#MeatlessMonday - Tomato and Brown Rice Soup #vegan #vegetarian

This is a very easy recipe to make and it's vegan. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of FOX via Pexels

Tomato and Brown Rice Soup

Ingredients:


1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped leeks
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable stock
1 - 16-ounce can diced tomatoes

6 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 cup brown rice, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the leeks, red bell pepper, carrots and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until the leeks are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock, diced tomatoes, spinach and parsley. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Blend in food processor.

Cook the brown rice according to directions. Add rice to soup.

Season with salt and pepper. Heat and serve. Voila! Dinner is served!

#MeatlessMonday-Cream Scones #dessert

Photo courtesy of Astrid Kopp via Flickr

This is a family recipe. Good with jam, lemon curd or Devonshire cream.

Cream scones

2 cups flour

1T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2T sugar

1/4 cup butter (cold and diced)

1 large egg

1/2 cup light cream.

Preheat oven 425F.

Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter with pastry cutter until mixture is crumbly.

Whisk egg and cream together in separate bowl. Add to butter/flour mixture.

Stir quickly and briefly to make soft and sticky dough (add more cream if needed).

Gather into a ball and place on lightly floured surface.

Knead gently with floured hands and pat out to 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut into rounds with cookie cutter and place on baking sheet. 

Brush lightly with milk.

Bake for 12 minutes.

#MeatlessMonday-Vegetarian Split Pea Soup #vegetarian #vegan

Photo courtesy of Muy Yum via Flickr

I hate, hate peas. With a passion. But for some reason, split-pea soup is okay. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

16 oz. dried split peas
6c. vegetable stock
¼ c. soy sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
Handful of spinach, chopped fine
1T garlic
1tsp lemon pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp basil

Rinse peas.
Add 4 cups stock, vegetables, onion, carrots, spinach, garlic, lemon pepper, cumin, and basil.
Simmer on medium heat for about 30-40 minutes. Add 2 cups vegetable stock as needed until peas have dissolved.
Blend in blender until smooth.

#MeatlessMonday-Rosemary-Garbanzo Bean Soup and Saffron Bread #vegetarian

Photo by vanillaechoes
Rights purchased through depositphotos

Yes, yes. I know for a lot of you it's hot days and soup is furthest from your mind. I'm a soup addict no matter what time of year. And it's cold...somewhere in the world. So, here you go. One of my favorite super-quick and easy soup recipes. Feel free to add more veggies; zucchini, potatoes, red peppers, whatever strikes your fancy. Enjoy!


Rosemary-Garbanzo Bean Soup

2T olive oil
1 small onion chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 cups veggie broth
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 carrot, diced
Handful of fresh spinach, chopped


Sauté onion, rosemary and garlic in olive oil. Add veggie broth, garbanzo beans, chopped tomatoes, diced carrot and spinach. Cook through until carrots are tender.

Serve with your favorite bread. I usually make saffron bread in my bread maker. Saffron is usually expensive but it you purchase it at an international market, the price drops considerably.

Photo courtesy of Maena via morgueFile

Saffron Bread

1 egg plus water to equal 1-1/4 cups
2T olive oil
3 cups bread flour
1-1/2 tsp sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp saffron, ground
2 tsp yeast

Cook on basic bake cycle

#MeatlessMonday-Lemon Curd Cookies Topped with Fresh Blueberries

Photo courtesy of Mr & Mrs Stickyfingers via Flickr

Cookie:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
1-T vanilla

Add all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until the butter is evenly distributed.
Knead dough until you can form into a ball. You may add some water if you need to. 

Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes. 

Bake for 12-16 minutes until lightly browned. 

Allow to cool before assembling.


Lemon Curd Topping

3 lemons
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
4 eggs

Zest the lemons using a fine grater (set aside)

Juice the lemons (set aside)

Cream together sugar and butter 

Add the eggs one at a time and mix 

Add in lemon juice and zest

In a saucepan, cook over medium low heat stirring constantly until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes). Pour through a fine sieve to remove lumps and large pieces of zest. Cool in the refrigerator.

File courtesy of impure_with_me via morgueFile

To assemble: 

Place a dollop of lemon curd on each cookie and top with fresh blueberries. 

Serve immediately. Can be stored in refrigerator.

#MeatlessMonday-Tabbouleh Salad #vegetarian

Photo courtesy of  cyclonebill via flickr

Creative Commons (CC) license

Now that summer is in full swing here's a great salad to try! If you're not familiar with it, bulgur is made from the groats of several different wheat species (most often durum wheat). It's a whole grain and a good source of fiber and protein. If you’re vegan, go ahead and omit the feta cheese because it’s just as good. Enjoy!

1-1/2 cups dry bulgur
2 cups boiling water
1-1/4 tsp. salt
2 tomatoes, diced
3/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small cucumber, diced
3 green onions, diced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, diced
1/4 tsp black pepper
3-T olive oil
1-15 oz can garbanzo beans
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

1. In a large bowl, mix bulgur, boiling water and salt. Cover and let sit for about 30 minutes allowing bulgur time to absorb the water.
2. In separate bowl, combine tomatoes, parsley, carrot, red bell pepper, cucumber and green onions.
3. Add lemon juice, garlic, pepper and olive oil to bulgur and mix well.
4. Add vegetables, feta cheese and drained garbanzo beans.
Refrigerate before serving

#MeatlessMonday-Burnt Sugar Caramel Cupcakes #dessert

Photo courtesy of Candace via Flickr

For the burnt sugar syrup:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup hot water

Add sugar in a skillet over medium-low heat. Shake the pan to spread the sugar and let it melt, shaking again to keep the syrup browning evenly. Once it becomes the deep bronze color and begins to smoke, gradually add the hot water. Stir until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool.

For the cake:

3 cups unbleached cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
2/3 cup of the burnt sugar syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, salt, soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream butter, adding sugar gradually until light and fluffy. Add one egg yolk at the time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla. Stir in cooled burnt sugar syrup.

Alternately mix the flour and the buttermilk into the batter, beating until smooth.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter.

Fill lined cupcake tins 1/2 way with batter.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool completely before frosting

For the caramel frosting:

3/4 cup butter
2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
Dash of salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Mix butter, brown sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Let bubble for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Mix in cream. Cook and stir for another 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. Transfer to another bowl. Beating at high speed, gradually add confectioner's sugar until it comes to a spreading consistency. Add more cream if necessary.

Once cupcakes are frosted you can drizzle caramel over top if desired.

#MeatlessMonday-Butterscotch Funny Cake #dessert

Photo courtesy of Dorothy SH via Flickr

We're doing a dessert today! If you're looking for a vegetarian entrée, please click on the #MeatlessMonday tag at the bottom of this post to see any recipes you may have missed!

My (very) British grandmother was known for her sweet tooth and endless array of dessert recipes. She carried them all "in her head" and never wrote anything down. This was a challenge, because unless she was around to make something for you--good luck at reproducing it! There were several recipes we managed to get her to write down before she passed many years ago. They never turn out as good as hers did, of course. Grandma's cooking is just special like that.

This is a recipe she used to make and I've never seen it in the States, so I thought I would share. It's a combination of a cake and a pie, with the butterscotch sauce as a layer between both. Enjoy!

Butterscotch sauce
In saucepan melt:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2T corn syrup

Cook until boiling. Add 3T water. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring consistently. Let cool

Cake
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Add shortening, egg, milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes on foil-lined pan in case butterscotch drips over during baking.
Pour cake batter into uncooked pie shell. Pour butterscotch sauce on top of cake batter. (Butterscotch sauce will end up at the bottom after cooking.)

#MeatlessMonday (on a Sunday)-Seitan #vegetarian #vegan

*This recipe is an optional add-in with the recipe I'll be posting tomorrow.

Seitan...or as my meat-loving husband likes to call it--Satan. Haha. Seitan is also called wheat meat because it has the look and texture of meat when cooked. It's high in protein (which makes it a good source for vegetarians) easy to make, can be used in place of most meats in recipes, and freezes well. What's not to love?

Photo courtesy of Amy Stephenson via Flikr 

Seitan

1 cup vital wheat gluten (in the flour aisle)

3/4 cup water or vegetable broth

2T soy sauce
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp garlic
6 cups vegetable broth for cooking
1/4 cup soy sauce
3-4 slices onion (optional)

Combine gluten flour and ginger in a medium-sized bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix soy sauce, garlic, and 3/4 cup broth or water.

Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine--do not over mix.
Add more water or veggie broth a tablespoon at a time, if needed.
Once mixture is well combined, knead 10-15 times and allow to sit for 5 minutes

Separate your ball of gluten into smaller chunks. Gently flatten each piece into a cutlet, around 3/4 inch thick.

Add seitan to 6 cups of vegetable broth in a large pot. Bring to boil. Partially cover (allowing steam to escape) and simmer for 45-60 minutes. Be sure to use a large pot and plenty of broth, as seitan will expand.

Use right away, store in the broth (keeps in the refrigerator for 2-3 days), or freeze in a sealed container or zip lock bag.