Category Archives: Soup

February 8, 2013 · 2:00 pm

ALL-PURPOSE CURRY SAUCE- Slow Cooker

I recently linked this recipe to the Running on Happy and The Fit Foodie Mama #MeatlessMonday recipe link-up.

Sur La Table recently had a big sale (still going on) on the Cuisinart Multi-Cooker and I couldn’t resist. With holiday gift cards in hand I marched right in and upgraded my slow cooker. Man, I am glad I did. It is SO nice to be able to brown onions in the slow cooker and then just pour in the rest of the ingredients. This slow cooker is going to get some major use in my household.

I saw some split red lentils at Trader Joe’s the other day and I was inspired to make a red lentil based slow cooker curry sauce. I love that this “sauce” is packed with protein and fiber.

This recipe makes A LOT of sauce, so get ready to freeze some for later. I have also enjoyed the sauce as a soup…simply add broth and thin it out. Good stuff!

INGREDIENTS – makes an ENTIRE crockpot full…more than enough to freeze for later

1 onion, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

2 carrots, diced (I do a rough chop since I like carrot chunks)

1 bag Trader Joe’s trimmed leeks

2 Tbs. curry seasoning (I used Spice Hunter)

two 6 inch stalks of lemon grass, cut into four 3 inch pieces and smashed

1-2 Tbs Gourmet Garden lemon grass paste (I used 2 Tbs…LOVE lemongrass!)

2 cloves of garlic, pressed or finely chopped (Dorat makes an incredible ready to use product)

1-2 Tbs. fresh ginger, minced

1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you like your food)

2-3 cans (depending on how “saucy” you like it) light coconut milk (approx 14 ounces each)

1 bag Trader Joe’s split red lentils (about 2 1/2 cups)

32 ounce container vegetable broth

2 cups water

cilantro, chopped (as a garnish)

parsley, chopped (as a garnish)

Serve with Sriracha for those who like extra spice (ME!!!)

Water sauté the onions, celery, carrots, and leeks for 5-7 minutes. Add the curry seasoning, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir together to combine the flavors and cook for 1-2 minutes while continuing to stir (If the mixture is getting too dry, add a tiny bit of water).

Add the light coconut milk and stir to combine. Add the split red lentils, broth and water.

Set your slow cooker on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10.

Serve on top of roasted squash, steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, summer squash) potatoes, brown rice, etc. Would be fantastic over brown basmati rice. Have each person salt their own food upon serving…that way the food will taste salted, but will not be LOADED with sodium.

*Remember to remove the lemongrass stalks before serving

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

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Filed under Beans/Legumes, Crock Pot, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as coconut curry sauce, crock pot crockpot curry sauce, Dorat curshed garlic, Gourmet Garden lemon grass paste, healthy curry sauce recipe, homemade curry sauce, lowfat curry sauce recipe, slow cooker curry sauce, split red lentil curry sauce recipe, Trader Joe's Split red lentils, Trader Joe's trimmed leeks, vegan curry sauce recipe

January 31, 2013 · 5:29 pm

SKINNY BITCH CHILI

I originally blogged about this Skinny Bitch chili recipe HERE and thought I would re-post the recipe since it is an awesome FAST and EASY one to make for the Super Bowl.

This chili tastes great over polenta, brown rice, with a side of cornbread or on its own.

DEB’S CHILI – Yields 6 servings

2 Tbs grapeseed oil (I omitted this)
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 (4-ounce) can green chilis, diced
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, diced
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
2/3 cup vegan cheddar cheese, shredded (I omitted this)
1/4 cup vegan sour cream (I omitted this)

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the onions until soft, about 5 minutes (I water sautéed mine). Stir in the chilis, taco seasoning, tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes (after water sautéing the onions I threw all of the ingredients in the slow cooker around lunchtime and kept it on low until dinner).

Serve with salsa, cheese, and sour cream.

HEARTY SOUP ROUND-UP

When the weather turns cold I CRAVE hearty soups and stews. I thought I would do a quick round-up of the soup / stew recipes on Veggie Grettie in case any of you were in need of winter dinner inspiration.

After putting this recipe round-up together I can’t wait to revisit some old favorites.

SEMI HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP

SABRINA NELSON’S BERBERE STEW

BAJA CORN CHOWDER

EZOGELIN CORBASI – TURKISH RED LENTIL SOUP WITH MINT AND SUMAC

CROCK POT VEGETARIAN CHILI

MUNG BEAN NOODLE SOUP – WITH MISO BROTH

CURRIED RED LENTIL STEW

CROCK POT BLACK BEAN SOUP

What are your favorite wintertime soups and stews (post links to the recipes if you have them). I’d love to gather some more inspiration from you!

SEMI HOME MADE TOMATO SOUP

I know we are all in the market for fast dinners. When I was little I would get so excited when my parents would announce that dinner was going to be grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. My parents probably thought they were making a cop-out dinner, but I seriously loved it. Those dinners cemented the relationship between tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches in my mind.

The other day my son announced that he wanted a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. We were short on time and in all honestly I hadn’t given dinner much thought that day, so I went along with the plan. When trying to figure out how to round-out the quick meal, tomato soup popped to mind, however we didn’t have any on hand.

I have tried so many tomato soups through the years and most of them are too sweet in my opinion OR they have cream / milk in them.

Well…necessity is the mother of invention, so I popped into my pantry and came-out with a jar of pasta sauce, a can of navy beans, and some broth. In the time it took for the Daiya grilled cheese sandwiches to brown, semi-home made tomato soup was on the table as well.

Here’s what I did…

Get out your Vitamix
Rinse and drain one can of navy or other no salt added white beans
Pour the beans into the Vitamix
Fill the bean can with pasta sauce
Pour the pasta sauce into the Vitamix
Fill the can with broth
Pour the broth into the can
BLEND
Add more broth if a thinner consistency is desired (I like it thick…my kids like it thin)

And there you have it…a fast, healthy, tasty tomato soup that courtesy of the beans is packed with fiber and protein.

NOTE – I am an affiliate for Vitamix which means that someday I may earn a tiny bit of money if a reader decides to purchase a Vitamix by clicking on the link to the right 🙂

2 Comments

Filed under Beans/Legumes, Kid Friendly, Quick Tips, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tagged as healthy tomato soup, quick fast tomato soup, semi home made tomato soup, tomato soup recipe, vegan tomato soup recipe

February 20, 2012 · 2:30 pm

MY CEDARLANE SOLUTION

I recently took over the position of Editor at Chic Vegan (I am super stoked about it!!!) which means I am in the middle of experiencing a steep learning curve (translation – I don’t have a lot of extra time). There have been more than a few days when I have looked-up from my computer screen just in time to go get my daughter, help her with her homework which we finish just in time for my son to come home from school and then before you know it it is time for gymnastics and Jiu Jitsu. Where does the time go???

The other day a I was making a MAD-DASH through Costco (I know other mamas out there can get through Costco in 15 minutes flat too, right? Not my preferred method, but necessary at times.) to pick-up a few essentials like organic pre-cooked edemame, seaweed salad, and some organic produce when something caught my eye. In the refrigerated section I noticed that they had some Cedarlane Vegetable Barley Soup…SCORE!!! I looked at the back of the package and although it didn’t say vegan on the packaging it did say DAIRY-FREE and upon further examination I couldn’t see any non-vegan ingredients. One word to the wise is that this is NOT a gluten-free soup. Barley is a gluten-containing grain. Fortunately my daughter does not have an allergy to barley. That being said, I still do not give it to her very often.

My easy meal solution was to warm the soup and adjust the final soup for each person. For the boys in the family I added some Gardein chicken that I first chopped-up and browned. I ate the soup straight-up, but there is a very slight spicyness to the soup, so I poured some into a bowl for my daughter, added a little filtered water and a squeeze of ketchup to tame the spice. This was such an easy and quick meal! Costco to the rescue again.

15 Comments

Filed under Main Dish, Product Reviews, Quick, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as Cedarlane, Cedarlane Vegetable Barley, Costco, Costco Cedarlane, Gardein Chicken, vegan, vegetarian

January 20, 2012 · 2:30 pm

SWEET CORN and APPLE PORRIDGE

I dreamed-up this recipe while on a bike ride two days ago. It had been grey and cold outside (In my native Californian opinion). Finally on Wednesday the crisp air turned blue and it was gorgeous. Despite this, I planned on working all day on the backlog of posts I had been meaning to write. Enter other plans…I was hit with a computer virus. While the virus scan was going there wasn’t much writing I could do, so I decided to hop onto my trusty mountain bike and get outside.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. It felt so good to be outside enjoying the beautiful day. Out of nowhere I began to think about corn and how wonderfully sweet it is all on its own. Quickly my mind turned to apples and it all came together when I realized how nice it would be to combine the two. Sweet Corn and Apple Porridge was born.

I really wanted to keep the ingredients to a minimum for this recipe. When you are working with so few ingredients, the quality of those ingredients is paramount. The end result of this porridge will be drastically different if made with ingredients sourced at your local farmer’s market versus the grocery store. Using superior ingredients will also reduce (if not eliminate) your need to sweeten the porridge with stevia; I didn’t need any.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups fresh corn (I used 5 small ears), divided

2 large apples, small dice

1 c. apple juice

1 c. vanilla non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious)

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/2 c. Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free oats (optional)

stevia to taste (optional)

Pour the apple juice and non-dairy milk into your high-speed blender (I used my Vitamix). Add 2 cups corn, and half of the diced apples to the blender. Blend for 1 minute until very smooth.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the remaining corn and diced apple. Mix to incorporate. At this point either serve the porridge cold or heat it gently on the stove until it is warm.

I ate a large bowl of the fresh cold porridge. Afterward I added some cinnamon to the remaining porridge along with the gluten-free oats and put it in the refrigerator. A few hours later I snacked on this and it was soooo good!

I ate the ENTIRE batch myself in the span of a day…I promise to share next time!

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

SABRINA NELSON’S BERBERE STEW

Last year I attended the Healthy Lifestyle Expo. Jeff and Sabrina Nelson (of VegSource) founded the Healthy Lifestyle Expo as a means to share the health benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. Through plant-based eating Sabrina has been able to overcome significant health challenges (click here for her inspirational story). The Nelson family has done so much to educate others and to further exposure for this way of life.

The last morning of the Healthy Lifestyle Expo began with cooking demonstrations and Sabrina shared her recipe for Berbere Stew. I was struck by the simplicity of this one pot meal and how tasty it was. Needless to say I have been eating a lot of Berbere Stew since returning from the conference. The BBQ sauce makes it taste like baked beans and it is soooo good over brown rice.

I happen to like the Berbere spice, but if you are unsure how your children will react to it, make a batch without it and go from there.

Thanks for such a great recipe Sabrina!

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups red lentils

2 jars Muir Glen Portobello Mushroom Sauce (or other fat free, low sodium pasta sauce)

2 empty Muir Glen bottles worth of water

½ cup BBQ sauce of choice

1 Tbs Berbere spice (Sabrina’s favorite Berbere spice is available here.)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Pour all of the ingredients into a rice cooker.

Press button to cook on “brown rice” setting.

Sabrina uses the Zojirushi rice cooker which takes about 90 minutes to finish cooking, and then it automatically goes into a “warming” setting.

The stew actually improves over time and tastes even better the second day when the flavors have had time to intensify.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

6 Comments

Filed under Beans/Legumes, Cooking Demonstration, Crock Pot, Events, Gluten Free, Main Dish, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Tagged as Ethiopian lentil stew, Healthy lifestyle Expo, Healthy Lifestyle Expo Recipes, Lentil Berbere Stew recipe, Nelson Family Vegsource, red lentils, Sabrina Nelson, Sabrina's Berbere Stew, vegan, vegan Berbere Stew recipe, vegetarian

January 10, 2012 · 5:39 am

CLEANSE FOOD LOG

Today was day one of the fruit and veggie cleanse my husband and I are doing together (click HERE for details). Here is my journal entry for the day…

Today can be summed-up in one word…PREP! Today I am getting everything prepped and ready for the week so all I have to do is go into the fridge and grab what I need (I also want to make this as easy as possible for my husband).

MONDAY

7:00 am – 2/3 cup heirloom strawberries (I would have eaten more, but was busy getting the kids fed and ready for school)
9:00 am – 1/2 cup grapes and a banana
9:30-10:30 am – pilates (tough class…awesome!)
11:00 am – 24 ounce carrot/apple juice (mostly carrot with a little apple)
11:30 am – went shopping to stock-up for the week

12:40 pm – While cooking-up a storm* I am eating a salad made with a bed of butter lettuce, 1/2 a cucumber, and a HUGE handful of seaweed salad from Costco (how awesome is it that my Costco carries this now!). Dressed it up with some lite rice wine vinegar and extra crushed red chili.

*I have a GINORMOUS pot of veggie soup going on the stove**, I am steaming sweet potatoes (click HERE to see how I prepare them…scroll down under the ingredient list and you will see a note about how I cook them), and I have broccoli and cauliflower roasting in the oven (click HERE to see how I roast them) while at the same time prepping corn to be lightly steamed and then roasted. Note – the veggies should be prepared without oil and then roasted).

**Made the soup with 2 cups each (carrot, celery, onion), a 24 oz. jar of tomato basil pasta sauce (fill it up again with water and add that to the soup as well), 32 ounces low-sodium veggie broth, 8 oz. bag Harvest Sensations kale, 10 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms, and dried basil (I went to the garden to get fresh and it is all gone). I did not add any salt because I don’t plan on using any and it really doesn’t need it.

1:30 pm – 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
2:oo pm – 1 cup grapes
3:00 pm – snacked on some roasted cauliflower and broccoli while putting it away
3:30 pm – snacked on some watermelon while prepping it for snacks
4:40 pm – Asian Pear Crisps (by Brothers All Natural)
6:00 pm – bowl of vegetable soup, ear of corn, roasted broccoli and cauliflower
8:45 pm – bowl of blueberries, raspberries, and a sliced banana

So how do I feel? AWESOME! Today was one of those non-stop days and I really do feel great (even after only sleeping 5 hours last night). I know it sounds cliché, but I feel very clean inside right now and not hungry at all…I definitely did not go hungry today.

I ran into my friend Jeff (The Plant Eater) at the Doug Lisle event on Sunday and after mentioning the cleanse to him, he decided to do it along with us. Click HERE to read about Jeff’s first day of the cleanse.

14 Comments

Filed under Cleansing, Cleansing, Education, Food Journal, Gluten Free, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tagged as Asian Pear Crisps, best vegan cleanse, Brother's All Natural, Costco, fruit vegetable cleanse, Harvest Sensations Kale, the Plant Eater, The PlantEater

December 19, 2011 · 12:00 pm

SRC – Broccoli Red Pepper “Cheddar” Chowder

It’s time again for another Secret Recipe Club post. I was so excited when I was assigned The Mommy Bowl because I am a follower of her blog and we have been leaving comments on each other’s blogs for some time now. Reading the tagline of Deanna’s blog, “Filled with the gluten-free, dairy-free good stuff,” you know that she and I have A LOT in common.

There were so many great recipes to choose from, but I ultimately decided to make one of her wonderfully nourishing chowder recipes since this season is filled with so many sweets and treats. I also had all but one of the ingredients (I didn’t have tahini) on hand for her Broccoli Red Pepper “Cheddar” Chowder, so the decision was made.

I doubled the recipe since I had quite a bit of broccoli in the freezer, eliminated the coconut oil, and substituted cashew butter for tahini, but otherwise I made the recipe as written and it was great. This chowder served as lunch for me for most of the week.

Thanks Deanna!

INGREDIENTS

~~1 T. coconut oil~~ (Use water instead to sauté. Add more if veggies stick)
1 onion, chopped
1 potato, diced
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 1/4 cups gluten-free veggie broth
1 t. whole mustard seed
1/2 t. ground mustard seed
1 t. ground cumin
~~1/2 t. salt~~
A few generous grinds of pepper
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 small head broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 T. ~~tahini~~ (I used cashew butter)
1 T. lemon juice or more to taste

In a 2 quart kettle, heat the onions, red pepper, potato, mustard seed and cumin. Sauté several minutes until onions begin to soften (add water if the vegetables begin to stick). Add the garlic.

Add the broth and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and continue to simmer until potatoes are soft and broccoli is tender. Remove from heat.

Using a stick blender or regular blender, puree the soup. If you so desire, you can scoop out a few pieces of broccoli before you puree it. Leave some chunks since this is a chowder, not a cream soup.

Add the nutritional yeast, cashew butter and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste if desired (I didn’t).

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

14 Comments

Filed under Gluten Free, Recipes, Secret Recipe Club, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tagged as Broccoli Red Pepper Cheddar Chowder, Deanna The Mommy Bowl, nutritional yeast in chowder, nutritional yeast recipe, Secret Recipe Club, Secret Recipe Club Veggie Grettie, The Mommy Bowl, vegan Broccoli Red Pepper Cheddar Chowder, vegetarian Broccoli Red Pepper Cheddar Chowder

June 14, 2011 · 1:30 pm

BAJA CORN CHOWDER

Fresh corn is so good this time of year. When I created this chowder I was interested in making a corn chowder with a Baja twist, but I wanted a chowder that celebrated the crisp sweetness of the corn and did not drown it out with too many other flavors…it deserves to be the star! This chowder will thicken the longer it sits. If it becomes too thick, add some water or some more broth. I also like to have different textures in my chowder. You are more than welcome to blend all of the soup…I prefer to blend some of the soup and keep some of the corn and veggies chunky.

Below I listed some flavor options for those who are looking for a little more zing. This time I made the chowder as it is written in the recipe below without the flavor options…I will add those next time I make the chowder.

INGREDIENTS – Serves 4-6

1-2Tbs. olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

¾ cup celery, finely diced

¾ cup carrot, finely diced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground coriander

3 cups corn (I used grilled corn)

32 ounces vegetable broth

6 corn tortillas, browned

Pepper to taste

ADDITIONAL FLAVOR OPTIONS

½-1 jalapeno, very finely diced

1 tsp. cumin

GARNISH

Chopped cilantro

Dash paprika (for color)

Lime wedges

Heat the olive oil in your soup pot over medium heat and sauté the onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrot (and jalapeno if using).

After sautéing for 5-7 minutes, add the coriander, salt, and pepper (and cumin if using). Mix well to combine.

Add the corn and mix well.

Pour the broth into the vegetable mixture and bring to a boil. Once the soup has reached a boil, reduce the heat to simmer. Place the tortillas onto the top of the soup for 2-3 minutes (this will soften them).

Remove the tortillas from the top of the soup and put them in your blender (I use my Vitamix). Pour 6-8 ladles of soup and veggies over the tortillas.

Very carefully blend the tortillas and soup (Always be VERY careful when blending hot liquids). You may need to do the blending in two batches.

Return the blended soup to the soup pot and mix well.

The soup is now ready to be served with the cilantro, lime, and a dash of paprika.

For a printable version of this recipe click here.

8 Comments

Filed under Gluten Free, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Tagged as Baja Corn Chowder, cilantro, corn, corn chowder recipe, corn tortilla, tortilla soup, vegan, vegan corn chowder, vegan tortilla soup, vegetarian