German pho

Pho is Vietnamese soup. I used German vegan bouillon cubes for the broth. Hence the title.

Fresh in the plate

I chopped, diced, sauteed, and simmered my way through the kitchen for Sunday lunch and have enough for leftovers today.

Field mushrooms

Ingredients list:

• noodles - rice vermicelli (or thin noodles you like)
• meat - we had leftover turkey stuffing (frozen, then thawed and heated); my vegan option was Veggie Roast, diced and lightly fried in Asian Taste Oil
• greens - pea shoots, cilantro, Thai basil, chopped
• mushrooms - chopped oyster and field mushrooms, lightly fried with minced garlic and a splash of soy sauce
• broth - meat or vegetable broth plus a slice of ginger, a tbsp. minced garlic, any mix of Asian sauces (Hoisin, sweet soy sauce, brown braising sauce, mushroom sauce), and 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• sesame oil - 1 tsp-1 tbsp when you finish simmering the broth
• Have hot pepper seasoning and Asian sauces at the table: hoisin, black bean, sweet chili, sweet soy, etc.  Let guests help themselves to taste.
• Optional: up to 1 tsp Szechuan pepper oil per serving (numbs the tongue. For some reason my husband and sons like this. I skipped it.)

Purple-stemmed Thai basil

How-to:

• Prepare the noodles according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water, drain, and set aside. (When time to serve, heat them up by immersing them in boiling water for 20 seconds and draining.)
• Begin to simmer the broth down from a boil to about 2/3 worth of stock. Put in sesame oil at the very end, along with chopped cilantro.
• Meanwhile, prep your meat, herbs, and vegetables and store them nearby in separate bowls.
• Either assemble the soup in individual bowls or bring everything to the table so guests can assemble their own.
• Order of assembly is usually noodles in the bottom of the soup bowl, then meat, then vegetables and herbs, then broth on top. Taste, and season to personal preference with sauces on the table.
• Give everyone a soup spoon and a set of chopsticks (or fork) to make eating easier.

 

Almost done: good to the last spoonful

Rating: 4.5
Taste: nice combination of salty and savory
Calories: 4-800, depending on how much oil you use in preparation and how much food you assemble
Time to prepare: 30 min. or so - again, it depends on how quickly you assemble, chop, and fry separate ingredients. The actual assembly takes 2-3 minutes.
Tea: Some awful Tetley Green Tea brewed 1/2 hour before the meal. Bitter, like a bad Chinese restaurant serves ... and just the thing.
Beauty: Pretty colors of browns, beiges and greens
Improvements: Mix up the sauces to try a variety of blends. This one tasted just right. Leftovers the next day were even tastier as the flavors had blended beautifully. But that's par for most stock-based soups.

Just the thing to warm a cold vegan

Today we're featuring a cool-weather food: curried pea soup, to be exact.

Don't think of it as your mother's traditional soup. Here's what's in it today, though it looks similar to the goopy, glue-ey green-ish stuff your mama probably served in the winter:

1 tbsp curry paste (I look for the jar with the lady on it from Thailand - green, yellow, or red is fine.)
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic

*Browned in:
1-2 tbsp oil (I use Asian-taste corn oil)

*Add to the pot:
 2-3 c split peas, rinsed and sorted
2 bouillon cubes (I use a vegan brand)
2 bay leaves
Pinch of nutmeg
Trader Joes Smoke Seasoning (imagine smoked meat)
8-9 c water (Like thinner soup? Use more water. Prefer it thick? Use 7-8c.)

(optional: 1 c hulled barley or other grain)

Taste it when it's simmered for an hour, uncovered. If it needs salt or soy sauce, add some. Same for pepper.

For fun: garnish with popcorn, peanuts, red peppers, chopped tomatoes, or leafy veggies.

Servings: 4-6, depending on the bowl size
Taste: 4/5 Rich, nourishing, warming, savory
Time to prepare: 10 minutes. Cook for an hour-ish
Calories: 300-500 calories per bowl, (or more, depending if you cheat and use more oil)
Beauty: looks better with red pepper garnish or tomato. Pea-soup green is ugly.
Improvements: Pea soup tastes best with ham hock broth. Sadly, that's out of the question for a vegan.

Lunch: corn and (vegan) sausage soup

I'm hungry. I head to the kitchen to see what's around.

Open the fridge. There's the Field Roast sausage left after I used the rest of the bundle a few days ago. Turn on the burner to medium. Slice the "meat"-ish into the pan. No fat needed.

What else sounds good? The carrot pulp from this morning's juice? Sure. Wonder if I have a can of creamed corn - could make some soup with that?

Nope, there's just a can of corn kernels. Fine. Open the can partway, drain the water. Open the can all the way and dump it atop the sausage. Don't forget a sprinkle of dehydrated onions.

Add a few spices. I'm smelling the air... mixed salt of course, smoked paprika, ground black pepper, dried thyme.

Out to the conservatory, where I have a bunch of veges cooling. Potato? Great. Dice it and toss it in with the corn. Stir occasionally. No liquid added yet.

Green onion? Sure, tear the tops off a bunch and chop them on the cutting board. Basil leaves? Chop up three stems, and ooooh... I see parsley so I grab a few stems and chop them as well, but let them sit until the last minute.

I add about 1 cup of water from the hot tap to the pot. It boils immediately. Turn down the heat to medium low and leave the room for 10 minutes.

Choose a pretty bowl... the soup must be done by now! Put it in the plate and sprinkle with the fresh herbs. Stir. Oh, YUM. What a great lunch!!!

Made about 3 servings.
Approx calories: 350 each.
Rating: 4/5. 
Taste: spicy, hearty, good blend of crisp, soft, and chewable. I'd make it again.
Tea: Darjeeling, black.