10 Spice Vegetable Soup

I do not know how I happened upon the website www.ohsheglows.com but I am definitely going back, because this soup is soooo good!  Love, love, love it!

Ingredients:

For Soup:

3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked

6 cups vegetable broth, divided

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 sweet or yellow onion, diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped sweet potato, regular potato, or butternut squash

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 (28-ounce/796-mL) can diced tomatoes, with their juices (or sub with fresh tomatoes - see blog post for my how-to)

2 bay leaves

1-1  1/2 tablespoons Homemade 10-Spice Blend (recipe follows), to taste

Fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 to 2 cups baby spinach or destemmed torn kale leaves

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or other beans, drained and rinsed (kidney beans are fun too)

Homemade 10 Spice Blend (Makes 1/2 cup)

• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

  Directions:

  1.  Place cashews in a bowl and add enough water to cover. Soak the cashews overnight, or for at least 2 hours. Drain and rinse the cashews.
  2. In a blender, combine the soaked and drained cashews with 1 cup of vegetable broth and blend on the highest speed until smooth. Set aside.
  3. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Season generously with Herbamare or sea salt.
  4. Add the carrots, bell pepper, potato, celery, and diced tomatoes with their juices, the remaining 5 cups broth, the cashew cream, and 1-1.5 tablespoons of 10-spice blend. Stir well to combine . Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Season with salt and black pepper and add the bay leaves.
  5. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and black pepper. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in the spinach/kale and drained beans.
  6. To freeze, ladle the soup into containers (leaving 1-inch for expansion), cool slightly, secure lid and place in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.
  Tips: 1) If you don’t wish to make the 10-Spice Blend, feel free to use your favorite store-bought Cajun or Creole seasoning mix and add to taste. 
  2) You will have leftover spice blend. Store it in a container and keep it handy anytime you want to spice up a dish! It's great for pasta, soup, tofu seasoning, stir-fry, and more. 
• 3) When thawed, this soup's broth looks a bit grainy, but rest assured when it's heated up again it will return to its former smoothness.

Ginger Garlic Salad Dressing

Delicious, tangy, super easy to make and no added sugar which I LOVE!
1 oz peeled ginger root,cut into chunks (weigh it after it's peeled)
3 cloves garlic, smashed and coarsely chopped
1 cup rice wing vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
2  Tbsp. water
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. tomato paste
4 Tbsp. soy sauce

Combine all ingredients, including a pinch or two of salt, in blender and process until fairly smooth

**Adapted from recipe on Food.com

Homemade Ginger Dressing

If tangy is your game, this is for you!  This is a variation on a recipe for dressing for the commercial brand Makoto Ginger Dressing.




1 oz peeled ginger root, cut into large chunks
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed but not chopped
1 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 six oz.can Tomato paste
pinch of salt and more to taste

Combine ingredients in blender and process until fairly smooth.  Add more salt if needed.

Store in refrigerator.

Adapted from Food.com recipe

Veggie Lasagna

Not vegan but for the dairy consuming vegetarian, go to town!  :)  This is a great dish to give someone, unbaked, because they can pop it in the freezer and then thaw it out and bake it at their own leisure.






Ingredients:
Oven baked vegetables (see previous recipe)
5 cups favorite pasta sauce
1 cup water
15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for later use
salt and pepper
dried basil and/or oregano
1 box no boil lasagna (DeBoles gluten free is good)
8 oz. bag shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix sauce and water together in a bowl.
Mix eggs, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup Parmesan in a separate bowl.
Have cooked veggies ready.

For using a 9x13 baking dish/pan:
Pour 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of pan.
Line pan with lasagna noodles
Put 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top and spread along noodles (NOTE!! NOT 1/3 CUP BUT 1/3 OF THE ENTIRE PORTION.  SAME BELOW)
Put 1/3 of the veggies on top
Cover with 1/3 of the sauce
Cover sauce with 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese
Add a few shakes of Parmesan and a few shakes of dried basil and/or oregano.
Repeat layers twice.
Bake, covered, at 350, for 45 minutes and then uncover and bake until middle is hot and cheese is bubbling.
If you have refrigerated or frozen and then thawed the lasagna, it may take a bit longer.
Once it is ready to take out of the oven, give yourself enough time to let it set for 10 minutes and settle before serving.
If you want to freeze or refrigerate to serve later, don't bake it first! 

I have found this is a recipe that benefits from having time to experiment with pan sizes.

If  you find your pan is too shallow, it will be just as good with 2 layers instead of three.  I've read that some people look for pans that are 13x9 but deeper than the standard 2 inches.

For those who have the time and patience and don't want a huge, 13x9 pan of lasagna,  I recently began buying disposable aluminum poultry pans, with dimensions of  9 3/8 x 9 3/8 x 2 3/8 and dividing everything above into two pans.  The middle layers of cheese and sauce and veggies may need to be reduced a bit to give you enough ingredients to make two smaller lasagnas or you can anticipate that ahead of time and buy extra of everything.

In the end, lasagna is something that ends up all mushed up on people's plates so I find the aesthetics are secondary, so long as it's yummy!  :)

**For the carnivores: You can replace the veggie layers with cooked Italian sausage.
**Leave out the veggies and its a great cheese lasagna

Oven cooked veggies

When I make these, I cook them in a baking dish, which results in a moister texture.  If you are looking for a drier consistency, then I suggest spreading them on a cookie sheet before baking.


In a large bowl. combine the following vegetables in a large Tupperware bowl with a lid (all veggies cut into large chunks) :

1 1/2 cups onion
1 1/2 cups peppers NOT GREEN - but that's just me :)
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
1 1/2 cups zucchini
1 1/2 cups yellow squash

Combine all veggies in a Tupperware bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 Tbsp. fresh, chopped rosemary.

Put lid on bowl and shake until well coated.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste 1 piece and determine if it is the desired consistency.  If not, continue to bake, checking every 7 minutes until satisfied with consistency.
Makes roughly 4 cups veggies.

Optional: Include 1 1/2 cups eggplant.

Oatmeal - Redux Part 3

Yes, yes the oatmeal continues to evolve.  It was pointed out to me a few months ago, that a banana is sweet enough to really hold its own as the only fruit in this.  I also substituted the almond milk with soy milk, to increase the fat content slightly.  Simpler, in my opinion, usually equals better!



1/3 cup quick, 1 minute oats
2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 banana (the riper the better)
Dash of cinnamon

Mash the banana and combine with other ingredients in a deep bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute, stir.  Microwave for another 30 seconds.  Stir again and serve.
Times on the 2nd microwave go-round may vary, depending on your microwave.

Sugar Free Vegan Banana Milk Shake

Simple and delicious!!
The ingredients are:
8 oz. unsweetened soy milk
1 banana, the riper the better

There are two different ways to prepare.

For a frothier shake, combine the soy milk and banana in a blender, along with 4-6 ice cubes until combined.

For a thicker shake, freeze the banana for an hour or more and combine in blender with soy milk but don't add ice cubes.

Either way, really great and no added sugar of any kind.