Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Seasonal Herbs

I have a new love, and his name is Tomato Soup. Yes, good old humble Tomato Soup has turned out to be a real friend to me during these long, cold February days. First we were getting together on weekends, when my husband was around to share a meal with us. But soon, we were meeting for weekday lunches, just the two of us. Eventually, I found myself tidying up afterward, hiding--or sometimes even eating--all the evidence that Tomato Soup had ever been in the house. I wanted to keep him all to myself.

But I realize now how selfish I've been. After all, couldn't we all use a little comfort on these chilly winter days? And besides, I owe the scrumptiousness of my new love to an old one, one who deserves proper recognition:



Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes. These tomatoes make everything taste good, turning plain old tomato soup into the smoky, tantalizing Tomato Soup of my dreams. The middle of winter is no time for fresh tomatoes, but fire roasted tomatoes make the perfect bowl of tomato soup possible any time of year.

The only drawback to Muir Glen is the price tag: Each can costs $1.99 at my local supermarket, and my recipe uses two, making it cheaper to buy packaged tomato soup than to make it (though homemade tastes much, much better). Since I've been making this soup a lot, I created a second, less expensive version using a 99 cent can of organic tomatoes that I roasted briefly in my oven. The soup takes a little longer to make this way, but it tastes just as good as the Muir Glen version, at a quarter of the cost. So if you're unable to find Muir Glen or unwilling to pay the high price, I've included instructions on roasting your own canned tomatoes.

I'm fortunate to have a few herbs that grow in my garden all year long, and though rosemary, oregano, and parsley may not be the traditional combination used in tomato soup, they add a hint of spring to the soup, while roasted garlic adds a delicious mellow taste that doesn't overwhelm the other herbs. Feel free to use whatever fresh herbs you have available, or use a teaspoon or two of dried herbs, such as basil and oregano. But watch out--you may find yourself having a love affair with Tomato Soup, too!



Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Seasonal Herbs
(printer-friendly version)

1/2 large onion
1 rib celery
1 14.5-ounce can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted diced tomatoes*
1 14.5-ounce can Muir Glen Fire-Roasted crushed tomatoes*
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 tablespoon minced parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2-1 teaspoon agave nectar or sugar (optional)
4 tablespoons plain soy yogurt (optional, but good)

Sauté the onion and celery in a medium non-stick saucepan (sprayed with olive oil, if you like). When the onion is translucent, add the tomatoes, broth, oregano, rosemary, and cayenne. Simmer on very low heat for 10 minutes.

Transfer half of the soup to the blender, add the roasted garlic, and puree until fairly smooth. If you'd like a chunky soup, add the blended half back to the pot. For a smoother soup, blend the rest of the soup and return it to the pot. Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste the soup, and if it is too acidic, add a little agave nectar or sugar, just enough to take the edge off. Ladle into 4 bowls, and stir a tablespoon of soy yogurt into each. Serve with croûtons, if desired.

---

*You can make the soup with regular canned tomatoes that you roast yourself. The procedure is a little different, and you will need to replace the fire-roasted tomatoes with the following:

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (or or 2 14.5-ounce cans)
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste

Preheat oven to 450F. Line a jelly roll pan or baking sheet (the kind with a rim) with aluminum foil (or use a large glass baking dish) and spray it lightly with olive oil. Drain--and reserve--all the liquid from the tomatoes. Cut each tomato in half and place it on the baking sheet. If any liquid has pooled on the sheet, pour it off and save it as well. Put the pan into the oven and roast for 25 minutes.

While the tomatoes are roasting, sauté the onion and celery in a medium saucepan. When the onion begins to brown, add the tomato paste (1 tablespoon if you're using double-strength, 2 if it's regular paste) and stir for 1 minute. Add the broth and stir in the oregano and rosemary. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Then, pour it into a blender along with the garlic and puree until smooth. Put it back into the pan and keep warm until tomatoes are ready.

When the tomatoes are cooked, remove them from the cooking sheet and put them into the blender, along with the reserved tomato juice. Blend until smooth. Pour into the pot with the onion mixture, stir in the cayenne, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste the soup, and if it is too acidic, add a little agave nectar or sugar, just enough to take the edge off. Ladle into 4 bowls, and stir a tablespoon of soy yogurt into each before serving.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 82 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 172mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core/ 1 Point.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Ridiculously Easy Lunchbox Enchilada Casserole

All cooked out, all blogged out: That's how I've been feeling lately, which explains my unprecedented 6 day absence from blogging--even longer since posting one of my own recipes. Though I've been spending lots of time reading cookbooks and finding recipes that give me plenty of inspiration, when it comes time to actually go into the kitchen and cook something, I seize up and become completely incapable of deciding what to cook. Then I wind up throwing together my dirty secret soup or an old favorite like arrabbiata or just give up and call the nearest sushi place for takeout. I call it food blogging burnout but it's probably some kind of low-level depression caused by too many rainy days and too little sunlight.

Now, I'm telling you all this for a very simple reason: I'm hoping you'll take it easy on me when you see the following recipe, one that's guaranteed to offend everyone from lunchbox gourmands to raw foodists. If you loathe food out of cans, object to microwave ovens, or fear cooking in plastic, get away, quick, and don't look back! Because what you're about to see might shake you to your very core.

This is what I made for my daughter's lunch on Friday:



Just about everything in it came out of a can or a jar, and I heated it in plastic in the microwave. All together, it took me just 6 minutes, about the same time it would have taken to make the peanut butter sandwich she begged me not to make. And you know what--she loved it.

While I was at it, I put together two more servings of this ridiculously easy enchilada casserole, one for my husband to take with him to work and one for myself. I figured I needed something stronger than salad to pull me out of my blahs, and a hot lunch just might do the trick. You know, it may have worked: it was a tasty and warm treat on yet another cold, rainy day. And, more importantly, it gave me something to blog about!



Ridiculously Easy Lunchbox Enchilada Casserole
(printer-friendly version)

The amount of ingredients you need for this will depend on the size of the container you're making it in. My daughter's 12-ounce microwaveable thermos held less than the CorningWare dishes that I used for my and my husband's lunches, so the ingredients listed below are just approximations based on one serving--you may find you need more or less.

1/2 cup salsa
2-3 corn tortillas, cut into quarters
2/3 cup fat-free refried beans or chili beans (or a combination of the 2)
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
a handful washed baby spinach
2-3 jumbo black olives, sliced

Choose a 1-serving dish that can be safely microwaved. (The thermos shown above is designed to be put into the microwave; most are not and should not be used for this.) Spread a couple of tablespoons of salsa in the bottom of the dish. Next place a layer of tortillas over the salsa, trying to cover most of the dish's bottom--a little overlapping is okay. Spread the tortilla with half of the beans and top with the spinach. Add another layer of tortillas. Spread with the rest of the beans, sprinkle with the corn, and spoon a little salsa over the corn. Top with a final layer of tortillas. Spread the tortillas with a good layer of salsa, and put the olives on the top. (Or, hold the olives and add them after cooking.)

Cover the top loosely with waxed paper (do not use the thermos top), and put the dish into the microwave. Cook on high power until heated all the way through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Microwaves vary, so check to make sure that the inside is warm by inserting a knife into the middle and checking a sample. If you're making this in a thermos, it will continue to cook after you've sealed the container, so getting it hot in the middle is not so important. If serving right away, heat it until it's very hot and then let it sit for a few minutes to cool.

Makes one serving. With 2 tortillas and 2 olives: 306 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 12g Protein; 62g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 1287mg Sodium; 9g Fiber. 6 Weight Watchers Points (or Core plus 1 point for tortillas).

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Red Lentil Sambar from Vegan Fire and Spice

Robin Robertson, the prolific author of Vegan Planet and over a dozen other cookbooks, has just come out with a new one, and boy is it hot--literally. She recently contacted me to ask if she could send me a review copy of Vegan Fire & Spice, and being the heat-seeking eater that I am, I immediately said "Yes, please!"

Vegan Fire & Spice's 200 recipes range from subtly spicy to tongue blistering, arranged by geographic region and labeled with symbols indicating the level of heat. But what may be most impressive about the recipes is that they don't depend solely on hot spices for their flavor, so someone who doesn't like spicy food at all can tone down or leave out the peppers completely and still enjoy a dish that's deliciously seasoned. Most of the recipes are uncomplicated and don't involve huge lists of ingredients.

Robin was kind enough to allow me to post a recipe of my choice, and deciding which one to make wasn't easy, but Anshu's Red Lentil Sambar had all the elements that I look for in a recipe: it was simple, low in fat, and full of vegetables. Though it requires more ingredients than most of the book's recipes do, many of them are seasonings that are added all together. I've reprinted the recipe exactly as it appears in the book, but I have to tell you that you can get away with using much less oil than the recipe indicates. I used about 1/8 teaspoon to pop the mustard seeds, and that was all. Even with reduced fat, this recipe was rich and hearty, a delicious dish that my whole family enjoyed. I'll be making it again--as soon as I check out some of the other tempting recipes!



Anshu's Red Lentil Sambar
from Vegan Fire & Spice

(printer-friendly version)

Sambar powder is available in Indian markets and online. Serve over freshly cooked basmati rice.

1 cup red lentils
3 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons cold-pressed canola oil [see note above]
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 hot green chiles, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 teaspoons sambar powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped cauliflower
1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup diced eggplant
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Combine the lentils and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until soft, 30 minutes. Set aside, do not drain. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the onion, garlic, chiles, and ginger and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the sambar powder, coriander, cayenne, cumin, salt, and garam masala. Add the carrots, cauliflower, green beans, and eggplant. Cover and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Add the vegetable mixture to the reserved lentils, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, 20 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cilantro and cook 5 minutes longer.

Serves 6

Copyright © 2008 by Robin Robertson. Reproduced with permission of author.

To see more recipes from Vegan Fire & Spice, visit Robin's website and blog.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Pink Bean, Quinoa, and Spinach Soup from Vegan Express

Just after my copy of Vegan Express arrived, I was paging through it looking for something quick, low-fat, and--most importantly--comprised of ingredients that I already had in my house. As it turned out, several recipes fit those criteria, but the one that leaped out at me was this soup. From the first bite, I knew this one was a keeper, especially since my daughter kept exclaiming, "Tell the blog that it's kid-friendly!" Fortunately, Nava graciously granted her permission to post the recipe so that I could tell you just that.

The recipe is posted below exactly as it appears in the book; however, it's very easy to make it without added oil--just sauté the onions in a little veggie broth or water. Be sure to use a good-quality curry powder (anyone else use my favorite?), and you'll have a hearty soup that's not just kid-friendly but also family-friendly.



Pink Bean, Quinoa, and Spinach Soup
from Vegan Express by Nava Atlas
(printer-friendly version)

An appetizing, mildly spiced mélange of nourishing beans, grains, and greens, this makes a stellar centerpiece for a soup-based meal. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, making this practically a meal in a bowl.

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8 baby carrots, quartered lengthwise
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 natural, salt-free vegetable bouillon cubes
One 14- to 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons good-quality curry powder
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 cup quinoa
One 15-to 16-ounce can pink beans, drained and rinsed
5 to 6 ounces baby spinach leaves, well rinsed
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the carrots and garlic, and continue to sauté until all are golden, about 5 minutes.

2. Add 6 cups water, followed by the bouillon cubes, tomatoes, quinoa, beans, and spices. Bring to a rapid simmer, then cover and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is tender.

3. Add the spinach and cover. Cook for just a minute or two, until it is wilted, then stir in. Adjust the consistency with a little more water if the soup is too dense; season with salt and pepper and serve.

6 or more servings. Calories: 181 Total fat: 5 g Protein: 7.5 g Carbohydrates: 26 g Fiber: 6 g Sodium: 280

Copyright © 2008 by Nava Atlas

---

If you're trying to decide whether to buy Vegan Express, you can check out several of its recipes online to see if they fit your style. Here's a round-up of all the blog posts I've seen with recipes, photos, or both:

Ricki has posted a wonderfully thorough review--she tested and photographed 7 recipes--at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs. She's promised to post the recipe for Butterscotch Mousse Pie!

There are three recipes along with photos from the book at The Jewish Woman.

The Urban Vegan made the Zucchini and Polenta Marinara and has a photo.

The recipe for Smashed Potatoes with Shiitake-Miso Gravy is at The Star.

Dish 'n That has the recipe for Seitan and Polenta Skillet with Fresh Greens--along with the photo I took of it for the book.

A Veggie Venture has a photo and the recipe for Stir-Fried Brown Rice.

The Veg Blog has the recipe for Broccoli Salad with Yellow Peppers, Pine Nuts, and Cranberries.

Eat Air has a photo of Quesadillas with Black Beans, Broccoli and Portobello Mushrooms and another of Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Peas.

eat, drink, & be vegan has a photo of Butterscotch Apples.

Flavors of Kentucky posts the recipe for Very Green Veggie Pesto Pizza.

A Damzlfly in London has both the recipes and a photo of Tofu Aloo Gobi and Fruitful Red Slaw, as well as photos of Dense and Fruity Banana Bread and a hearty endorsement of Vegan Express.

And, of course, Nava has been posting V.E. recipes to her own blog. So far I've noticed Curried Cashew and Green Pea Soup, Berry-Apple Skillet Crumble, and Jerk-Spiced Seitan.

There are two recipes on this blog, as well: Whole Wheat Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Olives and Sweet and White Potato Salad with Mixed Greens.

I'll update this list with any other Vegan Express recipes I spy, but in the meantime, that should give you enough to chew on.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

We Have a Winner!

Well, actually we're all winners because we got to "sample" so many great entries in this year's Vegetable Love competition. With so many delicious looking dishes, I knew I'd never be able to pick just one, so I let you do it for me. 415 people voted, and every entry received multiple votes. In the end, only four votes separated the top two, but Vegan Molten Chocolate Cakes by Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs was the victor with 14% of the votes. Congratulations, Ricki! Please send me your mailing address, so that I can put your copy of Vegan Express in the mail.

Congratulations also go to our runners up, LaMana's Curry Chickpea Crepes, with 13% of the votes, and Lindsey's Raw Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew Cheeze Frosting and Caramel Sauce, with 11%. Next year I will have to plan for more prizes!

140 readers left comments and sent emails in hopes of winning the random drawing for their own copy of Vegan Express. With so many names to draw from, I've stopped wasting paper and printer ink putting names in a hat and have started using a more eco-friendly way to pick a winner. I asked the random time generator at Random.org to give me a time between 00:00 and 23:59 and it spit out:



...which translates into 8:14 pm, the exact time that Michelle left her comment. Michelle, since I have no way to contact you, it's up to you to write and let me know your mailing address. My email address is in the left sidebar.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's contest. I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love and good food.

Tags: Vegetable Love

(Vegetable) Love is All Around

I asked for it, and I got it: 23 of the most delectably enticing dishes featuring vegetables. From asparagus to zucchini, these recipes prove that vegetables can be as romantic as chocolate truffles and champagne (though I'm not saying that your Valentine's dinner can't have all three!)

All the wonderful entries are listed below in the order in which they were sent to me. These bloggers have worked hard to come up with new, creative recipes, so please visit their blogs to see the amazing dishes they've created. Then, once you've checked them all out, I hope you'll come back and vote for the one you would like to see win the contest. The one with the most votes will receive a copy of Nava Atlas' new cookbook, Vegan Express, which is currently ranked #7 #6 on Amazon's list of vegan cookbooks, even though it won't be officially released until tomorrow.

But wait! Everyone who votes will be entered into a random drawing to win another copy of Vegan Express. See the end of this post for details.

Without further ado, our gorgeous entries:

Curry Chickpea Crepes by LaMana at Culinary Healing

Vegan Molten Chocolate Cakes by Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs



Raw Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew Cheeze Frosting and Caramel Sauce by Lindsey at Day to Day Vegan



Cocoa Eggplants With Chestnut Hearts by Valentina at Vegan Kitchen



Vietnamese Rolls by Purplesque at Purplesque's Vox



Lemony Leaves of Love by Alanna (who also entered last year) from A Veggie Venture



Hot Love Carrots by Wendy at Opera Buffo



Firey Red Pepper and Arugula Pesto Cannelloni by Mel Bedggood at melbedggood.com



Spaghetti with Caramelized Veggies in Creamy Red Wine Sauce by Anke at Vegan Bounty



Stir-Fried Okra with Peanuts and Coconut (Bhindi Masala) by Mansi Desai from Food and Fun



Asparagus with Walnut Dressing by Lisa Feather at My Own Sweet Thyme



"I love veggies so much, I'm having them for dessert" Torte by Theresa at Tropical Vegan



Roasted Asparagus with Fruity Rocket Salad by Russ at Carrots!



Orange Vegetable Soup with Black Quinoa by Neta at vegan fun



Cauliflower Couscous with Basil Leaves and Avocado by Coppe at Something About Penguins



Veggie Chili Love by Gail at Cooking at the Pacific Outpost



Rose and Chocolate Pizza by Sinead at Kitchen Dancing



You Float My Boat Cucumber Boats by Diann at Eat'n Veg'n



Roasted Beet & Citrus Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing by Rachel at Coconut & Lime



"Sail Away in a zucchini boat with me.... The best is yet to be!" by Jennifer at Vegesphere



Squash and Beet Dal Soup by Liz at Food Snobbery is my Hobbery



Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Veggies with Orange Caramelized Tofu by Mandy at Vegan Sweetie

Two of Hearts Pasta: Citrus Fettucine with Roasted Artichoke Hearts and Hearts of Palm by Marni Molina from La Vegan Loca

Once you've visited all the sites and checked out all the entries, please return here to cast your vote in the poll below. While you're at it, drop me a comment letting me know you've voted, and I'll enter you into a random drawing for your own copy of Vegan Express!

The poll and the comments will close at 6 pm Central time tomorrow night (Feb. 12.) Please, one entry per person. Anonymous posters please include your initials or enough identifying information so that I can tell who the winner is.



Update: Winners have been posted! Thanks to everyone who entered or voted.

Thank you to everyone who entered. Everything looks so delicious that I'm glad that I'm not having to pick a winner!

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Vegetable Love

Friendly Reminder

It's a gorgeous weekend here, much like the one in the photo above, which was taken exactly a month ago. I haven't had a chance to enjoy today's beautiful weather because I've been taking care of E, who was officially diagnosed with the flu this morning. It's the first time she's ever had anything serious, so she has as little practice being sick as I do being a nurse (real meaning: we're driving each other crazy). She's going to be home from school with me for the next few days, so we'll both have time to improve our coping skills (real meaning: one of us will probably kill the other!)

Anyway, the reason I'm on the computer and not tending to my sick child is to remind you that the deadline for entering Vegetable Love is tonight at midnight Eastern time. The entries have been pouring in, so if you want yours included, be sure to get it posted today.

Even if you're not participating, you'll want to check in tomorrow to see all the entries and cast your vote for your favorite. Plus, look for a special surprise for one lucky reader (but that's all I'm saying about that!)



Here's E in healthier times. This photo was taken exactly a week after the first photo, which shows the changing nature of our weather here in Mississippi. Actually, this is only the second time we've seen snow since we moved here 7 years ago, which explains why my daughter ran straight from her bed out into the driveway without brushing her hair or changing out of her pajamas.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Vegetable Fried Quinoa

I've been crazy for quinoa lately; I just can't seem to get enough of it. I've been adding it to soups and stews and basically any other dish that could use a grain. It's fast and nutritious and it just plain tastes good.

One night last week, I needed something healthy that I could get on the table fast, so I decided to treat quinoa like the rice in fried rice. Since quinoa cooks so much faster than brown rice, I was able to put this together in about half an hour and still use a whole grain. I'm not sure how much it tastes like fried rice, but whatever it tastes like, it's terrific. D and I ate ours with a little (or a lot) Sriracha chili sauce, while E gobbled hers up "as-is." Besides being quick and tasty, this was an excellent way to use up some of the vegetables in my fridge and a delicious way to get my family to eat their greens.



Vegetable Fried Quinoa
(printer-friendly version)

Though I really recommend this mushroom-bok choy-carrot combination, use whatever vegetables you have on-hand. Greens like bok choy really shrink when cooked, so if you substitute another vegetable, do it by weight rather than volume.

1 cup quinoa (rinsed well, if bought in bulk)*
2 cups water
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fat-free vegetable broth
12 ounces bok choy -- about 6 stalks or 5-6 cups chopped
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced mushrooms
3 ounces firm tofu
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon black vinegar (or rice vinegar)

*Most quinoa bought from bulk bins needs to be rinsed well to remove the soapy outer coating. If you're not sure whether or not your quinoa needs to be rinsed, rinse it anyway. Pour it into a fine mesh strainer and stir it as you run water through it for at least 2 minutes.

Put the quinoa, water, salt, and 1 clove chopped garlic into a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15-20 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Wash each stalk of bok choy then cut it in two about where the leaves begin. Set the bottom white stalk aside and save for another use. Chop the remaining stalk and greens into bite-sized pieces.

Spray a large, deep skillet or wok with cooking spray and heat it. Assemble the vegetables nearby, along with the vegetable broth and a tablespoon. When the skillet is hot, add the ginger root, garlic, and carrots and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add about 1 tablespoon of the broth and continue to cook and stir for another 2 minutes, adding another splash of broth if the garlic starts to stick or dry out. Add the mushrooms and another tablespoon of broth, and cook another 2 minutes. Add the bok choy and 2 tablespoons of broth, stir, and cover. Cook until the bok choy is tender but still bright green, just a few minutes.

Crumble the tofu into the vegetable mixture. Mix the soy sauce and vinegar with the remaining broth and pour it over the tofu. Stir and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, just enough to heat the tofu.

Fluff the cooked quinoa and add it to the vegetables. Mix well, and cook until heated through. Serve with additional soy sauce, hot mustard, or chili sauce at the table.

Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 213 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (15% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 515mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core / 4 Flex Points.

---

I love using quinoa instead of rice or pasta. If you're in the mood for quinoa, check out a few of my other keen recipes:

• Quinoa Vegetable Paella
• International Quinoa Salad
• Farmers' Market Quinoa
• Caribbean Beans and Quinoa

Or just use quinoa anywhere couscous, millet, or bulgur wheat is used.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

It's not the prettiest soup in the world, but this cauliflower soup was a surprise hit with my family.

Recently I wrote that most of the soups I make are one-pot meals. But after reading research that says people who begin a meal with a light vegetable soup consume fewer calories than those who don't, I started thinking about making more starter course soups. I had a cauliflower in the fridge and a meal that needed more vegetables in it, so I whipped up this creamy-tasting soup.

Frankly, I can't even remember what I served with this because the soup was the star of the meal. I had worried that E wouldn't like something so simple and basic--roasted cauliflower allowed to shine on its own without lots of seasonings--but she devoured it. I'd also been concerned that the truffle oil, which gives the soup a rich, woodsy taste, might not be to her liking, but obviously I was wrong. From now on, Roasted Cauliflower Soup will be on the menu regularly.



Roasted Cauliflower Soup
(printer-friendly version)

I used a blender to get this silky smooth, but a food processor or hand blender might also work. Be careful not to burn yourself opening and pouring from the blender because the mixture can be super-heated.

1 cauliflower (I used an orange one)
1 onion, cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 cups fat-free vegetable broth
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
4 drops truffle oil (optional, but good)
Smoked Spanish paprika, to garnish

Preheat oven to 400. Cut the cauliflower into florets and place them into a large baking dish sprayed with oil. Lightly spray the top of the cauliflower with oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the onion wedges and garlic on top of the cauliflower, spray lightly with olive oil, and return to the oven. Cook for 20-25 more minutes, stirring once halfway through.

While the vegetables are roasting, heat the vegetable broth and add the chopped potato. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat. Cook covered on very low until cauliflower is ready.

Add the cauliflower mixture to the broth. Puree it, in batches, in the blender until very smooth. Return it to the pot and add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Just before serving, stir in a few drops of truffle oil, if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve, sprinkled with smoked Spanish paprika.

Makes 4 large servings. Per serving: 45 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (5% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 11mg Sodium; 2g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core / 1 Flex Point

---

Holler at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen are hosting a monthly blogging event called No Croutons Required. This month's theme is one that I can really get behind--vegetarian soup! I'm sending in this soup as my entry, which, now that I think about it, would taste great with croutons.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free

Vegetable Love 2008

Valentine's Day is coming up, and I thought it'd be fun to celebrate the occasion with a repeat of last year's Vegetable Love food blogging event.

Last year I asked food bloggers to post their most romantic, most seductive vegetable recipes...something suitable for a cozy dinner by candlelight...something that says "I love you, and I don't want to see you keel over with a heart attack!" Yes, these enticing, aphrodisiacal dishes should also be healthy--specifically, vegan and low in fat (kind of like this blog).

The rules are these:

• Recipes must center around one or more vegetables and be vegan and low in fat.
• Your recipe must be posted to your blog by midnight Eastern time on Sunday, February 10. Only one recipe per contestant, please.
• In your post, mention "Vegetable Love" and link back to this post (http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/02/vegetable-love-2008.html). You may use the logo above if you like. (Please copy it and upload it to your blog.)
• After you post your entry, email me. Please include the link to your post, along with your name, the name of your blog, your recipe's name, and (optional) a photo no more than 300 pixels wide.
• [Edited 2/5] I would prefer that all entries be new and posted specifically for this event; however, since I didn't say that originally, this isn't an absolute rule.
  

Now, here's the fun part: This year, there's a prize! On Monday morning, I will post a round-up of all the recipes. Readers will then have 24 hours to vote for their favorite recipe. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 12, and will receive a copy of Vegan Express, the new cookbook by Nava Atlas that's being released that day.

I can't wait to see all the entries. Happy cooking!

Link:

• Last year's entries
  

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free Vegetable Love

Oatmeal: It's What's for Breakfast

Call me a late bloomer. I must be the last vegan to jump on the steel-cut oats bandwagon, but now that I'm on, I'm not planning to get off.

I've known about steel-cut oats for years, even tried them at least once, but they never made a big impression on me for a couple of reasons: 1) I thought they took too long to cook, and 2) I was afraid that eating something so starchy would cause me to be hungry later. As it turns out, I was wrong on both counts.

Actually, I wasn't wrong about steel-cut oats taking longer to cook than rolled oats. They do. But I realized that it just doesn't matter: I'm not an early morning eater, I work at home, and I can let the oats simmer on the stove while I do other things. I'm in no rush. In the past, before I made a resolution to eat breakfast regularly, I considered steel-cut oatmeal as an breakfast option for my husband and daughter and decided that unless I made it the night before (or started it the night before in a crockpot or thermos) there was no way to work it into the hectic 15 minutes my family has for breakfast on weekdays. But now that I'm thinking of my own breakfasts, I can manage long-cooking oats just fine.

Which leads to my second objection, which I've found was totally unfounded. In the past, I've had trouble with carb-heavy breakfast foods leaving me hungry later in the morning. As a result, I started looking for protein-rich vegan breakfast ideas and came up with several tofu-based recipes, including Vegan Omelette for One and Mini Crustless Tofu Quiches. But since I've started having steel-cut oats for breakfast, I've found that not only don't I get hungry later in the morning, I also seem less hungry throughout the day. I'm snacking less between lunch and dinner--often not snacking at all--without even making an effort.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, steel-cut oats (also know as pinhead oats, Scotch oats, or Irish oats) are the inner parts of the oat kernel (or groats) that have been cut into two or three pieces. They're much less processed than rolled oats (a.k.a. old-fashioned oatmeal), which have been steamed, flattened with a roller, re-steamed, and toasted. Quick-cooking and instant oats have been processed even further; though both are technically a whole grain because they contain all of the bran, germ, and endosperm of whole oats, they are digested more quickly than steel-cut and rolled oats. Also, instant oats tend to be packaged with salt and sugar, making them a very processed food.

Beyond the nutritional advantages, I really enjoy the slightly nutty flavor of steel-cut oats, as well as their chewier texture. I've been playing around with different ways of cooking them, varying the flavor with different fresh and frozen fruits and spices. I still have a lot of experimenting to do, but so far, these are my two favorite combinations.

Apple-Spice Oats
(printer-friendly version)

I like to make enough for two breakfasts and save half for another day.

1/2 cup steel-cut oats
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large organic apple, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Put all ingredients in a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to very low. Cover and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or until oats are tender and water is mostly absorbed. Serve with sweetener of your choice with a little freshly grated nutmeg on top.

Serves 2. Per serving: 204 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (14% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 541mg Sodium; 10g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core/3 Flex Points.




Cherry Pie Oats
(printer-friendly version)

These are so good that I have to be careful not to eat the whole batch at once!

1/2 cup oats, steel-cut
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup frozen cherries, unsweetened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the oats, water, salt, and cinnamon in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to very low. Cover and cook for 25 minutes.

While oats are cooking, remove cherries from freezer and cut each in half while frozen. Allow them to thaw a little on the counter until oats have cooked for 25 minutes. Stir in the cherries and vanilla extract. Cover and cook until oats are tender and thick, about 10-15 minutes. Serve with your favorite sweetener.

Makes 2 servings. Per serving: 200 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (14% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 541mg Sodium; 9g Fiber. Weight Watchers Core /3-5 Flex Points (depending on how calculated).

For more great oatmeal recipes, check out these blogs (veganize as necessary):

• Baked Oats at Diet, Dessert and Dogs
• Oats for Dinner at Saffron Trail
• Crockpot Oats at Playing with my Food
• Breakfast Brownies at Karina-s Kitchen
• Perfect Pan Seared Oatmeal at Don't Get Mad, Get Vegan
  
• Roasted Oatmeal With Walnuts And Oatmeal at What Did You Eat?
• Beyond Cereal: Are You Eating Enough Oatmeal, a whole slew of oatmeal links by Kalyn Denny, at BlogHer
  

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free