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Creamy Vegan Broccoli Avocado Soup & Five Foodie New Years Resolutions

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup

Five New Year Food Resolutions to Make

 

Let’s stop vowing to cut things out of our lives at then beginning of each year, and start promising ourselves we’ll add some great things in.

Can’t we all just agree that those “I’m going to lose weight/stop eating sugar/give up carbs/cut out coffee” resolutions are just going to leave us feeling hungry, guilty and eventually shameful when they go enormously ignored about the second week in January?

Maybe you have a bigger capacity for restraint than I do, or a higher guilt threshold, but I gave up those types of personal promises years ago. Although I do still love a good resolution and tend to make them year round.

How about we agree to ADD things to our lives instead of taking away? There is something about making a decision to add something great to our world that just reminds us what an amazing life we have ahead of us. And adding greatness has a way of pushing out some of those not as great things.

Let’s give it a try.

Here are my favorite food resolutions, all about adding more amazingness, not about taking things away.

 

1.Start a food tradition: Maybe a once a month Sunday Supper with your family, or a quarterly Food Friends Pot Luck, or even just New Recipe Wednesday where you try a new dish. Food traditions are memories that you’ll be glad you made.

2. Read more food lit. Chefs have written most of the best books I’ve read over the past year. There is something about knowing the back story of food, and those who have created it, that give you a deeper connection to the food world.  Plus, food people tend to read food books, it’s an instant conversation starter when you meet a food writer or a chef. My recommendations: Yes Chef, Marcus Samuelson;  Blood, Bones & Butter, Gabrielle Hamilton; Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table,  Ruth Reichl, Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain.

3. Join a CSA or other Organic Produce Delivery Program. Before my recent move, I got a box of organic produce delivered to my doorstep every Wednesday from Love Delivery. Mostly local, in season and very fresh fruits and vegetables. This also gets you to eat more good stuff, because it’s there. And you hate to waste it.  Supporting local farmers and eating healthier, it’s a total win. There are several in most cities and states, consult Google for ones in your area.

4. Try New Foods. This is for the picky eaters. Pick one new food a month and cook it, and eat it. Or, order that one thing on the menu that you would never normally eat. After a year you’ll have 12 foods that you never otherwise would have tried. And I’m going to bet you a batch of cookies that you will be surprised at how much you like at least one of those new foods.

5. Master A Recipe or Technique. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn to make a soufflé, or homemade pasta. What better resolution to make than the acquisition of culinary knowledge you can someday pass down to future generations? Just go into assuming that the first time may not be a huge success, and by that I mean don’t plan an entire dinner party around skills you haven’t acquired just to end up in tears when your husband has to have pizza delivered. It will probably go fine, and you will probably post the results on Facebook (yay!), but take it slow and know that to master a technique takes a lot of practice, each time you try it you’ll learn something new.

 

One of my resolutions is to explore vegan cooking more, even though I have no plans to give up meat or dairy. There really isn’t any arguing with the fact that produce is the best thing you can put in your body. The more I focus on the beautiful flavors of fruits and vegetables, without using meat and dairy as a crutch, the better my cooking becomes over all.

Here is a vegan soup, inspired by this Bon Appetite recipe. Without garnishes, it’s about 170 calories a serving.

Here is a How To Roast Red Peppers post by Kitchen Treaty. If you are going to use them right away, you can skip the oil and the jar.

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup2

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Avocado Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 large red potato, peeled and chopped
  • 6 cups chopped broccoli florets
  • ½ to 2 cups water
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • pinch chili powder
  • 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1 lage avocado, diced
  • 1 red pepper, roasted, cut into strips

Instructions

  1. In a stock pot or Dutch oven heat the oil. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir. Add the vegetable stock and potatoes, cooking until the potatoes are almost soft, about 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until the broccoli and potatoes are both tender, about 5-8 minutes. Using an emersion blender, puree until smooth. Add water, if desired, to thin to desired consistency. Add spices and lemon juice.
  2. Garnish with avocados and red peppers prior to serving.

If you want to know how I made the garnishes "float" on top of the soup for the picture, check this out.

Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup3

Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

 

Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

I heard this theory of negative calories foods about a year ago. And while this idea would be a dream come true, I’m not actually convinced of it’s validity.

The theory is that some food cost your body more energy in calories to consume and digest than the food actually contains.

Take celery for instance. A stock of celery is 5 calories, but between chewing, swallowing and digesting, it takes 15 calories to actually eat a  stalk of celery, for a net loss of 10 calories. Now, if celery could just taste better, and not like, well, celery, than we’d be all set. Clearly, this theory doesn’t apply to French fries.

On the list of "Negative Calorie Foods" are:

-Asparagus

-Beet Root

-Broccoli

-Cabbage

-Carrot

-Cauliflower

-Celery

-Chicory

-Hot Chili

-Cucumber

-Watercress

-Garlic

-Green Beans

-Lettuce

-Onion

-Radish

-Spinach

-Turnip

-Zucchini

-Apple

-Blueberries

-Cantaloupe

-Cranberry

-Grapefruit

-Honeydew

-Lemon/Lime

-Mango

-Orange

-Papaya

-Peach

-Pineapple

-Raspberry

-Strawberry

-Tomato

-Tangerine

-Turnip

-Watermelon

 

While this theory has been widely discredited, there is no arguing with the fact that this is an incredible list of foods. If more than half of your diet was pulled from the above list, and the rest of your diet was "sensible" you would never have to diet again and those skinny jeans would be yours.

I did a bit of a test of my own. I made a batch of this soup and ate it for lunch every day for a week.

I lost 2 lbs. Which is a lot for me, given that I have a BMI of 20.6.

That doesn’t really prove anything. Other than the fact that a low calorie vegan soup is a good route to take when looking to drop those holiday pounds. Believe the theory or not, this is still a fantastic list of healthy foods.

Even if this soup isn’t "Negative Calorie," it still only has 78 calories per serving.

Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs chopped cauliflower (about 8 cups)
  • 1 lb fresh asparagus stalks, trimmed
  • 4 cups veggie broth
  • ½ tsp onion powder
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • pinch cayenne pepper

yield: 6 cups

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Place asparagus and cauliflower on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes or until asparagus is fork tender and the cauliflower has started to brown.
  3. Add broth to a large pot, add asparagus and cauliflower and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables have started to break down. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Add the seasonings, adjust to taste.

Negative Calorie Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Soup

Pad Thai Soup

Love veggie meals? Try my Vegan Mushroom Quinoa Beer Chili! or Beer Battered Avocado Tacos

 

Living in LA during "fall" makes you feel like a bit of crazy person.

I’ll pull on my tall boots and a chunky sweaters that I am rightfully entitled to wear in late October, later realizing that the weather will creep up into the 80’s by mid day. And I’m the crazy lady at Starbucks ordering a pumpkin latte, wearing vintage Frye boots, jeans and a thick wool sweater while I could be wearing a jersey knit sundress like the normal, non-crazy, girl behind me in line.

And still, I persist. I even go home and make soup. Sweating the entire time I eat it. In my sweater, with the air conditioner running.

I spent three years as a vegetarian. The best thing I ever did when it comes to cooking, it opened up a world of produce to me and reminded me of all the foods I would often overlook just because they didn’t contain meat. To this day there are still things I prefer in a vegetarian or vegan form.

When it comes to thai cooking, fish and oyster sauce are frequently called for. Here is an article about how to make those, DIY style in your own kitchen using non-meat products.

There is also a company that sell vegetarian fish sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and Golden Mountain Season Sauce is a great alternative when those are called for.

And for Gluten Free, I hear this Kikkomon GF Soy Sauce is great.

Pad Thai Soup

Ingredients

  • 3 tbs oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 egg (omit for vegan)
  • 3 oz extra firm tofu, diced (or cubed chicken)
  • 4 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
  • 4 oz rice noodles (also called pad thai noodles)
  • 3 tbs soy sauce
  • 1/4 tsp sriracha
  • 1 tbs fish sauce (For vegan, use adaptation listed in above post)
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
  • 1/4 cup green onions
  • 1 tsp crushed red peppers

Instructions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the garlic and stir. Add the egg and cook until softly scrabbled. Add the tofu (or chicken), cook until lightly fried about 3 minutes.
  2. Add the broth, then add the noodles, soy, sriracha, fish sauce, and peanuts. Cook until noodles have softened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Serve topped with peanuts, green onions and red chili flakes.

 

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Ukrainian Food: 30 Famous Dishes & 3 Beverages

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Mediterranean Food: 25 Popular Dishes in 4 Categories

With Italian, Turkish, Greek, Spanish, Levantine, and North African influences, it’s no wonder that Mediterranean cuisine is taking the international food scene by storm. But how do these Mediterranean food cultures work together? That’s what we’ll discover here.

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5 Health Benefits of Almond Milk + 5 Tips and Hacks

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Lebanese Food: 11 Popular Dishes + 5 Secret Recipes

Lebanese food is healthy, delicious, and straightforward to prepare. However, if you didn’t grow up cooking and eating Lebanese, it can be hard to know where to start. We’ll be taking a deep dive into some insider tips and tricks to Lebanese cooking.

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8 Benefits of Spinach & 5 Tips for Preparation

Spinach is one of the oldest kinds of vegetable and it has grown to become a popular ingredient in many dishes. But why is it so good for you and what positive effects does eating it have on your health? Read this article to find out more about why spinach is so nutritious, as well as to discover some top tips on how best to add it to your diet.

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Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

 

Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

I brûléed some avocados, which, let me be honest, is sort of strange. But it gave this soup a campfirey, smoky flavor that I loved so I’m standing behind the decisions. A decision that was largely based on the fact that I’ve had this brulee torch for over two months and haven’t used it yet.

Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

Now I’m sort of hooked on the idea of wielding a kitchen torch this powerful, it completely smokes (pun intended) the one I previously owned that I now see as fairly pathetic. The new one is beast, I think it might belong in the tool shed out back (I don’t actually have a tool shed, so I guess it’ll stay in the kitchen).

But you really don’t HAVE to brulee avocados, just cutting them up and adding them to the soup like a normal person is just fine.

Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

About this soup, it’s vegan, which clearly I am not. But I love vegan food because it puts the emphasis on produce, which I adore. Corn is just coming into the season, and so are the avocados I abused, but the weather in most parts of the country is still soup worthy. But you have to remember that I’m also the girl that likes to drink stout and eat soup in August.

I also prefer to eat ice cream in December. Which all may add up to my rampant non-normalness that forced me to take a kitchen torch to those perfectly lovely avocados.

Roasted Corn, Pale Ale and Coconut Curry Chowder with Brûléed Avocados

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large ears sweet corn
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • ½ white onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2/3 cup pale ale
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 2 cups vegetable broth chicken will work as well
  • 1 can 13.5 ounces full fat coconut milk
  • 2 tsp red curry paste
  • pinch cayenne
  • 5 large leaves basil thinly sliced
  • 1 large red pepper roasted
  • 1 large avocado ripe but firm, too soft will not work
  • 1 lemon

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400.
  • Trim off any silk that is sticking out of the husk of the corn ears.
  • Place on a baking sheet, roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle. Cut the kernels off the corn, set aside.
  • In a sauce pan over medium high heat, sauté the onions in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Add the beer, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth, coconut milk, curry paste, corn kernels, and cayenne. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.
  • Stir in the basil and the red pepper.
  • To brûlée the avocados, slice into ¼ inch slices, sprinkle with lemon juice. Place on a heat proof surface like a baking sheet. brûlée with a kitchen torch until browned, use tongs to flip over and brûlée the other side.
  • Pour soup into bowls, top with avocados.


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Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes


Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes_

Have you ever had one of those "What Would You Want Your Last Meal To Be?" conversations?

I have. Partially because I’m a touch more morbid than most, and partially because I think about food nearly constantly. Also, between food writers, food bloggers and chefs, I hang out with quite a few food people and that tends to dictate the sway of conversation.

Julia Child ate French onion soup as her last meal. James Dean had apple pie and a glass of milk at a road side dinner. JFK ate a pretty typical breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee. John Lennon had a corned beef sandwich. Ernest Hemingway had a steak and potatoes.

(*have I totally creeped you out with death talk on my potatoes post?)

Really, what that conversation comes down to is what food could you not bear never eating again. For most people, that’s comfort food, or meals that remind them of childhood. To be honest with you, I can’t really decide on an answer to the super-morbid Last Meal question. But, I can tell you I would want potatoes to be a part of the meal.

I’ve been making these potatoes for a while. Really simple, easy and always turn out great, without much effort. They also just so happen to be vegan and gluten free, how great is that?

Last meal or not, I’ll be having these again soon.

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes 3

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt, or kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375.
  2. Add olive oil to cast iron skillet over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
  3. Add the potatoes, one of the cut sides down.
  4. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
  5. Push each piece of potato over, toggling it onto its un-browned cut side.
  6. Cook for one minute, transfer skillet to the oven and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

 

Perfect Skillet Roasted Potatoes 2

Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie

Happy 2013.

Anyone broken their New Years Resolutions yet?

I love resolutions, I just don’t make those "I’m going to remove things I love from my life" kind.

I make resolutions that are more inline with goals. As in:

-I’m going to take a homemade pasta class

-I’m going to read more food lit

-I’m going to explore vegan cooking, because produce is amazing

Someday I’ll set the "I’m going to start homebrewing this year" resolution, but I’m not there yet.

Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie2

It’s possible that were you live, it’s actually cold right now. And maybe you set a resolution about cooking more often, if that’s the case, I have the perfect thing for you.

Chicken pot pie, with cornbread build right in. Oh, and some beer.

Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients
  

Filling:

  • 4 ears of corn
  • 2 tbs butter plus 2 tbs, divided
  • 1 large shallot chopped
  • 2 large carrot peeled and sliced into rings
  • 1 cup peas
  • 2 ribs of celery chopped
  • 2 tbs oil
  • 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 3 tbs flour
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 4 sage leaves minced (about ½ tsp)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1/3 more, plus more chicken

Cornbread top:

  • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 tbs baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • ½ cup beer pilsner or low to medium hopped pale ale
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tbs melted butter

Yield: 6 servings

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 400.
    • Cut the corn off the ears, set aside.
    • In a large pot, melt 2 tbs butter. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, peas, and celery, cook until the vegetables have soften about an additional 5 minutes. Remove from pot, set aside.
    • Heat the olive oil. Add the chicken, cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, remove chicken from pot.
    • Add remaining 2 tbs butter, heat until melted. Spinkle flour on top, whisk until well combined. Add the chicken broth and bring to a low simmer. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pot along with the corn, allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
    • Place 6 individual, oven safe bowls (about 1 ½ cup sized) on a baking sheet. Pour chicken soup into bowls until about 2/3 full.
    • Ina large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and stir until combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the beer, egg and melted butter. Stir until just combined.
    • Top the bowls with cornbread mixture (it’s OK if the batter sinks, it’ll rise during baking).
    • Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown.

     

     Beer Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie3