Easy Vegan Recipe~Cream of Broccoli & Spinach Soup~

Now, I can certainly appreciate that when the temps in the next few weeks will certainly be well into the 100's in some places (ahem, Florida) soup not be your go to meal of choice. However, I am the kind of person who enjoys soup all year long. The rest of your meals can be hot, so why not have a delicious bowl of soup? I have often heard that soup is merely a vessel for a warm & crusty baguette. I'm game.

I had some broccoli in the fridge to use up and so I decided to make a cream of broccoli soup. It is my FAVORITE soup to order at Panera Bread! Spinach was an addition merely to do the same-use up food in the fridge. This soup is so simple to make, I really don't know why I don't make it more often. Anyhow, without further adieu......

Cream of Broccoli & Spinach Soup *Serves 2~4*
1 T Canola Oil
1 T Earth Balance
1 leek, cleaned* & sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, peeled & chopped
3 c broccoli florets and stems (stems peeled & chopped)
3 c water
1 t vegetable base
1 bay leaf
3 c loosely packed spinach
1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
3/4 c nutritional yeast
S&P to taste

In a large stock pot, heat oil & margarine over medium heat. Add leeks and saute about 2-3 minutes until they start to get translucent. Add garlic and saute for about another minute. Be careful to not burn the garlic or it will get bitter! Toss carrots in the pan and saute for about a minute to start softening. Add broccoli to the pot and season veggies with salt and generous amounts of pepper as well as the bay leaf. Next, add water and veggie base, stir to combine. Cover and cook about 15 minutes until broccoli is tender. Add spinach to wilt~about 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat & remove bay leaf.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until creamy..be patient this will take some time. About halfway through blending, add almond milk to help move the rest of the veggies along. (You can also puree this in a blender, just be sure to do it in batches!). Once pureed, add nutritional yeast and salt & pepper to taste.

Voila


You could definitely adapt this recipe by leaving it a bit chunky or adding fresh herbs (thyme would be lovely), subbing some or all the broccoli with cauliflower, puree peas in to the mix instead of spinach (i'd add mint too). Melt in some daiya cheddar cheez or swirl in some pesto.

So I encourage you to not turn your nose up at a delicious bowl of soup simply because it's summertime. This a great make ahead meal, perfect for those long work days when you are too hot to slave over the stove :)

What is your favorite soup? Is there any soup that you'd like me to recreate? Leave a comment below :)

2 successes & 1 not so success

Success:


oh yes, thank you Mama Pea




Her recipe with a couple subsitutions.....
Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

(Makes 6 rolls)

Dough:

* 1 cup unsweetened vanilla hemp milk, warm **my substitute
* 1 packet yeast
* 1/4 c. canned pumpkin
* 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
* 1/2 c. organic unbleached all purpose flour
* 1 T. baking powder
* 1/4 c. sucanat **my substitute
* 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
* 1/4 t. salt

Cinnful Filling:

* 1/2 c. sucanat **my substitute
* 1 T. cinnamon
* 2 T. Earth Balance (or other dairy free margarine), softened
* 2 T. golden raisins

Icing:

* 1 c. powdered sugar
* 3 T. water **my substitute

Dissolve yeast & sucanat in warm hemp milk. Set aside. Combine whole wheat flour, spices, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine filling ingredients and set aside.

After yeast and hemp milk is foamy (about 5-8 minutes or so), stir in pumpkin. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto floured bread board and knead for a minute or so (about 20 times). Knead in as much extra flour (~1/4 c.) as necessary so that dough is no longer sticky. Roll dough into a large rectangle.

Sprinkle filling over dough and roll dough up firmly to make a log. Cut the log into six equal pieces and place in a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Either cover rolls and place in the refrigerator overnight, or if planning to bake immediately, let dough rise in a warm place for at least 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 23 minutes. Drizzle with icing.


Success:

Thank you again...




Her recipe, again, with some substitutions
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Stew

Serves 4

* 1/2 c. diced onions
* 1/2 c. diced celery
* 1/2 c diced carrot ** my addition
* 2 c. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 2 medium potatoes)
* 2 cloves minced garlic
* 2 t. chili powder
* 1 t. cumin
* 1 t. oregano **my addition
* 1/2 t. cinnamon
* 1/4 t. nutmeg
* One 28 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juices + ½ c water (to get all the good stuff out)
* One 14 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed **my substitute
* 1 c. vegetable broth
* 2 c fresh spinach **my addition
* salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, sauté veggies & spices in cooking spray until softened & onions are slightly translucent (about 7 minutes). Add veggie broth, fire roasted tomatoes, water & black beans. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Cook about 20-25 minutes. Stir in fresh spinach before serving to wilt.

*Cannot WAIT for her cookbook :) Check her out...

Serve with corn chips, guacamole and "my not so success"...

Not so success:



In the background. Supposed the be Nacho Cheez...this did not taste like cheese. At all :( It was seriously all red pepper which I don't mind. Just had other expectations for it....still somewhat tasty. But not what I was hoping for....

Quick Nacho Cheez Sauce [yields ~1c]
* 1 c raw cashews (originally called for 3/4 c)
* 5 T nutritional yeast (orignally called for 3 T)
* 1/2 c water
* 1 medium bell pepper
* 1 t chili powder
* 1/2 t cumin
* 1/2 t garlic
* pinch or 2 of smoked paprika

1. Add water to the blender, then all other ingredients.
2. Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary, until desired consistency is reached.

Anyone else had a less than expected results with this recipe??
Back to the drawing board....