Spiced Lentil and Carrot Soup

This easy-to-make soup became a sort of old standby for us when we lived in London and had to endure terrible rainy, cold weather all the time. Living in Portland, OR, it definitely still gets the job done.

Ingredients-
1 medium white onion, chopped finely
2 tbs of olive oil
4-5 small cardamon pods, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups of red lentils
1 red pepper, chopped finely (if it is out of season, approx 1 cup of roasted red peppers chopped will do the job)
5 carrots, grated
approx 6 cups of vegetable broth

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil on medium and add the onions. Stir around and cook 2-3 minutes until they start to become translucent. Remove the black seeds from the cardamon pods and crush slightly in a mortar and pestle. Add to onions along with a little salt and pepper.

Next add lentils, pepper and carrots to the pot. Keeping the pot on medium heat, stir ingredients so that everything is coated in the oil and onion mixture. Cook another 2-3 minutes stirring constantly so that the bottom doesn't stick.

Add the vegetable broth and cover the pot. Cook 15-20 minutes until lentils and carrots are fully cooked through and the soup looks blended together. If needed, add more broth to get the right texture and consistency. (If it looks like baby food, you need more liquid).

Serves 3-4.

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Walnut Pesto

This one is so darn delicious you could probably feed it to any picky eater in the world and they wouldn't even notice how good it is for them. It is also really easy and fast!

Ingredients:
4 cups of whole wheat pasta (I prefer Fusili for this recipe)
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup vegan pesto
1 handful of fresh basil and oregano
1 1/2 cup of roasted red peppers, chopped
1 red onion, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic
2-3 1/4 inch thick slices of good quality slightly aged Chevre
2 TBS of olive oil

Start this one off by cooking your pasta in boiling water per package instructions. Once it is done, strain in a colander and rinse lightly.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the pesto, walnuts and fresh herbs and chop until the walnuts are chopped into small (but not fine) pieces and the mixture forms a paste. If it is too dry and won't blend well, you can add a little olive oil to the mix.

In a big cast iron skillet, warm the olive oil and add the red onion. Cook on medium heat until reduced and translucent. Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes longer.

Into the skillet with the onions and garlic, add the pasta, pesto walnut paste and red peppers. Mix thoroughly.

Add the Chevre on top of the pasta mixture and place the skillet under a low broiler for approximately 5 minutes, until the cheese is slightly melted and browned.

Should serve about 4, or two with leftovers for lunch.

Tasty Basic Tofu Recipe

For the longest time we never ate tofu at home because we couldn't find a good recipe for preparing it.

Finally, a couple of years ago in Edinburgh we learned this basic recipe from a couple of vegan friends and we have been making delicious tofu at home ever since!

Ingredients:

1 block of firm/extra firm tofu
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbs of ginger, minced
1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce or Braggs liquid amino acids (I use a half and half mix)
1/2 cup of water, or more if needed.

Slice your tofu into 1/4 inch pieces of whichever size you need for what you are serving the tofu with.

If you want an even firmer texture, you can press the tofu first, by placing the block of tofu between two plates in your sink, with the bottom plate inverted and a heavy cook book on top for approximately 30 mins.

Place your sliced tofu in a dish, spreading out the pieces slightly so that at least some of one side of each piece is exposed.

Cut the lemon in half and press over the tofu, making sure to get the juice evenly distributed. The lemon always needs to go first in order to open up the tofu and create a foundation of flavor.

Add the minced ginger and garlic, distributing evenly across the pieces.

Mix the soy sauce/liquid amino acids with the water and add over the top so that all the tofu is covered by the liquid.

Allow to marinate for at least 20 mins or for up to 2 days in the fridge.

To cook, you can fry your tofu in oil, add it to a stir fry, put the slices under your broiler, or add it to a soup. To add some extra texture, you can roll the pieces in flour or cornstarch before cooking. You can also roll the pieces in additional seasonings, such as spicy mesquite mix or sesame seeds before cooking.

Makes enough tofu for about 2 people. Enjoy!!

Citrus Curry with brown rice

This is a really delicious and slightly unique curry recipe. Its unusual flavor comes from the citrus, which you add rind and all. As an alternate, you can use orange slices instead of lemon and butternut squash (cubed with skin removed) in place of the yams. A credit for this one goes to my former roommate in London, Tanya, who introduced the idea of making curry like this to me.

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice
4 cups of vegetable broth

2 TBS of olive oil
1 white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, sliced (in the spring/winter when these aren't available locally, you can use canned roasted red peppers and add them with the coconut milk)
4 cloves garlic minced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, minced
1 lemon, cut into slices
3 small yams, washed and cubed (with skins left on)
1 can of coconut milk

One bunch of swiss chard
One hand full of cilantro, chopped

Spices:
2-3 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cardamon seeds, removed from the pod and slightly crushed
1 hot chili pepper, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a saucepan, add the rice and veg broth and simmer on medium heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fully cooked.

While the rice is cooking, you can make the curry. Start by heating the oil in heavy bottomed pan on medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they start to turn translucent. Add the spices and stir until the onions are fully coated. Cook 2-3 minutes until the spices are very fragrant. Add the peppers and keep on stirring.

Next add the garlic, ginger, and lemon slices. Give the lemons a little squeeze when you add them to release a little juice.

Now add the yams and stir until fully coated with spice mixture. Add the coconut milk and cover, turning heat down to medium low. Stir occasionally to make sure that the bottom doesn't stick.

When the yams are *not quite* fully cooked (when you can almost slide a knife cleanly into the pieces), add the swiss chard to the top of the curry mixture and cover, cooking on low heat until the chard stems are fully cooked, but the leaves are still a bright green color.

Spoon a serving of rice into a bowl, and ladle the curry on top. Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro and the chard on the side.

Serves 4. Enjoy!