Thanks to FARM for not only publishing my vegan White Bean and Kale Stew recipe from The Blooming Platter Cookbook, but for also including nutritional information, Gimme Lean product information, and an article on the fast food-obesity connection. Just click HERE to access the newsletter, including recipe.
Has it turned chilly where you are? If so, I thought you might appreciate a sneak preview of a nutritious and delicious winter soup that my omnivorous husband asks for by name. If so, just click on the soup name below.
This beautiful “White Bean and Kale Stew” hails from The Blooming Platter Cookbook and was featured this week as the Veg Kitchen’s “Recipe of the Week.” (Thanks, Nava Atlas!) Not the ubiquitous white bean and kale stew that we all know and love, my recipe is extra special with the addition of fennel and vegan sausage.
Fragrant with that faintly anise scent so appealing and particular to fennel, and “kicked-up” with the addition of winter spices, this stew is like aromatherapy in a bowl. And it’s very quick to make.
Our family started a tradition of making a special soup on Christmas Day because none of us wanted to repeat the (healthy) excesses of Thanksgiving less than a month before. Plus we had come not to relish opening presents and then leaping up to hit the kitchen for hours of work–pleasant enough, but work all the same. Our soup tradition takes any residual stress out of the day and has been enjoyed for several years. If you have the same inclinations, this soup would make a lovely choice.
Please, everyone, have yourselves a wonderful holiday. And stay-tuned for my extra special post for New Year’s Eve. It may be the simplest, quickest and most beautiful “recipe”–if you can call it that–that I’ve posted in Blooming Platter history!
And, quickly, if you are in need of a last minute gift, I would like to suggest running out to your local bookseller and snagging a copy of The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes. (You can purchase it for 25% off its regular retail price through December 31!) If you already have purchased one for yourself or others, my sincere thanks! People’s generous support of TBPC has been extraordinary.
Yield: 4-6 servings
If you live in a part of the world where temperatures have dipped–or never rose to begin with–this ultra-simple, ultra-satisfying chili will warm you from the inside out. However, if you live in warmer climes, a bowl of this spicy soup just might get a little perspiration going and cool you down–nature’s own air conditioning.
The most difficult part of making this dish is waiting while the chili simmers for 25 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, but into 1/4-inch dice
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
8 ounces tempeh
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon smoked, sweet or spicy paprika
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1-15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes in juice
12 ounces light beer or non-alcoholic beer (see note below)
1 tablespoon miso paste (any kind)
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup or agave nectar
(Note: you may substitute 2 tablespoons of tomato paste for the miso paste and the brown rice syrup.)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup frozen corn
1-15.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
Optional: 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Optional garnishes: dollops of my Vegan Cheddar “Cheese,” dollops of vegan sour cream, and cilantro sprigs
Optional accompaniment: Frito Scoops for “Frito Chili Pie”
Heat oil to shimmering in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and saute, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Crumble tempeh into the pa, add all spices and saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or just until tempeh starts to brown. Add all remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 25 minutes or until all flavors have married. Serve hot garnished as desired.
Note: According to Ali Tadayon in “Beware the Beer: Is Yours Vegan,” found in the Vegan Mainstream e-newsletter, not all beer is vegan, as it may include albium (derived from animal blood), isinglass (derived from the swim bladders of fish), gelatin, charcoal, pepsin, lactose, and even insects. She recommends the following vegan-approved beers: Amstel, Corona, Heineken, New Belgium Brewery, Pabst Brewing, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and Tecate over these non-vegan ones: Castle Rock Brewery, Guinness, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Red Stripe.
Yield: 4 servings
Take a look at that rich color…it’s hard to believe that this earthy, spicy soup is both low in fat and low in calories, isn’t it?
I created it last weekend as an antidote to my Vegan Ginger-Spice Caramel Pecan Rolls, of which I ate TWO in one day (though I went for long walks and shared the rest with co-workers on Monday). I knew I needed to eat something else that was very low in fat and calories, but full of vitamins, so Skinny Indian Soup was born.
It’s simply vegetable stock–store-bought for convenience–simmered with lots of sweet roasted garlic cloves–also purchased for convenience –and Indian spices plus a little Liquid Aminos, lemon juice for brightness, and nutritional yeast with bushels of fresh baby spinach added near the end. You won’t believe the depth of flavor! And the only fat comes from any that might be clinging to the roasted garlic cloves. (I buy the garlic NOT in a jar, but in bulk from my grocery store’s antipasto bar.)
Note: I like fairly pronounced lfavors of spices in most all of my food; if you don’t, consider starting with half the amount of each spice, tasting after a couple of minutes of simmering and adding more if desired.
Since the soup itself lacks adequate protein, I enjoy it with a cold glass of unsweetened soymilk and, if I haven’t overdone it in the calorie department, a couple of “everything” flatbread crackers spread with just a smidge of my Vegan Cheddar “Cheese” Spread and a tiny pinch of paparika for color.
Here’s to the last spinach of winter and the great bodies of summer!
4 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 4 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1/2 cup roasted garlic cloves (sounds like a lot but, because they are so sweet, that it’s perfect)
1 tablespoon dried cilantro
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
8 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach (if desired, save 4 leaves for garnish)
In a 4-quart saucepan, simmer together all ingredients except spinach for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add spinach and gentely simmer, still stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes more. Spinach should retain some nice green color. Serve warm, garnished, if desired, with a roasted garlic clove in fresh spinach leaf “boat.”
If you’ve read my previous two posts, you know that I have been traveling and, hence, not grocery shopping. Late this week, starving, I suddenly realized we had precious little in the fridge or pantry to make a whole meal out of. Literally, the only produce on hand were baby carrots and a half a tomato that had seen better days.
Yield: approximately 8 servings
The winter greens in the grocery store are ravishing right now making it impossible not to build some meals around them. This one is such a warm and welcoming dinner to come home to. Plus it’s one of the tastiest infusions of antioxidants and flavorful vegan protein going. But you might have noticed that those are chick peas, not white beans, in the photo. I was in a hurry in a grocery store where I don’t usually shop and reached for the first can I saw with a white colored bean-like object on the front. They were delicious in the stew, so use them if you have them, but next time I’ll use white beans for a little more authentically Italian dish .
Yield: 6-8 Servings
I thought that cucumber sounded like an odd ingredient, but please don’t omit. It adds welcome color, taste and texture to this beautiful soup.
2-3 tablespoons canola oil
2 shallots or 1/3 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small dried chili, whole
6 cups vegetable stock
3 kaffir lime leaves (available in the freezer section of Asian markets)
2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size dice
2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 of a large red bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 cup rich or extra-rich coconut milk
1 medium cucumber, cut into bite size pieces (leave peel on)
Handful of fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai basil leaves
Heat oil until shimmering in the bottom of a soup pot or wok over medium-high heat. Add the shallot or onion, garlic and chili. Stir fry for just a few minutes to release fragrance and soften onion and garlic. Add stock and lime leaves and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potato. Reduce heat to medium and allow soup to simmer until the potato is easily pierced with a fork, about 6-8 minutes. While sweet potato is cooking, add the vegan fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. When sweet potato has softened, and the red pepper and the cucumber. Allow to simmer for only 1-2 minutes, as the vegetables should retain their firmness. Reduce heat to low and add the coconut milk, stirring to incorporate. Adjust seasoning for balance of salt, sweetness and spice. Stir in basil leaves and allow to wilt. Remove whole chili and serve warm. Soup keeps and reheats well.
Source: Veganized from: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/pumpkinsoup.htm
Yield: approximately 4 servings (these aren’t large servings, but the soup is filling)
Yield: 4-6 servings
This soup is so tasty that I will certainly make it even after I can eat solid food. Created for my post-oral surgery diet, it helps me feel less deprived because it contains much of the nutritious deliciousness that makes me crave Thai food.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a medium onion, peeled and slivered
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
2 generous cups baby carrots
3/4 pound seedless cucumbers (3 very small cucumbers)
1 cup cashew pieces and halves
1-14.5 ounce can coconut milk
1 scant tablespoon vegan fish sauce
1/4 cup very lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup very lightly packed fresh Thai basil leaves
Coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
zest of one lime
In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil until shimmering. Add onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes or until softened and just starting to turn golden. Meanwhile, steam carrots just until tender. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and drain. Place all ingredients except lime zest in the bowl of a food processor and puree until almost smooth, but flecks of texture and color remain. You may want to puree in two batches to prevent overflow. Transfer to a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, stir in zest, and heat. Serve warm.
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