Continuing on with the trials of switching to veganism… when one is genetically inclined to meals that lean towards white bread, liverwurst and an ungodly amount of full fat mayonnaise it is clearly going to be a bit of a mental challenge for me to change my way of thinking from “Oh God… is that maple sausage and biscuits… I’m being deprived!” to “Mmmm… Flaxseed cakes with extra fiber!” Sunday we cleaned out the chest freezer of everything meat-related and drove them out the home of my PLP (platonic life partner) and her family. Well, I should point out that the other chubby vegan did the cleaning. THIS chubby vegan looked this morning and discovered ham, turkey, cooking fat and what looks suspiciously like buffalo. (Note to self, we must discuss with the other vegan that ham does not technically grow on a tree, but I digress.) I also noticed when dropping off the frozen chickens that they were the size and shape of a bowling ball and had a sudden urge to set up an alley in PLP’s garage with soda bottle “pins”. I am hoping that with the meaty distractions out of the house I will be less inclined to do things like I did yesterday. I won’t go into the food-porn details but suffice to say that I have invented something called “Pizza Rice” and it is DAMN tasty if you like things with cheese. Thankfully, I have confirmed there is no more dairy in the house with the exception of dried staples for baking. I am having a hard time getting rid of the dried staples in the freezer (buttermilk, whole eggs, whole milk, butter etc..) because they were purchased as emergency back-ups. While I am not by any means running around and preparing for the end of the world, I am acutely aware that this country only has a 3 day supply of food at any given time and I don’t fancy counting on the authorities for food in the event of an earthquake or other crimp in my otherwise elegant lifestyle. Which is not to say I don’t have enough beans and brown rice to see me through Armageddon or the “zompocalypse” because I do. And a 9 iron for self-defense. I’m just saying.
Yesterday I soaked a big bunch of canary and cranberry beans and decided to tweak a recipe for Creamy Hungarian Bean Soup that I found in Sundays At Moosewood Restaurant (purchased 2 weeks ago at the room of requirement for $2.99). It is a fabulous ethnic and regional cookbook that is vegetarian and so the existing recipes are easily changed to vegan versions. I had a few leftover cooked beans and so will find a way to incorporate them into dinner tonight. I hope. I also pulled some leftovers from the freezer. The teenager will be thrilled, “Hi honey! We’re having a big bowl of WTF for dinner because I forgot to label whatever this is again. Dig in!” Do I know how to put the shiny on a meal or what?
Onward to the recipe however,
SpongeBob’s Vegan Creamy Hungarian Bean Soup
4 cups cooked beans (Moosewood uses navy beans but I prefer something creamier) with cooking liquid
1 leek, rinsed and chopped
4 young garlic shoots, about 10″, rinsed and chopped
1 lrg yellow onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tbsp sweet paprika (I used smoked paprika for extra richness but sweet is fine)
1 package of firm tofu
2 lemons
Put your beans, cooking liquid, chopped veggies and seasonings in your crock pot and crank that bad daddy up on high for about 3 hours, or on low for an hour or 2 longer. As usual I don’t have exacts, it’s more a feel your way along sort of a thing. Once the veggies are soft, take out a couple of scoops of the broth, the juice of 2 lemons and toss it in a blender with your tofu. Puree until rich and creamy and incorporate back into your soup. double check seasonings and adjust if necessary and serve with warm crusty bread. or Pie. Pie is good.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 214 g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 421
Calories from Fat 29
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3.3g, 5%
Saturated Fat 0.7g, 3%
Cholesterol 0mg, 0%
Sodium 305mg, 13%
Total Carbohydrates 72.2g, 24%
Dietary Fiber 19.9g, 80%
Sugars 2.1g
Protein 28.9g
| Vitamin A 22% |
• |
Vitamin C 18% |
| Calcium 20% |
• |
Iron 23% |
Nutrition Grade A
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet
Peace!
Two Chubby & Frugal Vegan-ishes 