Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, and Shiitake Soup

Sweet Potato, Brown Rice, and Shiitake Soup

Serves 3 – 4

Takes about 45 minutes

I thought up the idea for this soup and was craving it before I had even actually made it. It turned out to be just as good as I had hoped. I eat rice with soup but I don’t often cook the rice into my soup. It adds a nice chewiness.

Ingredients:

¾ cup brown basmati rice

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

5 cups vegetable broth (a boullion cube works fine)

1 ½ tbsp tomato paste

3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

7 oz shitake mushrooms, diced

6 – 8 green onions, finely sliced

1 tsp thyme

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

½ tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste (depends on saltiness of your vegetable broth)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. When hot, add in the garlic and ginger.  Saute until the garlic starts to lightly brown, about a minute or two. Add rice, vegetable broth, and tomato paste to the pot. Stir so that there are no lumps of tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover pot, and simmer for 25 minutes.

2. Add in the sweet potatoes and raise heat so that soup starts to bubble again. Cook on medium heat for 8 minutes.

3. Add shitake mushrooms. When soup starts to bubble again, cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the green onions, thyme, nutritional yeast, and turmeric. Cook briefly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot.

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Kimchi Miso Udon

Kimchi Miso Udon

Serves 4 – 5

Takes about 30 minutes

Kimchi is a Korean condiment similar to sauerkraut.  It is made up of spiced and fermented napa cabbage, often with other vegetables such as scallions or daikon radish.  Make your own kimchi or use vegan store-bought (check the label carefully since many traditionally kimchi recipes use anchovies).  Either way, this soup makes for a healthy, fast meal that packs a flavor punch.  Store noodles and broth separately to prevent the noodles from going soggy.  Many people have kimchi recipes available so I won’t repeat it here.  I recommend the recipe on the blog “I Eat Plants”, available at the time of this writing.

Ingredients:

12 oz dry udon noodles

1 tbsp fresh, finely chopped ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

5 cups of water

3 tbsp golden miso

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp rice vinegar

8 oz extra firm tofu, cubed

1 ½ cups kimchi

1. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package and set aside.

2. Heat the sesame oil in a pot.  When it’s hot, add the ginger and sauté for a couple minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. 

3. Add the water and miso in.  Use a spoon, fork, or egg beater to make sure the miso gets fully dissolved.  Add the rest of the ingredients and continue to heat over medium low heat until everything is warmed through.  Don’t let the soup boil or get too hot!  You don’t want to kill off the beneficial bacteria in the miso and the kimchi. 

4. The soup should be served warm but not very hot.  Place some udon noodles in each bowl and ladle the soup over it.  Reheat on the stove rather than in the microwave if possible.

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Pumpkin Carrot Autumn Soup

Pumpkin Carrot Autumn Soup

Serves 5-6

Takes about 1 hour

This is one of those fresh from the autumn farmer’s market or natural food stores soups.  My local natural foods store is always full of the most beautiful array of different colored vegetables.  It feels like a challenge to create something as colorful as possible.  Purple carrots aren’t a necessity but they increase the beauty of the soup ten-fold.  They turn your broth purple and the result is mouth-watering.  If you can’t find the purple ones, use the regular old orange ones.  Baby sugar pie pumpkins work well – they are the right size and easy to deal with but you could also buy a part of a large pumpkin.  Sunchokes are optional but they add a nice crunch.  The prep time is mostly the time it takes to chop all the vegetables.

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs pumpkin, seeds removed, peeled with a vegetable peeler, and cut into small squares

3 purple carrots, peeled and diced

1 leek, diced

3 sunchokes, unpeeled and diced (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh minced, unpeeled ginger

3 cloves minced garlic

5 cups water

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 bay leaves

¼ cup fresh chopped savory leaves

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp onion granules

½ tsp paprika (bonus points if it’s smoked)

½ tsp ground sage

Black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a pot.  When hot, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute or two.  When ginger starts to stick to the pan, pour in the water.

2. Bring the water to a boil.  Add the pumpkin and the vinegar.  Bring to a boil again, then lower heat to medium, cover and boil gently for about 6 minutes.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients.  Bring back to a boil.  Boil for 6 – 7 minutes.  You want the carrots to be somewhat soft but still have firmness.  The sunchokes should still be crisp.

4. Pairs well with sweet brown rice and/or fresh bread.  Serve immediately.

Cold Coconut Chickpea Soup

Haven't posted anything in forever!  Here is a great summer recipe:

Cold Coconut Chickpea Soup

Serves 4-5 as a side dish

Takes 45 minutes

Great for the middle of the summer when you don’t feel like turning on the stove and just want to throw some stuff together.  The coconut milk makes it very rich so I have a hard time eating a lot of this soup at one point.  It is better as a side dish along with a salad or tortilla chips.  It is very refreshing.  Although I say chill 30 minutes, a few hours is ideal.  The soup will keep for a few days.

Ingredients:

1(15 oz) can chickpeas

1 (15 oz) can light coconut milk

Juice and zests of 1 lime

1 tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced

½ cup loosely packed chopped parsley

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp agave syrup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir to mix.  Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.








 

Homemade Ramen

Homemade Ramen

Serves 4 – 6

Takes about 35 minutes

Not what you buy in those cheap little packages that college students live on, this ramen is loaded with vegetables and flavor and makes a substantial meal.  The recipe is based on a ramen served at one of my favorite Asian fusion restaurants near my college; I found corn in ramen to be very satisfying and unique.  The recipe is fairly flexible and you can switch out my vegetable suggestions for your own favorites.  I love the addition of vegetarian beef, which is just a specialty wheat gluten I find at my local international store.  If you can’t find it, tofu (especially fried) is a fine substitute.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 ½ tbsp ginger, unpeeled and finely chopped

4 scallions, ends cut off and sliced into rounds

¾ lb of bok choy, sliced

4 cups water

1 ½ cups frozen corn (can also used fresh cooked or canned)

8 oz of vegetarian beef or tofu

¼ cup worchestire sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

¼ cup white miso

9 oz of dried ramen noodles

1. Heat sesame oil in a pot on medium high heat.  Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 – 2 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.  Add the bok choy and stir to mix.  Add the water and frozen corn and bring to a boil.  Lower to a simmer.  Simmer for about 8 minutes.  After 3 minutes or so, add the vegetarian beef (or tofu), the worchestire sauce, and rice vinegar and continue cooking.

2. Meanwhile, cook the ramen noodles according to the directions on the package.  Drizzle a little oil on top when they are done to prevent sticking.

3.  Remove the soup from the heat.  Using a measuring cup, remove about 1 cup of broth from the soup and place it in another bowl.  Add the miso and use a spoon to break up the miso and work it into the broth.  Continue until the mixture is completely smooth and then pour it back into the whole soup pot and stir well.

4. To serve soup, place a generous measure of the noodles in a bowl and pour the soup ontop.  Soup and noodles can be stored together if there is extra.