balsamic vinegar | Kid Tested Firefighter Approved

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.

We eat a ton of kale salad but this one is the absolute best! I highly recommend this one, you WILL NOT be disappointed. I’ve added the Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles to make it more of a meal-type salad and it’s awesome! You can make this without the tempeh too, it’s so good either way! Plus, this salad keeps well in the fridge for a few days so it makes awesome leftovers!!

AMAZING Kale Salad topped with Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles

This salad recipe is from food blog Melomeals: VEGAN FOR $3.33 A DAY, one of my favorites!

Here is her recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cups kale, destemmed and cut in a chiffonade – I use Black Kale/Lacinato or also called Elephant Kale
1/2 – 1 teaspoon best quality sea salt (smoked salt would be fabulous here!) – I use Alderwood Smoked Salt from World Spice Merchants but you can use regular salt if that’s all you have (Smoked salt is best though!!)
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar – I add a little extra
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon orange zest
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped red cabbage
½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 Tablespoons minced red onion
½ cup chopped green olives – make sure you mince them well
1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
Pinch nutmeg
½ cup raisins
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
Salt/pepper to taste if needed

Directions:

– In a large mixing bowl, add the kale, salt, orange juice, vinegar and garlic powder. Massage well with
your hands for several minutes.

– Add the rest of the ingredients and massage well

Let salad sit for 10 minutes; taste and adjust seasonings and enjoy!

For the Smoky Maple Tempeh Crumbles – you can use these in a lot of other dishes too, they are great in breakfast burritos, other salads and just by themselves! You can also keep them in cubes instead of mashing them.

* 2-4 blocks Organic Tempeh – from Trader Joe’s

* 2-4 tsp Liquid Smoke (depending on how smoky you like it!)

* 2-4 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup (depending on how sweet you like it!)

– I use 4 blocks of tempeh (from Trader Joe’s) so I have enough for leftovers (I always double this salad recipe for leftovers) – you can use 2 for a single batch of this salad

** Note: I used to cook these in oil but I’ve since removed oil from our diet. You can bake these crumbles on parchment paper at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so.