Happy Herbivore Abroad (Review and Giveaway!)

This contest is now closed and the lucky winner is… Shannon, who is already vegan and has started cutting out processed foods and making her own granola… way to go! ~~Nancy! She recently switched from vegetarian to vegan (yay!) and saw a huge difference. Way to go Nancy!~~ FYI- the original winner never responded to my email, so I ran the random number generator a second time.

I’m a huge fan of Happy Herbivore and all of Lindsay’s cookbooks, but I have to say this is my favorite by far. All of her recipes are simple, easy, delicious and HEALTHY! I’m not always a low-fat or oil-free vegan but I definitely try to eat like that sometimes, and her cookbooks are my go-to when I want a yummy-yet-healthy meal.

One of the cool things about this cookbook is how it’s separated into different regions of the world so you can always find something that appeals to you, no matter what kind of mood you’re in. A great example is her Gazpacho, recipe below:

Gazpacho, reprinted with permission

Here are a couple of my favorites:

No-meat “meatballs” over whole wheat spaghetti (page 181)

These little balls held together really well and were very flavorful. They’d also be wonderful in a “meatball” sub or on pizza! (Note to self: Make a “meatball” pizza…)

Lentil taco “meat” (page 43)

I’m quite in love with this lentil taco meat. It’s super quick and easy to make in the food processor and has so many potential uses. It’s the perfect (healthier) alternative to those “hamburger crumble” type mock meats.

I’ve tried a few other recipes that I didn’t photograph, including Thai noodle soup and Pineapple rice and loved them all. Bottom line, this recipe is full of recipes that will appeal to all types of eaters, both vegan and omnivore (and everyone in between!).

Here’s the recipe I promised, scroll down for the giveaway deets!

(reprinted with permission from Happy Herbivore Abroad)

Gazpacho

Gazpacho originates from Andalusia, my favorite part of Spain, and it’s traditionally vegan. The first time I ever had gazpacho was actually in Andalusia, back in 2007. Scott and I had just arrived in Seville (pronounced like “sa-vee-ya”) and dipped into the first cafe we saw hoping to find a quick bite to eat. It was fairly late in the afternoon, just after siesta, and the restaurant wasn’t yet serving its dinner menu (Spaniards eat dinner rather late at night by American standards — after 9:00 p.m.), but the waiter offered to bring us two bowls of gazpacho leftover from lunch.

The idea of a cold soup initially sounded strange to me, but I was so hungry and melting under the fierce Andalusian sun that I was willing to try anything that was cold and nourishing. After a few spoonfuls, I felt shameful for being so pessimistic—gazpacho is deliciously light and refreshing! Now I look forward to having a bowl every time I visit Spain, and it’s one of my favorite recipes to make in the summer when tomatoes are in season and overflowing in my garden.

Serves 2

1 slice stale or toasted bread
3 plum tomatoes
6” cucumber
1-2 garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper, seeded
2-3 green onions
hot sauce (optional)
red wine vinegar (optional)
water

Chef’s Note: For a cool and refreshing soup, store your veggies in the fridge before use. You can also add an ice cube to the mix, if necessary.

Chef’s Note: The heel of the bread is best in this recipe. Finally a use for the heel!

Combine all ingredients in a blender and pulverize into a soup, adding ice cold water as necessary to achieve the right smoothness and soup consistency. If you do not have a strong blender, you may need to chop your vegetables up beforehand. Taste, adding hot sauce or red wine vinegar to taste, if desired. In Spain, gazpacho is topped with chunks of raw vegetables like Spanish onions, green bell peppers, and celery.

Per serving: Calories 118, Total Fat 1.2g, Carbohydrates 24.1g, Dietary Fiber 5.3g, Sugars 12.5g, Protein 5.7g

The Giveaway:

~~One lucky reader will receive a copy of Happy Herbivore Abroad!~~

The contest is open until Midnight (Mountain time), Monday 6/3. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced the following day. To Enter: All you gotta do is leave a comment below telling us what changes you’ve made to your diet to make it healthier. Did you give up oil? Cut back on nut butters? We want to hear!

Contest is limited to US and Canada only. Good luck!!

*The publishers provided me with free product to review, but the opinions are 100% mine!

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Lasagna Soup

Vegan Lasagna Soup: A thick, rich, delicious and fun soup-alternative to the classic lasagna. I included soy curls in my version, with lots of tomatoes and onions but you could also branch out… maybe add some roasted squash? Yumm! My favorite part is how the melted Daiya makes it all a bit creamy. This soup tastes so much like lasagna and is seriously perfect for these colder winter days we’re all started to have!

You could also have some fun with the type of pasta you choose. Because I’m moving, I’m trying to use up everything in my cupboards, so I used actual lasagna noodles, broken up into bite-sized pieces. Somewhat surprisingly, this actually worked out quite well. Maybe because the inclusion of that traditional pasta ribbon made it feel more like actual lasagna, or maybe just because the substantial pieces made the soup more filling… who knows? Anyway, the shape of the pasta you choose wont change the flavor, so I guess it just depends on whether or not you have picky eaters in the house.

I don’t have any picky eaters in my house, but I do have this guy:

He is a nappin’ fool!

Lasagna Soup (makes 6 servings)

Recipe adapted from Jo Cooks (non vegan/vegetarian)

If you’re using traditional lasagna noodles like I did, the best thing to do is (before you cook them) break them in half lengthwise (so you have 2 long, skinny pieces), then break each of those into thirds or fourths. The pieces don’t need to be uniform.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
2.5 teaspoons dried oregano
3/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup spaghetti sauce
2 cups soy curls (unsoaked)
6-8 cups water
1 cube veggie broth bouillon
2 bay leaves
1.5 Tablespoons dried basil (plus more for sprinkling)
10 ounces of dried pasta
S&P to taste
1 cup Daiya mozzarella shreds

Directions:

Water saute the onions and garlic until the onions are soft, 4-5 minutes. Sprinkle in the oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and rosemary. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, then add the diced tomatoes (including the juice in the can), spaghetti sauce and the soy curls. Stir everything together.

Add the water (6 cups at first, you may want to add more later), bouillon, basil and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer (covered) for 15-20 minutes. Add the pasta and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes (or until the pasta is cooked through- depending on the type you use). Add S&P as needed. Also decide at this point if you need to add any extra water, if it’s boiled down too much. I added another 1.5 cups when all was said and done.

The last step before you’re ready to serve is to stir in the mozzarella and let it get a bit melty (1-2 minutes). Sprinkle and dried basil, and serve.

Enjoy!

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Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Vegan Broccoli Cheeeeese Soup

Whew… what a weekend! As you already know we put our house on the market and it went under contract really fast- faster than we had anticipated. As in, we thought we’d probably be moving next spring but now we’re moving this fall, and we wanted a chance to say goodbye to all our neighbors. We also wanted to give them (and our friends) a chance to “snoop” around the house and see all the changes we’ve made, so obviously I had to throw a party, right? Right.

I’m going to fill in some of these recipes over the next few weeks, because they all came out amazingly. Everyone seemed to really enjoy them (even though I actually wrote “vegan” on the little buffet name cards) which was a wonderful feeling. Even my cattle rancher neighbors were spotted chowing down on some of my spinach dip And the best surprise was learning that my wonderful next-door neighbors (who always take care of our dogs and kitty cat when we’re out of town) have been eating vegan! I sent them home with some cookbooks and I think I might make them a batch of my chicken-style seitan this week… But anyway, here’s a list of everything I made:

Rosemary Crostini w/ Spinach Dip
Garlicky Mini-Toasts with Green Chile Hummus
Butternut-Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
5-Minute Sweet n’ Spicy Meatballs and Pineapples
Chips w/ Spicy Cilantro Cream, Beans & Corn
Lemon Tartlettes
Autumn-Spiced Popcorn (in adorable little muffin cups!)
Cranberry Pumpkin Bread
Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Yep- it was all vegan! And all sooooo yummy!

But enough about finger foods- I have the “fall bug” and I only want to think about soups. Especially the thick, rich, creamy kind that would make any omnivore say “That Was Vegan?”

True story: After Jason ate this soup he accused me of being some kind of sorcerer for being able to make it taste so cheesy

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup (makes 6-7 servings)

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/4 cup flour
1.5 cups soy cream
1.5 cups non-dairy milk of choice
2 cups vegetable stock (or water plus 1 bouillon cube)
1 head of broccoli (about 1/2 lb, or a little bit more), chopped
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 bag Daiya Cheddar shreds
1/3 cup Daiya Jack wedge, cubed
Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Water sautee onion for 6-7 minutes, then add powdered garlic and leave in for another minute or so. Melt in the butter, then sprinkle in the flour, mixing everything together into a paste. Keep stirring for at least a minute or two.
Add the cream, milk and stock and bring to a boil, then add the chopped broccoli (even the itty-tiny pieces!). Reduce heat to medium and let it simmer covered for about 10 minutes or until the broccoli is soft. It’ll be nice and thick now!
Stir in the spices and cheese until the whole thing is melty and gooey and you can’t wait another second. Top with some fresh ground pepper and serve with a chunk of crusty bread!

Enjoy!

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Revisiting Old Friends

Partly because I was without a camera last weekend (when I do much of my cooking for the week ahead) and partly because I haven’t been the most inspired home cook lately, I decided to visit some old friends.

We had Cauliflower n’ Cheese twice (gawd do I love leftovers!):

I rekindled my romance with some Korean Sweet Potato Noodles:

I also whipped up some “Cheater Pho“:

And these little maple-angels also made an appearance- I only wish I had made more of them:

And that’s about it- a week of visiting with old food-friends

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Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup

I don’t have much to say here except that I caught a cold. I was around a large group of people, with many kids, and I was drinking (because for me… the two go hand-in-hand) enough to put my immune system to sleep, apparently. So the next day I started sneezing, then my throat started to hurt and my nose started to run.

My first cold in almost 3 years, and it wasn’t even a small one. It was a WHOPPER of a cold! One of the worst I’ve ever had. And the only solution was ~~Chicken~~ Chik’n Noodle Soup.

I water sauteed the veggies and included lots of onions and garlic (nature’s antibiotics!) along with the usual carrots and celery. This veggie powerhouse also included sweet potatoes, my secret ingredient, if you will. And these adorable little noodles from Barilla- they’re called Cut Spaghetti and worked perfectly in this soup. And, because I’m currently obsessed, I used soy curls for the chik’n.

Seriously. Who would look at that bowl and tell me that’s not chicken noodle soup??

Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup (makes 5-6 servings, more depending on how brothy you make it)

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped (I used vidalia)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced
3 celery ribs, sliced
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 cups soy curls
3 cups veggie broth
1.5 cups water
10 ounces small, dry pasta (I used cut spaghetti)
S&P

Directions:

Water saute the onion and garlic in a soup pot for 1-2 minutes, then add the potato, carrots and celery. Add more water if necessary and continue to cook until softened, about 8 minutes.
Add the bay and thyme, soy curls, then the broth and water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for about 5-6 minutes- make sure the pasta doesn’t over cook. If you’re not planning to serve the soup immediately you should reduce the cooking time by a minute or so.
When the pasta is done add S&P as needed. If the broth has thickened you can add more water as needed to thin it out- there’s so much flavor in here it wont taste watery!

Enjoy!

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Sriracha-Agave Baked Tofu

Sriracha-Agave Baked Tofu on a Bed of Kale

Those of you who follow me on twitter know that I just spent a fabulous weekend in Asheville, NC with my Mom, and I’ll be posting a full review next week, but in the meantime this recipe is dedicated to her. Mom is vegetarian in a not-very-veg-friendly town and she struggles coming up with meal ideas that don’t require much cooking. She’s luckier than many, in that if she drives 30-45 minutes she has access to multiple vegetarian and even an all-vegan restaurant, but sometimes the lady just wants to eat at home, you know? She mentioned over the weekend that she likes to eat salads because the ingredients are readily available and they’re healthy, obvs, but that she gets really bored with them. I mentioned this tofu, and she thought it sounded great, so here it is!

I first made this for a dinner party, and since then have been making a batch nearly every Sunday to cube and sprinkle on my lunch salads. It lasts at least a week if you keep it refrigerated in an airtight tupperware (not that you can go that long without eating it!)

A special thanks also has to go to Lauren, who- after laughing her ass off at me and my sad attempts- shared some insight on the best way to bake tofu

Sriracha-Agave Baked Tofu (2 servings served with a veggie – more if you’re cubing for salads)

The sriracha and agave measurements are approximate- if you make 3 slices you might need a little more, but if you end up with extra I recommend just slathering it on there- it’s REALLY good! You could also make this in advance and marinate, but it’s not necessary if you’re pressed for time.

Ingredients:

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, well pressed (if you don’t have a Tofu Xpress try this method) and sliced lengthwise. After pressing with an Xpress I usually just slice it in half, but you might go with thirds if yours is still thicker.
1/3+ cup Sriracha
1/3+ cup Agave

Directions:

Mix the Sriracha and agave together in a small bowl. Taste test and adjust as necessary to get your preferred level of heat/sweet, then set aside.
Cover a baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil, and spray it with your favorite vegan non-stick spray. Lay out your sliced tofu and cover the top of the tofu pieces with a couple spoonfuls each of the Sriracha mixture (saving half for the other side), then bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Pull the tray out, spray the tops of the tofu with more non-stick then flip them over. Cover them with the rest of the Sriracha mixture and put the tray back in the over for another 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Thai Curry-Corn Soup

Psst! I announced the winner of the Beanfields giveaway!

Thai-Curry Corn Soup

This soup was created and blogged by the talented Virtually Vegan Mama, and this was actually the 2nd time I made it. It’s a wonderful soup full of sweet crispy veggies with a mild curry flavor, surrounded by rich coconut milk. It’s a really light soup too- perfect for the warmer days of spring and summer. I’ve enjoyed it hot, and I’ve also enjoyed it at room temperature. I’ve made four or five modifications, which are below. If you want a richer, more coconut-y flavor, be sure to check out the original recipe. One of the biggest changes I made was to swap out a can of coconut milk with regular So Delicious coconut milk to make it a little lighter in the tummy. I also upped the curry content

And, just because she’s super cute… a gratuitous kitty cat picture! Miss Olivia, hanging out on the stairs. That’s one of her favorite spots- she can see what’s going on, but she can also run away really fast if she thinks one of us might be inclined to try and pick her up

Thai Corn Soup (6 servings)

Adapted from a Virtually Vegan Mama Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 t garlic powder
2 cups frozen sweet corn
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
15 oz can light coconut milk
2 cups So Delicious coconut milk (or dairy-free milk of choice)
1 cup vegetable stock
4-5 t red curry powder (adjust to taste)
1 T lime juice
4 cups baby spinach, washed
1 T sea salt, more or less to taste

Directions:

Water saute the onions over medium-high heat until translucent, 8-ish minutes. Add water as necessary.
Add garlic powder, corn and bell pepper, and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
Stir in both kinds of coconut milk, veggie stock, curry powder and lime juice. Cover and wait until it starts to simmer. Stir, then let it simmer for about 5 minutes until heated through.
Stir in the spinach and allow to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add salt, taste and adjust.

Enjoy!

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Mashed Potatoes with Kale and Quinoa

I saw this post the other day, from I Eat Grains, and it piqued my interest. There wasn’t a recipe or anything, Rachel was just sharing a meal she had, specifically mashed potatoes with quinoa mixed in.

It sounded good, but of course I had to make it my own, so I did what any self-respecting vegan would do and I added kale. Tada!

Seriously, this hardly counts as a recipe… it’s so easy!

Mashed Potatoes with Kale and Quinoa (4 Big Side Servings)

This recipe is really more of a suggestion- switch up the measurements to your liking!

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, cleaned, destemmed and chopped
1 t diced garlic
pinch of sea salt
3-4 medium russet potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled until tender
1/3 cup of your favorite non-dairy milk
3 T Earth Balance
1+ t salt (plus more to taste… possibly A LOT more if you’re anything like me!) and pepper
2 cups red quinoa, cooked

Directions:

Water saute the kale with the garlic and pinch of sea salt for 3-5 minutes, until tender.
In the meantime, mash your potatoes in a large bowl, and mix in milk, EB and salt. Taste test, and add more salt if you’d like.
Mix in the quinoa and kale, then check seasoning again.

Enjoy!

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Chipotle and Sweet Potato Chowder

Chipotle Sweet Potato Chowder

So yes, if you’ve been paying attention, I am on a bit of a sweet potato/chipotle in adobo sauce roll… but why not? It’s GOOD!

I made this a few weekends back, when our friends Reia and Robert came over for dinner. Robert and Jason have been friends since they were cute little teenage boys running around the mean streets of Belen, NM. I’d go so far as to call them BFFs, but they’re much too manly for such a girly acronym, so we’ll just call them “pals”. Anyway, since I was feeding two men with red chile where the rest of us have blood, I knew I had to come with something good. Something with heat.

But not so hot us girls wouldn’t enjoy it.

Enter this chowder. I found a recipe on Pinterest (of course) and quickly veganized it. While I was chopping and cooking, Reia sat at the counter and interviewed me for a paper she’s writing. About moi. Aren’t I fancy and important? (Yes.)

But before I get to the recipe, let’s talk salt. In particular, I want to chat with you about Yakima Smoked Applewood Sea Salt. We’ve all seen recipes that called for a highly specific salt (or other seasoning) that we didn’t happen to have on hand, and just subbed it. Or skipped it all together. Don’t do that this time. I beg of you, go buy some of this salt. It’s amazing, and I use mine all the time. It comes in especially hand when I’m veganizing a recipe that called for bacon (like this chowder), or really in any dish that you want to taste “smoky”. My mom bought a big vat of it for me last summer, at a farmers market stand. If you can’t find any at your local store, go online. If you ever enjoyed bacon in your pre-gan days, you wont regret buying this salt.

The thing about this chowder is that it’s Hot, Smoky and (a little) sweet. You really want all 3 flavors to make it work. The chipotles make it hot, and the adobo sauce adds the smoky. The hint of sweetness comes from the potatoes of course, along with the sweet onions and peppers.

Chipotle & Sweet Potato Chowder (Serves 6 hungry people)

Adapted from non-vegan/vegetarian recipe

This soup is delicious as a leftover, just keep in mind that as it sits in your fridge it does begin to take on color from the sweet potatoes If this happens and you’re not please, just add some fresh non-dairy milk, to adjust the color.

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1 medium vidalia onion, diced
5 cups vegetable broth (you could do half broth/half water if you need to)
3 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces
3-4 chipotles in adobo sauce, diced as small as you can get them (or fewer if you don’t like heat)
28 ounce bag frozen corn (no need to defrost)
2 cups non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious coconut milk)
Smoked Applewood sea salt
Vegan bacon bits

Directions:

Water saute peppers and onions until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth (and/or water), sweet potatoes, and chipotles. I’d recommend starting with 3 peppers, and waiting to taste the chowder once it’s warm before adding the 4th, unless you’re dedicated to the heat! Simmer uncovered until the taters are tender.
Add the corn and milk and about 1/2 a teaspoon of the sea salt. Stir until warmed through, then give it another taste. I went ahead and added quite a bit more of the smoked sea salt, as well as some more chipotle. Sprinkle the individual servings with bacon bits, if desired.

Enjoy!

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(Not My Mom’s) Corn Chowder

(Not My Mom's) Corn Chowdah

Corn chowder (or “chowdah”, if you hail from the Northeast!) was my mom’s signature dish. Well, that and cheesecake… but growing up the chowder was my absolute favorite, and when she’d make it, I’d eat at least 2 huge bowls for dinner. Her version had corn and potatoes, just like mine does, but it also had ham and velveeta. My sweet mama has since gone vegetarian so if she were to make it today she’d nix the ham, but it would probably still have that gawdawful, orange, scientific-experiment-gone-horribly-awry velveeta in it.

Of course, if you knew my mom you’d also know that she really doesn’t cook anymore- an ironic twist because she now has the most amazing kitchen I’ve ever seen. I suspect she just doesn’t want to get it dirty. But, being the wonderful mom that she is, she’s always willing to let ME get it dirty when I visit

So this is my homage, if you will, to the corn chowdah of my youth. A healthier, more compassionate version that still makes me want bowl after bowl… and none of the ingredients were created in a lab! In another healthy twist, I did away with the roux, saving us all some calories, and I got the idea to add more vegetables to it from a “Healthy Vegan Cooking” class I attended at Whole Foods. It’s not as thick as I remember the non-version being, but the blending step does make it nice and creamy. I make this 4-5 times during the winter, and I get away with that heavy rotation because Jason really likes it too. Serve it with some crusty bread or on it’s own- it’s satisfying either way. It also reheats nicely for workday lunches.

Okay! Get out your immersion blender and let’s make some chowder!

Corn Chowder (~4 serving)

Ingredients:

4 stalks of celery, sliced
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 carrot, grated
6 oz of frozen corn, thawed
4 medium-large potatoes, diced
2 cups So Delicious coconut milk
1 cup veggie broth (or water and bouillon cube)
1.5 t Sea salt (plus more for taste)
White pepper

Directions:

Spread the potatoes on a plate and microwave for about 3 minutes. Remove and stir, then microwave for another 2-3 minutes until tender (but not mushy).
In a large soup pot, sautee the onions and celery in water until tender. Add the corn, potatoes and veggie broth, then cover and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, and using your immersion blender, blend about half of the chowder.
Put back on the heat, and add the coconut milk,carrots and sea salt, stirring until everything is warm again. You could set aside some of the carrots for sprinkling on top- they add a nice sweet crunch!
Taste and add more sea salt and pepper as needed.

Enjoy!

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That Was Vegan?

Recipes so delicious you'll never think twice!

Category Archives: Soup

Happy Herbivore Abroad (Review and Giveaway!)

The Giveaway:

Lasagna Soup

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Revisiting Old Friends

Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup

Sriracha-Agave Baked Tofu

Thai Curry-Corn Soup

Mashed Potatoes with Kale and Quinoa

Chipotle and Sweet Potato Chowder

(Not My Mom’s) Corn Chowder