Vegan MoFo Day 2: Curried Corn Chowder

One of the best things about Fall is being able to eat soup again. Soups are versatile, and I've been trying to create more of my own recipes for them. Curry and corn go surprisingly well together because of how sweet the corn is. I used soy milk to make my soup creamy, but I recommend using coconut milk if you've got it. 

Curried Corn Soup

1 tbs oil

2 stalks celery, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

2 small potatoes, scrubbed and cubed

3 cups frozen corn kernels

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup soy milk or coconut milk, or more depending on how creamy you want it

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the celery in oil for about 2 minutes. Add the carrot and garlic and saute for another 3 minutes. Add spices and coat the celery, carrot and garlic with them. Add potatoes, carrots and brother and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork. When the potatoes are done, remove pot from heat. Add soy milk and blend with an immersion blender. You don't to blend too much, just enough to make it slightly creamy. Stir and return pot to heat for about 2 minutes. 

Another Potato Soup

One of the greens I'm growing in my garden this year is turnip greens. I had never had turnip greens before and quite frankly, I was a little put off by them because of how bitter everyone said they were. I feared my culinary capabilities wouldn't be enough to mask the unpleasant bitterness often associated with this prickly little green. I was tarded.

I'm a big fan of creamed spinach so I figured a creamy vehicle would be the best way to try this new green. Sure, potato soup sounds a little too heavy for mid June, but I was excited to already be harvesting vegetables from my garden. So take that.

Potato Soup with Turnip Greens
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp olive oil
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 tsp ground rosemary
2 cups tightly packed turnip greens, stemmed and chopped
1 tbs margarine
1 tbs flour
3 cups vegetable broth
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped

In a large soup pot, saute onions and garlic in oil until onions become translucent. Add celery, carrot and rosemary and saute for about 5 minutes, or until carrots become soft. Add greens with 1 tbs of water and cover veggie mixture to steam the greens for about 3 minutes. Add margarine and flour and stir constantly for about 1 minute to coat vegetables. Slowly add in the broth while stirring the vegetables. Bring broth and veggie mixture to a boil and and the potatoes. Cook until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

At this point you have some options with what you do next. You can a) eat the soup as is, b) add 1/2 cup nondairy milk or cream to make it richer, or c) use an immersion blender to make it thicker and creamier. I opted for b and c. I certainly recommend substituting whatever greens you have on hand as well!

Vegan Mofo: Quick Corn Stew

Sorry about my recent hiatus. The semester is coming to a close and my work has been piling up. My fall break has finally arrived and I find myself in a constant perpetual daydream about the rapidly approaching festivities. Tofurky Day is upon us!

Last year, I was fortunate enough to enjoy two meals. My first consisted of the following:

-Vcon Chickpea Seitan Cutlets with red wine gravy
-Cheezy Broccoli Casserole with a Golden Cracker crust
-Carob Cream Pie with a graham cracker crust
-standard mashed potatoes and salad

The second meal was especially wonderful mostly because I didn't have to cook a damned thing! My mother is my cooking idol. She knows how to cook just about every vegetable perfectly and is really awesome and considerate when it comes to accommodating me at family dinners. This meal consisted of:

-Herbed Tofu loaf with stuffing
-Mashed potatoes and gravy
-roasted assorted veggies
-Apple cake

All courtesy of my mother, mind you.

This year, I have every intention of going all out. I plan on doing every classic Thanksgiving meal. This year's menu will consist of:

-Sausage Stuffing from Rhymes with Vegan
-Green Bean Casserole from RWV
-Scalloped Corn from RWV
-Tofu Turkey from RWV
-and, Pumpkin Cheesecake with Oatmeal cookie crust from Fatfree Vegan

I think one of the reasons I'm so excited for Thanksgiving this year is because I recently began adhering to the dietary standards of the Eat to Live diet. It's the first diet I've actually been able to stick with. I don't have terrible cravings for any contraband pasta or sweets. I also don't feel hungry in between meals. While I am a little upset that I can't eat as much avocado as I'd like, I enjoy the simplicity of all the meals. Did I mention this is a really cheap diet?

As a break from eating raw foods during this most unforgiving of Novembers (with the exception of today!) I decided to whip up some of the quick corn stew in the book. I had to make it from memory seeing as I didn't have the book on me. I cheated and added a tablespoon of Bragg's liquid aminos, but soy milk chowder soups tend to be too sweet by themselves for my liking. Sorry, Furhman.


Eat to Live Quick Corn Stew

2 cups soy milk
1 tbs whole wheat flour
1 medium potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 large onion, diced
1/2 tsp dulse
2 tbs dried vegetable flakes
1/4 Mrs. Dash Seasoning
1 tsp Butter Buds
1 10oz bag frozen corn

Heat 2 cups of water and soy milk together on a low flame. Mix in flour, dulse, vegetable flakes, and seasoning. Add the diced potato, carrot, and onion and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Add frozen corn until it defrosts and the sou comes to a boil again.

My two cents: I didn't add the two cups of water. I thought it would be too watery for a stew and take away a lot of flavor. I generally find soups with a soy milk base to be, but this was rich an hearty. Instead of dulse I used kelp. It's just what I had on hand. And, it had a great chowder taste. I didn't use the seasonings suggested. I'm still not entirely sure what they are, to be honest.

Ultimate Chili and Maple Cornbread Muffins

I know, I know. Another vegan chili recipe? I mean, cuh-mon. Chili, alongside tofu scramble, is one of the first dishes every vegan makes. Also like a tofu scramble recipe, it evolves constantly, to fit the preference of the ever-changing vegan who is creating it. Posting recipes for these things are often viewed as tedious and unnecessary

How many chili recipes does a vegan need anyhow. Just one- this one. I found it in one of my old issues of Vegetarian Times that I have laying in a stack in my kitchen. I've been on a soup kick lately and hearty chili seemed perfect for the fall weather. I almost can't wait for winter.

Ultimate Vegan Chili from Vegetarian Times

2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, drained and minced*
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
2 8 oz packages seitan, chopped
3 tbs tomato paste
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp celery salt
3 15 oz cans chili beans, such as black, kidney, pinto, etc.
2-3 large carrots, chopped
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce

Heat oil in Dutch oven (whatever, I used a large soup pot. pretentious arseholes.) over medium-high heat. Add onion, and saute 7 to 10 minutes, or until beginning to brown, stirring often. Add garlic and chipotle chile, and saute i minute more. Stir in mushrooms; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add seitan. tomato paste, paprika, oregano, chili powder, celery salt, and 1 cup water; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans, carrots, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 1 hour, or until carrots are tender.

Maple Cornbread Muffins from Vegetarian Times

1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegan margarine, melted
2 tbs maple syrup
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Preheat oven to 375F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together soy milk, margarine, maple syrup, and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in separate bowl. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture. Fold in corn kernels.

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, and bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into muffins comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then unmold, and serve warm.

*I couldn't find chipotle chiles in adobo sauce at my local grocery store, or anywhere at all really. I got regular diced green chiles in a can and threw in some chipotle chili powder when I sauteed them. It tasted wonderful and was, I'm sure, a cheaper alternative.

Hodge Podge of Sorts

I haven't been posting much lately because a) I haven't had access to the interwebz and b) things have been a touch whirl-windy because Tybrus and I just moved into a new apartment, which would explain my lack of interwebz and the access to it.

Nonetheless, I have been cooking up a storm, despite the fact that the cute, rustic stove in my new apartment has broken heating coil along with a broken hinge so the oven door can't shut which only adds to wildly incorrect temperature gauge. I've been using the side oven to cook in for the time being but I mean, srsly, when I set it to broil it barely reaches 350.

Breakfast classic: beans on toast, topped with cheddar Teese and accompanied by some English breakfast tea.



Give peas a chance! Peas?!?!

So, in my infinite wisdom, I discovered that most split pea soup recipes require a ham hock. Bleh! Ham might be one of the most unethically farmed meat products in the industry and just seems totally unnecessary in an already delicious soup. It ended up thicker than I wanted, but by no fault of the recipe- Ty had gotten an immersion blender for his birthday and I got excited. I went a bit overboard on the blending.


an awful picture of some superb stuffed shells

I stuffed the shells with my tvp mixture and some ricotta. I made up my own tofu ricotta cheese instead of depending on old faithful- Sara Kramer's recipe- and it was great. I used silken and it had a better texture than the crumbly medium tofu. My best shells yet! (I ate about 9 of them in one night!)


Asian noodles with zucchini and tofu

This meal reaffirmed the fact that I FORKING HATE WATER-PACKED TOFU!!!1 It takes forever to prepare, it doesn't hold flavor well at all, and it has an awful texture. I had some tomato carrot flavored noodles that I picked up from the Asian market and wasn't sure how to use them- I didn't know how strong the flavors would be. I figured squash would work well with the flavors. I should've left it at that! But, nooooooo, I gotta go around sticking friggin' soy in everything! Srsly, never again. It wasn't a total loss, though.

And now, a resolution: I will be leaving town to visit my father, step mother, and siblings this coming Monday, and when I return, I plan to do a raw diet. I don't know if I'll necessarily abide by the cooking temperature boundaries or not. If anyone has any cooking tips, recipes, or advice let me know. I imagine it is going to be a tad trying for me being that I eat carbs and gluten like it's going out of style (stuffed shells are a testament to this) but I'd really like to get healthy and maybe drop a few pounds. Wish me luck!

Rainy day potato and leek soup

Fun fact about me: I've never cooked with leeks before. Weird, huh? They struck me as a tad intimidating and forced me to pose a series of questions: Do you use the whole thing? Is it like some big green onion? Why can't you use the green part? Would it greatly affect the taste of my meal if I did use the green part? It seems so wasteful not to use the green part. How potent are they? etc. Anyway, this soup was good and perfect for this rainy weather we've been having. I topped my soup with some dried ramps that Tybrus' mom gave to us last summer and some Daiya cheddar.

Potato and Leek Soup

2 leeks, sliced (pale green and white parts only)
1 tbs olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
3 potatoes, diced
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 large sprig fresh dill
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1/3 cup soy milk/cream
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot on medium heat saute the leeks and garlic in oil for about 3 minutes. Add potatoes and saute for another three minutes. Add remaining ingredients except for soy milk and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer an cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. (About 20 minutes.) Blend have the soup with the soy milk. Add blended mixture back to the pot and reheat. Recommended toppings: ramps, soy cheese, croutons, etc.

Simple Carrot Soup and Cucumber Sammiches.

What a wonderfully delicate meal. I had hoped the soup would've been creamier, but my blender is a piece of shite. If you suffer from a similar affliction, I advise letting the soup cook longer before you blend it so that the carrots essentially just turn to mush. I got the recipe from How It All Vegan! I need more cookbooks...

Simply Lovely Carrot Soup (from How It All Vegan!)

1 small onion
6-8 large carrots, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups veg stock or water
1 tsp salt
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp dried dill
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large soup pot, saute the onions and carrots in oil on medium heat until translucent. Add stock and salt and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until carrots are tender. Remove half the vegetables and blend in blender/food processor with milk, dill, soy sauce, and pepper, and a small amount of cooking brother until smooth. Return mixture to the pot, mix well, and serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings.

My alterations: add more like a tbsp of dill and also a few dollops of Earth Balance. I recommend blending the entire mixture because this is a soup that would really be best creamy.

Flipping the 'bird' to this cold weather

I live in West Virginia and it's February. It's horrid. I'm assuming we received around five inches of snow today and I also believe I am developing a cold. As a big 'fuck you' to the weather, a well deserved one I might add, I decided to make a hearty soup. This soup was also an attempt to alleviate my sore throat, and it was rather successful.

I got the recipe from How it All Vegan! (my first vegan cookbook ever.) I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Miss Kramer (and in this case Miss Barnard, as well), because quite frequently her recipes fall apart on me (despite how delicious, simple, and intriguing they always sound.) How ever, the use of smokey cumin and sweet coriander MADE this dish! I highly recommend it to anyone living in the unfortunate Northeast, where there is currently an accumulation 928985938 feet of snow. (Please note that the aforementioned over-exaggeration is based purely on intoxication.)

How it All Vegan! Hearty Winter Potato Soup

1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-6 mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4-5 medium potatoes, cubed
3 cups veg stock
1 red bell pepper, diced
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp pepper (seriously, though, to taste)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 cup soy milk
2 green onions, sliced (garnish)
croutons (garnish)

In a large soup pot saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms until onions become translucent. Add all ingredients that aren't garnishes and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 10- 20 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced by fork. Put 2 ladles worth of soup mixture plus 1 cup soy milk in blender and blend until smooth. Cook for 5 more minutes, not boiling as this will burn the soup. Serve and garnish. Nomz.

Acorn Squash and Shitake Soup

Winter has not been too kind to me. The two weeks preceding this one were filled with frigid temperatures and nearly a foot of snow. At least I have had a cuddly kitty to keep me warm. And soup! Glorious soup. This recipe is from Vcon and as usual I had to deviate from the recipe a tad. While the recipe called for adzuki beans, I opted to just save the money and use red beans. It worked out just fine and the difference went undetected.

Vegan MoFo is Upon Us!

.. and, I am damn excited. October is the ideal month for me for the following reasons: 1) an entire month dedicated to the delicacy that is vegan fewd nomz, 2) my birfday is this month, and 3) HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEN. This means that I have thirty one days to cram as many horror movies into one month as humanly possible. From 80's horror to 90's, from 70's exploitation to Universal Monsters, from Japanese horror to.. You get the idea. I admit, I've cheated and already gotten a head start on my horror movie intake. What can I say?

I haven't posted a lot of late and not due to lack of cooking. If you haven't noticed it's late September which means I've been back in school for almost a month. And, it's kind of kicking my ass. Also, when I've been cooking, it's been evening time meals where I'm trying to relax. Taking pictures of my food has been the last thing on my mind when a big plate of tastiness is sitting in front of me. Anyway, without further ado, here is what I've been cooking up.
















This was my second illness soup: Asian Mushroom Noodle Soup. It was inspired by a recipe I found in one of my mom's many low-carb cookbooks. One thing I will never submit to is this low-carb craze we find ourselves in. Carbs 'til death! The recipe in the book called for pork, so I subbed seitan. This recipe is really basic and really anyone could make it on the fly. It incorporated cabbage, carrots, button mushrooms, and wheat spaghetti noodles. (Soba noodles would've been MUCH better, though.) This was a really healthy meal and even the sodium content was very mild.















Remember that tempeh stew I made like, a post ago? The left over tempeh was used to make these: Tempeh burritos. I didn't do anything special. I steamed tempeh with some soy sauce and then topped it with some homemade peach mango salsa. Does anything sound more elegant than 'peach mango salsa'? I think not.
















This hearty red lentil pasta sauce is one of my favorites that I've made recently. Next time, though, I'd rather make it with a different pasta, one that holds sauce a bit better. This is a great alternative to those fatty fake meat grounds that you usually throw in your pasta sauce to make spaghetti.















About a year ago, I couldn't stand the taste of tahini. I would avoid making homemade hummus just to avoid it. I found it impossible to cook with and even more impossible to scarf down. Tahini is definitely an acquired taste, but once you do acquire it, you're hooked. Using tahini in sauces and such is all about combining it with the proper amount of water. Tahini has a very potent nutty flavor and needs water to counteract it and tone it down. I love love love this recipe for soba noodles with tahini sauce! This was my first time cooking soba noodles and I couldn't stop snacking on them while I waited for the rest of my meal to finish cooking. Such an awesome flavor. A note: I think next time I make an alfredo sauce I will mix equal parts tahinia and water to the garlic, soy milk, margarine mixture. Tahini with the right amount of water has a bit of a cheesy quality that is absolutely delicious.

Tempeh Stew

This past week has been utterly horrid due to the fact that I seemed to have caught that cold that's been going around. It's been awful. Sore throat. Sniffles. Hacking cough. The works. Regular customers at my place of employment have even been teasing me and claiming that I have Swine Flu. Jerks. :( So, in an attempt to remedy my illness, I decided to be a little old-fashioned and whip up some hearty soup. And, it was hearty in deed. This soup is very low maintenance and since you cook the tempeh with the broth, you don't have to steam it beforehand. Could this have been more simple? Negative.

Tempeh Stew for the Sickly

1 cup red lentils
2 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 veggie bouillon cube
1 can chickpeas
2 medium tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste
8 oz. tempeh

In a large pot, hydrate lentils with water through bay leaf on medium heat. Add more water if lentils start to stick. This is soup, after all. Add remaining ingredients, save the tempeh. Before the chickpeas are fully cooked, add tempeh and cover. When tempeh is desired texture, remove from heat and serve.

Black Bean Soup

I got this recipe from Show Me Vegan. This soup made me realize that I desperately need to organize my spice cabinet. While searching hurriedly for the cumin, I accidentally grabbed curry powder and added a heaping teaspoon of it. FML. This ended up not hurting the recipe, surprisingly. I also didn't have chipotle, so I couldn't call it smoky. Still so awesome.