Vegan Bean Soup

I'm getting into this vegan/vegetarianism way of eating.  I'm going a little bit slow, easing into it, but I like it.  It's not hard to cook and eat this way but it is a little pricey, especially in the winter months when fresh fruit and vegetables are not in abundance.  But hey, some things you just have to get past and use frozen.  That is what I am doing, using frozen berries and fruit for smoothies and snacks for instance, and frozen vegetables for side dishes and soups. 

Soup was on the menu again this week, BIG snowstorm that dropped 26 inches of snow, that's a lot for the area where I live.  Had to make something hot to warm all my boys up after snow blowing and shoveling.  They were out there for hours and didn't completely clear it, but it's passable.  They were happy to see a hot bowl of soup and crusty bread when they came inside.  The little things in life.....

Recipe Below.

To print recipe click on it, highlight and print.

To view photos in a larger format, click on them.

Some of my ingredients to start my soup.  Fresh herbs, garlic and kale, but used canned beans, tomatoes, and vegetable stock.

 Get the broth going and rinse the beans and kale.

 I strip the kale off the coarse ribs, too tough to eat, and then chop it.

 Throw in the beans and kale, stir it up and let it simmer for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, and it's ready to serve.

 And here you have the Blizzard of 2016 mid way through the storm.  Stuck in the house for two days is not my idea of fun!

 Moving up the back door and it was still snowing, everything piled high and covered in snow!

 About halfway through the storm the hubby decided he would try and clear some of it.

 It's still snowing, could not get out of any doors!  This was after he used the snow blower the first time, covered again!

 Now the snow stopped and the real clearing has begun.

 What a mess, this is why they needed soup!  I think he's going to need a bigger snow blower.

Vegan Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 large onion, diced

2 - 32 oz containers vegetable stock

2 cups water

1 - 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

3 carrots, diced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more if you like heat

1/2 cup farro (if you don't like it or have it leave it out)

4 - 15.5 oz cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

4 cups any fresh kale, rinsed, deveined and chopped, or use frozen

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and onion, cook until fragrant and the onions are tender, be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the stock, water, tomatoes, carrots, parsley, rosemary, crushed red pepper and farro. Stir to combine. Add the drained beans, chopped kale, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours stirring occasionally. Serve with grated cheese on top and a loaf of crusty bread for sopping up all the juices.  Makes 8 servings.

Hail To The Kale Chips!

I planted a sizable garden this year and my kale plants are producing like crazy.  I have so much of it, we will probably get tired of eating it.  I had to do something different with it besides sauteing or using it in salad, so I made some kale chips along with some beet green chips.  I have to say, the chips aren't too bad.  My son, the vegan, eats them all the time, but they are very expensive to buy, and the bags usually do not have much in them. So now I will be making him these wonderful healthy chips for a snack, and I will be partaking in them too!

Completely wash the kale, I put the leaves in a clean sink, filled it up with water and let them sit overnight.  Took them out of the sink, stripped the leaves off the ribs, and tore the leaves into pieces.

 I dried them on a clean dish towel then put them in a salad spinner to remove the excess water.

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  I spread  the leaves out on baking sheets, drizzled with just a little olive oil and kosher salt.

 Bake just until crispy, about 6 minutes (depending on your oven),  and store in a parchement lined container.  I also used beet greens, and baked them the same way.

 Great healthy alternative to potato chips.  Season however you like and enjoy!

It's a Great Day For Soup - Vegetarian Italian Minestrone Soup

It is freezing in my neck of the woods, it was 5 degrees when I went outside yesterday morning.  I had to drop my son off to get his car inspected, my car would not start, the retractable running boards on my car were jammed because they were frozen, and the lights on my dashboard were all frozen on. I immediately felt the cold as soon as I opened the garage door to go out.  It is dangerously cold weather for this region, it doesn't usually get this bad.  In less than a minute I could feel my hands freezing up and could not wait to get back inside where it was warm.  Today, 3-4 inches of snow already and more to come. UGGGHHH! I'm tired of the snow and cold, I need warmth.

So, on my return trip yesterday from dropping off my son, I decided it was an excellent day for a hot, hearty soup.  Is there any other way, besides alcohol I mean, to warm you up?  So I headed to the kitchen and this is what I made, Vegetarian Italian Minestrone Soup.  I am going to serve it with some grated Parmesan Cheese on top and hot crusty Italian bread on the side. Recipe below, to print the recipe just click, highlight and print.

 Buon Appetito!

To start I pull out all of my ingredients, it's easier that way for me so I am not running all over the kitchen.

 Olive oil, chopped onion and minced garlic.

 Carrots and celery, add to the pot with salt and pepper.  Add the stock and tomatoes.

 Drain the beans and chop that parsley, and add them in with the Italian seasoning.

 Stir it all up and let it simmer.  Then add the chopped kale.......

 and the pasta.  When ready to serve top with grated cheese.  Yummy!

 I can't believe I ate it all, it was sooooo good!

VEGETARIAN ITALIAN MINESTRONE SOUP

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 carrots, chopped

4 ribs celery with leaves, sliced

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 big cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper

2 - 32 oz. boxes vegetable stock

2 - 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 - 15 oz can diced tomatoes

2- 15 oz cans cannelini or kidney beans or one of each, drained

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley

2 cups small shell pasta, ditalini or any other small pasta, cooked

2 cups chopped escarole, kale or spinach

Grated Parmagiano - Reggiano cheese

Directions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and season with salt and pepper.  Cook and stir for 5 minutes, be careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the stock, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beans, Italian seasoning, and parsley.  Reduce heat to medium, bring to a boil, stir occasionally. Start a pot of salted water for the pasta.  When water is boiling add pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain the pasta, then add to the soup along with the kale.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 2 hours. Serve with grated cheese and crusty Italian bread.
Serves 8 - 10.

Fresh Take On An Old Favorite - Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

I made a new low-cal version of vegetable soup on Sunday.  I used mostly fresh ingredients.  This is so easy to make and cooks in no time at all.  Everything goes into the pot at once, not in steps, and it's delicious.  Recipe below.

Some of the ingredients.  All in the pot and ready to cook.  The smell of fresh herbs is wonderful all through out the house!

 Stirred up and cooking down.  The colors of the vegetables and herbs are beautiful!

 Served with a slice of Rustic Tuscan Bread, and that my friends is a meal.  You could also add cannelini beans to this if you like and top it off with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

 Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

2 cups of fresh or frozen kale, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup of white onion, chopped

2 cups of fresh spinach

1 small green zucchini, quartered then cubed

1 yellow zucchini, quartered then cubed

5 small, combination of yellow, orange and red peppers, seeded and chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1 fennel bulb, sliced - save some fronds to chop and put in the soup

1/2 cup sliced portobello mushrooms

1/2 cup baby peeled carrots

8 cups vegetable broth

2 - 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

3 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

1 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions

Add all the ingredients to a large soup pot. On medium high heat, cook until the soup starts to boil.  Cover the soup, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30 minutes.  Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top and Italian bread.  Makes about 12 servings.

Trying New Food Flavors

I like trying new foods and flavors, so when browsing my local farmer's market I always look for things my family and I have not tried.  I picked up a fennel bulb, relatively inexpensive, and used it in a salad . If you have never tried it, it has a very mild sweet licorice flavor, a flavor that is in the background, not one that strong.  It pairs nicely with citrus fruits like oranges or grapefruit.  In my salad I used spinach, oranges, the fennel, red onion and cracked black pepper.  The dressing consisted of orange juice, olive oil, cracked black pepper, salt  and sugar.   Along with the salad, I roasted shrimp in the oven with olive oil, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and seafood seasoning.  It takes less than 10 minutes in the oven. Served with the shrimp, veggie bird nests with tempura soy sauce.  The bird nests are made from kale, carrots, onions and mixed in a tempura batter. They can be fried or baked in the oven.   Easy light meal in less than 30 minutes, and all tasted so good!  Fennel can also be roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt and pepper.