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“No-beef” and Barley Soup
Ingredients
Batch 1:
- 2 shallots or 1 Spanish onion diced.
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 large carrots diced
- 3 branches of celery diced
- 2 cups frozen green beans
Batch 2
- 2 cups homemade tomato sauce or a can of diced tomatoes
- 8 cups of vegetable broth
- 1 cup of barley
- 2 tbsp of fresh parsley or 2 tsp of dried parsley
- 2 tsp of dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 tbsp of Himalayan salt
Batch 3
- 2 cups of frozen green peas
- 1 small can of black beans and white kidney beans (398 ml)
Instructions
In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, put a few tbsp of vegetable broth with the onions and the garlic. Cook for 5 minutes watching to ensure there is still some liquid, otherwise add some as needed. Add the remainder of the ingredients from Batch 1. Cook for another 5 minutes continuing to ensure that there is liquid at the bottom of the pan.
Add ingredients from batch 2 and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the carrots and the barley are cooked.
Add the ingredients from batch 3 and continue simmering for 5 minutes.
Cream of brocoli (vegan)
I love the creamy texture that can be achieve without any cream!!
Ingredients
- 2 very large bunches of brocoli cut up (peeling the stem before cutting)
- 2 medium onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 medium sized carrots peeled and sliced
- 3 large potatoes cut in pieces
12 cups of broth
- 2 tbsp each garlic salt
- 1 tbsp of Himalayan salt
- 1 tbsp each dried basil and dried thyme
- 1 tsp of celery salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Heat up a Dutch oven saucepan or large saucepan.
Turn the heat to medium and place the onion in. Add about 1/4 cup broth and let it cook for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, adding broth as needed.
Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the broth and the spices and bring to boil.
Turn the burner to simmer, add the herbs and cover the saucepan. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.
Let it cool down and put the mixture through the blender to achieve a creamy consistency.
Return to pot and adjust seasoning to taste as needed.
Mom’s vegetable soup
Ever since my boys were little, I have been making a completely vegan vegetable soup. This was one of the puréed food I fed them when they were babies, albeit with less spices 🙂
Now that they are away, they are looking to reproduce this recipe. Well here it is!!
You can be creative with the vegetables, adding or omitting with what you have in your fridge. This is a catch all soup 🍲!!
Ingredients
1st batch:
- 2 small cooking onions diced
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 4 large carrots sliced or cut in chunk as you prefer
- 2 branches of celery sliced
- 1 zucchini cut in half and sliced
- 2 big handful of green beans cut in 1 inch pieces or 1 cup of frozen green beans Optional:
- 2 cups of frozen peas
- 2 cups of chopped spinach
2nd batch:
- 8 cups (or 2 litre) of vegetable broth
- 750 ml tomato sauce (or 1 mason jar)
- Optional Add 2 cups of broth after pasta/rice is cooked to thin the consistency.
3rd batch:
- 1 can of white kidney beans (or romaine beans)
- 1 cup of rice, orzo or small pasta
Spices
- 2 tbsp of garlic salt, celery salt, onion powder
- 1 tbsp of black pepper
- 1 tbsp of parsley, dried thyme and/or basil
Use a large pot or preferably a dutch oven. Spread 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil and heat. Add the onion and caramelized them for a few minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables from 1st batch EXCEPT the optional ones if you are using them. Cook for 7-8 minutes.
Add ingredients from the 2nd batch and bring to boil.
Add ingredients for the 3rd batch as well as the spices and herbs and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
Add the optional vegetables if using and cook for another 15 minutes or until the vegetables and rice or pasta is cooked.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
This makes a large pot of soup. At least 22 cups of soup. A typical bowl of soup (serving) is 2 cups.
Adjust the recipe according to the number of servings you would like to make.
Moroccan Red Lentil Soup (Red Chard)
I am a huge fan of soups of all colours and textures, so I am always excited when I find a new recipe.
My husband mistakenly bought red chard this week so I searched Pinterest to see what would be a good use of it and came across a recipe similar to this. I have modified it a bit to up the heat and also to adjust it to my taste in terms of consistency. This version is very tasty and filling. It makes for an excellent and nutritious lunch; a wonderful plant-based meal.
The goodness of red lentils
Red lentils are rich in slow-digesting carbohydrates and dietary fiber that keep you feeling full and satisfied for two hours or more following a meal.
The protein content of lentils is comparable to that of one serving of meat, but generally healthier because they contain low levels of fat. In one cup of red lentils, you consume nearly 18 grams of protein.
With 358 micrograms per serving, red lentils are rich in folate, a vitamin your body requires to create new cells and produce iron. One serving also provides about 16 international units of vitamin A. The minerals in a cup of red lentils include 731 milligrams of potassium, 356 milligrams of phosphorus and 71 milligrams of magnesium.
Ingredients
1st batch
- 2 tsp of grapeseed oil
- 1 cooking onion diced
- 2 large carrots diced
2nd batch
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp each chili flakes, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3rd batch
- 1 large can (15 oz) of diced tomatoes or 6 large plum tomatoes diced
- 1 cup dried red lentils
- 1litre (4 cups) vegetable broth
Add at the end
- 1 Bunch of red chard chopped
Steps
Heat the oil and sautée the onions for 1 minute before adding the other ingredients from batch 1 and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add a bit of broth if it starts sticking.
Add ingredients from batch 2 and coat the vegetables well. Cook for 1 minutes.
Add the ingredients from batch 3 and bring to boil uncovered. Cook for 10 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
Add the chard and cook for 5 minutes or until they are wilted but still have vibrant colours.
Lentil-potato soup
A favorite hearty soup that brings comfort on a cold winter night. Rich with healthy lentils and satisfying starch, it is a whole meal in itself!
Ingrédients.
- 2 can of lentil or 1 cup of dried lentils soaked in water for 3 hours and drained.
- 1 tbsp of grape seed oil.
- 2 large potatoes peeled and cubed.
- 1.5 litre of vegetable broth
- 2 garlic minced
- 1/2 large sweet onion diced
- 3 branches of celery diced or replace 1.5 with a zucchini diced.
- Bunch of fresh parsley or 3 tsp of dried.
- 1 bay leave
Heat the oil and caramelize the onions. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the celery and lentils and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the broth, the potatoes and the herbs and simmer for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
Enjoy!
Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Bacon
I have started using cauliflower more and more in my recipes. It is a great source of vitamin C, combined with manganese which makes it a good antioxidant. It also contains a good amount of Fibre as well as several other vitamins. I am discovering that it is very versatile and am finding new ways to use, such as in my brunch recipe where it is used as the anchor for a healthy stack to replace bread. Since I love making and eating soup, this was perfect for me.
During one of my cleaning of my recipe folders, I came across this clipping from several years ago. I decided to try it and adapt it to suit our taste.
This is a great meal for lunch!
Ingredients
- 1 medium size cauliflower cut into florets
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 3 slices of bacon, cut into pieces
- 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 onion
- 1 potato, peeled and diced
- 1 bay leaf, 1tsp of dried thyme
- 5 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup of evaporated skim milk
Toss the cauliflower florets with oil as well as salt and pepper to taste and spread on a cookie sheet to roast in the oven at 425F for 10-15 minutes.
Cook the bacon in a large saucepan until browned and then remove them and discard all the fat except for about 1tbsp.
Add the butter and then toss in the onion, the potato, the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes.
Add the cauliflower and the stock (I used my homemade stock from the freezer which I freeze in bags of 4 cups). Bring to boil and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Discard the bay leave, add half the bacon and purée the soup in your blender.
Return to saucepan and add the milk (you can substitute with half and half cream for a richer soup), gently re-heating. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Decorate with the reserved bacon, some fresh parsley or croutons as you wish.
Green Soup / Crème Verte
This is a recipe that is based on the teaching of my aunt Raymonde. When I first moved into our house, she and my parents drove down from Montreal for weekend visits. We would go to the farmer’s market, which was quite fun with aunt Raymonde and my mom, and always came back with some sort of leafy greens (Swiss chard was her favourite). She taught us how to make a cream of vegetable with pretty much any leafy greens, although she often would only use Swiss chard leaves. My baby food purees for my boys when they were little were largely based on this recipe adapted with less spices. I have modified it over the years to what has become known in our house as the “green soup”. You can substitute pretty much any green vegetable in this recipe. Really whatever you have on hand including broccoli and their stems, asparagus etc…This is really a base for any cream of vegetable.
Cette recette est basée sur mes souvenirs de la cuisine avec Tante Raymonde. Lorsque nous avons déménagé dans notre première maison, mes parents et tante Raymonde venaient en visite de Montréal pour une fin de semaine de temps à autre. Nous allions souvent au marché des fermiers et revenions à tout coup avec des légumes verts tel que de la bette à carde (drôle de traduction!). C’était sa préférée et souvent le seul légume vert de sa recette. Mes cubes de nourriture en purée pour mes garçons lorsqu’ils étaient petits étaient en grande partie basée sur cette recette. J’ai adapté et ajouté à sa recette au fil des années pour créer ce qui est devenu dans notre maison comme étant la “soupe verte”. Vous pouvez remplacer à peu près n’importe quel légumes verts dans cette recette. C’est vraiment une recette de base pour faire une crème de légumes.
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch each rapini, swiss chards leaves, kale, spinach and coriander.
- 2 zucchini sliced (I often add leftover broccoli or asparagus).
- 5 potatoes (to thicken the soup, I often freeze leftover mash potatoes or cooked rice to use in this soup)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 large onions
- 3 tbsp of vegetable broth concentrate (powder or liquid). I have discovered the Better than Bouillon brand and it has become my favorite.
- 1tbsp of garlic salt and celery salt
- 1 tsp of pepper
In a large dutch oven or stock pot, place the coarsely chopped rapini and cover with water. Bring to boil and cook for 15 minutes. In a separate pan, fry the chopped onions and the minced garlic in oil for 3-4 minutes or until onion is browned. Add the zucchini and sweat for a couple of minutes. Add the onion mix to the pot with the rapini. Chop all the other greens and add to the pot as well. (If you are not using rapini, you would fry the onions in the stock pot and add everything in there). Add the potatoes cut into small cubes, 3 tbsp of vegetable broth concentrate and the spices. Add enough water to cover the greens completely. Again if you are not using rapini and do not have any liquid yet, you would add 6-8 cups of water or homemade broth.
Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Remove from heat and using a hand blender (or a blender), puree the mixture.
Serve with crackers for a boost of antioxidants and vitamins!
Crème de citrouille de maman / Pumpkin soup from my mom
I added a category for recipes from my childhood where I will share recipes from my family, my heritage in the kitchen.
J’ai créé une nouvelle catégorie pour les recettes de mon enfance où je partagerai les recettes de ma mère et de tante Lucille, Claire etc..enfin mon héritage dans la cuisine.
As long as I can remember, my mom pureed the pumpkin after halloween and made a soup. Years ago when I asked her for the recipe, it was something like “well you should put 1/3 of tomato for the pumpkin you have and the 1/4 of milk of whatever tomato you put etc….”. Soooo, I experimented over the years and these are my proportions and my twist to it. Basically the more you like the pumpkin taste, the less tomato you put. My sister tells my mom is now putting NO tomatoes and just a bit of milk so basically anything goes 🙂
Mine here is more red because I felt like it. When I make some after halloween, I will upload a more orange picture so you can see the variety!
Depuis que je suis toute petite, je me rappelle ma mère et tante Lucille qui préparaient une crème de citrouille. Lorsque je lui ait demandé la recette, il y a plusieurs années, la réponse fût: “Ben tu mets 1/3 de tomate pour la quantité de citrouille que tu as et puis à peu près 1/4 de lait pour ce que tu as mis de tomates etc…” Donc, au fils des années, j’ai expérimenté et adapté les proportions selon mon goût. En fait, plus vous aimez le goût de la citrouille, moins vous mettez de tomates. Ma soeur me dit que ma mère cette année, en a fait en mélangeant simplement sa purée avec un peu de lait….donc à peu près n’importe quoi!
La mienne est plus rouge ici car j’avais un goût de tomate mais je mettrai une photo de ma prochaine recette après l’halloween qui sera plus orange pour bien démontrer les possibilités de variations!
Ingredients
- 6 cups of pumpkin puree (which I will show how to make in a future post. Do not buy cans!) / 6 tasses de citrouille en purée (sera démontré prochainement, n’achetez pas les conserves!)
- 1 1/4 cups of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce. I put my homemade tomato sauce because I prefer the tomato taste so my soup is more red 🙂 / 1 1/4 tasse de tomates écrasées ou sauce tomate maison. Je mets ma sauce tomato car je préfère le goût des tomates 🙂
- 3 cups of milk / 3 tasses de lait
- 4 cups of chicken broth (which I often omit) / 4 tasses de bouillon de poulet (que j’omets souvent)
- Nutmeg, salt, pepper, fine herbs to taste (I put a few teaspoon each) / muscade, sel, poivre et fines herbes au goût (j’en mets quelques cuillers à thé)
- 2 onions / 2 oignons
- 3 garlic cloves / 3 gousses d’ail
Add a little oil in your pot and fry diced onions and minced garlic. Add the rest and heat through.
Faite revenir les oignons hachés avec l’ail émincé dans un peu d’huile. Ajouter le reste et réchauffer jusqu’à ce que les goûts soient bien mélangés.
I add either a dollop of plain yogourt to the bowl or grated parmesan. Eat with Ace cheese crackers…Yum!
Je rajoute une cuiller de yogourt nature au plat de service ou du fromage parmesan râpé au goût. Déguster avec les craquelins Ace au fromage….délicieux!
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