Best Cream of Mushroom Soup

This soup is so rich and satisfying, it's a meal in itself.

Ingredients:
2T non-dairy butter (I use Earth Balance)
2T extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot , finely chopped
3 stalks celery , finely chopped
2 large oyster mushrooms , finely chopped
1 lb white mushrooms, coarsely chopped or quartered if small
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried thyme

1 1/2C dry white wine

Ground black pepper

4-6 C vegetable stock
1 C raw walnuts
Hot water
Salt to taste


In a heavy-bottomed stock pot, heat oil and non-dairy butter together over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots and cook for 5 minutes more. Lower heat and add mushrooms, parsley and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes. Add wine and increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil and cook until you can no longer smell alcohol, stirring often. Add stock and stir. Reduce heat to low and cover.

In a blender, cover walnuts with hot water and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Add about 2C soup from pot to blender and mix thoroughly.

Stir walnut mixture into soup and heat through. Add salt to taste. Serve with crusty bread and a great salad! Enjoy.

This soup is great reheated as well.

Dinner with a Fun Gi!

I didn't take any pretty pictures of this meal (I think my pics are getting a little better)  but I wish I had.  It was an attractive mouthful.  Pasta, veggies, pesto;  what's no to like?

STEP 1:

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced fine

200g cremini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 oz red wine

small bunch parsley, chopped fine

Heat oil in a saute pan.  Saute onions until they become transparent.  Add mushrooms and continue cooking until they are slightly browned.  Add red wine and cook down until the alcohol aroma has disappeared.  Remove from heat.  When slightly cooled, toss with parsley.

STEP 2:

pinch salt

I head broccoli, stems chopped small, separated from florets

1 box penne

Heat water as directed on the pasta package.  Salt the water add broccoli stems, cooking for three minutes.  Add florets and pasta, and cook as per package directions, or until desired pasta tenderness is reached.  Strain, but do not rinse.

STEP 3:

Pesto of your choice ( I used sundried-tomato, homemade), diluted with a little extra olive oil. I used about 1/3 cup total.

In a large serving bowl, place some of your pesto mixture - about a third of whatever you will be using.  Add strained pasta mixture to the bowl.  Top with mushroom mixture and remaining pesto.  Toss and serve.  Oops, I forgot to add, I topped mine with some sliced of pan-fried tofu and "almesan".

Leftovers:

Spinach-Mushroom Quiche with Leftover Stuffing Crust

Yum, yum, yum.  This quiche is satisfying even for those who can't fathom an eggless quiche.  I used the rest of my Apple-Pecan Stuffing as a crust, and it's fab!

Ingredients:

3C leftover stuffing

1 tbsp plus 2 tbsp EVOO

1 large onion

10oz sliced cremini mushrooms

2 cups shredded baby spinach

1 block firm tofu

2 tbsp lemon juice

                                                     1 tsp apple cider vinegar

                                                     1 tsp kosher sea salt

With this recipe, I used my food processor at every step.  If you don't have one, get one!  It makes vegan life so much easier!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Oil a round spring form pan with one tbsp of olive oil.  If you don't have one, you'll need a very deep-dish pie plate.  Process stuffing until it is fairly fine and easy to press into pan.  using your fingers, press until the bottom is pretty firm.  In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and saute for five minutes.  Meanwhile, process mushrooms in processor until they are just chopped.  Add to pan and increase to medium-high heat.  Cook about 10 minutes until the veggies start to caramelize.  Add spinach, toss and remove from heat.  Cut tofu into chunks and add to you clean processor (sorry for all the tidying!).  Add lemon juice, last tbsp of olive oil, and salt.  Process until smooth;  you may need to scrape down sides occasionally to keep it moving.  Add veggie mixture to processor and process until creamy.  Spread tofu/veggie mixture over stuffing crust, smoothing with spatula.  Sprinkle with nutritional yeast flakes or paprika for a little extra flavour and bake for 40-50 minutes.  Cool slightly and serve!