Vegan Black Bean Soup

Man alive, it's freezing here in Ohio! So it's time for a nice winter soup... this time, I've chosen black bean soup. Spicy, hearty, and thoroughly yummy, this soup has become a staple of our winter fare.

It's also pretty easy to make - it easily falls into the coveted "under 30 minutes" category, which makes me a pretty happy guy.

So, without further nonsense, here's a happy (and I mean Bob Ross happy) little recipe to brighten these crappy winter days.

Vegan Black Bean Soup

4 cans vegetable broth
2 cans black beans
1 can chili hot beans
1 can golden corn
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 stalks celery
2 poblano peppers, chopped
1 medium red onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1/3 tbsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 cup long grain brown rice, uncooked
vegan shredded cheese (optional)

Pour 1 can black beans, 1 can vegetable broth, and 1 can tomatoes into a blender; blend until smooth.

Place remainder of ingredients (except for shredded cheese) into a large stock pot; bring to a boil. Add mixture from blender, return to boil. Lower heat to medium and let cook for 20-25 minutes or until rice and vegetables have cooked through.

Serve with vegan shredded cheese, if desired.

Now, I know you're expecting some pithy statement, silly sidebar, or nugget of nonsense... but I've got stuff to do, so I'm going to take it easy with the crapola tonight. So all you get is a recipe. Consider yourself duly shortchanged.

Oh, I noticed that my recipe for Vegan Seitan with Sesame Garlic Sauce was featured on several blogs over the past few days. Hell, Digg it, StumbleUpon it, whatever... I'm happy to spread the garlicky goodness.

It's Chili Season! (a little early, but still...)

Ok, it's mid-September... and in Ohio, that means really screwy weather. You know, the kind where you run the heater on the way to work/school in the morning, and the air conditioner on the way home. This is the season when you take a jacket and a t-shirt with you no matter what.

Mid-September also means one scrawny, middle-aged vegan is itching to make the season's inaugural batch of chili. Really, I try to wait until the leaves start falling and you can *shoof* through them in the yard... but it never happens that way.

This year, I have home-grown habanero and jalapeno peppers, so I was even more anxious than usual.

Now, I never make chili the same way twice... this time I opted to use soyrizo... and as much as I generally dislike meat analogues, this turned out pretty tasty. Too bad I forgot pics... but I'll get 'em tonight and update the post.

Also, I tend to favor crockpot-friendly varieties. There's nothing like coming home and having comfort food ready to eat!


Vegan Soyrizo Crockpot Chili

1 12-oz package Morningstar Farms Soyrizo, crumbled
1 40-oz jug tomato juice (alternately, I sometimes use V8 Hot & Spicy)
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 habanero pepper, seeded and finely minced (wear kitchen gloves!)
1 can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 can light kidney beans, drained
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can sweet yellow corn, drained
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp turmeric

Optional for garnish:

chopped fresh cilantro
Veggie Shreds cheddar "cheese"
Tofutti vegan sour cream

Add all ingredients to a large crockpot and stir. Cook on high for 4 hours; then turn on low and cook an additional 2-3 hours. Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with cilantro, Veggie Shreds and Tofutti sour cream, and enjoy!

Note: Ok, you have probably guessed that I like my chili pretty damned hot. Really, you could probably get away without the habanero just fine... but I think it imparts a distinctive flavor in chili, if you don't mind the heat.

Let Chili Season 2008 begin!

Recipe: Vegan Hot and Sour Soup

Now, here's one of my favorites before I became a vegetarian - there's something about Chinese hot and sour soup that is just plain comforting, especially when it's downright freezing outside (like today - it's about 2 degrees Farenheit right now).

Unfortunately, most hot and sour soups you find in Chinese restaurants are made with chicken stock, and many contain either pork or chicken. You can find vegetarian hot and sour soup in some health food stores (and occasionally in supermarkets), but to be honest, it's pretty awful stuff.

So I did some experimenting to come up with a vegan hot and sour soup that had the same wonderful smell and taste as the commercially available version, without all of the animal products. It took a few tries, but I finally tweaked a couple of meat-centered recipes, and came up with a hot and sour soup that hits the spot!

If you can find mixed mushrooms at your supermarket, this hot and sour soup is pretty easy to make. If you can't find packaged mixed mushrooms, any of the types I've listed below will work fine.

Here's what you'll need:

8 oz. sliced mushrooms (white button mushrooms, cremini, portobella, straw mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms)
1 package (16 oz) extra firm tofu, drained and sliced into 1/4 " x 1/2" strips
1 bunch scallions
4 oz chopped kale
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 oz. ginger, grated
4 cans vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp. rice vinegar
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp chili sauce

Pour water, vegetable broth, rice vinegar, white vinegar in a stock pot or large soup pot on medium high heat. Stir frequently until liquid starts to boil.

Chop scallions, add to liquid, saving some of the green part for garnish. Add remainder of ingredients and cover.

Heat for 15 minutes or until kale is tender. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with remaining scallions.


Variations:

• For those of you that want a more meatlike texture, you can either freeze and thaw the tofu before preparing the soup, or substitute seitan. You might even be able to use those Morningstar Farms Chik'n strips, but I haven't tried it.
• You can also add egg whites for a non-vegan version. Slowly stir 6 egg whites into the liquid when if comes to a boil, and before you add the other ingredients.

Prep time: 10 min.
Cooking time: 15 min.
Total time: 25 min.


Note: This hot and sour soup can be easily frozen and saved for later. I typically make a double batch and freeze half of it.

Recipe: Winter Soup

Since we're heading into January, which in Ohio means some pretty bitter weather (yes, I hear you New Englanders, we don't have anything to complain about), I thought maybe a soup recipe would be good. Ok, another soup recipe. It's winter - you can't have too many soups!

So, if you liked my Dal Soup recipe, get your stock pot back out - here's a happily satisfying Winter Soup! This is a vegetarian recipe, but you can omit the cheese to make it vegan.

You'll need:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 zucchini, chopped (I use 1 yellow and one green)
4 cups vegetable broth (if you buy canned, make sure it says vegetarian vegetable broth on the label. For some reason, regular vegetable broth often has chicken stock. Go figure.)
4 chopped roma tomatoes or 2 14 oz cans chopped tomatoes
1 14 oz can chickpeas
8 oz frozen spinach, thawed
1 oz parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp sage

Stir-fry leeks, zucchini, garlic in oil for 2 min. Add these plus remainder of ingredients to stockpot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15-30 min.

Serve with french bread or pita slices.

Enjoy, and stay warm!

Lee aka The Veggie Guy