Creamy Broccoli Carrot Soup

This is so easy and so filling, but so healthy! I guess that's the theme of all my soups, if you really think about it. It doesn't have a ton of calories (only about 180 per cup), so you can easily have seconds - even if you're watching your weight. The boys and I scarfed it right down.

4 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. dry barley
2 medium stalks broccoli
2 large carrots, peeled if desired*
13.6 oz. can Lite Coconut Milk (I used the Thai Kitchen brand)
1 c. vegan cheese (optional)
4 T. nutritional yeast
Granulated garlic to taste
Real Salt to taste

Bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Add barley, return to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables.

Shred carrots using the large holes of a cheese grater (a food processor makes quick work of this, but it's easy enough to do by hand). Cut florets off broccoli and chop stalk into pieces equal to the size of the florets, stopping when the stalk gets tough. Soak in a bowl of cold water and apple cider vinegar for about 10 minutes. Drain, then process in a food processor until small pieces but not completely pulverized.

After the barley has been cooking for 15 minutes, add coconut milk, broccoli and carrots. Stir to combine. Return to a simmer and cook 15 more minutes or until vegetables and barley are tender. Season with salt and granulated garlic as desired.

You can add the cheese and nutritional yeast at this point and serve, or you can make it creamier. I vote creamier. If you have an immersion (hand) blender, stick it in the pot and blend away until it reaches the desired consistency. If you don't, you can process in batches in your blender - just remember it's hot and the lid can blow off if you try to process too much at once. Make it as creamy or chunky as you like. If you are blending, add the cheese and nutritional yeast at the end. The cheese can be hard to get off the blender blades.

Makes 6, 1-cup servings (but you're going to want more than one cup, I promise!)

*Note: It is not necessary to peel most root vegetables - just give them a good scrubbing. Keeping the skin on retains more fiber and most of the time you won't notice a difference. :)

Potato Carrot Steamer Pack

This is one of my first experiments with my Coolest Invention E-v-E-r (click the hyperlink for a full explanation). It was absolutely delish! It made too much food for just one lunch, but I have some leftovers for a snack a little later on. If I make it again, I will simply use one red potato instead of two. I can't wait to keep playing around with these bags!

2 small red potatoes, halved and cut into large chunks
1 handful baby carrots
1/4 t. dried Thyme
1/8 t. Real Salt
1/2 T. Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter)
1 Ziplock Steamer Bag
1/2 c. cooked barley


Place potatoes, carrots, thyme, salt and Earth Balance in a Ziplock steamer bag. Toss to evenly distribute seasonings. Cook on high power for about five minutes, or until veggies are tender. Remove from microwave and let stand until just cool enough to handle. Shake bag gently to ensure Earth Balance and seasonings are evenly distributed. Serve over cooked barley.

Variations: I realize I am stating the obvious here, but there are many different things that can be done with this recipe by switching out the seasonings and vegetables. This dish is not particularly high in protein, so adding some beans in place of some of the barley may be good idea, or serve with a bean sauce such as the Cheesy Bean Sauce.

Curry Wraps

My oldest hates everything foreign - usually until he tries it. This was no exception. The flavor was not something he was used to, but it was quite yummy and we all enjoyed it. I should have made mored because they both wanted seconds! :o)

1 1/2 c. cooked barley
1 1/2 c. cooked white beans
Curry Sauce (recipe will follow)
3 burrito-sized wheat tortillas
9 romaine lettuce leaves
Shredded Vegan Cheese (if desired)

Combine barley and white beans in a large bowl or pot. Use a bowl if you are making a cold wrap and use a pot if you are making a warm wrap.

Prepare Curry Sauce:
1 package (12 oz) light firm silken tofu, drained
1 t. yellow curry powder
1 t. Real Salt
1/4 t. granulated garlic
1/4 t. ginger
1/8 c. nutritional yeast
1 T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/4 c. coconut milk

Place all ingredients except coconut milk in a hand blender. Add half of the coconut milk and begin blending, adding more milk as necessary to reach desired consistency. The sauce should be thin but not runny. Taste, and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Add 1/2 of the sauce mixture to beans and barley, stirring to combine. Store remaining sauce in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. If you want a warm wrap, heat barley mixture over low heat until just heated through. Remove center rib from lettuce leaves, and arrange three of each lettuce leaf on each tortilla. Top with 1/3 of barley mixture. Fold bottom up and then roll both sides over like a burrito. Serve immediately.

If desired, garnish with tomato and/or avocato before rolling.

Mushroom and Rice Soup

The biggest debate we had here was whether to add diced tomatoes to the recipe. Ultimately we decided no tomatoes with the Pick-a-Number routine. It was delicious and filling. We had very large servings and there was enough for 3 bowls. We will definitely be making this again.

2 c. vegetable broth
4 large carrots, scrubbed and sliced into "coins"
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 bay leaves
4 large mushrooms or 6 to 8 small mushrooms, stems removed and chopped
1 c. cooked brown rice
1 1/2 c. cooked garbanzo beans
Real Salt, granulated garlic and basil to taste
1 T. white or yellow miso
1/4 c. nutritional yeast

In a very large saucepan combine vegetable broth, carrots, onion, garlic, celery and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves.

Add seasonings to taste. It is easier to do it at this stage of the cooking than at the end because there are more Chunky Things through which you must blend the seasonings. If you prefer to do it at the end you can. :~)

Add mushrooms, rice and beans. Return to a simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat and add miso and nutritional yeast. Serve immediately.

Variations: Like many things on this blog, the vegetables can be swapped out, added or otherwise changed. Zucchini and spinach are some that come to mind. However, the soup can be made creamier, if desired. To make creamier, blend garbanzo beans with about 1/2 cup of the soup broth before adding to the soup. You can blend all or part of the beans, depending on your preference.

Note: When adding miso to a soup, it is important that the miso not be boiled. If boiled, miso paste turns oily and icky and, quite frankly, doesn't taste very good. For best results, cook the soup completely and add miso right before serving, AFTER removing soup from the heat source. :)

**Can be made in the slow cooker.** :o)

Random factoid: Most people toss a significant amount of fiber by peeling the skins off veggies. Whenever possible, leave the skins on vegetables like carrots and potatoes. Just scrub 'em good.

Faux Lox Bagel

This isn't really a recipe, just an idea I had for making a bagel a little more interesting. I used to really enjoy lox on a bagel, and the capers to boot were just to die for. I still eat fish on occasion(I could never give up sushi completely), but if red peppers do the trick, why use salmon? You're welcome, little fishy.

1 bagel (vegan, of course - check the ingredients)
2 to 4 T. vegan cream cheese (you can make your own from the UnCheese Cookbook or use store-bought)
1 T. capers
6 thin strips roasted red pepper - make your own from the instructions on this blog! :o)
1/2 small avocado, sliced

Toast bagel. Smear with cream cheese. Top with capers, peppers and avocado. Serve open faced or sandwich-style. Yum!

Variations: Add thinly sliced onion. Add spinach if going sandwich style (I didn't have any, sad).

Tip: Have trouble with avocados and getting them out of that annoying little peel? Here's what you do: Slice in half, then whack the pit with a large butcher knife. Twist gently to remove the pit. Keep the pit if you're not using the whole avocado - if you stick it in the container with the leftover avocado it helps keep the avocado from turning brown. While the avocado is still in the peel, cut gently with a knife, either in strips or cubes, all the way down to the peel - but don't go all the way through! Use a small spoon (like what you would use for cereal) to gently scoop the fruit away from the peel. Easy!

Sloppy Lentils

This dish could be made in the slow cooker as well - if you're able to get up early enough in the morning to prepare it (yeah, um, that hasn't been me lately). My kids initially complained when I said I was making Sloppy Lentils, probably because they detest Sloppy Joes made from ground beef. Surprisingly, my oldest - who complained the loudest - gobbled up his serving and had seconds.

1 cup dry lentils, sorted and rinsed
Olive Oil
1 small onion, diced
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 6 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1 t. dry mustard
2 T. Bragg's Liquid Aminos
2 T. Agave nectar
Real Salt, optional

Fill a medium saucepan halfway with hot water, about 3 cups, and bring to a rigorous boil. Add lentils, return to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook 25 to 30 minutes or until lentils are soft.

While lentils are cooking, pour a small amount of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions and garlic are soft and just starting to brown. Remove from heat.

Drain lentils and return to saucepan. Add cooked onion and garlic, tomato sauce, tomatoes, mustard, Bragg's, and agave. Stir to combine. Add Real Salt to taste, if desired. Bring to a light simmer over medium-low heat and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and sauce begins to thicken.

Serve on hamburger buns or open faced over a slice of bread. Top with vegan cheese if desired.

Makes about 8 sandwiches.

Note: There are several types of lentils (green, brown, red, black, yellow, etc). The most commonly used in the United States are green, brown and red. Brown lentils are popular because of how well they hold their shape and are great for use in salads or soups. Green and red lentils will become a little mushier when cooked, so keep this in mind when selecting lentils. Additionally, green and red lentils will cook faster than brown, so keep that in mind when gauging cooking times. I used brown lentils in this recipe. Do not mix old and new lentils together, as they will not cook evenly.