vegan creamy potato soup

this soup is yummy.... not to mention healthy.

very easy...

first add olive oil to a nice big soup pot

chop:

 5 or 6 celery stalks

1 medium sized cauliflower

6 medium to small sized potatoes

throw all that in and saute

add salt to taste...it's a big pot so at least 2 or 3 teaspoons

add a tablespoon or so of dried ground rosemary (fresh would be even better)

just stir every so often and let the veggies do their thing

after a few minutes:

fill the pot with cold water, just enough to cover all the veggies

let simmer for a while...

until everything starts to break down

maybe add a little extra virgin olive oil at this phase, but only if you want to

next.....blend!

maybe top with some fresh chives or dill and maybe a small dollop of sour cream

enjoy!

sauteed veggie & black bean sloppy joe's

.....and kale chips


***

olive oil

saute chopped green bell pepper

add chopped zucchini & yellow squash

add thyme

pinch of hing

pretty sure i threw some oregano in there

add a bunch of lovely red tomatoes chopped

let simmer...cause it's summer

add a couple cups of cooked black beans

(i smashed 'em up a bit with my hands)

a pinch of dill weed

maybe a tablespoon of paprika

an arm full of fresh chopped spinach

cover to let wilt

stir it up

I wanted ciabatta buns, but the damn bakery was out

so, wheat pita bread it is

now...

decide to make homemade kale chips

(thanks sandra franks for this gem of a recipe)

just washed and dried flat kale

get rid of the fat stems

rip into pieces 

drizzle a couple table spoons olive oil

toss to cover completely

sprinkle some salt...i used big chunky sea salt

put in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 11 minutes

seriously.....seriously tasty

um....yeah

dinnahhhhhh......

i don't even really have a recipe for this one.

let's try.

olive oil in a pan...don't skimp.

a little hing

a little pepper

a giant red bell pepper chopped

lift the heat a bit

 half a brick of tofu crumbled

a generous squirt of braggs

a vegetable bouillion cube...smashed

thinly sliced carrots

thyme

oregano

sea salt

a can of organic tomatoes (garden not quite ready)

some water

....simmer

add cooked angel hair pasta and toss

let the pasta soak up all that goodness

throw on good amount of chopped fresh spinach

plate the pasta

top with freshly grated asiago cheese

eat

saturday morning mash...

joe's gone to yoga and the girls are still sleeping. time to make saturday morning mash! i like to sit in the morning on my couch in the kitchen (yeah, that's right, i broke the social norm rules of where furniture is placed in a people house) and think about my day and try to wrap my brain around being awake. 

first step is to fry up the fake sausage. 1/2 pack sausage and 1/2 bell pepper chopped

 i like the gimme lean's sausage. i put a little olive oil in a pan and let it get pretty hot. then just fry up and chop it up....pretty easy...now that it is all nice and brown, place it on a cookie sheet in the oven (on warm)

half of a 32 oz. bag of frozen southern style cubes hash browns.

same deal. nice hot olive oil. maybe throw in a little hing and fresh ground pepper, then toss the tatters in. when they get nice and brown, move them to that cookie sheet with the sausage and chopped peppers.

now for the tofu :)

once again, small amount of olive oil heated up.

1 teaspoon-ish black mustard seeds

let sit in the oil until they start to pop! then quickly add...

1/2 teaspoon hing

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 packs of tofu

stir and break up tofu. if you want the tofu a bit more yellow, just add a bit more turmeric.

add 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

splash of braggs liquid amino

cover and simmer....the tofu will get quite watery as it cooks. this is good..because next after it has cooked for several minutes you will add....

4 to 6 table spoons nutritional yeast 

this mixes with the watery stuff and makes a freaking killer sauce!

now just simmer for a few minutes then add all the stuff you have sitting in the oven!

get yourself a lovely cup o coffee and maybe a slice of toast....scrumptious!!!

falafel

falafel....

i am at a loss for words so.....just. here is the recipe.

4 cups chickpeas 

(from my freezer) canned is ok too....but on all the recipes i researched, they said for some reason, that starting with dried beans and cooking them makes a difference.....i did that the other day then put them in my freezer, so that's what i used.....pulse a few times in the processor, then add...

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 or 4 tablespoons flour or bread crumbs

1 teaspoon-ish ground cumin

1 teaspoon-ish ground coriander 

1/2 teaspoon hing (or onion or garlic of some sort)

maybe a half a bunch fresh flat parsley leaves

small hand full fresh cilantro

sprinkle in some red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

mix up in food processor until it's all good and mixed. kinda pasty.

so here is where things can....and did go terribly wrong! i filled my frying pan with an inch or so of oil. i placed little flat balls of my mixture in the oil and within a few minutes they melted into nothing.....so i added a bit more flour...my friend christie thinks the oil wasn't hot enough. could be. but, anyhooo.....it all worked out amazingly!

place in pita with hummus, tomato, cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, avocado :) and a simple yogurt sauce! (below)

one part tahini

2 parts plain yogurt

fresh lemon juice

salt

enjoy!!!

morning rituals...

Seed toast and a couple cups of coffee

Taking my time to wake up in the morning is my ritual, along with coffee and seed toast! and just let me be honest for a sec here...I am totally confused when I wake up, so taking my time to get to a coherent place in my brain is kind of a requirement. last summer I decided that, for whatever reason, I needed flax seed oil in my life. so I came up with this kick ass morning food!.....well, I think it's kick ass anyway :) 

in a small bowl....

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons flax seeds  (grind them in a coffee grinder. I grind until they are somewhere between coarse and fine. jess, however, likes hers fine. experiment)
1 tablespoon organic flax seed oil
1 teaspoon bragg's liquid amino
1 small dab of your favorite mustard (spicy brown mustard is my favorite, but the yellow stuff is good too)

now just mix up (it will look kind of dry....keep mixing it up. it will be kinda crumbly) and plop it all on a piece of yummy bread....personally i choose the butt end of a loaf of dave's killer bread. it's all seedy and organic and goes really well with my concoction.

you can get really good prices on nutritional yeast and flax seeds in the bulk section at Winco


happy morning :)