Cream of Garlic & Onion Soup with Fresh Tomato & Pepper

I majorly needed some comfort food today so this is what I made with what I had in the house. Came out delicious.



Note: this is not a healthy soup! We don't have to be healthy all the time. :)

Ingredients:
Water
1 knorr vegetarian vegetable bullion cube
6 oz cream 
10 oz water
A little butter
1/3 of a red onion
5 garlic cloves
Parsley
Fresh pepper
Smoked salt
1 small chopped tomato
Some fresh mozzarella
Potato flakes (to thicken)
Serves: 2

Chop your garlic finely and dice your onions. Place with some butter in a pot; cover and put on low or medium to soften. Dice up your fresh mozzarella and chop your tomato up as well; set aside.

When onions/garlic have cooked a bit add your water + bullion cube plus a few generous shakes of dried parsley. Stir and allow to simmer for a while (until you feel like everything is cooked and the bullion has dissolved). Add your cream and then add potato flakes slowly, stirring until it is a little less than your desired thickness--it will thicken further. A few tablespoons of flakes is probably sufficient. Add your mozzarella, stirring to allow to melt evenly. When good and melty, remove from heat and ladle into bowls. Throw chopped tomatoes on top and garnish with fresh pepper and smoked salt, if you have it. (Regular pepper and any nice salt will do, you don't have to be captain fancy!)

Vegan Sausage Stew

Ingredients:
1/3 package of Gimme Lean ground veggie sausage*
olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 a red onion, diced
1 medium potato or several small "new" potatoes, diced
1 medium parsnip, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
water
1 Knorr vegetarian vegetable bullion cube or your preferred bullion (optional)
red wine (1/2 - 1 cup)
potato flakes (to thicken)
2 tsp parsley
1 heaping tsp sumac
1/2 tsp each thyme and oregano
salt to taste

*or use your preferred meat substitute. or, hell, use real meat if you're into that and you're dying to let a vegetarian tell you how to cook stew. 

Start off your chopped garlic on low-medium heat in some olive oil. Yes, I'm aware all my recipes start this way.
Add small globs of the gimme lean one at a time, spreading evenly so they are not too piled on top of each other. Allow to brown on the bottom, then flip and give the other side a couple of minutes to brown.
Add your red wine (enough to just cover the sausage) followed by your spices and your chopped onion. The browning, wine and sumac all really contribute to making fake meat taste more legit. Let simmer for a few minutes.
Toss in your chopped parsnip, carrot, and potato, then add enough water to make a souplike consistency. Be your own judge of how much liquid you want, knowing that some will burn off & you'll be thickening it. Also add your bullion cube if you like.
Let this simmer for 10-20 minutes or until the carrots are soft. Then, add a few big spoonfuls of potato flakes to thicken. Stir and simmer for a few minutes more (or if you're like me, just leave it on low while you set up your plates and stuff for dinner).  You're done!

My favorite way to eat a stew is to place a buttered (or fake-buttered if you're vegan) slice of bread at the bottom of a bowl, then ladle the stew over it.

Cream of Portobello Soup feat. Special Guests Merlot & Fresh Kale & Oregano

You will need:
1 large portobello cap
1 large kale leaf
small bunch fresh oregano
Salt + pepper to taste
Some butter and/or olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 scallion
1/4 small onion
3-4 oz merlot
4 oz heavy cream
1 1/2 cups water
1 bullion cube
Mashed potato flakes to thicken
Serves: 1-2. For more it's fine to double/triple/quadruple the recipe!

Chop up your garlic and toss in a pot with some oil and/or butter. Put it on low while you continue to chop other things.
Chop up the portobello mushroom into very small pieces. We are NOT blending this soup so you want everything you chop to be pretty small. Throw in with your garlic. Chop your scallion and onion and oregano and throw those in too. Add your wine as well.

Don't you want to eat it already omg

After some simmering has occurred and the onions are softening a bit, turn it up to medium-high and add your water & bullion cube. I use knorr's vegetarian vegetable. Stir & let the bullion dissolve. Then, rip up your kale and toss it in. This is not a requirement, I just like kale and I try to healthy stuff up by throwing some kale in whenever I can. You can also use spinach or another green if you prefer.

I just can't say no to the kale it's a compulsion please help me

You only want to cook your kale until it is bright green. Don't overdo it. That would be so sad. Then the thickening: I use instant mashed potato flakes! They're fairly nutritious and gluten-free. Just add bit by bit, stirring slowly until you reach a good thickness. Not too thick, it will thicken up a little more than you think. Then turn to low and slowly stir in your cream. This can be ready right now, or you can simmer while you set out your place settings and bread.

You're done!

Cheesy Butternut Squash Soup With Hot Peppers

I am not a big squash person and I am ALSO not big on this mindset that the only way to make squash is with some kind of sweetish brown sugar/pumpkin pie spice situation. I like savory food! LET US NOT LIMIT OUR AUTUMNAL GARDEN VEGETABLES IN THIS WAY.  So here is a cheesy spicy soup with butternut squash.

Makes around 4 big bowls.

You will need:
A very big pot
Food processor or blender (...or potato masher if you're feeling really badass DIY?)
1 butternut squash
8 oz shredded cheddar*
Half a red onion, chopped finely
Half an orange pepper 
1 medium size hot chili pepper*, chopped finely
1-2 scallions, chopped
1 lemon or equivalent juice
4 oz half and half*
A bunch of tap water
2 big bullion cubes (I use knorr vegetarian vegetable)
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (leave out if you're not into spicy)
Some oil or butter to cook with
small bunch of fresh thyme or half a tsp dried thyme

*leave out the cheese & substitute water for the half and half if you want this to be vegan. 
**I used the longish twisty kind that go from green to orange. feel free to leave out if you're not into spicy or substitute with something more intense if you prefer

First, peel your squash and chop it into small cubes. This takes a while. Discard the pulp/seeds. Put all your squash in the pot, & just cover with water. Add your 2 bullion cubes & bunch of thyme and put on high. Bring to a boil, you will be letting it boil about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up your orange pepper and add the pieces when there are about 3 minutes left. It's a shame to overcook peppers.You'll be blending all this so don't worry too much about chopping nicely or finely.

Remove from heat. Put your half and half and about a cup of cold water into your food processor/blender. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer your squash & peppers into the food processor. If you used fresh thyme you can discard it now, we don't need to eat twigs and it has done its work. Don't discard the broth!!! Blend to a consistency you like with no big chunks. Then slowly pour back into the broth, stirring as you go. I unthinkingly dropped my food processor blade into my pot and had to rescue it with tongs, so really don't feel bad if you're not too graceful about this. Mix in your other spices (turmeric and cayenne pepper, if desired), put back on medium heat & cover.

Now. Cook your chopped pepper & onions in a small frying pan with some oil or butter. I used avocado oil which some wonderful benefactor got me as a wedding gift. Just cook until the onions are softer but not translucent. Then add this into your squash/broth situation and mix in.

Now you are going to add your cheese. I recommend adding it slowly and whisking as you go so it melts evenly and does not get clumpy. When it's nicely mixed in, whisk in your lemon juice in the same way, slowly stirring so it does not cause any seperation.

You're done! You can leave on low heat with a cover while you prepare anything else for your meal. Soup only gets better the longer it cooks. Garnish with chopped scallion & serve!

Spicy Chickpea Soup with Roasted Peppers

Ingredients!

5 cloves garlic, chopped
Oil and/or butter (this is vegan if you skip the butter)
1 can chickpeas
Splash of lemon juice.
About 1 cup worth of chopped tomatoes 
1 red and 1 green bell pepper
Dry spices: thyme, garlic, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper
1 and a half cups of broth or water

Steps:

First thing: start your peppers roasting. Do this using whatever method appeals to you or follow the instructions here.

Then start 4 of your garlic cloves in some oil and/or butter. Lately I have been reserving 1 clove and chop it much more finely to throw in raw at the end - when raw, garlic is a prebiotic (i.e. feeds the helpful bacteria) and also has antifungal/antibacterial properties.

While simmering, add spices and lemon juice. For the spices: I added a large amount of paprika because I want that red pepper flavor, and a couple shakes of everything else. Let your nose be your guide. FYI for cayenne & cinnamon, a little goes a long way.

When your garlic is tender add your chickpeas and water or broth. Bring back up to a simmer.

Then smash up your chickpeas somewhat. You can use an immersion blender or, if you're like me and don't have fancy cookware, just use a potato masher! It doesn't have to be a puree, just smaller chunks.

Let this simmer until your peppers are roasted. Peel your roasted peppers (let them cool first, dude, don't get burned!), chop them into bite size pieces and stir them in.

Add your chopped tomatoes and raw garlic and you're good to go!

This is way yummy for dipping bread in or just eating on its own.

Honey Ginger Lemonade

Makes a little more than a quart. Feel free to double or divide if you're making more or less.

You will need:

2-4 lemons 

2-6 oz honey

1 inch or so of grated ginger

2-3 cups water

Ice

Pot

Seive (tea strainer works too if you're careful)

Pitcher

Water goes into the pot. (Fact: I often get lazy and just heat this up in a couple of big mugs in the microwave. It's all good.)

Wash your lemons, cut into quarters, squeeze as much juice and pulp as you can into the pot. Then throw the lemons themselves in there too. This is to taste; I like a not-crazy-tart lemonade so I usually go with 2 lemons, but if you MUST HAVE THAT CITRIC ACID PUCKER then go for more!

Grate your ginger right into the pot. Pro tip: most of the medicinal properties of ginger lie just beneath the skin so instead of using a peeler, gently rub the skin off with a knife.

Add your honey to taste. If you're not sure, start with a little--you can always add more later. Another pro tip: raw unfiltered honey has a LOT of health benefits that the generic bears you buy at the supermarket do not. It also tastes way better.

Heat long enough for everything to melt and combine. No need to bring to a boil. Just get it hot.

Taste (carefully, don't burn your tongue) and adjust honey/lemon ratio as needed. It should be stronger than you actually want it at this point because this is going over ice which will water it down. Add more lemons if it's too sweet or too watery; add more honey if it's too tart.

Half-fill your pitcher with ice and pour your lemonade through a seive into your pitcher. Done!

BONUS BOOZE OPTION: If you mix 1 part pinot grigio and 1 part honey ginger lemonade you will have a bangin' beach drink.

Cheap Burgundy Pesto With Mozzarella

(A "What's In the Fridge?" Adventure Pasta!)

Ingredients:
Pasta
1 cup of cheap wine
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
A bunch of basil, fresh or dried
Any other green herbs you have lying around that you think will work, fresh or dried
Cayenne pepper (optional)
Mozzarella
Grated romano or parmesan cheese.

Cook your pasta.
During this time, chop up garlic and put in a skillet with olive oil and wine, on medium heat. Add cayenne pepper if you're into that, as well as a ton of basil and other green herbs according to what you have and your whims. I had dried basil and a random container of dried "italian herbs" I inherited from a roommate.
Keep the heat on your wine-oil-herb situation to medium low. It can bubble but don't let it go crazy. But it's OK to reduce it somewhat.

When your pasta is ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE DONE, drain it and transfer into the wine-oil-herb situation to finish it. You can turn the heat up a bit. Let it cook a few more minutes.

Chop your mozzarella into small cubes and toss it in, mixing carefully to distribute it well.  Add a small ton of grated romano or parmesan (use your own judgment of what "a small ton" is) and mix well.

Serve!