Alternative Medicine.(Cream of Broccoli Soup)

So after about a week with a pretty sore throat, I had two choices tonight. I could either say Phuqit and go see Castevet and go out in the 15'F weather, or I could make some soup. The fact that I am posting this blog means I chose the latter.

Ingredients:

32 oz. Frozen Broccoli

4 Cups Vegetable Stock

1/2 tsp powdered dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

3 TBSP Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Small Yellow Onion

3 TBSP Flour

2 cups Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk ( I used So Delicious Coconut Milk as it was on sale this week)

sea salt & black pepper

1. Put on a great Outkast record,(I chose Stankonia) and then Cook Broccoli until tender in stock.
2. With a slotted spoon, remove one cup of broccoli florets. Set aside
3. Peel/Dice garlic cloves, dice onion and Sauté on medium heat in 1 Tbsp olive oil until translucent. Add to pot
4. Place remaining broccoli, liquid, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and salt in the blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.
5. Heat the olive oil in the soup pan. Add the flour and cook on low for 5-8 minutes.
6. Stir in coconut milk, bring to a boil then simmer till thickened, stirring constantly.
7. Stir in broccoli puree and non-blended florets.
8. Heat gently & serve immediately

http://vegetarianstar.com/2008/11/30/andre-3000-benjamins-last-meal-on-earth-broccoli/

.Get into themed meals/listening sessions.

wow, we must all be getting skinny

Portlandish Thanksgiving

Eric, Stephen, and I just had a very awesome Veggie thanksgiving. Check it out! Nom Nom Nom...

http://entirelyuntrue.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/thanky-fest/

Coconut Brown Rice with Sweet Potato (pan)Cakes

Yikes, I should buy a plate that's not so yellow/green. I can't think of a more uncomplimentary food color pairing...maybe brown or taupe would be worse.

I made this to fulfill my craving for both rice and sweet potatoes, and overall it was a pretty starchy meal - but that wasn't a bad thing. Maybe the sweet potato pancakes need some tweaking, but I kind of enjoyed their ambiguous texture. They were still mushy, but they had a nice pan-friend crust on the outside. Also, the portions are super small since I'm cooking for myself - but it's a enough for leftovers. Doubled the quantity is good for 3-4 people.

Coconut Brown Rice

1 cup short grain brown rice

8 oz can coconut milk

1/2 cup water

1 small onion

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into a couple pieces

1 tsp salt

1 tsp curry powder

Sweet Potato (pan)Cakes

1 med. sweet potato

1/2 red onion, diced small

3 tbl flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp curry powder

Cook onion in a pot with some oil, once translucent add the ginger and curry. After a couple minutes, add the rice and liquid (coconut milk and water). The ratio I used was 1:1.5, rice to liquid. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring to make sure you don't crusties on the bottom. Once it boils, bring to a simmer and cover making sure you keep stirring every once in a while. This should take about 30 minutes.

While your rice is cooking, cook the sweet potato. I used the microwave for convenience sake - which only takes 4 minutes. Peel your potato, and mash it. Adding all the ingredient and fry those babies up in little cakes! Super easy - but you may find the batter a bit finicky and sticky. I think next time I'll actually try and make it like a pancake by adding more liquid. Also, I would love to try this out with chickpea flour. Mmmm...

My Vegan Mac and "Cheeze"

Mike and I have been making this pretty much weekly here in Philly. I think we're planning on making a baked version of this for vegan thanksgiving. Sorry about the low quality picture it was taken in photo-booth. Also I ate half of it before I took the picture, my bad. The ginger really adds a good bite to it, I definitely recommend experimenting with a ginger-garlic mixture in your fake cheezes it gives it a cool sharpness. This dish should be enjoyed while listening to this.

Get a pot of salted water going for your pasta. I'm going to trust your ability to cook a bag of pasta without putting it in the recipe. By the time you're done cooking the pasta you're sauce should be done.

Sauce

Add to your food processor in this order:

3/4 cup raw cashews

1/2 block tofu

1/2 cup soymilk

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

water until it's the consistency of ketchup (Hunts not Heinz, it's more watery)

Over low heat simmer:

1 1/2 inches of ginger, minced

4 cloves garlic

1 onion, diced

after 3-4 minutes add:

1 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp soy sauce

3 tomatoes, sliced

1 bunch of kale, chopped finely

cook until the kale cooks down a bit

Dump the food processor mixture in with the rest of the stuff and add Lawry's seasoned salt to taste. Then mix in your completed pasta and squeeze the juice of one or two lemons on top and mix again.

Enjoy!