January: My Fave Meatless Soups

In honor of January being Soup Month, here's my top five completely meatless soups:

1. Vegetarian Chili
I posted the recipe and scrumptious photo of my veggie chili. I've always liked the hearty and flavorful taste of kidney beans and black beans with chilis, tomatoes and cumin. Meat is so not necessary for out of this world chili. By the way, you can test this theory yourself at Compassionate Action for Animals 3rd Annual Vegan Chili Cook Off on Feb. 25th.

2. Ngon Bistro's Vegetarian Hủ Tiếu
Think vegan pho with rice noodles, brussel sprouts, baby bok choy, turnips, carrots, cherry tomatoes, basil, lime, jalapenos and bean sprouts in a light but flavorful broth. This is an uplifting dose of warm, healthy goodness to fight the chills of winter months. You can add tofu or mock duck or just overdose on veggies. I like to add hoisin sauce though others will spike the broth with spicy sriricha for a kick.

3. Mushroom Barley
Oh how I love the slightly toasty and chewy taste of barley with the earthy, rich texture of portabello mushrooms. Add some carrots, onions, bay leaves, etc. and you're making magic.

4. Potato Kale
At first, this soup came seem a little simple, peasant-like. Potatoes. Kale. Broth. Maybe some carrots, celery and onions. But after several variations this year I have to admit my fiance's go-to soup is growing on me. None of the other soups on this list really need or want a hearty, buttered (earth balance) chunk of bread as a sidekick, but this soup welcomes it. Dunking a slice of rye bread with a slather of earth balance into a piping hot bowl of this stuff. Well, that's just good eats, my friends.

5. Squash Bisque
I feel so fancy while my blender whirs up roasted butternut squash (or decadent kabocha), thyme, veggie broth and a cashew cream I whipped up earlier. The velvety smooth and slightly luxiourious mouthfeel and taste of this bisque tastes too good to be as simple and cheap to make as it is. Thinking about drizzling the leftover cashew cream and garnishing with toasted squash seeds and I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo! Seriously, try it.

Honorable Mention: Split Pea
Growing up split pea soup was by far my favorite soup. I loved the salty ham and almost blended texture of peas especially with the crunch of saltine crackers. I've got to say that over the years my childhood favorite has slipped, but it still deserves a mention. Amy's Kitchen offers a low-sodium, low-fat vegan variety for a quick meal.

Admit it, you didn't even miss the meat. :)

Get Your Motor Runnin', Head out on the Highway

The key is in the ignition and Engine 2 is going to start on Monday. The question is: If you had less than 5 days to get all the processed, bad for you, but oh-so-tasty food you crave in before cutting yourself off, how would you do it? What would your dream "go for broke" last meal be? I'm talking we have to retire the canned tomatoes that aren't low sodium for the Engine 2 challenge. This is no joke.

Michelle's Pre-Engine 2 Bucket List:

1. Seward Cafe's Mariachi with tofu (and white cheddar)



2. As many pastries and other sugary desserts as I can handle washed down with soy milk mochas and coke zero:

While the impending lockdown on my food options is enough to send me off the deep end (I do not handle restrictions well), I'm fortunate this last weekend of freedom coincides with our somewhat new annual "scrabble chalet" getaway weekend. A little less than a dozen of us have a tradition over Martin Luther King weekend of renting a "scrabble chalet" cabin and imbibing and enjoying mostly vegan sundries next to the fireplace with a little sledding and scrabble thrown in for good measure. In other words, enough booze and distractions to get me to my Engine 2 Challenge start day.

Last year's view of the scrabble chalet from Big Sandy Lake

Start Your Engine

I've never been one to diet. Maybe because my mom's favorite books were the latest fad diets or because I have the willpower of a gnat. So, imagine my surprise when I find myself enrolling in the Engine 2 28-day challenge at Whole Foods. I mean it's not a diet, but rather a lifestyle change, right?

Tonight was the orientation. Here's my honest reaction:

• The 28 Day Meal Planner has some really tasty sounding meals; like lemon cornmeal pancakes, chili dogs and sweet potato lasagna.
• It's really cool that Whole Foods is working with Engine 2 author Rip Esselstyn on reworking some of their products to be lower in salt and oil and higher in nutrients.
• Keeping the mg of sodium = to the total calories in a serving is going to be hard (and yes, I did think about just greatly increasing the calorie intake to allow for more salt.)
• Thankfully my fiance has been eating like this already so it isn't a total diet change (no way I could quit most oils, processed foods and sugars and salt at the same time as leaving meat and dairy for the first time.) 
• This is going to be hard (yeah, I was the woman in the front row sipping on a cane sugar laden Dr. Pepper knock off during the orientation.)

Wish me luck!

Junk Food Comes in All Forms

I'm always shocked, but not really surprised, when I see the calorie count on American Chinese dishes like Sesame Chicken coming in well above 1000 calories. I mean, please, it's 2 cups of deep fried battered chicken drenched in a half cup of sauce with a couple barely green broccoli floating around for good measure how could it not be a ridiculous amount of calories and fat, but still well over half the daily recommendation?

Still, sometimes I really crave it. Prior to this weekend, I thought my only vegan option was to treat myself to the vegan sesame "chicken" at Marco Polo Global Restaurant in Salem, OR when visiting family which would definitely keep in check the amount I binged on this high calorie treat. However, enter Bravo Cafe and Bakery a very short bike ride from my house and home to a full vegetarian menu of all those unhealthy American Chinese dishes you crave: sesame chicken, spare ribs, orange beef, the list goes on and on.

I ordered the vegan sesame "chicken" and they were out of brown rice, so white rice filled in and helped make my dish even less nutritious. The breading on the "chicken" is crunchy and significant and the sauce reminiscent of the typical hole in the wall American Chinese restaurant. This isn't a foodie's paradise, but if you're vegan and looking for something somewhat unhealthy, but satisfying that junk food craving... this may well do it.

Wandering through a French Meadow Menu

Oh, spoiled thee! Tonight, I had a meatless dinner at French Meadow in Minneapolis. This fine establishment is so nice as to label the menu with vegan and gluten free (nice to not have to dig and ask a lot of questions...oh, and to have options!)

I had organic butternut squash gnocchi with wild mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, garlic and organic arugula. Um, yeah.. meat don't have nothing on butternut squash and wild mushrooms. The gnocchi didn't quite reach cloud status and the dish overall was a little saltier and more oily than I would prefer, but still a good dish.

For dessert, they offer three vegan options. Once I saw decadent turtle cake with its layers of moist chocolate cake, toasted pecans and housemade caramel, I was sold. If you're not feeling as decadent, you can opt for a fruit crisp or berry tart. Note: although it is listed under the vegan menu the house-made whipped cream that comes with the fruit crisp is not vegan.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at French Meadow and will return for a vegan date night soon.

Meat Eater Holidays

With the holidays approaching, I knew there was no way I would be able to pass up the holiday meals with all the fixings that are such a major part of my family's celebration (not to mention, the even better day after sandwiches.) Well, I did (at Thanksgiving.) I mean I actually didn't have to because there are a lot of ways to make those beloved dishes vegan. Stuffing just needs veggie broth and margarine (check the stuffing mix ingredient list). Mashed potatoes will fool folks with earth balance spread, tofutti sour cream or some veggie broth. Now, the turkey you might think there's no getting around. Well, actually I passed up the meat because I had a tasty alternative that didn't leave me thinking I was missing out.

Tofurky offers a celebration roast dinner that contains a tofurky with wild rice stuffing, gravy and a chocolate cake. You marinade the tofurky like you would brine a turkey and then roast it in the oven (with some lovely potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, etc.) It's even good the next day on a sandwich with veganaise, pickles and onions. With the holidays behind us, many grocers are trying to move these holiday dinners out the store (aka SALE) so stock up and don't worry about waiting until a holiday to cook up a special dinner.

Happy 2012: Chili with all the frills

I'm not a vegan. At least not yet, but something resonates with a slogan I saw during my vacation to Portland, OR: "Herbivore: My body is not a graveyard."

My fiance slowly transitioned to an animal product free lifestyle (aka vegan) in 2011. He's the main cook in our household and makes some "killer" food whether something was killed or not. We celebrated the new year with his family who is inquisitive, but apprehensive of all the health benefits he's realized in the vegan transformation by preparing an all vegan spread. Perhaps they were just being polite, but everyone raved and no one lamented the absence of animals.

Vegan Chili (for a crowd)

6 cans diced tomatoes
3 cans dark red kidney beans
1 can black beans
4-5 canned chipotles (and a T or so of the sauce.)
2 anaheim peppers diced
2 poblano peppers diced
1 1/2 yellow onions diced
4 cloves of garlic diced
2 t oregano
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
olive oil
pepper and salt to taste

Saute anaheim and poblano peppers, onions and garlic in a little olive oil until browned. Add chipotle sauce, oregano, chili powder and cumin while stirring. Add tomatoes, chipotles and beans and let simmer until broth turns maroon and thickens slightly. Taste frequently and spice to your liking.

The frills: vegan nacho cheese, vegan lemon-scented sour cream, guacamole and red onions were all homemade as well. Recipes to follow.