot.
9. To assemble bowls, put noodles on bottom, top with veggies and then garnish with onion and peanut!

The Best Vegan Bolognese Sauce!

This is one of THE most satisfying and quick recipes to whip up!  It's for those cold weeknights when I come home hungry and craving something "meaty," warm, and satisfying.  And it keeps with my attempts to try and make vegan versions of our favorite comfort foods.  In this case, it's a good, hearty meat sauce to put over pasta.  It's reminiscent of the kind of thing we'd eat on a camping trip since it's basically a two pot meal!

A regular jar of tomato marinara sauce is jazzed up with some sage and thyme.  The sage gives a nice beefy flavor to things and the thyme brightens it all up.  This sauce also has some veggies sneaked in the kids will never notice!  A variety of nuts pulsed in a food processor give a natural, whole food ground vegan meat alternative that tasted WAY better than the wheat meat stuff.  Now, if you're not lazy like me you'll soak the nuts in advance so they are nice and soft.  But oh well, I'm too lazy.

I've had this taste tasted by some non-veg friends who are pretty shocked it's not meat.  That's always my favorite part.  Like, "Wow, I can't believe this doesn't have meat in it!"  That's right folks: you don't have to miss out on your fave flavors just because you're vegan.  It's a win-win.  Healthier fats, HUGE flavors, and no cruelty!  

Nothing better than a nice, hearty sauce on the stove on a cold night....Enjoy! <3

Vegan Bolognese Sauce  (Serves 3)
Ingredients:
1 jar of pasta sauce from the store plus 1/4 jar full of water
1/2 cup of each of the following nuts, pulsed fine in a food processor: walnuts, cashews, and sunflower seeds 
2 stalks celery, pulsed in food processor or chopped fine
1 medium carrot, prepared as celery
1/2 of a green bell pepper, prepared as celery
1/2 cup yeast flakes or nooch
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2-1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp hing

Substitutions: Pumpkin seeds can be subbed for the sunflower seeds, pecans would be a fine addition too with their rich, oily flavor

Directions:

1. Break celery stalks and carrot in quarters and pulse in a food processor until finely minced
2. In a large sauce pot on medium-high heat, melt coconut oil and coat bottom of pan, then add the minced vegetables and cook ~5 minutes, until they begin to become slightly tender.
3. Add spices and stir into vegetables and cook ~1min.
4. Add jar of tomato sauce and then fill empty jar 1/4 of the way up with water and shake to remove extra sauce, add to pot.
5. Let sauce simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You can do this in a crock pot too and let it slow cook all day.

Queso Dip with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Green Chili

*Warning: Work In Progress*

 

For me, cheese is the hardest thing to give up.  I love, love, LOVE cheese.  Inevitably, a craving always sneaks up on me and I have to have go-to recipes.  I've been trying to perfect this whole foods version of queso dip and I think I'm getting close with this recipe here.  It is a great guilty pleasure because it tastes pretty darn cheesy and good.  It's also great when you're craving some "junk" food, like nachos! The bonus here is that it's not guilty and it's not junky....it actually turns out to be quite healthy since it's made with low-fat, whole ingredients, plus it can be whipped up in under 15 minutes! DOUBLE WIN!! I do just want to warn though that since is the "healthier" version of queso dip, it won't taste exactly like your fave dip from a restaurant...but, it will quash your craving and it's very delicious and potato-ey in it's own right.

Instead of flour or corn starch, like other vegan queso dips I've tried out, this one is thickened using potatos, cashews, and yeast flakes.  Besides thickening things up, these whole ingredients make this gluten free, high protein, and very filling.  I add a little sweet potato as well because it adds a nice orange color, some body, and great flavor!  All these ingredients store well in the cupboard, so this is a great go-to last minute recipe you can always have on hand.

You can see how thick it is by how it sticks nicely this this chip!  You could use this queso dip as a meal in and of itself, or to dress up other dishes, like tacos, burritos, or vegetables.  Great additions include: beans, chilis from the garden, and soyrizo.

Queso Dip with Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Green Chilis (Serves 6-8)
Ingredients:

Made with more turmeric and sweet potato.

1 medium gold potato, chopped
1 medium yam, chopped
(~1.5-2 cups chopped potatoes)
1 cup raw cashews
2 cup non-dairy milk
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 tsp sea salt
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp hing
1/2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis, drained to remove liquid

Directions:

1. Place cashews and milk in the blender to soak while you cut up potatoes.
2. Heat a medium sauce pot with 3 cups of water on high heat.  Peel and chop the yam.  No need to peel gold potato because the skin is thin, just chop.  Add chopped potatoes to pot and boil until tender and slightly mushy.
3. Add all ingredients except olive oil and tomatoes and chilis to the blender.  Blend until cashew creme is smooth and there is no more grit.  While the blender is on, drizzle in the olive oil.
4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain excess water and add to blender and blend them in. 
5. Return the mixture to the pot and add the drained tomatoes.  Gently heat, while stirring, until mixture is at the temp you want.  It will thicken slightly as it cooks.

*Note: If you want more orange-y color, try adding 1/4-1/2 tsp of turmeric or using more sweet potatoes than regular potatoes, as can be seen the picture next to the directions.

Little Lump of Irish Soda Bread (Vedic)

"Oh, well Hallo ya lattle leprechauns! Congratulations, you've found the rainy day pot o' gold!"

Yep, that's right!  There is nothing we love more on a rainy weekend day than whipping up an easy, no-need-to-rise, creamy irish soda bread.  It's a great way to enjoy some fresh bread without all the time and hassle of regular bread.

Fresh out of the oven, we enjoy it with some coconut butter and homemade marmalade on top with a big pot of Irish Breakfast tea on the side.  It just doesn't get any better.  Well, when it's pouring rain, we think the cat has the right idea...a big roaring fire DOES make it better, he he!

Zante currants, caraway seeds, and an easy to make vegan "buttermilk" create a light, flavorful breakfast bread that is lightly sweetened with a touch of sugar.  This is simply the best rainy day breakfast. Enjoy!

Vegan Irish Soda Bread  (Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour

2 cups white flour, divided 

1 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 cup zante currants or raisins 

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  If using a bread stone, put it in now to heat up.
2. In a separate small bowl, add the milk and vinegar and give it a quick stir.  The vinegar will curdle the milk and turn it into a sour milk or faux buttermilk.
3. In a large mixing bowl add 1 cup wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups white flour, the sugar, sea salt, caraway, baking soda, and currants.  Stir with wooden spoon to evenly mix.
4. Add melted coconut oil to the buttermilk mixture and pour into the dry ingredients while mixing with a wooden spoon until you have a reasonably dry, yet lightly sticky ball of dough.
5. On a floured surface, place the sticky ball of dough and knead 12 times while incorporating the additional 1/2 cup of white flour.  So, knead three times then sprinkle with flour; then knead three more times and sprinkle with some flour; keep doing that until the bread is a nice dough that is no longer too wet.
6. Shape into a nice little mound that is about 2-3 inches thick.  Score the top with a knife.
7. If using a bread stone, lightly flour the area where you'll place the bread.  If you don't have a bread stone use a cookie sheet and lightly flour the spot where the bread will go.
8. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is light-golden brown.  Let it sit on a cutting board for 10 minutes, then slice and Enjoy!

Vegan Tom Kha Soup (Thai Coconut Lime)

I used to love the Tom Kha Gai soup you get in Thai restaurants.  It always felt nourishing, reviving, yet light all at the same time with the sour from the limes balanced with the cream of the coconut. It's basically the Thai version of our American 'chicken soup' or, in other words, the quintessential "cure-all-comfort" soup for Thailand.  "Tom" means soup, "Kha" means galangal (a root vegetable), and "Gai" means chicken.  Since we are making this vegan, it simply becomes Tom Kha Soup sans the chicken or Gai.  I used to make this soup with fish sauce, as the traditional recipe calls for it, but, as with many of my staple foods, I had to alter the recipe once I became vegetarian.  I was worried about this one, thinking the fish sauce was essential to such a traditional dish.  Well, it turns out it's really the fresh lime, cilantro, and coconut milk that really add the most to the final flavor outcome.

Soy sauce works in a pinch as a great replacement to the fish sauce and in my opinion, I couldn't even tell the difference.  The best part about this soup is that it's easy, quick, and tastes just like restaurant quality.  Great for a rainy night staying at home watching movies.  You could pair this with an easy peanut noodle salad for a quick Thai-at-home meal.  Most Asian markets will carry these ingredients because they are so commonly used in Thai cooking.  I've never had a problem finding fresh or dried galangal, even though I had never heard of it before making this soup.  It looks like ginger, only whiter, but it tastes nothing like it.  Galangal is a surprisingly mellow and earthy flavor with a slight hint of asian pear flavor.

Oh, if you can, be sure to get Chaokoh coconut milk.  Many years ago when I first made this soup, the owner of my local Asian market told me to get this specific brand upon hearing I was making Tom Kha.  I've been using it ever since and after getting a different kind once, I realized he was right...this one is THE best.

Vegan Tom Kha Soup  (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 quart (4 cups) vegetable broth, or a standard 32 oz package of broth
2 cans good coconut milk, like Chaokoh brand (pictured above)
3 stalks lemongrass, chopped and bruised*
5-6 kaffir lime leaves, fresh or dried
6 slices dried or fresh galangal root
1-2 limes, always good to have extra to get it to your liking!
1 bunch cilantro
1 tomato, chopped very fine
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp honey (or agave or cane sugar)
2 tsp chili paste, such as Sambal Olek (Sriracha or hot sauce works in a pinch)
Assorted vegetables (I used baby broccoli, cauliflower, and yams.  Others like mushrooms, baby corn, red bell pepper, etc).

Directions:

1. In a big soup pot over high heat, add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
2. While broth is heating up, cut off the white bottoms of the lemongrass (~3 inches of material per stalk) and chop into one inch pieces.  Using the flat side of your knife, press down and bruise/smash the lemongrass stalks*.  You will hear them crack beneath the weight and you will smell the aroma of lemongrass signifying you have released the potent juices.
3. Add lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal to the boiling broth.  Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes on a boil to release the aromatics into the broth.
4. Add soy sauce, coconut milk, tomato, and salt and, if using, add diced yams since they need the longest to cook.  Cover and let soup return to a simmer.
5. When soup is back up to a simmer, add the other vegetables, the chili paste, and the honey and stir with a wooden spoon.
6. When vegetables are tender to your liking (~10 minutes), add chopped cilantro and the juice of one lime and taste for levels of salt, sweet, hot, and sour. Adjust as necessary.
7. To serve, ladle soup so as to avoid putting the inedibles like galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir leaves.  

Vegan Sausage N' Egg Breakfast Sandwich (Vedic)

Finally, victory is ours!!  A vegan "sausage and egg" McMuffin! Eat your heart out fast food chains...this actually looks as advertised.  I made these this morning as an experiment and was pretty shocked by how good it was:

These sausage patties have also received what I like to call the "Texas Approval" from my partner Joe (a Texas native and also the infamous creator of the Jaladuta Dragon Bowl). Okay, I'll just admit this now, we couldn't stop eating these sausage patties this morning! I had to put them away because we both kept sneaking nibbles.  You know how it goes, where you only mean to take a little piece, but then keep coming back to break off more until- lo and behold- you've eaten another whole one! He he!

These are super easy to throw together with whatever leftovers you have on hand (like leftover rice, cooked winter squashes, potatoes, tomato sauce...just throw it all in here!) and they don't take much time to make or cook.  I used a combo of oats, leftover white and brown rice, sunflower seeds, cooked lentils, canned pumpkin, ground flax, and left over tomato sauce.  Because I used vital wheat gluten, I would say that you can substitute just about anything you have on had to get rid of and it will work. For instance, quinoa, leftover butternut squash or sweet potato would be awesome as well.  We served these on toasted whole wheat english muffins with a little coconut oil. I'd of put catsup on mine if I had had some, but oh well.  You can dress them up however you want it, say with some avocado and tomato or with "cheeze" sauce.  We cooked sage-turmeric tofu slabs as our egg replacement (recipe below).

<Warning, this recipe is a work in progress and I didn't really measure things exactly as I was working on the fly, will update and refine later>

Sausage Patties (Makes ~ 20 patties)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup cooked rice, any variety

1 cup oats

1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds (can soak for 1-2 ahead of time, but I didn't and it was okay)

** Pulse these ingredients in a food processor on high speed into a medium-fine coarse mixture, then add to a big mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients listed below**

 1/3 cup cooked pumpkin (I used some from a can of organic canned pumpkin from the store)

1/3 cup cooked red lentils (or any kind will do, but these cook quickly

1/2-3/4 cup veggie broth (add more if needed to get a sticky dough)

1/4 cup yeast flakes

1/4 cup vital gluten 

1/4 cup olive oil 

1/4 cup tomato sauce, or 2 tbsp tomato paste and 1 tbsp broth to thin out

3 tbsp ground flax

2 tbsp rubbed sage

1/2 tbsp chili pwd

2 tsp hing (or 2 tsp garlic pwd and 2 tsp onion pwd, or chopped onion and garlic)

2 tbsp Bragg's Aminos or soy sauce

2 tbsp pure maple syrup (I use grade B)

2 tsp salt

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375.
2. After pulsing the rice, oats, and sunflower seeds, add to a big mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate all the ingredients into a slightly sticky dough, not too wet, but not dry either.  Add more broth or tomato sauce if needed.
4. Grab a small handful (maybe 1/3 cup?) worth of mixture and flatten into a patty with your hand and place on a greased cookie sheet or glass baking dish, repeat until cookie sheet is full of patties.
5. Bake 10 mins on one side, flip and bake 7-8 mins on the other.  They firm up more as they cool after 5 minutes.

Sage Tofu "Eggs" (Makes 2 egg slabs)
Ingredients:
Two thick slices of organic tofu
1 tbsp coconut oil, for frying
2 tbsp Braggs Aminos, or soy sauce
2 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp turmeric
Dashes of hing
Black Pepper


Directions:

1. Heat frying pan on med-high and add oil.  Add tofu slabs, place a lid on and fry for several minutes.
2. Remove lid, add Braggs or soy sauce.  Sprinkle one side with a little turmeric, sage, pepper, and hing and flip.  Repeat with the other side and place lid on and fry for 1 minute.  Flip again and fry another minute, until slightly browned on both sides.