DELIVERING DELECTABLE DISHES DAY & NIGHT!

My immediate family has dealt with lactose intolerance, IBS, auto immune disorders and fatal cancer. From Fall '09-Summer 2010 I went from running 1/2 marathons to not being able to get out of bed, plagued with intense headaches, exhaustion and more. With my family history and my own immune system comprimised I was motivated to take a bit of a journey to better health. Slowly I've made considerable changes, (I'm not always 100% vigilant), but I know these changes have helped me return to better health...FOOD CHANGES: I cut out gluten, cut out most dairy, cut down on the "white stuff"-sugar, white rice & flour, decreased the amount of processed foods consumed, drink green smoothies regularly, eliminated red meat and eat more vegetarian and vegan dishes...just to name a few!

I use gluten free (GF) pasta and either a whole grain blend by Nalani Brown or a mix from Kathy Taylor for most bread, cake and cookie recipes-they are awesome! (If you like Kathy's mix, email me to order her cookbook at ishagirlclub@gmail.com.)

GF mix can be substituted straight across for regular flour if you aren't cooking gluten free!

Hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Vegan Creamy Potato Soup


1 cup raw almonds (peeled / soaked)
3 cups vegetable broth
2 extra large russett potato (or four small) (about 6 cups sliced potato)
1/2-2/3 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp fine black pepper
1-1 1/2 tsp salt (to taste - more salt will be needed if you use water instead of veggie broth)
1-2 medium cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8-1/4 chili powder 
a dash of cayenne (optional)

Garnish: (recipes below)
(optional) savory bits + caramelized onion (omit 'bits' if you need a soy or gluten free option)
roasted cheezy mini potatoes
parsley or chives, chopped

Mini Cheezy Potatoes:
2 cups diced mini potatoes (blue, red and yellow used)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 T extra virgin olive oil
S&P to taste

Protein bits:
1/2 cup chopped tempeh bacon OR 1 vegan sausage diced in to small pieces
1/3 cup sweet yellow onion, chopped 

Directions:

1. Soak your raw almonds in hot water. You can actually do this in an hour, but your almonds will blend a bit creamier if you soak overnight.

2. For your roasted potato garnish, heat oven to 400 degrees and dice your mini potatoes. Toss in oil, salt and nutritional yeast. Place on a greased baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender and crispy. (Remove from oven and set aside.

3. While your potatoes are roasting, work in almond prep. Drain and rinse your soaked almonds and soak them in the hottest water your tap can pour. Let them soak for a few minutes as watch as the skins begin to loosen and some flake away. If your almond skins do not loosen at all you may need hotter water. Use boiling water if needed. To peel, simply drain almonds and start to squeeze them between your thumb and fingers and the almond should easily pop out of the skin. Repeat for all almonds. 

3. Peel your 2 potatoes. Boil in how water on your stovetop until tender. Drain away water.

4. The rest is easy! Add the boiled potatoes, almonds, liquid and spices to a Vitamix or large food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more liquid if a thinner soup is desired. Season to taste. Salting is very important for this soup since the base ingredients are so minimal. (More nutritional yeast is nice too, but will yellow the color a bit.

5. Quickly saute your onion and savory bits (tempeh bacon - you can also buy pre-seasoned tempeh bacon or use seasoned vegan sausages - or sub with chopped mushrooms or just use the onions) on the stove, set aside for garnish.

6. Blending in Vitamix for a couple minutes will heat sufficiently or allow to simmer on the stove before serving. This soup can also easily be reheated in the microwave.

7. Garnish: crispy potatoes, savory bits with onion and something green. Try chives or chopped parsley. An accent of pepper is also nice. Serve warm.

Doubled original recipe from www.lunchboxbunch.com

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