Week 52 -- Fresh Chili

Celebrating the end of the year with a chili chock full of fresh vegetables!

Next week's post will contain an announcement about the year 2019!

Fresh Chili

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
2 bell peppers, diced (we used one green and one orange)
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
4 mushrooms, chopped
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can light red kidney beans
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground chili
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Saute the garlic, onions, and bell pepper in a little water.
2. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, and 4 cups water.
3.  Add the beans and spices.  Let simmer about 30-45 minutes so flavors blend.

Makes about 4 servings.

Week 45 -- Red Lentil Sweet Potato Chili

Fall is the time for chili!  I usually make plain boring chili, but Mom got a little creative with this one.  The sweet potatoes give it even more of a fall feeling.

Red Lentil Sweet Potato Chili

One onion, diced
Two bell peppers, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
1 cup red lentils

1 can light kidney beans
1 can dark kidney beans
1 28 oz crushed tomatoes
2 scrubbed diced sweet potatoes
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili powder

1. Saute the onions, peppers, and garlic in a tiny bit of water.  

2. Add water, red lentils, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and spices.  Let simmer until lentils are cooked and sweet potatoes are tender.  

Makes about 6 servings.

Week 44 -- Hot and Sour Soup

This is one of my mom's favorite soups, and it was nice on a chilly fall day.  She wanted to make it, and I just hovered.  This soup was never one of my favorites, but I appreciate it much more as an adult than I did as a kid. 

I asked mom if she needed carrots for this soup, and she gave me a strange look and said, "Why would I put carrots in this?"  Then, half an hour later, as we sat down to eat, she looked in her bowl and said, "Oh, yes, I guess I do usually put carrots in this."  So, the moral of that story is that you should feel free to add some matchstick carrots when you make this soup.

Note that this soup does contain oil.  It is the only soup you will ever see on this blog that includes oil.  The sesame oil here is used only for flavor, not for cooking.  It adds some heat and deeper flavor.  Mom keeps some in the cupboard that is really used only for this soup.  It is only a tiny bit of oil, and it really adds to the flavor, but it is totally optional for those who are strictly oil-free or don't have sesame oil on hand.

This soup is very spicy.  It is about the upper limit of spice that I can handle (and only because the tofu mellows it a bit).  Feel free to cut down on the red pepper flakes if you want it a little calmer.  It should be noted that I am a spice wimp, so if you are a spice lover, go ahead and add some more pepper. 

Hot and Sour Soup

1 cup sliced mixed mushrooms
1/2 T molasses
1 T miso
4 cups water
1 T arrowroot dissolved in a little water
1/2 block tofu
1 Tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 T apple cider vinegar

1. Saute the mushrooms in a bit of water. 
2.  Add the other ingredients.  Let cook until arrowroot cooks and thickens the soup (it will become clear when it's cooked).

Makes 2 servings.

Week 43 -- Simple Chili

Fall is definitely the time for a long-simmered chili.  My crockpot is still packed in storage with the rest of my belongings (just a couple weeks until my new house is ready for me -- we're getting there).  So I've put off making chili, because chili that is made and eaten right away just isn't the same as one that's been bubbling for a few hours.

But this week Mom had an afternoon off from work (in exchange for spending a Saturday working -- I helped but didn't realize it would entail hiking in the mud, but we survived and came home that night to the chili leftovers), so she had time to make chili and let it simmer on the stove top for a few hours.

Veggie chili is a simple crowd-pleaser, and it can be served over millet (my favorite), in a bread bowl, over baked potatoes, with tortilla chips, or as a crucial ingredient in plant-based chili "cheese" fries.

You can see my millet peeking out underneath!

Simple Chili

1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans of beans (we use light red kidney, dark red kidney, and pinto)
1 quart of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder (we use a single-ingredient ancho chili powder)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp each sage and thyme
1 tsp miso mixed in a tiny amount of water
(optional: 1/2 tsp lemon juice -- this was in our home-canned tomatoes already and reduces the need for salt)
1 Tbsp carob powder
1/2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp gluten free flour blend mixed in a tiny amount of water

1. Saute onion in a little water.  Add pepper and garlic and continue to saute until soft.
2. Add other ingredients.  Let simmer for several hours until you are ready to enjoy.

Makes about 6 servings.

Week 33 -- Black Bean Soup Powder

This is the last in the trilogy of soup powders.  Of course, you can make lighter soups, but for a filling travel meal I wanted really hearty bean-centered soups.

Usually I like black bean soups very chunky.  However, if I'm rehydrating soup with just hot water and I don't want to have to let it sit forever, I want powders that will turn back into soup quickly and without a lot of effort.  That's why this soup is pureed before dehydrating, like the split pea soup last week.

Because this soup contains already cooked ingredients (except the oranges), you can make it right in a blender, no need to use a pot.

Black Bean Soup Powder

3 cups cooked black beans (two cans)
2 oranges, peeled and tough membranes removed
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp carob powder
water (add just enough to make a smooth blend)

1.  Put all ingredients in a blender.  Add enough water to make it blend smoothly (this will differ with different brands of blender).
2.  Spread soup on line dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate until moisture is completely removed.
3.  Blend dried soup into powder.

Makes about 4 servings.

Week 29 -- Italian Festival Soup

I"m getting ready to move, so I'm using up the weird odds and ends in my freezer.  This week in my freezer I found two gluten-free vegan Italian sausage patties my mom made for me.  You can see my mom's sausage making method in this demo we did for a local tv show:  https://accesschautauquacountytv.org/episode/9dIYrYrLlpg

I grew up attending Italian festivals at churches every summer, and the signature scent at these festivals was always the peppers and onions served on sausage. Forget the sausage, the peppers and onions were the good part!

To make the broth richer I added a cup of tomato sauce I also found the freezer, the remnant of some past pizza-making expedition.

This soup brings back the atmosphere of those festivals.  Sing along to Volare while you eat for the real experience!

I feel like I'm sitting in a wooden folding chair under a tent.

Mmm...can you smell the onions and peppers?

Italian Festival Soup

1 large sweet onion, sliced

2 sweet bell peppers, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 vegan Italian sausages (optional -- replace with one can of beans and some red pepper flakes)

1 tsp fennel seeds (increase to 1 1/2 if using beans instead of sausage

1 cup tomato sauce

water to cover

1. Saute onion in water until soft.  Add garlic and then bell peppers.  

2. Add tomato sauce and water to thin to desired consistency.  Add fennel seeds.

3. Crumble or slice sausages and add.  Simmer about 10 minutes to let flavors meld.

Makes about 3 servings. 

Week 17 -- Nacho Soup

I love nachos.  I have several different nacho cheese recipes, depending on the mood I'm in, but they all have one thing in common -- nuts or seeds, so they're high fat.

This soup doesn't have that problem.  It's nut free and the creaminess comes from cauliflower.

The soup is great on its own, but it's even better garnished with salsa and avocado.  I don't currently have any corn-safe olives, but a few sliced olives thrown into the soup would probably be a nice addition.

Here's the finished soup, ready to eat with all the extras.

This is what the veggies look like before cooking and blending.  

Here's the blended soup with the beans, tomatoes, and peppers thrown in.
You can tell my eyes were bigger than my soup pot.  I should have used the stock pot!

Nacho Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large carrot or 2 smaller carrots, chopped
1 medium head cauliflower, chopped
5 cups water, divided
1 bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp miso
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can black beans

1.  Saute the onion and garlic in a little water. 
2. Add the carrot and cauliflower.  Pour in about 1-2 cups of water, cover, and let steam until veggies are tender.
3.  Turn off the heat and add the miso.  Blend the veggies, adding more water to get to desired consistency.  Turn the heat back on to warm soup, but try not to boil it.
4.  Add the seasonings, black beans, tomatoes, and bell pepper.  Let all warm up.
5. Serve with salsa and avocado if desired, or eat as is.

Makes 6 servings.

Week 15 -- Peanut Butter Soup

A few years ago, when I was knew to cooking collards and looking for ideas of what to do with them, someone suggested peanut butter soup.  I looked up recipes, but they all involved a LOT of peanut butter.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love peanut butter, but it's high in saturated fat, and a little goes a long way.

By the way, when buying peanut butter, always make sure to get a brand that is just peanuts.  There shouldn't be any other ingredients, especially no added oil.  There's enough oil in peanut butter already!

When I started playing with this recipe, I wanted to thicken the soup while cutting the peanut butter, so I replaced most of it with red lentils.  They cook quickly and thicken soups nicely.

Also, I don't need to post the same photo of how to roll and slice collards, do I?  You've got that technique down by now.  If not, check out an earlier soup recipe like Turkish Soup or Butternut Spice.

Don't forget -- cut your ginger against the grain first!

Add the tomatoes near the very end so they stay firm.  It smells fantastic.

Yummy!

Peanut Butter Soup

1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 lb red lentils
8 cups water
1 bunch collards (about 1/2 lb)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp turmeric
black pepper
1/3 - 1/2 cup peanut butter
4 tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp lemon juice

1.  In a large soup pot, saute the onion in a little water.  When soft, add the garlic and ginger.  Cook another few minutes until fragrant.
2.  Add lentils and water.  Cook until tender (about 10-15 minutes).
3.  Remove stems from collards.  Cut collards into thin strips.  Add to soup with red pepper flakes.
4.  Add turmeric, black pepper, and peanut butter.  Turn off the heat and add the tomatoes and lemon juice.

Makes about 6 servings.

Week 14 -- Caldo Verde

Once again, I have to admit that I have only tried this soup from my own cooking.  I have no idea if this tastes like real Caldo Verde or not.

The cookbook where I read about Caldo Verde originally says this is a Portuguese soup.  It may taste like this, and it might not.  One trick I read in the cookbook is to use tempeh crumbles in place of sausage. 

If you're a fan of Zuppa Toscana, this is similar.  When I make that soup, I add some cashew cream.  In this soup, the creaminess comes from blending the veggies, and the greens get a little softer.

I usually make tempeh sausage crumbles (as for use on pizza, for example) by putting all the seasonings right on the tempeh.  That could work here, but, to make it easier, I just through the sausage seasonings right into the soup.

I like to make this with chard or collard greens (I'm not a huge chard fan, but this is one place it works).  However, my local grocery store didn't have any good greens this week except for kale (the other choices were bok choi, which I think of as the lazy cousin of good greens as it really doesn't do much for you nutritionally speaking, and broccoli rabe, which I have never had cooked well, and I wasn't going to spend a fortune just to fail at it).  If your store is as poorly stocked as mine, don't worry.  Kale works just fine here.

How can you go wrong with onions, garlic, potatoes, and kale?

There's my crumbled tempeh, steaming itself.  If you aren't sure about tempeh, don't skip this step,
as it mellows the flavor quite a bit.

Time to blend!

Look at all those tempeh sausage crumbles -- it's hard not to eat them before they get to the pot.

There's a beautiful bowl of green soup (with some extra tempeh crumbles saved for garnish).

Caldo Verde

1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
4-5 small gold potatoes or 3 medium, chopped
4 cups water
1 Tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp each sage, savory, and thyme
1/2 tsp - 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp miso paste
6 cups shredded greens
1 package tempeh
1 Tbsp lemon juice
sprinkle of paprika (optional)

1. In a soup pot or saucepan, saute the onion in some water.  When it's soft, add the garlic.
2. In a frying pan, crumble tempeh into a thin layer of water (about 1/2 cup).  Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes.
3. To the soup pot, add the potatoes and 4 cups water.  I like to add half the water now and half after blending, but it should work if you add it all now.  Also add the fennel, sage, savory, and thyme.  Let simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Uncover tempeh.  Add the lemon juice and cook until dry and a little crispy.  I sometimes add some paprika just for color.
4. Turn off the heat on the potato soup.  Add the miso paste.  Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.  Some chunks are fine.  You can also carefully puree using a regular blender, but beware of steam and hot liquids.
5. Add the shredded greens (and the rest of the water, if you divided it).  Turn on the heat just to let the additional water come up to soup temperature.  Do not boil.  The greens should get nice and soft.
6. Mix the tempeh crumbles into the soup.  If you're eating it right away, save a few crumbles to put on top.

Makes about 4 servings.