Breakfast Soup!

Okay, that's sort of a misnomer. It's not exactly a breakfast soup, but I've been making it at breakfast time several days in a row this week, and I love it to pieces. It uses up my leftover veggies, keeps me from skipping breakfast, smells delicious, gets my appetite going, and makes enough that I can eat it for several tasty meals. I also appreciate the fact that it's very light, lacking the processed-ness of bread or tofu. Sometimes you just need your food to be simpler. Your tummy will thank you.

This is the exact version I made today.

Breakfast Soup

2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, chopped
5 small carrots, sliced
1-14 oz. can petite dice tomatoes
3 cans water
2 large vegetable bullion squares
5-6 baby red potatoes, quartered, sliced and rinsed
1-14 oz. can navy beans (including liquid)
1/4 tsp each marjoram, ground thyme and garlic powder
1/2 tsp. agave syrup (sugar would be fine)
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cooked rice

In a dutch oven or large saucepan, cook onion in vegetable oil over medium to medium-high heat until it starts to soften. Add peppers and carrots and continue stirring over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except for the cooked rice. (Note: rinsing the potatoes will wash off some of the starch and prevent icky foam from forming on top of your soup.) If you're not using leftover rice like I did, you can throw in 1/3 cup or so of uncooked rice at any point before you bring everything to a rolling boil. Once it's boiling pretty good, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. If you're using cooked rice, add in the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Delicious with ritz-y crackers, rye toast, or just by itself.

One-Pot Spinach and Pasta

This is another one of those recipes that you can make when you have literally nothing fresh in the house... you just need a few essentials from the pantry and freezer, and a few basic seasonings to make it happen. Of course, adding strips or chunks of mock chicken and some kick-ass tofu ricotta makes it that much better. My 7 year old absolutely loves this, tomatoes, spinach and all, and will eat as much as I let him. (I try to make sure he doesn't eat so much that he comes to me afterward clutching his belly and saying "I hurt my body..." again.)

Here are some extra tips, since I'm feeling excessive this morning:

• If you like it, double the spinach for extra veggie love here... those little boxes of plain frozen spinach are a fantastic deal at around $1 each, and packed full of vitamins and minerals.
• Make this extra-nice if you *do* have fresh produce. Chop an onion and saute it with a clove or two of fresh minced garlic, then add 1/2-1 lb of sliced mushrooms or zucchini and stir till the veggies are cooked. Complete the recipe as follows (omitting the onion and garlic powder, of course).
• I "thaw" my spinach by dropping the sealed plastic pouch into the pasta water and taking it out when it boils.
  

One-Pot Spinach & Pasta

1 lb medium shell pasta, cooked (rotini and macaroni work great too)

1 package frozen spinach, thawed
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can navy beans, drained
2 T olive oil
1 cup chopped chicken substitute (optional)
1 recipe Basil-Tofu Ricotta (also optional)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional but delicious)
1/2 teaspoon each garlic and onion powder
1/2 tsp each thyme, basil and oregano or 1 T italian seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions while you open cans and get out your sauce ingredients. Drain pasta in a colander and set aside. Add all other ingredients to the now-empty pasta pot (hooray, fewer dishes) and stir over medium heat till bubbly. Taste it for salt now- this is important, since a lot of these ingredients can vary widely in salt content and once you put it in, you can't take it back out! When you're satisfied with the tastiness of your sauce, add the drained noodles back to the pot and stir well. Makes a LOT, and refrigerates very well for leftovers. Serve by itself, or with garlic bread and a salad.

Chili Mac

This ain't gourmet. This is "we need to go shopping, TOMORROW" food, but it's tasty and you can make it with a few ingredients from your spice cupboard and pantry. We eat this once or twice a month at my house. If you have an onion (I usually do), chop it up and saute it in the margarine before adding the other ingredients.

Chili Mac

1/2 lb dried pasta, cooked
1/4 cup margarine
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can chili beans in sauce (plain pinto beans work too)
1 T ground cumin
1 T chili powder (the blend, not straight-up red pepper)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside. In a saucepan, mix margarine, tomatoes, beans and spices and bring to a boil; add nutritional yeast, cooked pasta and stir. Remove from heat and serve.

Taco Soup

My great-aunt Joanne first made this soup for a family gathering, and mom liked it so much she asked for the recipe and we've been using it ever since. It was really easy to adapt for vegetarians, I just left out the ground beef and added a variety of canned beans. Part of the beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity... you just dump everything in a pot, liquid included. Instant comfort food!

Taco Soup

1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can sliced black olives
2 cans tomatoes (I use petite dice)
1 can green beans
1 cup frozen corn
1-2 packets taco seasoning (adjust to taste!)
1/2 cup dry macaroni

Toppings (optional):
fritos
vegan sour cream and/or shredded cheese

In a large soup pot/dutch oven on medium-high heat, dump everything but the macaroni and stir. DON'T DRAIN THE CANNED STUFF. Just dump it all in the pot, liquid and all. (Tip: just add one packet of taco seasoning to start. If it doesn't taste quite spicy/salty enough with one, add more from a second packet until it's just right.) When it comes to a boil, add macaroni, stir, and turn down heat a little so it doesn't boil over. When the noodles are cooked, turn off heat. If the soup is too thick, you may want to add some water to thin it out a little. Serve in bowls with or without toppings.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

I needed something vegetarian to bring to today's 4th of July BBQ, and mom suggested a cold salad made with black-eyed peas. There are a lot of recipes for it online using fresh veggies, canned peas and a vinaigrette-type dressing, but I like my peas home-cooked. They've got a better texture that way, but you could use frozen ones too, with similar results.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

2 cups dry black-eyed peas
2 medium roasted peppers, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup grated carrot

Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (red is fine, white just tastes cleaner and brighter)
2 T spicy brown mustard
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp parsley (or 1 T. fresh)
freshly-ground black pepper

Soak the peas for 4 hours, then rinse, cover with fresh water in a pot, add 2 tsp salt, bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes until tender. Rinse cooked beans with cold water and drain while you prep the veggies and dressing. (My dad grilled a red and an orange bell pepper for me on his grill, which turned out awesome! But you can use jarred peppers too, if you aren't so lucky.) Mix peas and vegetables together in a large bowl, taking care not to mash the beans up too much. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl, then toss with the pea mixture till well-mixed. Cover and let sit in the fridge at least an hour before serving.

Mock Tuna Salad

Sometimes I get a craving for a tuna sandwich. You know, the kind that's loaded with mayo and pickle relish and chunks of... oh, right. Tuna. WELL! I've found that garbanzo beans make a good substitute in sandwich spreads. The texture is similar and the flavor is close (minus the fishy part... does that even make sense?!), just mash your beans and dress them up the same way you would a can of drained tuna. I like to put mine on toasted grainy bread.

Mock Tuna Salad

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 T. sweet pickle relish
2-3 T. onion, minced
1-2 T. vegan mayonnaise
1-2 tsp. whole-grain mustard (I use Grey Poupon country style)
celery salt
freshly ground black pepper

Dump your garbanzo beans into a medium-sized bowl and mash with a fork until most of the beans are broken up. It's ok if there are a few whole beans left! Add the rest of the ingredients to taste and mix well, then cover and chill until ready to use.

Hummus

A lot of people I've known tend to dismiss hummus out-of-hand as a "hippie food", something that only smug, self-satisfied martyrs are willing to put into their undernourished mouths. Oh, and I guess those guys in the middle east somewhere eat it too, right? Sometimes I want to swat these people. Hummus is, in essence, BEAN DIP. An exceptionally awesome bean dip, at that. You can shovel it in using raw vegetables, eat it with chips, crackers or bread, or even slather it on sandwiches. It's just that good. This recipe tastes a lot like the hummus my Jordanian teacher used to bring for school functions, and is really easy to make.

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed, liquid reserved
1 large clove garlic, pressed
3 T. tahini (ground sesame seeds)
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
salt to taste

In a food processor or blender, blend all ingredients EXCEPT the bean liquid and salt until smooth. EDIT: Turns out the hummus comes out smoother and creamier if you start by blending the tahini with the lemon juice first. This emulsifies the tahini and gives it a really great texture! Next, add the garlic and whip until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients now, using the reserved liquid to thin the mixture as you blend it. You could need anywhere from 3 T. to a half cup of liquid, depending on how thick you like your hummus. Taste before adding salt. Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge until ready to use.

You want to avoid oversalting this! I've done it before. It's pretty tough to enjoy eating overly-salted hummus with salty crackers. Try adding some roasted peppers and/or a teaspoon of cumin powder, or serve with extra olive oil and paprika on top for something different.

Black-Eyed Peas with Quinoa

I never had black-eyed peas till I'd lived in the south for over 6 years. A friend made some for our Thanksgiving get-together and made them vegetarian especially for me. After taking home the leftovers and eating them over the next week (there was a lot!) I got hooked. Turns out they're really easy to make, and you can whip up a huge pot of food for under $2.

A second, related story: another friend gifted me with a 25 lb. sack of quinoa that was going unused in her church's foodbank. (This is the south, seems like nobody's even heard of quinoa, much less wants to eat it.) Unfortunately, I am not overly familiar with the seedy little grain-thing myself, so I wasn't really sure what to do with it. It's got an odd flavor that I just couldn't pin down... until I tried those black-eyed peas. It's almost eerie how similar they are.

Yesterday I cooked a huge pot of quinoa so I could have a little with my breakfast, figuring I'd use the rest later to test new recipes. This morning I soaked up a pound of black-eyed peas, cooked them up and served them with a big scoop of quinoa mixed into each bowl. It was great! The flavors complement each other well, and the textures are more interesting than when you use rice as an accompaniment. Makes a really nice, high-protein dish that almost cooks itself.

Black-Eyed Peas with Quinoa

1 lb black-eyed peas, sorted, rinsed, and soaked (they don't take too long to rehydrate, I think mine are usually ready to cook within 4 hours)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced fine or pressed
2 carrots, shredded
3 stalks celery, sliced thinly
1 vegetable bouillon square
water to cover
season salt to taste

Quinoa:

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

You can make your quinoa in advance. It's very simple, just put one part quinoa with two parts water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed. I stored mine in the fridge till it was ready to use.

Put your black-eyed peas in a bowl, sort out any rocks or mutant peas and rinse them thoroughly. Cover with cold water and let stand for around 4 hours, till doubled in size. Saute the onion in a teaspoon of vegetable oil until fragrant, add garlic and cook, stirring often, until soft. Add carrots and celery and cook for a couple more minutes. Add peas, bouillon, and just enough water to cover, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes, or until tender. Add your favorite season salt to taste. (I usually put in several good shakes... serving this over unsalted quinoa can dilute the seasoning quite a bit. Plus I love salt.)

Serve over warmed quinoa with green beans and a little nutritional yeast on top, if you like it. Yum!

Totally Taco Salad

I hate to put up another salad recipe and perpetuate the myth that vegetarians only ever eat salads, but it was really tasty, used up some of my leftover rice, and my kid ate a big bowl of the stuff. That's gotta be a sign!

Totally Taco Salad

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup cooked rice, chilled
1/4 cup salsa
1 T. nutritional yeast (optional)
1 large romaine heart, washed and shredded
1 green onion, thinly sliced
12 tortilla chips, crushed


Cheater Sauce:
2 T. vegan mayonnaise
4 T. taco sauce
dash of garlic powder, onion powder and cumin to taste

Toss the rice, beans, salsa, yeast and sauce together till thoroughly mixed. Stir in lettuce, onion, and crushed chips just before serving. Should feed two adults as a main dish.