Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup

1 ½ pounds carrots peeled and sliced

2 cups chopped onions

Cooking spray

Salt to taste ( I don’t add any)

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

2 cups vegetable stock (made fresh, out of a box or bullion)

2 cups water

3 large strips of zest from an orange (I use one orange and get as much zest in one strip as I can.  Makes it easier to fish out later)

Sauté onions and carrots with cooking spray (or olive oil) in a large pot.

When onions soften, add broth, water ginger, salt and orange zest.

Bring to boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until carrots are very soft (15-20 minutes).

Remove from heat and place small batches in a blender or food processor and whirl until very smooth.  Reheat soup and enjoy!

Makes 5-6 cups of soup.

Serving Size	Calories	Carbs
1 cup	60	14
2 cups	120	28

 

I make a double batch and freeze some for later.

I peel the carrots because the skin gets tough when cooked.  Peels can be frozen and tossed in your next pot of stock.

 

Almond Milk

Almond Milk

1 cup raw almonds

5 cups water plus more for soaking

 

Place almonds in a 1 ½-2 quart bowl.  Cover with water and soak overnight.  (Or cover with boiling water and soak 2 hours)

Strain and rinse the almonds.  Place in a 2 quart blender container.  Add 5 cups water and blend on high for about 2 minutes.

Place a strainer over a large bowl or pot.  Line the strainer with a thin kitchen towel (like a tea towel).

Pour the contents of the blender into the towel.  Allow to drain into the bowl. 

Pick up the corners of the towel and twist the solids remaining in the towel until all liquid has been squeezed into the bowl.

Refrigerate and enjoy.

Vanilla almond milk- Add ½ -1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the finished milk.

Sweetened almond milk- add a pitted date to the blender along with the almonds.  Or use your favorite sweetener to taste.

NOTE:  Use more or less of the water to make the milk thinner or creamier to your taste

Two Easy Non-fat Salad Dressings

 

 

My husband likes Thousand Island salad dressing, but it is usually mayonnaise based and loaded with calories.

I like a non-fat tomato basil dressing we get at our local produce market, but it is $5.99 for just 12 ounces.

So today I was on a quest to make a healthier version of my husband's favorite and a lower cost version of mine.

The recipes below are quite tasty, low-cost and very low calorie.  Both are easy and quick to prepare.

I encourage tofu haters to give this a try.  You won't taste the tofu.

 

Thousand Island Salad Dressing

 

1 pound of silken tofu (you must use silken for the smooth texture)

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

1/4-1/3 cup water

1/2 cup pickle relish

 

Place tofu, vinegar, ketchup and 1/4 cup water in a blender.  Process at a medium speed until mixed and smooth. 

Add a little more water until desired consistency.

Add relish and pulse 2-3 times to mix.  You want the relish bits to remain whole.

Makes 1 quart.  Calories are 8.2 per tablespoon

 

 

Easy Tomato Basil Salad Dressing

 

1 can tomato paste ( 6 ounces)

1 can diced no-salt tomatoes (14.5 ounces)

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, peeled

5-6 large fresh basil leaves, washed

 

Place tomato paste, diced tomatoes, water, vinegar, onion and garlic in a blender  and process until smooth.

Add the basil and pulse several times to chop into small, but visible bits. 

Makes 3 3/4 cups.  Calories are 5.3 per tablespoon.

 

 

 

Vegan Portobello Mushroom Stroganoff

Serve this vegan stroganoff over your favorite noodles or pasta, potatoes, rice or other grain.

1 cup sweet onion diced

5 cups portobello mushrooms cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups ground beef substitute (like Yves)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup non-dairy milk 

5 tablespoons cornstarch (or thickening agent of your choice)

1/2 cup non-dairy sour cream

Coat a 12 inch skillet with spray oil. 

Saute the onion and mushrooms over med-high heat until they begin to brown.

Add the broth and ground 'beef' and bring to a boil, then turn down to low heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Combine the milk and cornstarch until there are no lumps.  

Whisk into the broth/veggie mixture.  Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and stir in the cornstarch.

We had this with non-egg noodles and roasted vegetables.

enjoy!

Makes 8 cups.  123.87 calories per cup.

Oregon Apple-Cranberry Sauce

 

 

I used organic cranberries from Bandon, Oregon and a Jonagold apple from Hood River, Oregon in this yummy cranberry sauce.

We will enjoy this tomorrow with Vegan Spatzle With Spinach Cashew Cream Sauce
 and Winter Squash (recipe found in Main Dishes)

 

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, washed

1 cup coarsely shredded, sweet apple

3/4 cup evaporated cane juice

2 cups water

1 whole cinnamon stick

 

Place all ingredients in a 3-4 quart sauce pan.  bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer 20-25 minutes, or until most of the cranberries burst.  Remove the cinnamon stick.

Remove from heat and cool.  Refrigerate for up to five days.

 

Makes 3 cups.

 

2 tablespoons is 36.5 calories

1/4 cup is 73 calories

 

Vegan Vanilla Caramel Sauce

 

 

We took a drive out to apple and pear orchards in Hood River, Oregon yesterday.  It was a beautiful, sunny autumn day and a great drive along the Columbia River. 

We drove the entire Fruit Loop and came home a variety of apples, pears, cider and hard cider.

http://www.hoodriverfruitloop.com/index.html

 

The cider is fresh from Mt. View Orchards.  You can watch them press the cider and in the orchard under the trees.

http://mtvieworchards.com/

 

The hard cider is from Fox Tail Cider (right next to Smiley's Red Barn.

They make 7 varieties of hard cider on site.  You can taste one for $1.50 or all seven for $8.00.  Once you pick your favorites you can buy by the glass, or take a home a 32 or 64 ounce growler.    The 32 ounce is $14.00 and the 64 ounce is $20.00.  They offer $2.00 off when you return to refill your growler.

They also have a lunch menu- it is small and simple but hit the spot.

http://foxtailcider.com/

 

http://www.smileysredbarn.com/

 

So doesn't a really good apple deserve a nice caramel sauce?  My friend Glenn (he owns Le Mieux Foods) makes a great Caramel de Beurre - French Salted Caramel Sauce.  It has lots of butter and cream.

While I know my caramel sauce pales in comparison to his, it helps me stick to my vegan diet.

You can purchase Glenn's caramel sauce at any Made in Oregon store or online.

http://www.madeinoregon.com/French_Salted_Caramel_Sauce.html

 

 

The recipe:

 2 cups evaporated cane juice

12 tablespoons Earth Balance cube margarine

1 cup non-dairy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla (real, not imitation)- I used Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla

 

In a large 3-4 quart heavy bottom pan, melt sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until an amber to brown color.  This will happen very quickly.  It will go from melted to burned in a matter of seconds.

Stir in margarine until melted.  The mixture will bubble up a bit. 

Remove from heat and slowly whisk in non-dairy cream.  It really bubble up a lot when you  do this.  Don't scrape the sides of the pan.   This is why you need a large pan.

Stir in the vanilla.

Pour into a glass jar without scrapping the sides of the pan.  Let cool to room temp (3-4 hours), then cover and refrigerate.

This is a pourable sauce.  if you wish a thicker sauce, decrease the cream a bit.

 

Makes 3 cups.  It has 55 calories per tablespoon.

 

 

Portobello Mushroom Soup

Portobello Mushroom Soup

 

 

 

Portobello mushrooms are crimini mushrooms grown up.  They have a musty, earthy flavor. Some people call them 'meaty', but this is a vegan blog....

The longer portobellos are cooked the chewier they become.  So in a soup, they really do give some substance.

I used a cup of white wine in this recipe and it gives the soup a fabulous flavor.  I know that people are often quite surprised that a vegan would consume anything with alcohol.  My stance is that that it doesn't contain meat, dairy or eggs, so.... alcohol is vegan isn't it?

Also, I have had several people ask why I use SoDelcious Coconut Milk in my recipes- I am allergic to almonds and soy.  I can have wee bits of soy, but have to watch it.  The other non-dairy products do nothing for my taste buds.

Summer is not quite over, but here in the Pacific northwest it is cool and rainy today- a perfect day for soup.  Move over Campbell's, McFarlane's Mushroom is here!

 

2 cups diced onion

6 cups chopped portobello mushrooms (bite sized pieces)

1 cup white wine (I used Chateau St. Michele Riesling)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

2 cups non-dairy milk (I used SoDelicous Coconut Milk- the 45 calories per cup variety)

6 tablespoons non-GMO cornstarch

 

Spray a large pot with spray olive oil.  Add the onions and mushrooms and sauté over high heat until the onions are translucent.

Add the wine to deglaze the pan.  Boil for 3-4 minutes. 

Add the parsley.

Add the broth and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Mix the cornstarch with the non-dairy milk and stir into the soup.  bring to boil stirring constantly.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and enjoy.

 

Makes ten cups with 75.4 calories per cup.