White Bean and Mushroom Soup.

Here is the other vegan version of creamy mushroom soup which is one of the favorites in our family.

The trick of the recipe is white beans that make the creaminess of the soup without adding any cream, flour etc.

The more mushrooms you have the better, because it really adds the mushroom flavor and make the soup rich and delicious.

The recipe is vegan, gluten, dairy free.

White Bean and Mushroom Soup.

Ingredients:

16 oz. mushrooms, halved
1 large sweet onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, slightly crushed
1-2 tablespoons coconut oil
1½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
8-10 fresh sage leaves
8-10 stems + 1 tablespoon leaves fresh thyme
48 oz. vegetable broth
3 – 15 oz. cans white beans
Additional salt and pepper for seasoning
Sauté mushrooms, garlic and onion in coconut oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add sage leaves and stems of thyme.
Add broth, beans, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves to a large stock pot over medium heat and simmer.
When mushrooms are done ( golden brown), let cool slightly. Separate mushrooms from onions and garlic.
Retrieve 2 cups of the white beans, and 1 cup of broth from the stock pot, add to a blender along with the roasted onions, garlic and herbs. Cover and blend until smooth.
Add pureed bean mixture back to stock pot, whisking in until smooth. Add roasted mushrooms to soup. Salt and pepper to taste.
Warm over low heat until ready to serve.

Serve warm. ( I served mine with homemade whole wheat toast with avocado).

Beet Coconut Soup.

I love beets. I guess it comes from my culture and our traditions to cook. We use beets a lot in our recipes: soups, salads etc.

One of my favorite dishes is Ukrainian Borsch. It’s a traditional Ukrainian soup with beets.

The soup I decided to make today tastes very similar to Borsch, but takes less time to make. I got some juicy and fresh beets at the farmers market two days ago, so the decision to make the beet soup today was obvious. I love using coconut milk in this recipe, because it gives the creamy texture to this soup and makes it even more delicious. I also used some lemon juice in the recipe to turn it to a vibrant star.

The recipe asks for vegetable stock, but I don’t use the store bought one, and I didn’t have the homemade this time, so I used some:

Seitenbacher Vegetarian Vegetable Broth and Seasoning, 5-Ounce Cans (Pack of 6)

This is the only one I trust. It has few ingredients and all of them are safe to eat: nutritional yeast extract, carrots, onions, turmeric root, parsley, leek, nutmeg, garlic, lovage, celery, pepper, balm, dill, paprika, rosemary, mustard.

Beets Coconut Soup.

Ingredients:

4 large beets; peeled and cut into 1″ chunks

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp lemon juice

4 cups vegetable stock or 4 cups of water

1 can coconut milk (approx. 400 ml)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté for five minutes.  Add vegetable stock and beets and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and let simmer for approx. 20-30 minutes, or until beets are tender. Using a blender, purée the soup. Add coconut milk, lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir.

I served it with whole wheat baguette with homemade vegan cream cheese.

Here is a quick and easy recipe for vegan cream cheese which is my favorite so far.

Vegan Cream Cheese:

 Ingredients

1¼ cups pine nuts

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 very small clove of garlic

2 tablespoons water

½ chopped white onion

1 tbsp. coconut oil

Add pine nuts, salt, lemon juice, garlic, onion, water, and coconut oil to a food processor. Process until creamy. Pour mixture into container. Cover container and freeze 2 hours, then store in refrigerator.

Enjoy!!!!

Creamy White Bean Soup. Vegan

Recently I found out that you can substitute dairy cream in your recipes, using soaked cashews. I did it before in my desserts, but never tried it in regular dishes, until I made Mushroom Stroganoff. This method is amazing, because it makes you dishes taste amazingly good and people still can’t believe they eat super delicious food with no animal products in it.

Because of cold weather and laziness during these days, my easiest lunch is soup. It is always easy to make, everyone is full and happy after the big bowl of delicious winter soup, and also it gives me a little time for myself to do something besides cooking.

The recipe I am going to share with you today is special. This soup is vegan, gluten-free, healthy and still taste delicious, and it’s CREAMY!!! Who doesn’t like creamy soups? I love them, but they are always full of heavy cream, fats and calories. BOO!!!!

So this time you can make super delicious CREAMY SOUP, and enjoy it without any guilt, because it’s free of any bad ingredients for your health and body!!!!

Creamy White Bean Soup.

Ingredients:

coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chopped basil
1½ tsp dried sage
¼ tsp salt
3½ cups vegetable broth
3 cups white beans ( cooked or canned)
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
½ cup raw cashews
½ cup water
5 cups shredded kale
Salt & Pepper

Soak cashews in water for 6-8 hours. Drain, rinse and set aside until ready to make the soup. Sauté  onions and garlic with a little coconut oil.

Add the basil, sage, salt, broth, beans, and tomatoes. Simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the soaked cashews and water in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cashew cream and kale to the soup and mix to combine. Cover and turn the heat off. Let it sit for about five minutes. Soup is ready to serve.

Leek, Fennel, Apple, Walnut soup with Turmeric.

Today’s recipe is perfect for the cold fall days. My fall cooking always associates with soup making. It should be creamy, warm and delicious. A lot of creamy soups ask for cream in them, but this soup is completely healthy vegan version with no guilt in it.

As usual I am trying to use some super healthy foods in my recipes and this time it’s Turmeric.

Sometimes it is hard to hide turmeric in your dishes, but it works great in this soup.

It takes around 20 minutes to make it, so you don’t need to spend the half of the day in the kitchen to impress your family or guests with this delicious dish.

I am thinking to make this soup for Thanksgiving Dinner, because it’s really a FALL SOUP, and just being a little creative and let the people try something different instead of the regular butternut squash soup.

Leek, Fennel, Apple, Walnut Soup with Turmeric.

 Ingredients:
2 tbsp cooking oil ( I personally used palm oil, but be free to use any kind)
3 leeks, white + light green parts chopped (discard green tops or use them for stock)
1 teaspoon thyme
1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped (reserve a few fronds for garnish)
1 medium apple, peeled, cored + chopped
1-2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup walnut halves, toasted
salt + pepper
4 cups vegetable stock

to serve:
reserved fennel fronds
more toasty walnuts

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium. Add the chopped leeks and thyme. Stir and sauté the leeks until they are a bit soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped fennel and apples. Stir everything up a bit. Add the turmeric and stir to coat all of the vegetables evenly. Sauté the vegetables until the fennel is starting to soften, another 4 minutes. Add the walnuts and stir them in. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable stock and stir.

Bring the pot to a boil and simmer until all of the vegetables/apples are very soft, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat. Carefully blend the mixture in batches until totally smooth. Check the soup for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Bring the puréed soup to a boil and serve hot with fennel fronds and more toasted walnuts.

Vegetarian Tom Kah Thai Coconut Soup.

This is a delicious, vegan version of Thai coconut soup.

I love making soup, because it doesn’t take a lot of time to cook and you can save leftovers for the next day.

My journey with Thai food started in US, and I can say it ended up pretty fast, because I am not a big fan of it. The only dish that I like is coconut soup. They usually use animal or seafood products in their dishes, but this recipe is completely vegan and all the ingredients would be familiar for you and easy to find. The ethic sections of most supermarkets now carry green curry paste.

By adding the lime last, you preserve its vitamins and prevent the soup from turning sour.

Vegetarian Tom Kah Coconut Soup.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup coconut milk

3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

3tbs green curry paste

2tbs Tamari

1 cup sliced Baby Bella mushrooms

3 cups broccoli florets

3/4 cup chopped scallion

1tsp. powdered stevia

3 tbs fresh lime juice

1tbs lime zest

1. Heat the coconut milk and vegetable broth in a large pot, along with the green curry paste and tamari. Bring to a boil, then quickly reduce heat to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, broccoli and scallions, and cook gently for 2-3 minutes, or until they are just slightly cooked, but retain most of their crispness.

2. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients.

3. Ladle the soup into bowl.

Optional: Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Enjoy.

Soup Day

Recently I am trying to have soup every day for lunch ( plant based), because I feel better if I eat it, my family likes it and every time I am looking for a new great recipe to try.

Because we don’t eat a lot of animal protein products, I always cook something with the other kind of protein to provide all the vitamins and minerals to us. One of the best source of plant based protein is lentil. It has around 15g of protein per serving. But it needs to be cooked with the right recipe. I tried to make it different ways before but it didn’t taste good all the time.

So today I am going to share with you the super tasty coconut lentil soup recipe( my daughter’s favorite soup). To tell you the truth she can eat it three times a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It tastes delicious and very easy to make.

Coconut lentil soup.

1 onion, finely diced

1 can of coconut milk

4 cups of vegetable stock

2 cups of red lentil

1/5 tablespoon of cumin

1 tablespoon of coriander

2 tablespoons of minced ginger

1/2 tablespoon of black pepper

1/2 tablespoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of lemon zest

juice from two lemons

cilantro and avocado for garnish (optional)

1. Toast the cumin and coriander in dry pot on medium-high heat for 2 minutes until you smell the aromas. Add a little vegetable stock, onion and pepper. Stir consistently until the onions is golden.

Add the rest of the ingredients except lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

2. Put on a low heat, stir well and cover. Allow to cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have melted, meaning they have lost their round shape and have softened.

3. When soup is done, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

4. Remove from the heat and serve with avocado. ( I don’t usually use cilantro and avocado and it still tastes good).

This soup will work great in the fall for any kind of dinner as an appetizer or even can be served for Thanksgiving table.