Creamy Broccoli Soup (Vegan)

We finished our month of being vegan. My allergies weren't as bad. My skin was clear. My digestive system was operating at optimal speed. It was all good and then we went to Florida and spent 10 days with family over the Thanksgiving holiday. Even though my parents and I are occasional meat-eaters, compared to the rest of the family you could almost say that we eat raw. The rest of the family eats like most of America.

Do you KNOW what eating like the rest of America does to your body after a month without meat and only having small quantities of dairy/ eggs on one or two occasions? Not good things, my friends. Not good things. My face broke out. I got the worst sinus infection. My digestive system alternated between working over-time and production being backed up (TMI?). Now that I'm home I'm eating very little dairy/ eggs and no meat and my body thanks me.

It has been rainy and cold here all week -- perfect soup weather. I threw together this delicious soup the other night.

Creamy Broccoli Soup (Vegan)


3 tbsp flour
4-5 tbsp margarine or other fat/ oil

 4-5 cups vegetable broth 
1-16 oz bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 pinches dried rosemary
2 bay leaves
mashed potato flakes or mashed potato
salt and pepper to taste

Make a roux with the flour and margarine or oil. Slowly add broth and stir until completely mixed and bring to a boil until thickened. Add half of the broccoli, all of the onion, and garlic. Reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft. Puree in blender until smooth and pour back in pot. Add the rest of the broccoli, rosemary, and bay leaves. Simmer until broccoli is completely cooked. Stir in mashed potato/ potato flakes to reach desired consistency (I like mine more thick than soupy) and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

Kale and Cranberry Salad

I made this simple kale salad to pair with my Black Bean and Potato Soup. I first had something similar to this at a friend's house last year and made it myself not long after that and then again tonight, but with variations. I typically only make enough to eat at that meal because I think it's best served fresh.

I'm not really giving measurements here because this is something you'll have to adjust to suit your tastes and needs.

Kale and Cranberry Salad
with Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

Kale
Craisins
Toasted sliced almonds

Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing

Lemon juice
Olive oil
garlic powder
sea salt
cracked pepper
greek seasoning spice mix


I do about a 5:1 ratio with the lemon juice: olive oil. I add just enough water to make it more palatable. I season to taste and shake well.

Cut kale into small pieces, add dressing and massage greens gently until they darken and soften. Add craisins and let chill in refrigerator for about 15 minutes. Add toasted almonds immediately before serving.

Black Bean and Potato Soup

I know it's been a long time since I posted a recipe. Life got crazy for a little while, but I think it's finally settling down.

My family recently made the decision to try to be vegan for a month and see how it goes. We have also eliminated caffeine. In addition, I'm back into my exercise routine. Let me tell you, the first two days were awful. My head hurt SO BAD from the caffeine withdrawal, but the headache did eventually go away and ibuprofen got me through until it did. I wasn't anymore tired than usual due to my morning workouts, so at least there was that!

Some meals that we've had the last few days have been things like an italian eggplant stew of sorts served over rice. Very flavorful, but probably not my favorite thing. I also made this lentil loaf but will be making changes to the recipe next time to make it drier and more meatloafy. Last night we had sloppy joe's made with griller crumbles and fries. And tonight ya'll... I outdid myself.

I made the best black bean soup I have ever made. That's not really saying much since it was only the second one I've made, but it was SO delicious. There is not a single thing that I would do different, but if you wanted you could add a couple of carrots to get more veggies into your day.  We had it with a kale salad, for which the recipe will post tomorrow. Over all it was a very healthy meal that was very low fat, but filling and nutritious... but best of all it tasted amazing.


Black Bean and Potato Soup

2 different colored bell peppers, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeno with seeds, diced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/8-1/4 cup vegetable oil (for sauteing)
4 cans black beans with liquid, divided
3 cups water
2 cups cubed potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3 small-medium potatoes)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp vegetable or chicken seasoning (I used George Washington)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
ground cayenne pepper to taste

1) Saute bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, and garlic in oil until soft. Put 2 cans of beans and sauteed vegetables in blender and puree. Add part of the water if needed.

2) Simmer pureed ingredients with all others in a pot until potatoes are soft.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with a simple kale salad or other green salad and whole wheat bread or crackers.

Grilled Eggplant Pizza

We are growing eggplant in our garden. I LOVE eggplant. It is really one of my favorite things to eat and I don't eat it nearly often enough. At risk of sounding like Bubba from Forrest Gump, you can grill it, you can bake it, you can fry it, you can stew it. T'here's eggplant parmesan, eggplant sandwiches, spicy grilled eggplant, eggplant casserole, eggplant ratatouille, eggplant rollatini, stuffed eggplant, eggplant dip (baba ganoush), eggplant and pasta, and eggplant pizza. And that-that's about it.

Ya'll, this eggplant pizza was as good as any gourmet pizza I've ever had in a restaurant. I never make pizza because in my head it seems like it would take a long time. To decrease the amount of time, I bought pre-made dough that was frozen, and then I got it home and realized that it would take forever to thaw and that it had to rise, so I tossed it in the freezer and made my own. And I'm so glad I did.

I used this crust recipe from The Finer Things In Life. Its an easy no-rise crust. The only thing I did different was that I sprinkled cornmeal on my pizza pan rather than greasing it.

If you follow the order that I give for making the pizza, from start to finish it should take about an hour, less if you use a pre-made crust (but not much less!).

Grilled Eggplant Pizza

1 pizza crust (made from this recipe)
2 medium eggplants
3 roma tomatoes
1 bulb garlic
2 handfuls fresh basil
2 tbsp pesto
1/4 cup Prego Ricotta Parmesan sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
cornmeal for dusting pan
Olive oil
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Slice eggplant into 1/4 inch slices, lay on cooling racks or a colander something similar in the sink to allow them to drain. Sprinkle liberally on both sides with salt. The salt draws the liquid out. Allow to sit until water forms on top of eggplant, then rinse and pat dry. Grill on a HOT grill until softened. You can mix and knead your dough while the eggplant sits.
3. Cut the stem end off of the bulb of garlic and place it in the center of a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap loosely, and place in oven on your pizza pan (to catch possible drips).
4. Mix up dough for crust and knead it for about 2 minutes. Allow to sit 5-10 minutes. During this time, you can put your eggplant on the grill brushed with olive oil, slice your tomatoes, and prepare your garlic.
5. If garlic in oven is fragrant remove, unwrap, and allow to cool. Dust pan with cornmeal. Be sure to remember to check your eggplant because it will cook fast (about 8-10 minutes)! Turn it a couple of times during grilling.
6. Roll out your pizza dough or just pat it onto your cornmeal dusted pan. Spread pesto and sauce onto crust. Take one handful of basil leaves and place whole on top of the sauce. Get your eggplant off the grill, its probably done now. Cover the entire pizza with one layer of eggplant. Evenly place your sliced tomatoes. Pop the garlic out of the skin and cut if the cloves are too large, otherwise just toss them on. Sprinkle your mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
7. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes. While it's baking, julienne the remaining basil. Remove pizza from oven, sprinkle fresh basil on top and drizzle with olive oil. Slice and serve!

• This can easily be made without the cheese and with different pizza sauce for a vegan pizza. In fact, I don't think I would miss the cheese, because the pizza has so much flavor!
• If you don't have a grill, slice your eggplant and bake it until its cooked. You will lose some of the flavor, but it'll still be good.

Greek Salad and Dressing

One of my absolute favorite restaurants is in Asheville, NC. Its a favorite because their food is delicious, but also because it holds memories for me. When visiting the boarding academy that I would be attending for the first time and meeting with the principal, we ate lunch at Apollo Flame. My first date was there. We've been with my grandparents, with my aunt and uncle....I've been with boyfriends and best friends. Its the kind of restaurant that if my parents go without me, they call to rub it in. I went with my best friend a few weeks ago and text a picture of my food to my parents. Jealousy ensued.

They have the best Greek salad dressing so I decided to try to replicate it, but you need a salad to put it on. I was thinking of replicating their salad as well, but I wanted to mix things up a bit. After all, if I really wanted Apollo Flame I could drive to Asheville and get it. I thought of this salad that I used to get at Italian Pie in Spartanburg. It was a Mediterranean salad served with a sundried tomato dressing, that was more of a paste than a dressing. The whole thing was delicious. So here's my version of it.

When it comes to salads I think measuring is silly, so I'm just going to tell you the ingredients and let you toss it together yourself. :) The dressing will be in a separate post. I'll link to it when I post it.

Greek Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Quartered artichoke hearts (the kind that come packed in oil and seasonings in a jar)
Calamata olives
Roma tomatoes
Feta Cheese (not pictured)

Chop it, slice it, toss it. Dress it.

Options:
Cucumbers (I don't like them)

Of course, in order to dress the salad you've gotta have the dressing. So get out all of your ingredients, but don't look too closely at mine because you'll find that I improvised for the recipe.

 

Then change your mind about the garlic powder and use the real thing.  Combine your liquids in a bottle or bowl or whatever you want to store your dressing in.

Admire the way the red wine vinegar and EVOO separate. Shake it up a little to amuse yourself by watching it separate again while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Dump all your herbs and spices together on to a plate or use your mortar and pestle because you're going to crush those babies up and get the flavors blended. If you have fresh herbs, it would be EVEN better to use those with this dressing. Throw these into the liquid bottle and shake it all up. Make sure you let it sit for about an hour (or longer!) to let the flavors blend. Now you can dress your scandalously naked salad. :)

Greek Salad Dressing

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/4 C red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp water
2 drops Tabasco (red)
1/8 (or less to taste) ground mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1 medium clove minced garlic
pinch of ground thyme

Combine oil, vinegar, water, and Tabasco sauce in dressing bottle. Crush the rest of the ingredients together to release flavors. Add to liquids. Shake well to mix and allow to sit for at least one hour before serving. Serves 12.

Options:
To substitute fresh herbs for the dry or vice versa use 1 tsp of dry to 1 tbsp of fresh.


Make it a Meal!
Greek Spaghetti and garlic bread
Top with grilled chicken (for the non-vegetarian)

Salad

Salad Dressing