Smoky Split Pea Soup

I recently tried the recipe for Smoky Split Pea Soup from Appetite for Reduction and fell in love with it! Such a delicious and flavorful soup!!

Smoky Split Pea Soup

From Appetite for Reduction

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• A few twists of the pepper grinder
• 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
• 1 1/4 cups dry split peas
• 4-6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions in the oil until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, pepper, and salt, and saute for another minute. Add the paprika and thyme, and stir continuously for about 15 seconds to toast the spices a bit.

Add the carrots, split peas, and broth. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, the lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes, until the peas are creamy. Stir occasionally to prevent the soup from burning at the bottom. If necessary, thin the soup with water. Add the lemon juice and taste for salt and seasonings.

Valentine's Day breakfast!

I made a simple but yummy Valentine's Day breakfast this morning for my sweet little fam - heart-shaped biscuits and fruit. Yum!

Crisp Crust Biscuits

2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almond milk

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add canola oil and milk until well mixed. Pat out into a circle about 3/4 in high. Use a biscuit cutter to cut into biscuits or a heart cookie cutter in this case! Place biscuits on cookie sheet and bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 15 min or until lightly browned.

Vegan Eggs Benedict

In my pre-vegan days, one of my favorite breakfasts was eggs Benedict. I have come up with several vegan versions that have been yummy but I recently found an ingredient that makes a delicious difference in my vegan "eggs" - smoked salt. Typically I would use black salt on my tofu to give it that sulfur taste of eggs but I was out so I tried smoked salt. Since I didn't really follow a recipe, here's the overall way I prepared this breakfast: I sliced a block of drained, pressed tofu into 1/4 inch slices. Then I sprinkled all the slices with some broth powder (recipe from the Happy Herbivore is my fav), some smoked salt and some fresh cracked pepper and baked at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Top toasted English muffins with the tofu and some vegan hollandaise (I usually just mix some vegan mayo with a squeeze of lemon juice and a tad of mustard). Delish!

Vegan Superbowl!

Ok so it's a little late to be posting this but I wanted to share our little Superbowl party treats. My hubby had to work so it was just the boys and me. They were so excited about watching the game! I made vegan "little smokies" (basically small vegan hot dogs tossed in bbq sauce), Daiya quesadillas, chips and queso, carrot sticks and clementines. Everything was a hit! I sampled a bit of each thing but then resorted to my nightly salad as we watched the game.  A perfect evening with my sweet buddies!

Warm Chili Con Queso Dip (adapted from 500 Vegan Recipes)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans drained and rinsed if using canned
1 cup veg broth
2 T minced dried onions
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1 cup soy creamer
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup TVP

Combine all ingredients except beans and crumbles. Stir until smooth. Add beans. Cook on low 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. Add crumbles during last hour of cook time or if you will not be available to add them at this time, just add them at the beginning.

Precious little cooks!

The other night, as a result of my recent cold, I was starting to lose my voice. I was running especially low on voice after reading stories to the boys and playing a couple rounds of Go Fish! Keith and Braedon started whispering to each other and devised the plan that they were going to make dinner for the 3 of us to be helpful and sweet to Mom. They both have such tender hearts!

Braedon was the salad master and made beautifully colorful delights (he made one for himself and I worked alongside and made mine) and Keith crafted a delicious vegan soup that turned out quite yummy indeed. It made my heart smile to have my sweet little helpers in the kitchen with me and sit down to a dinner they were extremely proud of! I am so blessed!!!




Keith's Vegan Soup

2 cups veggie broth
1 large potato, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1/3  cup orzo
1/2 cup frozen peas
Dash of the following spices - tarragon, Italian Seasoning, thyme, pepper

Bring broth to a boil - add potato and carrots. Cook about 10 minutes. Add orzo, cook about 15 minutes or until veggies are tender and orzo is done. Add peas and spices. Cook until heated through.

Vegan Puttanesca

I recently ran across a recipe for a Puttanesca sauce that looked yummy...however it had anchovies and parmesan in it - neither of which are vegan of course. I made up a new meal today and figured I would attempt a vegan version of the Puttanesca to go with it. Both were a delicious success! The actual meal was a cheater meal - I stuffed a puff pastry from Trader Joes with some vegan meatballs (Gardein)...my meals are usually much more made-from-scratch but it was easy and very delish. The sauce was fantastic and was made from scratch...it even included tomatoes and basil I froze over the summer from my tower garden bounty:-)

Vegan Puttanesca

1 T oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t sea salt
1/2 t sugar
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
2 T capers
2 T fresh basil, chopped(or fresh that has been frozen - not dried)
2 cups petite diced tomatoes

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pan and cook until golden and starting to get tender. Add the tomatoes, cover and let simmer 10 min. Add salt, sugar, olives, capers, basil. Stir to incorporate. Cover and simmer 15 min to let flavors meld. Serve over pasta, squash, polenta...whatever you fancy! Enjoy!!

Vegan Red Beans and Rice

My sister-in-law just got married in October to a great guy from Dominican Republic. A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of enjoying one of Andy's specialtys - Red Beans, Rice, and Chicken. I didn't sample the chicken but let me tell you, the red beans and rice were AMAZING!! Kidney beans are probably one of my least favorite types of beans because they aren't as creamy as other beans in my opinion. But this meal was so delicious, I erased my previous view of red beans and fell in love with them! I asked Andy for the recipe to try and duplicate the goodness and he gave me his "recipe" which doesn't include any exact measurements....because I think he knows this recipe like the back of his hand! After creating my version of this delicacy, I realized two things:

1. My vegan red beans and rice were pretty darn delicious.
2. My vegan red beans and rice don't come close to comparing to Andy's!

Ah well...it was worth a try! At least I have another yummy recipe to add to my vegan repertoire that is not only tasty but easy on the budget and very simple. I guess for the real version, we'll just have to invite ourselves over to Suzi and Andy's :-)

Vegan Red Beans and Rice
2 t canola oil
1/4 cup sliced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 T tomato paste
2 t boullion
4 cups cooked kidney beans, UNDRAINED
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1/2 cups rice - cooked according to package instructions
Avocado slices

Heat oil in medium-sized saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add tomato paste and boullion. Cook until onion is browned. Add the beans with their liquid. When the mixture starts to boil, remove 1 1/2 cups of the mixture and mash. Add 1/2 cup water and return to the pot. Stir. Add the cilantro. Remove from heat and serve over cooked rice with slices of avocado. Enjoy!

New Blog!!

Just wanted to let all of my vegan friends know that I have started a new blog...one that envelops my family's total approach to health, rather than just our vegan side! I am so excited about sharing through this blog about my "Healthy Obsessions" (exercise, veganism, essential oils...just to name a few!) and hope you will check it out. Find it here! http://healthyonpurpose.blogspot.com

Recipes

Just a note about recipes...I have been so busy lately with getting stuff ready for our upcoming school year, that I just haven't found the time to post recipes for the last couple of posts. If you see a picture in a post and the recipe isn't posted, just let me know and I will be happy to send along the recipe!

Snow peas and Thai Tofu Salad

I really love snow peas but don't often get to have them because they are so expensive. I have loved having snow peas in my tower garden this year!

I added some to my favorite Thai Tofu Salad and they were delicious!