Creamy Mushroom Soup

Winter Immunity Mushroom Soup (from plantbasedcooking with a few changes)

INGREDIENTS •   1/8 cup water for sautéing •   4 cloves garlic minced •   1 large yellow sweet onion, chopped •   1 medium red onion chopped •   8 oz carton mushrooms, your choice •   ¼ cup dried mushrooms  (something different from the fresh) •   2 15 oz. cans white northern or cannellini beans drained & rinsed •   1 can lite coconut milk •   4 cups vegetables broth •   salt & pepper to taste

1  In a large pot, sauté the onions in water for about 10 minutes until the onions are just starting to caramelize. Add garlic and cook for about a minute until fragrant.


2   Add the mushrooms and simmer for another 10-15 minutes, until mushrooms have about halved in size. 


3   Combine ¾ of the cooked mushroom and onion sauté, dry mushrooms, vegetable stock, and coconut milk in a blender on high speed until creamy. Pour the blended soup back into the pot. This creates a velvety soup broth, but still has some texture to it.


4   Add the white beans and let simmer all together for another 5-10 minutes.


5   Season to taste with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and sea salt and chopped green onions or fresh parsley.

Freezes well.

https://www.plantbasedcooking.com/recipe/creamy-mushroom-bean-soup/

Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Salad with Chickpeas and Quinoa (Candace Little)

1-2 cookie sheets of veggies (1 head cauliflower (about 1 lb, trimmed to 1 inch florets; 8 oz carrots (about 1 medium small bunch) peeled and cut into ¼ inch think slices

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup quinoa

1 14.5 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

3 green onions, thinly sliced

½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup chopped pitted brine-cured green olives
1/3 cup currants or chopped raisins (increase as desired)

1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds (increase as desired)

additional Italian parsley springs

Lemon wedges

Preheat over to 450 degrees. Brush cookie sheets with olive oil or line the pans with parchment paper. In medium bowl, toss the veggies in olive oil. Spread the veggies on cookie sheets and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt.  Roast the vegetables in the oven until browned in places and tender, stirring once, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring 1 cup water and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to a simmer in a heavy small saucepan.  Add quinoa, simmer for 15 minutes covered, let stand 5 minutes.  Fluff the quinoa with a fork.  Transfer the couscous to a large bowl; mix in the cauliflower, carrots, garbanzo beans, green onions, chopped parsley, cilantro, olives and currants.  Whisk the Moroccan-Spiced Dressing to blend; add to the salad and mix well.  Season the salad to taste with salt and pepper.  Salad can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.

When ready to serve sprinkle almonds over the salad and garnish with parsley springs. Serve with lemon wedges.

Moroccan-Spiced Dressing

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

½ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

2 garlic cloves, pressed

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk together.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Cranberries and Almonds

  

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
with Cranberries and Almonds

1 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup oatmeal flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 teaspoon salt

¾ cup chopped almonds

½ cup cranberries

½ cup dark chocolate chunks 

1 cup almond butter

½ cup brown rice syrup

2 eggs or 1/3 cup aquafaba

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together. Stir wet ingredients together and add to dry.  Let stand for 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes.

Spring Rolls with Orange Sweet-and Sour Sauce

Spring Rolls with Orange Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Rice papers

Vegetables of your choice sliced very thin, including red peppers, green onion, cucumber, celery, grated carrots, springs of cilantro, slices of avocado, lettuce, etc.

Dip rice papers in hot water for 5 seconds, lay out on a plate. Lay vegetables on one end of paper, roll ½ way, turn in ends and roll completely up. Serve with brown jasmine rice and orange sweet and sour sauce. 

Here is a great tutorial on wrapping spring rolls.

Orange Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Zest from 2 oranges

1 cup fresh orange juice

¼ cup cider vinegar

1/8 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup (more to taste)

¼ teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon Sriracha sauce (more to taste)

2 tablespoons corn starch

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes. Serve with spring rolls and brown jasmine rice. (Goes well with slices of rotisserie chicken too). Sauce can be served sauce hot or cold.

picture credit: White On Rice Couple

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars (adapted from Healthy Seasonal Recipes by Cristie Mabey)

Ingredients

•    1 ½ rounded cup whole-wheat pastry flour

•    1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

•    ½ teaspoon baking soda

•    2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I used Speculaas spice mix King Arthur Flour)

•    ¼ teaspoon salt

•    ½ cup aquafaba (juice in a can of white beans, original used 2 eggs)

•    1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree

•    ½ cup applesauce (original used oil)

•    ½ cup dark pure maple syrup

•    2 tablespoons oil

•    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

•    ½ teaspoon buttery sweet dough extract (King Arthur Flour)

•    ¾ cup mini chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or other brand)

•    1/3 cup dark chocolate for topping

Instructions

1  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 9 by 9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2  Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, pumpkin, applesauce, oil, maple syrup, buttery sweet dough extract and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until moistened. Add chocolate chips and stir until just combined.

Spread the batter out into the prepared pan. Bake until the bread has risen and the center springs back when lightly touched, 40 minutes or until the cake is set and pulling away from the edges. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack. To make topping put small pieces of chocolate into a zip-lock sandwich bag. Microwave for 30 seconds, squish bag, return to microwave if needed. When chocolate is soft cut tip of corner off of the bag and stripe the cake. Let harden and serve.  Better eaten the same day as it’s made or frozen into individual pieces. Makes 16 bars.