Chipotle Split Pea Soup

I did it, I finished a whole can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce! I always buy a can, use one or two for a recipe and the rest of it sits in the fridge and rots.

As you can see, I’ve been on a soup kick this week due to the recent rain. I love soup, it’s so easy and almost everything you need ends up in one warm bowl of goodness!

This is from… you guessed it! Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day vegan food blog. She has so many delicious recipes, I may just cook my way through her whole site!

First off, this soup smells SO GOOD when it’s cooking… the kind of smell where your neighbors peek their heads over the fence and say “What are you cooking? That smells awesome!”. Not only does it smell good, it tastes good too! Plus it’s easy to make, cheap and very healthy (protein & fiber!), what more do you need!

I served this soup with leftover Chickpea Flatbread – cut into pieces and toasted. My hubby ate his flatbread with Southwestern Chipotle Sauce, his new everyday condiment of choice.

Chipotle Split Pea Soup

2 T olive oil
1 t thyme
1 t basil
1 t tarragon
1 t rosemary
1 large onion, 1.5 cups chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced or 2.5 T
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 lb dried split peas
6 -8 c water or vegetable stock
2 bouillon cubes if not using stock
1-3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo chopped
salt/pepper to taste
1 T balsamic vinegar
fresh parsley or cilantro if desired

* In a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium heat add the dried spices,onions and garlic and saute for several minutes.

* Add the carrot and celery and saute for several more minutes, then add the peas.
* Stir to coat with the veggie/spice mixture then add the water or stock.
* Bring to a boil for several minutes then cover and turn down heat to a strong simmer.
* Cook for 30 minutes or until the peas are tender.
* Add the bouillon cube and more water if needed and the chiles.
* Cook for 15 minutes more, then stir in the balsamic vinegar.
* Taste and adjust seasonings.
* Top with fresh herbs if desired.

Lemongrass Coconut Cake/Bars (Gluten-Free)

Let me start by saying, I am NOT a baker! I attempt it now and then but I am not very good at it. We don’t eat many sweets so that’s okay. Every now and then I get a craving for something sweet so I attempt to bake. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. This cake turned out really tasty so I’m glad I attempted it. I’m new to gluten-free baking so this cake may not look the way it’s supposed to but it sure is good! They’re really more like bars with their thick texture. Ah, whatever you want to call them is fine because I call them DELICIOUS!!

I received a bunch of lemongrass in my CSA box last week and I’ve been looking for new recipes that call for lemongrass. I usually make Thai Food but I wanted to make something new. I’ve been cooking my way through my favorite vegan food blog, Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day – she had this recipe on her site so I had to try it! I love anything with lemon too so this was a perfect match!

Here’s her recipe:

Lemongrass Cake with Coconut Frosting
·         ½ c golden flax meal
·         ¼  c Vegenaise (vegan mayo – found at Sprouts)
·         1 c sugar
·         1 t vanilla
·         1 t coconut extract
·         Juice and zest of 1 lemon
·         2 T lemongrass (sold at Sprouts)
·         ½ c light-colored oil – I used vegetable oil
·         1.5 c Bob’s All Purpose Gluten-Free flour (I suppose you could use regular flour too)
·         2 t baking powder
·         1 t baking soda
·         ½  t salt
Method:  Pre-heat oven to 350
1.       Mix flax, mayo, sugar, extracts, lemon juice, zest , lemongrass and oil together very well until everything is totally incorporated
2.       Sift together the flour, powder, soda and salt into the wet mixture and mix together completely. You don’t have to worry about over working this dough. Mix super well!
3.       Spray a 9 by 9 cake pan with cooking spray, pour batter into pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4.       Cool cake completely on a wire rack
5.       Frost!
Frosting:
·         1.5 c unsweetened coconut shreds
·         ¼ c nondairy milk
·         3 – 4 c powdered sugar
·         Juice and Zest of 1 lemon
·         Pinch salt
1.       In a food processor, process the coconut and milk if needed until coconut turns into butter like substance. This will take around 4 minutes
2.       Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest,  salt and process until it comes together like frosting  adding milk as needed
Fresh Lemongrass Whole and Chopped
Remove the tough outer layer and chop the softer part
Coconut Lemon Frosting!

May not look pretty but tastes pretty darn good!!

Kale Butter

This is for all you kale “cult members” out there! There seems to be two kinds of people when it comes to kale – those who have no idea what it is and those who are obsessed with it. I don’t have much experience in between the two, only one or the other. We eat kale almost everyday so I suppose that puts us in the “cult member” category.

I found this recipe in the Engine 2 Diet book. It’s really good on crackers, pasta, veggies and sandwiches/wraps. I smear this on my toddler’s sandwiches with white beans and soy cheese and she devours it!

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Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

I love quinoa (pronounced “Keen-Wah”) for breakfast! It has such a warm nutty flavor!

I have a few recipes I follow or I just throw whatever I have in the cupboard in my quinoa – raisins, dried cranberries, sliced almonds, chia seeds, walnuts, etc. I don’t usually follow a recipe but I figured posting accurate amounts of everything would help if someone wanted to try quinoa for breakfast.

I buy my quinoa at Costco – It’s about $9 for a big bag and it’s organic.

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