Soups and Stews

Picture

CHILI  —  When the weather begins to cool, the crockpot comes out and chili season begins!  Our chili versions vary according to what we have on hand and who is cooking that day, but I’ll share our base recipe.

Ingredients:  
2 quarts of chopped tomatoes
1 T coconut oil (or olive oil)
2 large onions, chopped large
4 green peppers, chopped large
1 red pepper, chopped large
1 chili pepper, diced
1 pound dry beans (we like navy and/or black beans)
—cooked according to package directions
2 tsp cumin
1 T chili powder
1 bay leaf
1 cup corn (use organic to avoid GMO)
garnishes: sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped scallions, sliced mushrooms, veggie bacon bits, others of your choiceDirections:
1. Saute onions in oil until soft.  Add peppers and continue sauteing until softened.  Add cumin, chili powder, and bay leaf and cook another 2 minutes.
2. Put all ingredients, except corn and garnishes, into crockpot.  Let cook on medium for several hours or on high for 2 hours, then on low for several hours or overnight.
3. Add corn for last 10 minutes of cooking time.
4. Serve in individual bowls.  Allow each to add garnishes of his/her own choice!
Options:
1. You may adjust spices and amounts of each to your taste preference.
2. We are vegetarian, so no meat is added, but we sometimes add vegetarian sausage or “beef” (tvp) to the main portion when cooking, though the beans give a good texture and plenty of protein without the additions.
3. Chili is also excellent served over rice or noodles, and leftovers add a special touch to veggie hot dogs, too!
4. The perfect chili accompaniment is homemade cornbread–recipe coming soon!

********************************************

Eggplant Parmesan Soup

Ingredients:

2 T coconut oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped                                                       eggplant parmesan soup

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large eggplant, skin removed, cut into cubes

½ cup whole wheat flour

2- 28 oz cans (or fresh equivalent) chopped tomatoes

1 tsp Himalayan salt

1.5 T basil

1.5 T oregano

1 ½ cup Parmesan cheese (use nutritional yeast for vegan version)

 Directions:

Mix flour with salt, and one tsp each of basil and oregano.  Dredge eggplant cubes in the flour mixture.

Saute onion and garlic in the oil until soft.  Add the eggplant cubes and sauté until tender, stirring frequently.

In a blender, coarsely blend the tomatoes with the remainder of the basil and oregano.

Add the tomatoes to the eggplant mixture and heat through.  Add 1 cup Parmesan cheese.  Add water, if needed, to adjust the consistency.

Cover and simmer over low heat for about an hour.

Garnish with remaining Parmesan cheese when serving.

This can also be made using a slow cooker (crock pot)  Instead of cooking for an hour on the stove top, set the slow cooker on low and cook for about 4 hours.

******************************************************************************

Miso Soup       miso noodle soup

Miso is a fermented soy product that has considerable health benefits.  It’s flavors mesh well with many different foods, but are firmly at home with Japanese cuisines.

 Read more about Miso and it’s benefits here.

This recipe is quite simple and can be modified easily.

Ingredients

12 ounce block of tofu, cut into ¼” cubes

8 cups vegetable broth or Golden Broth (recipe below)

1 sheet of Nori, broken into pieces

8 T light or white miso

4 scallions or onions, thinly sliced

½ cup small mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup peas

 

Directions

 

Heat broth to just boiling. Add Nori pieces and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and mix in the miso by adding a small amount of the hot broth to the miso in a cup and blending to make a smooth, thick liquid. Add back to broth and simmer on medium heat about 10 minutes.

 

Add the tofu, scallions, mushrooms, and peas and continue simmering another minute, until heated through.  Serve immediately.

************************

Golden Vegetable Soup

A soothing Golden Vegetable Soup, reminiscent of Grandma’s Chicken Soup, but in a healthy, vegan version.  Modify this to your family’s tastes; you can make a golden broth with noodles only, eliminate the oil by golden vegetable soupsautéing with water, and change out the vegetables according to what you have available.  A quicker version can be made using one pound of frozen mixed vegetables, in place of the vegetables given.

Recipes for Golden Seasoning and for Vegan noodles can be found by clicking on the links within the ingredients list.

Ingredients

8 cups water

4 T Golden Seasoning (add more to taste, if desired)

1 tsp coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped

½ cup small mushrooms, sliced thin

1 medium zucchini, diced

2 large carrots, diced

½ pound broccoli, chopped

1 cup peas

2 cups garbanzo beans (or other favorite bean)

½ pound vegan noodles, cut into strips

 

Directions

 

In a large pot, blend seasoning into water and put on medium-high heat to bring to a boil.

While broth heats, sauté onion in oil until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms, zucchini, broccoli and carrots and sauté another 3 minutes.

Add noodles to broth and boil 3 minutes, uncovered.

Add peas and beans and simmer about 3-5 minutes to finish cooking.

******************************************

 broccoli soup

Broccoli Soup
(2 versions: 1 vegetarian, 1 vegan)

Warm broccoli soup is a very flavorful, comforting meal that can be enjoyed summer and winter.  Our family enjoys both of these versions and we adjust them with the extras included below, according to the preference of the day.

 

 Vegetarian Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped fine
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 T coconut oil
2 pounds broccoli, cut into small pieces, including stems
1/2 gallon milk
2 T butter
4 T whole wheat flour
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1-Saute onion and celery in oil until very soft.
2-Cook broccoli in two cups of water until very soft.  Do not drain.
3.Melt butter in large pot.
4.Whisk flour into butter and continue stirring until thickened.
5.Stir in milk and cook over medium heat until thickened.
6.Add 8 oz of cheese and stir to melt.
7.In a food processor or blender, process broccoli in cooking water with onion and celery, to thick consistency, reserving about a cup of small pieces for garnish.
8.Add pureed broccoli to the sauce and cook over low heat for a few minutes to combine flavors.
9.Serve as described below (after vegan recipe)

*************************

Vegan Broccoli Soup

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 T coconut oil
2 pounds broccoli, cut into small pieces, including stems
3 pounds potatoes, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1-Cook potatoes in small amount of water until nearly soft.  Add broccoli  and continue cooking until potatoes and broccoli are very soft.
2-Saute onion and celery in oil until very soft.
3-Process potatoes, broccoli, with onion and celery, in food processor or blender until thick consistency, saving a few flowerettes aside for garnish.
4-Mix in nutritional yeast.
5-Serve as described below.

Serving either version of Broccoli Soup.  Here is where you can really make either version truly unique!  We usually serve our broccoli soup with a garnish bar: a few of our favorite garnishes set out for each to personalize his or her own soup!

Our garnish favorites are:
**small pieces of broccoli flowerettes
**tomatoes, diced
**mushrooms, thinly sliced
**onions, chopped
**vegan bacon bits
**vegan sausage bits
**shredded cheese
**peas or corn

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share This

Share this page or post with your friends!