I have always loved miso soup. The richness of the broth lead me to believe, in my early uninformed years, that there was a meat base to the broth.

I was so happy to learn that this is not the case.

Dashi is the base of many Japanese soups and sauces and can be made from dried sardines, mushrooms, and in my case sea weed.

I used 2 “leaves” of Kombu Sea Vegetable to 12 cups of water. ( I made a big batch; we’ll discuss this later).

The sea vegetable expands greatly in the water so I would suggest breaking it into small peices before boiling.

This saves time cutting it up later.

You can also purchase the kind which is cut or shredded.

Boil until soft.

You can buy Dashi but it is not always easy to find and making it yourself is so easy…why not?!

Now, making this soup in large quantities is not the best idea and I now know why.

You should not boil the miso.

And if you have to warm leftover soup you won’t be able to avoid over cooking.

Also, the scallions which add such a nice delicate flavor would not taste great or retain their texture if submitted to too much heat.

I wish that I would have known this befor I started.

I now know why cooking suggestions were given for one and two cup servings.

I would highly suggest making this soup in small portions for optimum flavor and quality.

Ingredients

•3 cups dashi soup stock
•1 block tofu
•3-4 tbsps miso paste
•1/4 cup chopped green onion

Method

Put dashi soup stock in a pan and bring to a boil.

Cut tofu into small cubes and add them to the soup.

Simmer the tofu for a few minutes on low heat.

Scoop out some soup stock from the pan and dissolve miso in it.

Gradually return the miso mixture in the soup.

Stir the soup gently.

Stop the heat and add chopped green onion.

Remember not to boil the soup after you put miso in.

*Makes 4 servings

Making the Dashi.

Measuring the Miso.

Mixing the Dashi with the Miso.

Disolving the Miso in the Dashi before adding to the Dashi Broth.

Mixing everything together in the soup pot.

I always need to add alittle heat!.

I like to eat my veggies. I look forward to eating my veggies and usually crave them first thing in the morning.

And I don’t apologize for it anymore. If I want broccoli for breakfast then, that is what I eat.

But sometimes crunchy, cruciferous, crudités don’t sit well on an empty belly.

And besides, I am all about deconstructing these days. I am experimenting with texture and flavor.

I am trying new tricks with old favorites and trying to look at food in a new way, new presentations and combinations.

I am a vegan after years of examination. I like organic, basic, unprocessed food. But I am having fun “processing” the favorites in my diet.

I try to make every bite count; that means getting the most nutrition out of every bite.

This dish combines some of my favorite flavors; toasted pine nuts, roasted garlic, basil, broccoli, and olive oil.

As I am cooking more I am starting to realize that the method is just as important as the ingredients.

Toasting and roasting bring ingredients to peak flavor. Pureeing creates creaminess without adding fat and layering flavors and textures ensures well rounded nutrient rich, complete meals which are satisfying and nutritionally balanced.

I am calling this Broccoli Mousseline. It could substitute for mashed potatoes. Not that there is anything wrong with mashed potatoes but the nutritional bang is in the broccoli.

Olive oil and pine nuts add fat and protein. I also snuck in about a ½ of an avocado. Once again, adding fat and creaminess as well as depth of flavor. The flavors can range from buttery to almost bacon tasting.

Try this recipe to add tasty nutritious elements in place of carbohydrate filled empty calorie foods.

Ingredients:

10 oz broccoli
5-6 cloves roasted garlic
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 toasted pine nuts
½ ripe avocado
2 Tbsp Basil pesto
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cook the broccoli until bright green and just tender.

Add all the ingredients into the food processor and puree until well blended and serve.

Garnish with pine nuts. I think that artichoke hearts would be a great garnish with this, also.

Serve it as a side or as a main dish with spinach pasta. This would also work well as a filling for ravioli, manicotti, or perhaps lasagna.

Enjoy!

Roasted garlic is the secret to creamy rich sauces and soups. Roasting adds depth and texture as well as a caramel like sweetness without adding calories.

This dish is packed with nutrition and flavor.

Presenting spinach as a sauce is an innovative way to add nutrition and fiber and creamy sauciness without adding extra fat and calories.

Toasting the pine nuts also adds heft as well as flavor. I feel that the nuts really round out the meal.

This has become a favorite in my home.

Ingredients:

1 bulb of garlic
1/3 to 2/3 cup of olive oil
5-6 cups uncooked baby spinach
ÂĽ tsp nutmeg
Salt to taste
10 spears asparagus
½ cup pine nuts
1 box whole wheat spinach spiral pasta or your choice of pasta

Method:

Roast the Garlic:

1 bulb garlic, thin skin removed as much as possible

Use a clay roasting dish or wrap in foil

Turn oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 30-45 minutes

Remove garlic from oven

While the garlic is roasting cook your pasta

While you are pureeing the pesto, chop and cook 10 spears of asparagus.

While the asparagus is cooking roast ½ cup of pine nuts at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 5-10 minutes

Puree the Mixture

Allow to cool for a few minutes then simply remove the soft clove from the peel and place in the food processer.
Place about 5-6 cups of uncooked baby spinach along with the roasted garlic
Add about 1/3 to 2/3 cup of olive oil
Blend until smooth and creamy
Add ½ tsp of nutmeg and salt to taste

Serve:

Drain the pasta and mix in about 2/3 of the roasted garlic spinach pesto and the pine nuts and check to see if you need salt.

Mix everything together well

Add cooked asparagus on top

Garnish with the remaining pesto

Enjoy!

This recipe comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz of the Post Punk Kitchen who has a new vegan cookbook out; Vegan With a Vengence which features 150 vegan recipes including desserts, cookies, main dishes and snacks.

These look amazing to me and I am anxious to try this recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz

These bars require a good overnight chilling to really firm them up before slicing, so plan accordingly.

Tip: You’ll want to use only sweetened, fluffy white flaked coconut for these. Save the natural shredded stuff for a healthy curry.

Tip: Press the graham cracker crumb crust like crazy into the pan; the more you pat it down the firmer the resulting crust will be.

Ingredients

One 14 oz can (regular or lite) coconut milk (about 1 3/4 cups)
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups vegan graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted margarine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
2 cups flaked, sweetened coconut
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Method

In a large saucepan whisk together coconut milk and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Mixture may form a thin skin on the surface; just stir it back into the liquid. Remove from heat and let cool while preparing the crust.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, melted margarine and sugar; mix well to moisten crumbs completely. Firmly press mixture into prepared pan, pressing evenly from center to sides of pan.

Pour warm coconut milk mixture evenly over crumb base. Top with an even layer of chocolate chips, flaked coconut and nuts, in that order. Firmly pat everything down until coconut milk mixture soaks upward into the toppings. Bake for 28-30 minutes or until coconut is deeply golden and filling is bubbling, remove from oven and let entire pan cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Transfer pan to the refrigerator to completely cool and firm up for at least 4 hours, even better overnight or until very firm. Use a sharp, heavy knife to run along the edges of bars, slide bars on parchment paper out of pan onto a cutting board then to slice into 24 squares.

Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. These also freeze well, tightly wrapped and allowed to thaw for 20 minutes before serving.

So easy , so delicious and nutritious.

This took just minutes and I simply scavenged through my pantry, fridge and freezer to create a colorful, tasty meal.

I enjoyed this with a hot cup of green tea

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice
2 Tbsp Thai Peanut Sauce
½ cup sliced peppers
½ cup peas
1 cup sliced Shiitake mushrooms
2 Tbsp Cilantro leaves
½ lime

Method

Throw everything into a sauté pan and heat until cooked evenly.

Toss in the cilantro and squeeze lime juice over top to serve.

I am always looking for really yummy fast food that I can cook and store in the fridge for those times when I know I’ll be pressed for time to eat.

In order to try to avoid eating a bag of potato chips I like this really satisfying, gourmet’ish dish that I can throw in a wrap, or, let’s be honest, I do a quick heat on the stove and eat standing up!

This is too good for that. I like it over brown rice or some spinach fettuccine. I also like this quesadilla style with vegan cheese.

Anyway you choose, it’s healthy and delicious, nutritious and satisfying.

Ingredients:

6 large Portabella mushrooms
2 pkgs. Baby Portabella mushrooms
4 large cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ white onion
½ red bell pepper
2 -3 stems of fresh Tarragon
5 dried figs
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Start with the olive oil and garlic in a deep sauté pan on low heat.
Add onion, pepper, and mushrooms and figs.
Let everything cook for about 45 on medium heat.
Add Tarragon the last 15 minutes for maximum flavor.
Salt and pepper to taste.

This is one of my vegetarian favorites, especially for fall and winter.

Not only is it easy to make but it is the ultimate comfort food and a nutritional powerhouse of nutrients and fiber.
Plus, it is pretty, it looks nice on the table, and takes to garnish like paint to a canvas.

I like keeping this recipe as simple as possible while still extracting the maximum amount of flavor from every ingredient.

I like to keep my meals vegan but if you are so inclined you can add chicken stock or butter or cream where I would use olive oil, white wine, vegetable stock and white bean puree.

You can also feel free to substitute the main ingredients such as butternut squash instead of acorn squash, or turnip instead of carrot, etc.

Ingredients

1 Acorn squash
1 can Pumpkin puree
1 can cannellini beans
1 large yellow onion
1 cup white wine
3-4 Tbsp olive oil
5 stalks of celery
5 large carrots
10 cloves of garlic
Sage
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Method

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Peel 6-7 cloves of garlic and bush with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and place on baking sheet with the acorn squash.
Cut acorn squash in half and place on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and allow to bake until soft; 45 minutes to an hour.

As far as I am concerned, you can always vary the ingredients, however, it is the method that will make or break your dish. Especially for a dish such as this, I believe that you have to develop and build flavors and create a texture which marries them all together.

For the base of this soup I start by adding 2 Tbsp olive oil in a deep skillet, and about 1 Tbsp of ground sage, the chopped celery and chopped carrots. Let this begin to simmer for a minute and add 3 clove of crushed garlic and the chopped onion.

Allow this to simmer evenly adding olive oil as needed. When everything is getting soft and fragrant add 1 cup of good white wine. Allow this to cook down on low heat and keep adding water as it begins to thicken, maintaining a sauce texture through out the process. You may want to add more wine but water works well. This whole process should take 3-4 hours.

In the meantime, you have removed your squash and garlic from the oven, allowed it to cool, peeled and chopped it, opened the can of cannellini and pumpkin puree.

I place all of this into the food processer or if you don’t have one, place into a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer. The point is to make it creamy and smooth.

When that is done I place the mixture into a large soup pot.

After allowing the veggie mixture to cool, do the same thing. A blender can be used or the food processer but do them separately to be sure that the veggies become completely pureed.

I then add these to the soup pot and allow everything to cook for about an hour before serving.
You can salt and pepper to taste.

In the list of ingredients I have cinnamon and nutmeg. If you are adding cream I highly suggest a sprinkle of nutmeg, I think that it is a natural compliment to creams. I have a personal preference for cinnamon with any squash and especially like it when there is garlic involved! I love the combination of flavors.

I love serving this with a salad or warm crusty bread or with toasted walnuts and pecans brushed with olive oil and garlic.