Creamy Carrot Soup and Tofu Croutons

If you’ve been yearning for spring foods and fresh flavours, but the weather’s still wintery (like here!), how about a light but warm and spicy soup? Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top, and then add some crispy tofu croutons to make this recipe even tastier!

Creamy Carrot Soup

Chop up 1 onion and sauté in a little olive oil. Add 3 cloves of crushed garlic, 3 carrots and 1 parsnip, also chopped. Season with salt and black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground coriander and 1/2 tsp ground ginger. Turn the heat down and put a lid on your pan. Leave to sweat for 10 minutes. Now add 250ml (1 cup) water, 75ml (1/3 cup) sweet sherry and 160ml (2/3 cup) coconut milk. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Puree with a hand blender and serve sprinkled with a little freshly ground nutmeg and some tofu croutons.

Tofu Croutons

Chop up half a block of firm tofu (about 100g/4oz) into very small squares – the size is entirely up to you and makes no difference at all. In a small dish mix 2 tsps cornflour with plenty of salt and black pepper, 1 tsp garlic granules, and 1-2 tsps of any herbs or spices you fancy. Coriander and ginger go well with this soup, dried Italian herbs go well with other soups… whatever! Coat the tofu with the cornflour/spice mixture. Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the croutons until they are nice and brown and start crisping up.

Serve warm with the soup. Great for snacking too!

Grumpy Ted Soup

Grey skies making you feel down in the dumps? Frustrated and grumpy because of foul weather? Here’s the miracle cure: a teddy with microwavable beans in his tummy, and a bowl of warming, wholesome soup!

(Actually he isn’t looking as grumpy as usual on this photo!)

Leek and Potato Soup

• 2 tbsps olive oil for frying
• 3 leeks, cleaned and trimmed and thinly sliced
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 onions, sliced
• 1.75 pints/ 1 litre vegetable stock
• 2 tsps mixed dried herbs
• salt and black pepper

In a large pan, sauté the leeks and onions for five minutes, then add the potatoes and turn the heat to low. Cover and leave to “sweat” for 10 minutes. Now add the stock and seasoning and bring to a simmer, but do not boil. Simmer gently for about 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are all tender. Puree and serve immediately with a sprinkling of black (and pink) pepper or a swirl of (soya) cream.

(Note: without the cream it’s vegan!)

Mmmm. Feeling better?

Wild Mushroom Sauce for World Vegan Day

It’s World Vegan Day!

Let’s celebrate with a delicious vegan supper.

At this time of year the market stalls in nearby towns have baskets full of chanterelles, ceps, chestnut mushrooms, and several other types of wild mushroom. They are relatively expensive, but a rare treat! Here I added a few store-bought champignons to make my mushrooms go a little further.

 It is always advised to eat wild mushrooms in moderation here, as they are still contaminated with cesium over 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident in Ukraine. However, since the season is relatively short, most people here continue to collect and eat wild mushrooms, and every Bavarian restaurant offers them on their seasonal menu. Here is my version of the traditional sauce.

Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce

For two servings, sauté 1 onion in a little vegetable margarine (or butter) until soft, then add 1 clove of garlic, crushed. Add a total of about 500-600g of mixed mushrooms – whatever is available where you live. I used chanterelles, ceps, chestnut mushrooms and white champignons. Cook on a medium heat until they start to soften. Add 150ml vegetable stock, 200ml (soya) cream and 200ml white wine. Stir in a large bunch of parsley, chopped, and some salt and black pepper. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the sauce is nice and thick.

Serve immediately with tagliatelle.

Note that this recipe can be vegan as well as vegetarian.

Have a cosy November!

P.S. For lots more scrummy vegan recipes, take a look at the Virtual Vegan Potluck here or here on November 1st.

Borage and a Stir-fry

Borago officinalis

Borage, sometimes known as Starflower

(in German Borretsch, or “Gurkenkraut” – cucumber herb)

The borage took a while to get established this year; after the snails tried nibbling it, the slugs also had a go (yes – despite the bristly stems!), and the remaining plants finally started growing in the heat and drought of August. Since September though, they have been looking fabulous, filling in spaces where early poppies and spring bulbs left gaps.

In Germany it is one of the seven herbs used in the “Grüne Soße” -Green Sauce. It is also often added to cucumber salad. It is good for you, containing plenty of vitamin C, and as a herbal remedy it is said to help with stomach disorders, and ease symptoms of the menopause and rheumatism.  I have often used the pretty flowers in salads and for decoration, but recently decided to try the leaves… supposedly similar to spinach….

They are slightly prickly, rather hairy, and quite leathery too. I must admit I was sceptical!

Stir-fry with Borage

This is not really a recipe. Every time I make a stir-fry I add different vegetables – whatever is in season or in the fridge!

Today there were some spring onions and carrots, sliced; a little zucchini and some tofu, cut into small chunks; peanut oil for frying; dark miso paste, garam masala and black pepper for seasoning; a few nasturtium leaves, and some udon noodles. Oh, and a spoonful of leftover sweetcorn! And of course a handful of borage leaves, which were added to the wok right at the end of the cooking time.

With the flowers as decoration it certainly looked good…

The verdict? Tasty! The leaves have a freshness that is hard to describe, but you can taste them beside the other seasonings.  They do not, however, overpower the other flavours at all. If you don’t have any spinach or chard at hand and want to add some greens to a dish, this is a great alternative. The texture is firmer than spinach, similar to that of sage. The prickles and hairs are undetectable after cooking!

A succesful experiment. And a delicious stir-fry!

What do you like to put in a stir-fry?

Banana and Blackberry Muffins

I’ve saved this recipe up, as I actually made these a couple of weeks ago when the first blackberries arrived in our shops. Sweet bananas and fruity blackberries, combined with cardamom and cinnamon… Yum!

This is one of my favourite muffin recipes, which I’ve posted before with blueberries (see here). The original recipe comes from Cheeky Kitchen, but I have slightly adapted it over the years.

Ingredients

2 very ripe bananas
3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
1 oz (30g) butter/margarine
1/2 cup (110ml) oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsps baking powder
1 1/2 tsps cardamom & 1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 3/4 cups (220g) flour
1/4 cup (55ml) milk/soya milk
A generous 1 1/2 cups (225 – 250g) fresh (or frozen) blackberries

In a large mixing bowl, combine bananas, sugar, butter and oil. Mix well. Add milk. Sieve and fold in dry ingredients. Mix in blackberries. Spoon into 12 large muffin tins. Bake at 190 degrees for 25 minutes, or until muffin tops spring back to the touch.

ENJOY!

Note: if you use margarine and soya milk they are vegan.

Link for conversion tables:

http://www.traditionaloven.com/tutorials/conversion.html