Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup

I got this delicious soup recipe from a great vegan cooking site, Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen.  This soup is delicious and surprisingly filling!  Perfect for a snowy day.

Roasted Parsnip and Garlic Soup


Ingredients:

1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 head garlic
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 rib celery (including leaves), chopped
4 to 5 cups veggie broth
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup great northern beans
6-8 ounces mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
1 green onion, sliced thin
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Place the parsnip cubes on a baking sheet lined with parchment papert. Cut the top off of the head of garlic, just enough to expose the tops of the cloves. Place it on a square of aluminum foil, drizzle it with a little EVOO and sprinkle it with a little salt, and wrap it up. Place it on the baking sheet with the parsnips and put it into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over the parsnips, and cook for 10-15 more minutes until parsnips are tender and just touched with brown. Remove from oven and cool.  I had to cook the garlic about 5-10 minutes longer.

Heat a non-stick saucepan and cook the onion until it’s translucent. Add the celery and cook for a couple minutes more. Add 3 cups of the broth, the parsnips, and the pepper. Squeeze the garlic out of the cloves into the pan. Cook for a few minutes, until parsnips have softened. Add the beans.  If you are using canned beans (which I actually did this time), be sure to rinse them well.  Canned beans are preserved in a lot of oil and you want to get it all off before using them.

Puree the soup using an immersion blender. The smoother you get it, the bette. Return the pureed soup to the pan and warm over low heat. If the soup is too thick, add more broth until it reaches your desired consistency. Keep it covered because it will “erupt” from time to time.

Cook the sliced mushrooms in a small non-stick skillet until they soften and release their juices. Season them with salt and add the green onion. Stir most of them into the soup, setting some nice-looking ones aside to use as a garnish. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Minestrone Soup

I got this delicious recipe from a woman at one of my favorite local restaurants, Theo's Cozy Corner.  It is delicious!

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

10 cups of vegetable broth (I make mine every Sunday and freeze it)

1/2 cup of cannelloni beans

1/2 cup of white navy beans

1 cup of pasta (I used cavatelli)

1 large onion
2 Carrots
3 White Potatoes
4 stalks Celery
1 tablespoon dried Basil
1 tablespoon dried Oregano
2 teaspoons Rosemary
1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Black Pepper

3 cloves of Garlic

6 bay leaves

I always use dry beans.  If you are doing the same, soak your beans over night to prepare them.  I soaked and cooked mine separately.

When you are ready to start, drain your beans and add 3 cups of water and 3 bay leaves in two separate pots.  Bring the water to a boil and then add your beans to each pot and cover.  Reduce the heat and stir often.  Beans generally take about 45 minutes to cook.  Try one to make sure they are ready and make sure they are tender. Once they are done, drain them and set them aside.

Start by cutting all your veggies into matchsticks, I use the mandolin for this.  Then hand cut them into really small pieces.

Add all your veggies to a large soup pot and add the broth, garlic and spices. Bring to a boil and cover, then reduce heat and simmer until your veggies are tender.  Prepare your pasta.

Add the pasta and beans to the veggies and simmer on low for another 5 minutes.  Then you are ready to eat!

Mushroom and Broccoli Alfredo

I got this idea from my Baked Mac and No-Cheese recipe. Since I learned that you can make a cheese-like sauce from boiled veggies, I decided I could probably do an Alfredo sauce from boiling light colored veggies.  It came out even more delicious than I imagined!

Mushroom and Broccoli Alfredo

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

2 medium white potatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of oregano

A dash of paprika

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper

1 lb of crimini mushrooms, sliced thin

1/2 lb of broccoli

1/4 cup of vegan Parmesan

1/4 cup of dry white wine, I used Savignon Blanc

1 medium white onion

1 1/2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

Chop up the cauliflower and peel and chop the potatoes into 1 inch cubes.  Chop the garlic and onion as well.  Combine them all in a medium sauce pan and water, enough to cover the veggies.  Cover and boil until soft. This takes about 15 minutes.

While the veggies are cooking, make your pasta.  I used cavatelli, but you can use whatever you like best. 

Saute the mushrooms in a separate pan using a little EVOO.  When the mushrooms are nice and juicy, add the white wine and salt and pepper.  Cover and reduce the heat to low, stirring often, until all of the wine is absorbed.

Clean and cut the broccoli.  Steam in a medium pot, I use one of those metal steaming things.  Drain it, and keep it covered until you are ready to use it.

Once the veggies are ready, add them to the food processor with the remaining water, spices, nutritional yeast, vegan Parmesan and salt and pepper.  Process the ingredients until you have a smooth mixture.  At this point everything is ready to go!

In the pot that you cooked the pasta in, combine the sauce mixture, mushrooms and broccoli and mix well.  Then you are done.  Enjoy!

Vegan Meatballs

Hi everyone!  Sorry I have been MIA, but life has been a bit hectic.  I am almost two weeks out from ACL reconstruction surgery.  YUCK!  In any case, I did lots of cooking to prepare for my surgery (so I would have plenty of food), so get ready for a bunch of posts.  I promise not to disappear for this long again!

Vegan Meatballs

Ingredients:

Gimme Lean Vegan "Ground Beef"

1 medium yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons of tamari (or you can use Braggs)

1/4 cup of vegan Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons of EVOO + 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon of thyme

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 tablespoon of red pepper

1 tablespoon of rosemary

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper

Start with one package of Gimme Lean vegan "ground beef".  I usually find this in the grocery store near the tofu.  You can buy in a a condensed cylinder (like above) or in look crumbles.  For this recipe, I recommend the condensed version.

Start by finely chopping the onion and garlic.  Add a small amount of EVOO, about a tablespoon,  to a pan and add the onions and garlic.  Add a dash of salt and a little bit of ground black pepper and saute for several minutes.  You want to saute them until the onions start to get translucent but before the garlic starts to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the Gimme Lean, sauteed onions and garlic, and all the remaining ingredients.  You are going to want to wait a few minutes for the onions and garlic too cool before hand mixing.  In the mean time, chop the parsley and add it to the bowl.  You are going to want to use your hands to knead the mixture until it is well combined.

When you are done, our completed mixture should look like this:

Take a baking sheet (I used two) and use cooking spray or grease with a little EVOO.  To shape the meatballs, take a spoon and take the mixture into your hand.  The size of your meatball is totally up to you.  I make mine about golf ball size.  Pat the mixture in your hands and then begin rolling into a ball.  Place completed balls on the baking sheet.  Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, rotating them once to assure they cook on all sides.

While the meatballs are baking, take a frying pan and put 4 tablespoons of EVOO in the pan.  At the same time, start the water to boil your pasta.  When I am looking to make this a quick meal, I used canned sauce.  I tend to use Classico Tomato and Basil, but I jazz it up a bit.  I start by adding some mushrooms (thinly sliced crimini) and garlic in a small sauce pan.  I saute them for a few minutes before adding the sauce.  I then add about 1/4 cup of vegan Parmesan cheese, salt, red and black pepper.  I let this simmer on low while preparing the pasta and finishing up the meatballs.

Heat the EVOO in the frying pan for the last 2-3 minutes that the meatballs are baking.  Remove the meatballs from the stove and add them to the frying back.  Cover them and keep them on medium heat.  You are going to want to rotate the meatballs every few minutes until they are browned on all sides.  As they are ready, drain them on on plate with paper towels.

Once they are done, combine them with your pasta and sauce and you are done!  This is a quick recipe that is a real pleaser.  My boyfriend loves these and he is a meat eater.  For leftovers, you can make meatball subs too. Yum!