Month: November 2015

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup…Imagine!

/ lcm2070 / 1 Comment

  
Surprisingly, there are many recipes for vegan cream of mushroom soup. This one was from Pinterest Maria’s post, and I’ve modified it a bit. If you check her original post, you’ll see comments in which people hassled her a bit about putting some feta cheese on the top. The way I see it, if someone is kind enough and brave enough to post a recipe, either make it as is or modify it to your liking. We’re all grownups! 

Photo disclaimer… In a perfect world I would have saved some baby Bellas and sautéed them for a beautiful garnish. But guess what? It’s not a perfect world and I forgot to set aside mushrooms for that purpose. You know being perfect doesn’t stop me.

Let’s get to the modifications! The search for mushroom soup was born out of the need to use my huge package of baby Bella mushrooms that I purchased at Costco. 24 ounces of mushrooms waiting in my refrigerator for someone to come up with an original idea. Maria’s recipe called for one package of mushrooms, and I had the equivalent of four!

I started with a tablespoon of coconut oil in my spiffy new blue Dutch oven, and sautéed diced white onion and a teaspoon of minced garlic.

On a gamble I sliced the baby Bellas and added all, yes all of them…to the pot. 

Next I added a 48 ounce carton of whole foods vegetable broth, one cup of unsweetened almond milk, a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, and a few sprigs of time. 

  
After it came to a boil, I let it simmer for about an hour and used my immersion blender to get it to a smooth consistency. I added about 2 tablespoons shoyu sauce and freshly ground pepper to get just the right taste.  (You could use soy sauce or just salt, but be careful as you go.) If you make it, skip the immersion blender and go straight to the Blendtec or Vitamix… I had to go that route to get it as smooth as it needed to be.

In the end, well worth it! Creamy healthy soup that gets all of its dark color from mushrooms and vegetable broth.   I now have eight generous servings portioned out for the refrigerator and the freezer, which means I have lunches ready and waiting!

If you try it and or use your own modifications, please let me know. Enjoy!

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Hummus evolution

/ lcm2070 / 1 Comment


Hummus is a staple in my diet, but the type and quality of hummus is constantly evolving. For Saturday’s girls’ night, we opted for a plain variety and a roasted red pepper rockstar.

Two years ago I posted my early version of hummus, and while the current version isn’t drastically different, it now includes a bit of nutritional yeast and some tahini.

Hummus…enough for friends:

  • 2 15 oz cans organic chickpeas (garbonzo beans), drained and rinsed
  • Juice of one whole lemon
  • 1 tablespoon tahini (used Whole Foods 365)
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • Freshly ground black pepper (1/2 to 1 tsp)
  • Salt to taste (used 1 tsp celtic sea salt)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Water to thin to desired consistency
  • Extra olive oil to drizzle on top

Add ingredients to a food processor and turn on for at least a minute.  Check the consistency and slowly add water until the hummus is smooth and creamy – or whatever consistency you like.  Usually it takes another two to three minutes in the processor. Scoop into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.  Finish with freshly ground pepper.

Roasted red pepper hummus:

  • 1 15 oz. can organic chickpeas
  • 1/2 whole fire roasted pepper (used Whole Foods brand…sold in a glass jar…enough for 3-4 batches of hummus)
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • Salt and pepper to taste

The fire roasted pepper adds additional moisture to this version, so wait to add water and/or olive oil until you’ve judged the consistency. As above, finish with an olive oil drizzle and a turn of the pepper grinder. (Note: Sometimes I add cumin powder to this version, but Saturday I kept it in its basic form.  Experiment!)

We enjoyed both versions with gluten-free treats…corn chips, rice/flax crackers, pepper strips, and celery.  Healthy snacks, treasured friends, conversation long overdue, and a little wine…couldn’t ask for more.

Photo credit:  Nicole Erikson.  : )