Shiitake Kale Soup

The Ingredients

1/2 tempeh "block"

1 container of fresh shiitake mushrooms 

2 cups kale

4 cups water 

1 cup miso paste

1 tbsp grated ginger

1/4 white onion

1 cup tamari

1 tbsp coconut oil

First, cut the tempeh into small cubes and stick in a ziplock bag. Pour all but one tbsp of tamari into the bag and let it marinate for a few hours. Set aside.

Coat the bottom of a pot with coconut oil and heat at medium heat. Take the onion and dice it into small pieces. Cook the onions until they are translucent. 

Pour the water and miso paste into the pot and let it simmer. 

Cut the mushrooms into long strips and set aside. Then, cut the kale into pieces similar in size to the mushrooms. I use pre-cut Trader Joe's kale, which saves a bit of time. Add both the kale and mushrooms into the broth mixture. Then, add the tempeh. dd the ginger and leftover tamari  and cook for 20 minutes. And enjoy! Filling and vegan! 

Miso Dressing

The Ingredients

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 splashes tamari

2 tbsp water

Shake ingredients and BAM! Enjoy it on any type of salad. My choice was a sprouted lentil and beet salad with a hard-boiled egg. Super tasty and light. It makes around 8 oz. If you'd like, you can add some ginger and/or lemon. Serious nom noms! 

Lemon Miso Ginger Hummus

The Ingredients

1 can garbanzo beans

1 tbsp tahini

1 tbsp sweet miso paste (low-sodium)

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 small garlic cloves

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp sesame oil

I love hummus. And as of a few days ago, I discovered a new love: a love of miso paste. What a great way to make things more tasty without adding a ton of calories. I wanted to make hummus and I wanted to use miso paste, so I found this recipe: 

http://www.thesmartkitchenblog.com/2012/08/lemon-miso-hummus.html

I followed it, but added some toasted sesame oil for an earthy flavor to balance out the citrus and tanginess from the ginger. Blend and enjoy! I plan on using miso in the future for some new hummus creations, so stay tuned... 

Miso hungry!!!!! 

Cool Finds

Trader Joe's had this cool brussel sprout stalk on special for $2.99. It yielded around 50 brussel sprouts, and it was AMAZING. 

This is roped garlic that a very wonderful person gave me after going to a garlic festival. It makes me think of my nonna, which is an added bonus to the fact that the garlic should last until April this way. 

Grilled Squash

The Ingredients

1 butternut squash

1 garlic clove

several sprigs of parsley

extra virgin olive oil

salt

red pepper flakes

In Napoli we eat a ton of squash and pumpkin. I wanted to taste something familiar that my mom made for me over the summer that was oh-so-tasty. So, I chopped up some acorn squash and went to town!

First, chop the squash into small chunks. In a grill pan, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Let the squash cook for 5 minutes on each side- enough to make some beautiful grill marks. Season with some salt and pepper. Then, dice some garlic and add it to the mixture. It will add some great flavor. Top it with some parsley and enjoy! So delicious! 

NOTE: You can actually preserve the squash "sott'olio" or "under oil" in a jar with these ingredients, so this version is quick, easy, and delicious! 

Vegan Cream of Celery Soup

The Ingredients

1 large celery stalk

1/2 white onion

1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews

2 tbsp yeast flakes

1 tbsp coconut oil

salt

pepper

kale chips (optional)

First, make some delicious cashew cream. I fill a bowl of cashews (1 cup) with water and let that sit overnight. The cashews get soft enough that they become a delicious cream when blended for a few minutes. Make sure the water is added to make the mixture as creamy as it can be. Set the cashew cream aside. Dice the onion and throw into a pan with some coconut oil. Let cook for a few minutes until almost caramelized. Set aside.

Throw the cashew cream into the blender. Cut the celery into small chunks and throw into the cashew cream. Then, add the onion and blend. Add the yeast flakes. Yeast flakes are a recent discovery of mine and I am so glad I found about this nutritious, cheesy (but not so cheesy) addition to many vegan dishes. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste and heat up in a saucepan. Kale chips add a tasty, nutritious crunch! Enjoy!

sans kale chips 

I actually stirred the kale chips in because they were so tasty in there! 

Corn and Okra Maque Choux

The Ingredients

1/2 white onion

1 tomato

16 oz. bag cut frozen okra

1 can of corn

1 red pepper 

2 chicken sausages

1 tbsp olive oil

paprika

cayenne pepper

saffron

salt

pepper

I had purchased some frozen okra on a whim because it was on sale at one of my favorite supermarkets. Then, I realized that I had very little ideas of what to do with it. I looked up some "southern" recipes because I knew okra was frequently used in that type of cuisine. That's when I encountered maque choux and was very intrigued by it. The recipe below is my take on a recipe I saw online- sans butter, and with a healthier sausage alternative. 

Thaw the okra and set aside. Dice the red pepper and also set aside into a bowl. Dice the white onion and put into a pan with enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Throw in the tomato and red pepper and let cook for a few minutes until the tomato is juicy and onions caramelized. The pepper should also look like it has softened up. Chop the sausages into 6-8 pieces and add into the mix. I used a roasted garlic, all-natural chicken sausage. Add the corn and okra. Season with salt, pepper, and spices to taste. BAM! (In the words of Emeril Lagasse)

Enjoy!