Cream of Broccoli Soup

Saturday night I went to my sister-in laws 30th birthday party. Sunday I was a hung over mess. I did manage to make some soup with the help of my amazing husband.(He did all the chopping.)  I thought it was pretty damn good. Don't cry, I'll share.


Hangover Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 large white onion chopped
1-2 T olive oil
1 parsnip peeled and chopped
2 big bunches of broccoli (cut the florets pretty small,  peel the stocks and do a rough chop on them keep them separate)
6 or more cups of veggie broth (I make my own or use this great bouillon ,you could use store bought too)
2 t or more to taste of dried dill weed
2 t of oregano
2 cloves garlic minced
s & p to taste
a couple T of almond milk (or whatever non-dairy milk floats your boat)
2 small Yukon gold potatoes, or 1 mammoth one cut into smaller chunks
1/2 C chopped parsley
1 C dry white wine (optional , you can just add the stock instead BUT if you do that, I would suggest a squeeze of lemon juice)

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a good sized pot. Add the onions, parsnip, dill and oregano and a dash of salt and pepper and cook until the onions and parsnips are soft.
 Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. (garlic is you friend until you burn it, then garlic is your mortal enemy, so careful not to burn it)
Now for my favorite part... stand back a little and pour in the wine, and deglaze!
Let the wine cook down to about half of what you put in, then add the stock and the broccoli stems along with the parsley and the potato. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat cover and simmer for about 25-30 min until all veggies in the soup are tender.
Take the soup off the heat and allow to cool for a little bit, then working in batches puree the soup until smooth.
Add the almond milk to get to the consistency you would like your soup at. If it is fine as is, then you don't have to add any.
Put the soup back in the pan and add the broccoli florets cook over a medium low heat covered stirring frequently until the florets are cooked to you liking.

I'm a Vegan and I don't like tofu!

I am not cooking anything exciting today. So instead of posting a picture of a Boca burger I thought I would just ramble a bit. (The veggie burgers are what got me on this train of thought.) Anywhoooo....I have tried just about every meat substitute out there now, and I hate do not like them.
As I post more recipes in here you will find there are not very many with tofu, or seitan or tempeh in them. So now you know why, I simply don't like them. I do cook them from time to time mostly for the husband and kiddo so I'm sure they will pop up.
Maybe it's me, maybe I'm not wired correctly. I have heard so many people sing the praises of these bean and wheat meats that I figured I would like them. I guess in closing; I gave up meat and I'm not looking to replace it.

Get out and garden!!

If you are reading this blog, chances are you are vegan. Since I am taking that  leap o' faith I would say you like vegetables. Then I would assume you like fresh vegetables. So if you haven't already done so, start an awesome garden! It's easy and much cheaper (not to mention way more punk rock) than going to the grocery store for all your produce. If you are unsure how or where to start... never fear! There are some amazing gardening books on sale at pure citizen right now. Perfect timing!!
When I started gardening it gave me a whole new appreciation for veggies I didn't even like before. There is nothing like watching your hard work turn into some tasty freakin' veggies and herbs! Believe me you have never tasted a better tomato then the one you grow and pick right before you put it into dinner.
I  happened to have the help of being married to a former organic farmer. Without him, I would've been lost. So since everyone can't go out and marry an organic farmer (though i highly recommend it!) pick up a book, if you are not buying one check one out at the library, it will save you from some serious frustration. I will link a couple other books I think are pretty great for starting up.
Happy digging in the dirt day! (It's not a "REAL HOLIDAY", it could be if you wanted it to be though)

Sorta Pesto Pasta

I am not the best photographer.

It's been rainy, dark and chilly down right cold since spring came to Wisconsin. I need a pick me up, a taste of spring or summer. Plus I've got a whole bunch of basil that is at the eat it or lose it stage of the game soooo...PESTO! (like presto get it? Lame I know). I got a pretty rad deal on cashews at my local Indian grocery so instead of pine nuts in this I'm using cashews, not to mention pine nuts are forkin' expensive and I'm not made of money here!  I read something like this (though it was not vegan) in a magazine where they used parsley instead of basil so you could do that if you wanted. Anyways if anyone out there on the interwebs reads this I hope you enjoy!

Sorta Pesto Pasta

1 pint  cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half*
1/2 C  olive oil
2 C. or so of Basil (roughly chopped)
1/4 C roasted cashews
1/4 C faux parm (recipe follows or use what you like best)
1-2 cloves of garlic depending on your love of garlic
lemon juice (from prob. half a lemon or more to taste)
A box of pasta (a pound would be too much so if you're using a pound box leave some out)
S & P
dash of oregano (completely optional)
Preheat 375
Combine those tomatoes with olive oil (around 1 1/2 T)  salt and pepper and a dash of oregano (If you want. I happen to love oregano and try to put it on everything ,do not sweat it if you don't have it) and put them on a cookie sheet and roast em til they start looking like grandpa (wrinkly) about 11-12 minutes.
Cook your pasta according to the directions, strain and put a little olive oil with it, put a lid on it and keep it warm and snug.
Combine the cashews, basil, lemon juice and faux parm in the food processor and pulse until well combined then turn the processor on low and stream in the olive oil, process until it looks like, well... pesto.
Now you have all the suspects, mix them all together and TA DA dinner!

 Notes on this recipe- I would highly recommend that you use a spiral-type pasta for this I used angel hair and was not too happy about it.
I felt like it could use a lot more tomatoes, so eat em if you got em!

*If you have more tomatoes by all means use them, this is what I had in my fridge.

Sorta Parm (this comes from vegan on the cheap GREAT book)
1/2 C nut or seed of choice (I like cashew pieces or slivered almonds for this)
3 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t salt

Put it all in the food processor and pulse until it is all combined with no big chunks.
If you are using whole nuts I would suggest  following the actual recipe and pulsing the nuts (not too much or you will make cashew paste) then stirring in the yeast and salt.

Scary yet, very very true.

Why are you Vegan? Don't you miss bacon?

OK, so about two months ago now I had a thought. It started off innocent enough.."Gee I wonder why we can get meat in such great quantities for so cheap" See I LOVE cooking and food which is what lead me to this thought. So I started to read up on it.

It was a complete eye opener. I realized by eating meat, eggs and dairy I was personally responsible  for the suffering of these animals. Since I finished slaughterhouse, I have been vegan.

I won't take up too much time with the gruesome details. These books on the side though, if you haven't read them please do. I included a couple videos too. If you haven't before, please take the time to think about where your food comes from. This is the end of my preaching. Now I'll start making with the food.