Blog Archives
“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.
Vegan Black Bean Stew
Black bean stew.
In a large dutch oven, cook:
- 2 tbsp grape seed oil.
- 2 medium onions chopped.
- 4 garlic cloves minced.
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 branch of celery diced
- 1 large red peppers diced
- 1 large green peppers diced
- 1/2 tsp jalapeño pepper diced
Once all vegetable are soft then add:
- 2 cans of black beans
- 1 can of 14 oz diced san Marzano tomatoes
- 2 tbsp of tomato paste
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 4 tsp Chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
Cook for 40 minutes or until water evaporated.
Once cook add:
- 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
Add cilantro and stir for a few minutes.
Garnish with green onions, shredded cheese and sour cream as you like.
Veggie-Egg Stack Sunday brunch
Before leaving for our long snowshoeing hike in our beautiful wood at our cottage, we need some fuel.
Today I improvised a new egg stack without any bread. Yummy and no carbs!!
Ingredients for 2 servings
- 2-3 eggs depending if someone wants 2 eggs (my husband)
- 2 leaves of romaine lettuce
- 2 thick slices of tomatoes
- 6 slices of cucumber
- 1/3 cup of shredded old cheddar
- Half a small onion diced
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- Salt and pepper
Steps to make the recipe
Sauté the onion and the garlic in a bit of butter until softened.
Meanwhile, lay out the lettuce and top with tomatoe and cucumber. Add salt and pepper.
Spread the onions on the stack and use the same pan to fry the eggs over-easy (you could also poach the eggs if you prefer ) .
Spread the eggs on the stack and add salt and pepper to taste.
In the same pan, toss the shredded cheese and melt for a minute.
Top your stack with the cheese et Voilà!
Left over turkey (or chicken) in Bechamel sauce / La sauce blanche versatile
I love left over cooked bird meat because there are so many recipes you can make with them!!! My mom made this sauce often sometimes with salmon, sometimes with chicken, served over puff pastry. C’est une sauce très versatile et utile pour les restants dans le frigo!
This time I made a Bechamel sauce with turkey and veggies. This could easily be served over puffed pastry, pour in between pie crust or over pasta. The day after US thanksgivings we were not looking for a filling meal, so I served it on its own with homemade garlic bread.
This is one of those recipes were you can make a lot of variations based on the leftover you have in your fridge or freezer 🙂
Ingredients
Bechamel sauce:
- 5 tbsp flour
- 5 tbsp butter
- 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of milk (or all milk)
- 1 tsp paprika, garlic salt, celery salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper and salt
Note: you can adjust this for a smaller recipe to 3 tbsp of butter and flour and 2 cups of liquid. You adjust the liquid versus roux based on the thickness you are looking for.
Filling: these ingredients are just suggestions, you can mix and match whatever you have or like. I usually like to freeze left over broccoli that will not be used by cutting it in florets and then it is ready to throw in a sauce like this one.
- 2 carrots diced
- 2 branches of celery diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms
- brocoli and/or cauliflower if you have some
- 1/2 cup each of frozen peas and corn (and green beans if you have some)
- 1 cup of cooked turkey/chicken or as much as you like
Note: when I fix up a celery or use florets from a broccoli, I freeze the ends and stems in a plastic bag for future use in a broth. You can make your own veggie or chicken broth at no cost!
For the Bechamel, melt the butter first in a cast iron pot, add the flour and whisk for a minute or so until it is well combined and a bit brown. This is called making a “roux” and is the basis for thickening a sauce. Add all the spices and mix well. Pour the liquid slowly as you whisk, so it incorporates well only a bit at a time. Bring to a boil over medium heat and keep stirring until it becomes thick and creamy. Do not stop whisking as it will become lumpy.
In a separate pot, melt some butter, add the onions and stir until translucent. Add all the other vegetables and stir every now and again until they are soft. Add the turkey and pour the Bechamel sauce on top. Stir everything together and heat through.
This is a very easy and inexpensive recipe that can be served casually on a weekday or prettied up for entertaining in a bread bowl, in a pie for chicken pot pie or over puff pastry.
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