$127 Vegetable Soup

Why is it that you can't go to the grocery store for just one thing? Such was the case when I went in to buy only ingredients for this delicious veggie soup, but ended up spending $127. Well, this soup actually might be worth that much - it is that good! My friend made it for me when we went to his house for a party - they kindly always make me something I can eat (the "regular" people got shrimp gumbo - boy, did they miss out).

This soup is called "Mike's Vegetable Soup," and it comes from one of Paul Prudhomme's books, in case you are browsing in the library. I don't know which one, but it is an older one back from the days of lowfat cooking. If you can imagine that Paul Prudhomme was ever on a diet, I think the book said he lost 100 pounds using the recipes in this book. The spice list was so extensive that even I had to buy three that were not in my cabinet. But the soup was still easy to make. It has a wonderful smoky flavor, although no smoke flavoring was used. Also it has apple juice in it! It sounds weird, but I urge you to seek out the recipe. If you are interested but can't find it, I can e-mail you the recipe. By the way, those big orange chunks are not squash, but rutabaga - something I would never think to make soup with. Try it!

An Oily Dilemma

Well, once again I can't get the photos out of my camera. It is so frustrating to have to constantly shut everything off and start over! So in the interest of time, here is a post without pictures.

I know I have mentioned a few times that my muffins/cupcakes have come out with oily bottoms. Well, today I made chocolate thumbprint cookies from VCON, and again, oily bottoms. Now I have made this recipe before, and did not have that problem. I think in the past I have used canola oil from Spectrum. Lately I have been using Trader Joe's. It sounds crazy, but I can't think of any other difference. Does anyone have this oily problem?

On another note, you know how those low carb people always try to make mashed potatoes with cauliflower? Well, I am not a low carb girl by any stretch, but I was trying to find a way to enjoy cauliflower. I just steamed it until very soft, and mashed it with some lemon juice and Earth Balance. It was really quite good! Although not a sub for mashed potatoes!

Hopefully, pictures next time!

The Sweet Vegan Life

Have you noticed that so many vegan foods are sweet? Not necessarily sugary sweet, but inherently sweet. Like cashews, yams, tomatoes, soy milk, even beans. In a way, that's good, as we are hard-wired to seek out sweet tastes (think (human)mother's milk). But for those of us who were formerly omnis, it takes a bit of getting used to. I think that is why it is so hard for some of us to give up cheese. I crave fat and salt! Umami! And sometimes soy sauce doesn't cut it.

So, our meal last night was based on that craving. Panko breaded fried (baked) tofu with the Hurry Up Alfredo sauce from Vegan Yum Yum's new book. And my sweet potato had EB and Tabasco, and the broccoli had mayo-based ranch. Yay for fat and salt! How do you satisfy you umami cravings?

Thanksgiving Pies

I made two pies for Thanksgiving. The first is a pumpkin pie from La Dolce Vegan. I must admit I did not care for it. I think because it was made largely with maple syrup as the sweetner. Normally I love maple syrup, but somehow it did not work. I compared the spices to a "traditional" pumpkin pie, and they were similar. The good news is that the texture was good. It was made with cornstarch as the thickener, and it worked well. I will try again with sugar and see if that makes the difference. Also, I topped the pie with melted chocolate when it came out of the oven. I think this would have been good if the pie was good.




The second pie was a cherry crumb. This was really good and easy. Pour cherry pie filling into an unbaked crust. Top with crumb mixture:

1/2 c flour
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1/4 (or 1/2) t cinnamon
1/4 cup Earth Balance

(Mix all until crumb-like.)

Bake for about 45 minutes at 375 (I covered the crust edges for the first 20 minutes to keep them from burning).




Although I don't have a picture, I also made the Butternut Squash and Orange Soup from Nava's book. This was very nice - mild and comforting.

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was joyful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has once again been too long since I have posted. I'm cooking and taking pictures, but haven't had time to post. Also, some of my offerings have not exactly been blogworthy! Thanks to all of you who publish so frequently and have such great looking food!

This was an attempt to replicate the meatloaf of my youth. I still cannot find a recipe I love. Not that I want it to be meat-like, but I don't want it to be mushy-beany, either! And no TVP. This one has my favorite tomato sauce (the plain 8 oz. can) topping and roasted potatoes (they were canned in my youth - and I still like those, too!)

I tried for a while to be gluten free again, which probably lasted for two meals. This is one - sliced avocado on corn tortillas with mayo and mustard. Yum!

This was a cornstarch - coated and fried tofu. Why doesn't it taste as good as at the Japanese restaurant?

There was something I wanted to tell you about this salad but I can't remember what!

Gobi Aloo from Urban Vegan's new book. Delish. Along with some plain old dal. Don't you love those split mung bean? So high in protein.

This was inspired by Urban Vegan's blog - I think it was halushki? It was a while ago. Anyway, sauteed cabbage and onions with noodles. I put mushrooms on mine, but it would have been better without.

Smiley face chocolate chip pancakes for the kiddos (big and little).

Why, yes, I am the only Detroit Lions fan in the whole world. We went to Detroit to see the game (vs. the Rams, who are the Carnivore's team). Of course the Lions lost (to the second most pitiful team in the NFL). But we had a good time. The kids were able to run on the field after the game. It was quite a thrill for me to actually walk on the Lion's field. Oh, for the glorius Barry Sanders days again!

My Thanksgiving will be omnivorous, so I will not have much to show you. I am planning on making the pumpkin pie from La Dolce Vegan - I'll let you know how it turns out. Maybe also the Butternut Squash and Orange soup from Nava's new (revamped) soup book.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Soup and more soup!

I finally managed to get the pictures out of my camera! Here are some things I have been cooking:






Don't you just love barley soup? It is such a perfect cold weather food. Although yesterday it was 70 degrees and sunny, the past few weeks have only been in the 40's and rainy. Even for Chicago that is cold! I just threw some cooked barley, frozen veggies, and veggie stock together. Of course with olive oil, which makes everything taste better!







I am excited to finally live near a Whole Foods! I saw someone talk about this "chicken" and grape salad on their blog. It was okay - if you are a fan of seitan, you would probably love it. I think I might try my own version with some chewy tofu instead. I did like the celery, grapes, and walnuts.







This is a sweet potato, quinoa, and wild rice burger, also from Whole Foods. Different and kind of sweet.







What's with the bowl of oatmeal? Can't remember if I've shared this before, but I like to stir cooked jasmine rice into my oatmeal. It is super flavorful and nutritious. With cranberries, walnuts, and cinnamon. Topped with vanilla Silk and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Yum! Another good thing for a cold day.






Have you read "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat?" I really like this book. This is adapted from the Japanese power breakfast recipe:

Boil a few pieces of wakame in 3 cups water. Let sit overnight. Next day, heat and simmer some frozen veggies in the broth (mine had sugar snaps and water chestnuts in the mix). Add some cubed soft tofu and cooked rice. Dissolve some miso in a small amount of water and add to the soup. Pour in a bowl and add some chopped scallion greens and finely grated carrot. Delicious and filling. This keeps me satisfied until well into the afternoon. And my 10 year old likes it!

Have a great day!

I'm Back!

Hey, everyone. Sorry I have been neglecting my blog. We moved all the way back in August, but I can't seem to get my act together!

We love our new house and neighborhood. There are lots of kids on our block so the girls are having fun with their new friends. All the neighbors are very nice so I have made some friends, too. But of course we all still miss the old ones! Chicago is a fun town and we are having a good time exploring. We are somewhat familiar with it as we lived here twenty years ago, but of course things change a lot in such a long time.

Despite having a gorgeous kitchen, I have not been doing a lot of interesting cooking. Plus there are still pictures stuck in my camera. But here are a few things:

Favorite chickpea soup from Diane Kochilas' Greek Vegetarian. It is just chickpeas (cooked from dried), onion, bay leaf, rosemary, salt, and lots of olive oil (the key to its deliciousness). With some homemade foccacia.

Don't these look like giant bagels? they are Crusty Sesame Rings from Mollie Katzen's Still Life with Menu (really good recipes in this oldie).

Stuffed Eggplant with Bechamel from the same book. Just as good without the feta cheese!



We won't see tomatoes like these till next summer.

Some nice sides: cream cheese stuffed celery, chunks of mango, and coleslaw with peanut dressing. I used the dressing from Trader Joe's, and did not care for it.

How's this for a gorgeous kitchen? Obviously before we moved all our junk in!