Category Archives: Vegan Recipes

Warm Food for the Snow Shovelers – Soup and Muffins

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My loving spouse and 4 of the six children (oldest wasn’t here and youngest wasn’t forced into it) went out this morning to shovel several inches (8? 10?) of snow off of our walk, drive, cars, etc. So, while they were out, I did what I always do when someone goes out to shovel – I cooked. Today, it was cherry banana muffins (to go with hot chocolate right after the shoveling) and putting on a big pot of navy bean soup for dinner. By request, I post the recipes for both here!

Cherry Banana Vegan Muffins  

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
2/3 cups raw sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/3 t salt
1 cup water
1 t vanilla extract
6 T vegan butter (or oil)
3 ripe bananas
1 cup diced fresh cherries

Mix dry ingredients in bowl and gently toss in chopped cherries (be easy here or you’ll turn your muffins pink).  Mash bananas and add remainder of wet ingredients and mix.  Combine wet and dry ingredients gently.  Place in muffin tins with or without cupcake papers and bake at 350* until done (this took about 25 minutes for me).

Navy Bean Soup     

Ingredients
1 lb dry navy beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
3 large carrots or 2-3 cups baby carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, diced
8 T of veggie bullion mix
(or 8 cubes if using cubed)
8 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in large pan and cook on high until boiling vigorously and then lower heat and cook on medium until tender.  Age of beans will impact how long this takes, so give yourself plenty of time.  If they get done too early, you can always refrigerate and gently reheat.  When the beans are near done, you may also wish to add a couple cups of grain to complete the protein – barley or rice are good options.  I did this one tonight with arborio rice (which had not been added yet in the image above).  If you do not have any veggie bullion, add 1.5x the vegetables, and some minced garlic or garlic powder, tumeric, and a little more salt.

Both of these are very easy, though the bean soup does take a little time.  And, they are pretty perfect for a snowy day!

Yellow Lentil Curry (Tavoor Dal)

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Lentils are a kickin’ legume. They are exceptionally high in protein and have good amounts of iron and potassium too. And, they are delicious. What follows is an extremely easy recipe for lentil curry. I like this served with some sort of bread (pita or otherwise) for dipping and a green salad. Delicious!

1 lb yellow lentils
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 T olive oil
1 T curry powder
1 T cumin
2 t ginger
1 t salt
1 t chili powder
2 T veggie bullion
4 cups water
(or 4 cups veg. broth)

Add olive oil, onions, celery, and garlic to pan and heat on medium-high until onions and celery are tender.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Serve with bread or rice.

Guacamole or Avocado Pico de Gallo

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I love avocado.  I will eat it on sandwiches, alone, or in any sort of Mexican style food item.  I’m a big fan of guacamole, and if I have fresh tomatoes on hand, I also like to make an avocado pico de gallo.  The biggest difference between the two is the amount of tomatoes and how much you want to puree the item.  I always use haas avocado, but that’s a matter of taste. If you haven’t made your own, but have had guacamole out, chances are it was made with haas avocados.

For either one, you’ll want: 

2 avocado
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 – 1 jalapeno (dependent on heat)
1 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 t. cumin
1 onion diced
2 limes juiced

For the pico de gallo, you’ll also want 2 large tomatoes, diced.

If making guacamole, add all items except tomatoes to a food processor or blender and pulse until just mashed.  Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust seasoning.  If making pico de gallo, add all items (including tomatoes) and stir.  Either way, chill tightly covered until time to serve.