Spinach, Mushroom & Sesame Udon Noodle Soup

We just came back from travelling in Singapore, which we absolutely loved. We had such a good time and I think it's probably the coolest Asian city I've ever visited, with a great vibe to the whole place. We will definitely be going back there. While we were there we did a bit of street market shopping. Singapore is by no means a cheap place to visit and travel, but I picked up a few knick-knacks to remind me of our time there. One of them were these cute pairs of chopsticks. My partner and I are both year of the Rabbit, so we picked up two pairs of rabbits and I got a pair of dragons for my best friend. In hindsight I should have got a pair for everyone - but maybe next time I'm in Singapore!

This beautiful soup is quick, easy and so very tasty and is a favourite go to quick lunch or dinner for me. Spinach is not a common addition to an Asian noodle soup, but the flavour and colour are so well suited. Don't scrimp on the sesame seeds, they are more than just a garnish!

Spinach, Mushroom & Sesame Udon Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

6 dried shitake mushrooms

2L vegetable stock

5 tbsp soy sauce

250g button mushrooms

150g oyster mushrooms

1 small tin of bamboo shoots

4-5 leaves of spinach (silverbeet)

2 small bunches of bok choy

2 tbsp mirin

4 x 200g packets of fresh udon noodles (or a large 800g pack)

4 tbsp white sesame seeds

Sesame Oil

To Make
 1. Put the dried mushrooms, soy sauce and the vegetable stock in your wok and set it to simmer while you do all the rest of your prep.

2. Prep the ingredients: slice the button mushrooms, slice the oyster mushrooms into strips, drain the bamboo shoots, chop the spinach into thin strips and chop the bok choy finely horizontally.

3. Once you’ve done all that (will take about 10 mins depending on how fast you chop) remove the whole shitake mushrooms from the stock and slice them.

4. With the stock simmering add the ingredients in the following order: shitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, bamboo shoots, oyster mushrooms, spinach.

5. Simmer for about 2 minutes once all the ingredients are in and then turn off the heat and add the bok choy and mirin.

6. Rinse the udon noodles gently under some hot water and put about 200g in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the hot soup on top of the noodles in each bowl.

7. Heat a non stick frypan over a medium heat and dry toast the sesame seeds until just golden brown.

8. Drizzle some sesame oil over each bowl and top generously with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4 .

Corn & Tofu Soup

About a week and a half ago we flew home from holidaying in The Maldives, which looked like this:

Back home now and it's officially "unseasonably cold". Sad face. There is only one upside - for the last week or so we have been having soup for dinner most nights. It's perfect on four fronts - warming, easy, cheap and healthy! We overindulged a lot while travelling (of course) and although I have absolutely no regrets, it doesn't hurt to have a healthy couple of weeks now that we're back.

I made this delicious Corn & Tofu Soup when we had people over for dinner the other night and it was incredibly popular, including some people saying they 'don't usually like soup' (causing me to question why I'm friends with such people) but loved this one. A few asked for the recipe, so I've made sure I blogged it nice and quick.

It only takes about 15 minutes to make, which it another point in it's favour. You could also opt to puree it at the end, if you like creamy soups, but then you'll loose the nice texture of the pieces of tofu.

Corn & Tofu Soup

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 tbsp margarine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tomato, finely diced
200g hard tofu, cut into small cubes
500g corn kernels (use fresh, frozen or canned)
1 x 400g can of creamed corn
1 litre vegetable stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

To Make
1. Heat the margarine in a large soup pot and saute the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and grated fresh ginger and give it about another minute.
2. Add the tomato and the tofu and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Then add the corn, creamed corn and vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, and then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. 

Serves 4. If you're big soup lovers, make a double batch and eat it for lunch as well!

Pumpkin & Sweetcorn Soup

I'm not generally a big fan of cold weather, but when it starts to move in I try and look on the bright side. For me, there are only two pros to winter; one is climbing into a bed which has been pre-warmed by my electric blanket and the other is gorgeous soups and stews. Pumpkin is a classic which comes out every autumn. I've eaten a lot of pumpkin soup in my life and it always surprises me how often it is incredibly average. It's one of those dishes that everybody makes, but not everybody makes well.

You can make this recipe as a straight pumpkin soup, without the corn. I have to thank my partner for the addition of the corn, I had never even thought of putting corn in my pumpkin soup before but he would often cook us pumpkin and sweetcorn soup for a winter dinner. In this recipe I've combined my favourite pumpkin soup with his version to make probably the best one I've ever eaten :)

Pumpkin & Sweetcorn Soup

Ingredients
1 kg pumpkin, skin removed an chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 large stick celery (including leaves), chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 heaped tsp powdered vegetable stock
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 x 400g cans creamed corn
Salt and pepper, to taste

To serve: vegan sour cream and chopped fresh chives.

To Make:
1. Boil the kettle while you chop all your veggies up.
2. Combine the pumpkin, onion, carrot, potato, celery, parsnip, bay leaf and powdered vegetable stock in a big soup pot. Add enough hot water so that it is just below covering all the vegetables and bring to a simmer.
3. Simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Stir every now and then to ensure that the veggies on top get cooked too, as they cook down they will release their own liquids and there will be enough water in the pan to cover all the veg but if you put in too much water at the start then you'll end up with watery soup.
4. Remove the lid and add in the ground cumin and ginger. Simmer, uncovered for another five minutes. Remove from the heat and all to cool until it is cool enough to blend.
5. Blend until smooth (a few chunks are ok too) and then return to the heat. Add the 2 cans of creamed corn and stir though, leaving it on the heat until heated through. Season generously with salt and pepper.
6. Serve hot with a dollop of vegan sour cream, chopped fresh chives and warmed crusty bread.

Serves 4 (with bread).

Pear & Mandarin Dessert Soup

I'll be honest with you on this one - this delightful fresh fruity dish is completely inappropriate for the weather we are having at the moment! But if you're living in the Northern Hemisphere than this is absolutely what you need right now. So why am I posting such a seasonally perverse dish? Well, the theme for this month's Sweet Adventures Blog Hop is raw desserts. I almost gave it a miss - for 2 reasons. Firstly, because I generally don't recommend raw food diets and secondly, because it's freezing cold here and raw desserts really don't hold much appeal right now! In fact, as I type this I'm sitting looking out the window at the pouring rain wearing big fluffy socks, a large cardigan and a beanie - and I'm still cold!

But I really can't help myself, I always like to accept a challenge. So I rolled [down] my sleeves and decided to give it a red [cold] go, even though this is not my favourite theme. This soup is delicious, but if you're living in Australia then you might want to bookmark it and try it during warmer weather! This is perfect for the end of summer, when those warm Autumn days bring you plenty of seasonal pears and mandarins.

In good news, however, I'm excited to announce that I'll be escaping 5-6 weeks of winter this year and heading overseas on holiday! We're travelling in Scandinavia for 5 whole weeks and although I'm hoping to post you some pictures and updates along the way, that means it may be a quieter 5-6 weeks on the blog than usual. I'll be scheduling some posts that I've got on file and I'll also be helped out by some other wonderful bloggers with some guest posts. But I could definitely use a couple more - so, if you're a food blogger and you rather like my site, then please consider helping a brutha out (yes, I'm a dork) and contributing a guest post. I'll be more than happy to repay the favour any time you need it. Get in touch with me via email, facebook, twitter or whatever, if you're interested. It's a great way to get all my readers reading your blog, and vice versa.

Pear & Mandarin Dessert Soup

Ingredients
2 pears, cored and chopped
1 orange, peeled and chopped
4 mandarins, peeled
2 passion fruits
Pinch of salt (optional)
2 cups sparkling apple juice
Fresh berries, to garnish (optional)

To Make
1. Combine the pears, orange, mandarin segments (check for seeds and remove any that you find first) and the pulp of the two passion fruits in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Strain the fruit blend through a fine sieve, catching the strained liquid in a bowl. Use a spoon to press out as much of the liquid as you can and then discard the pulp.
3. Stir the salt and sparkling apple juice into the strained soup and stir gently to combine. Serve.

Serves 2-4 (depends on the size of your bowls really).

Variations ~
~ For a special occasion, substitute the sparkling apple juice with champagne
~ You can also enjoy this as a cocktail - simply add one measure of vodka or rum per 2 people.
~ In summertime, include fresh strawberries or raspberries to give it a summer flavour.
~ For a warming winter drink, heat on the stove over a low heat and add a pinch of cinnamon (or use whole spices as you would for mulled wine)

Bean Soup in a Jar! (Easy Edible Christmas Gifts)

How are your Christmas preparations going? I hope you aren't too stressed! If you're at a loss as to what to give your loved ones or you need a couple of extra stocking fillers - this may be the idea you need! Gift giving can be fun, but it can also be stressful. If you don't know what to buy for someone, or you find yourself in a position where you have to buy something for someone that you don't know very well, then a thoughtful edible gift is a great idea. It means you don't risk cluttering up their lives/houses with something they don't want/need. It also means you don't risk wasting your money on something that they might just re-gift or throw out.

Simple home made gifts also carry a greater degree of thoughtfulness  because you took the time out to make them yourself! Classic home made edible gifts include jams, personalised super gingery gingerbread people, and jars full of biscuits - such as spiced shortbread, orange and pistachio biscuits, Croatian cracked pepper spice biscuits,or Afghan pistachio biscuits. 

This year, however, I wanted to take a slightly healthier route! Many of my friends and family are trying to eat a bit healthier, either by cutting back on sugars, on wheat or on processed foods. I have no desire to tempt them off their approach to eating a bit healthier! 

Giving a recipe in a jar is not a new idea - there are plenty of lovely recipes out there for giving biscuits in a jar, cupcakes in a jar or brownies in a jar. It involves layering the dry ingredients in a "sand art" style and attaching a label with brief instructions to add the wet ingredients and bake. You need to make sure it something nice and simple though! Even if you are gifting to an accomplished cook, nobody wants to get a gift which will feel like a chore for them to use!

These jars of bean soup are pretty, easy to personalise, easy to cook (for your recipients) and best of all they are perfect for last minute gifts. All the ingredients can be bought at your local supermarket and they take you only about 10 minutes to assemble.

Here is what you'll need to make 5 jars:

5 x empty 500ml jars
5 x 375g packets of dried beans*
10 bay leaves
5 stock cubes

* BEANS!
You can use any beans you like - but try to stick with beans that are all of similar size. Using some small, some medium and some large will result in a soup which will cook unevenly and will be a pain in the arse for your recipients. So steer clear of big lima beans or small lentils. I've used cannellini beans, kidney beans, black eyed beans, dried peas, and chickpeas. All of them have similar cooking times. You could also use: adzuki beans, mung beans, borlotti beans or black beans.

Assembly...
It's not rocket science, simply place 2 bay leaves in the side of the jar and pour the beans in layers into the jar. You'll probably need a scant half cup of each of them to fill it up, but there is no need to measure! Place a stock cube on the top and you're done!

Next you'll need to make up some little labels for the jar. Whatever you like - some cardboard, ribbons, nice pens.

Here is what you need to label to say:

Bean Soup

1. Remove bay leaves and stock cube.

2. Soak beans in cold water for 24 hours.

3. Drain and rinse the beans.

4. Put beans, bay leaves and stock cube in a pot with 2L of water.

5. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

6. Add vegetables of your choice and simmer a further 20-30 minutes, or until beans are cooked.

Easy Asparagus and Garlic Soup

Everywhere in the world we're coming into either Spring or Autumn. Both perfect seasons for light and tasty vegetable soups. Asparagus is either just coming into season or just going out of season wherever you are, and that means it's quite likely to be bagged up and reduced at your local greengrocer. I was lucky enough to pick up 5 bunches of asparagus reduced to a couple of bucks at my local supermarket the other day, which allowed me to indulge in a favourite dish - asparagus soup. 

This soup is as easy and simply as you can imagine, it's just 5 ingredients. In fact, as I'm sure you'll notice, the number 5 is a bit of a theme with this soup!

Ingredients

3 tbsp non dairy margarine

5 bunches asparagus, woody ends removed 

5 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

5 potatoes, peeled and chopped

5 cups vegetable stock

To Make

1. Break the asparagus up into 3-4 cm lengths.

2. Melt the margarine in a large soup pot. Add the asparagus and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes. The asparagus should go brighter green and start to smell fragrant. 

3. Add the garlic and potato and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. 

4. Purée in a blender and return to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat through and serve.

Serves 4, ideal with some crusty bread or some croutons. 

Ärtsoppa (Swedish Yellow Pea and Mustard Soup)

Last month I had a pretty quiet month on the blogging front. I spent most of it overseas eating amazing Sri Lankan foods and learning to cook Sri Lankan curries. So I took a month of featuring recipes from countries around the world - but I'm glad to be back into it this month!  Each month I take a suggestion from a reader and delve into the cuisine of that particular country and share what I find with you. Previously this year I've featured recipes from Croatia, Chad, Bosnia, Iran, Scotland and Cambodia - a great mix of countries, although with a distinctly European flair! If you'd like to suggest a country then hop on here and go for it!

This month I'm continuing the popular European theme and featuring Sweden. Sweden was actually a very popular suggestion, suggested by three separate readers. I'm looking forward to Sweden, actually, as one of my very closest friends lives in Sweden - so should be a valuable mine of information :)

I'm starting off the month with something perfect for the cold weather we are having! Swedish yellow pea soup (Ärtsoppa) is a very popular dish in Sweden, in fact it is a tradition to eat it every Thursday for lunch accompanied by pancakes with jam and whipped cream! This is just the recipe for the soup, but I'll post a recipe for the pancakes at a later date! Ärtsoppa can either be made vegetarian or with the addition of salt pork or ham. Obviously this is a vegetarian one! It is also traditional to serve it with mustard on top, but I just mixed the mustard through the whole soup when I made it.

It is quite a simple soup, which is nice and easy to make. The main flavours come from the thyme and the mustard, so I recommend being quite heavy handed with these ingredients otherwise it will just taste like a bowl of cooked peas - nice but a bit bland. I used lemon thyme for a nice different taste, but you can use regular thyme instead.

Ingredients
400g yellow split peas, soaked overnight in cold water and then drained and rinsed well
7 cups cold water
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
2 tbsp stock powder (bouillon)
2 tbsp fresh lemon thyme, slightly chopped/crushed
2 generous tbsp wholegrain mustard (vary this depending on the heat of your mustard - if using hot mustard use less, if using very mild mustard then use more)
1/2 tsp salt

To Make
1. Place the rinsed and soaked yellow peas in a large soup pot and cover with the water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Skim any foam off the top, although don't be worried if you can't get it all.
2. Add the onion, carrot, celery and stock powder and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes.
3. Add the thyme and continue to simmer for a further 10-20 minutes - or until the peas are completely cooked and the soup has started to thicken.
4. Stir though the mustard and the salt and then remove from the heat. It is now ready to serve, however if you let it stand for another 20-30 minutes then it will become thicker and creamier, so up to you!

Serve with pancakes and whipped cream!

Serves 4

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Sweden!

Check out my other Swedish recipe posts:

Vegan Smörgåstårta (Swedish Sandwich Cake)

Chokladdarraksbolls (Chocolate & Aniseed Balls)

Vegan Swedish Meatballs

Almond and Cranberry Semla

Jansson's Temptation (Creamy Potato Bake)

No-Knead Cardamom Braid 

Kladdkaka (Gooey Chocolate Cake!)

Garlicy Field Mushrooms with Rödkål 

Cambodian Hot and Sour Mushroom Soup

Welcome to another month on Gormandize with A-dizzle & K-bobo! Today is a pretty exciting day for me - because today we finally leap off the continent and explore Asia! If you're not already aware, every month I feature a country requested by you and post lots of yummy recipes that that come from or are inspired by that country - in a vegan version. If you think this is pretty awesome and want to request a country then jump onto this page here to request a country. Cambodia was requested by a reader called MishLich and I am so thrilled that they suggested Cambodia! So far we have featured Croatia, Chad, Bosnia, Iran and Scotland - which is a nice mix of continents but lacking in Asia (and South America! But that doesn't seem to be very popular in people's suggestions for some reason!), so I'm very excited to get to be able to explore Cambodian food!

I'm pretty all up in Asia. For two reasons, firstly because I'm a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and because I lived in China for a year studying and travelling. Secondly because Asia is close to Australia, it makes for excellent cheap travelling. I have been to China, Thailand, Laos, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam and Mongolia and in July I will be heading off for a trip to Sri Lanka (which I can't even tell you how excited I am about!). But sadly I haven't made it to Cambodia yet. However, after looking at all the delicious food that is going to change soon because researching this country's cuisine actually made me plan a trip to Cambodia - it just sounded that good!

I'm starting off the month with this delicious Hot and Sour Mushroom Soup. Cambodian food it all about perfectly combining flavours - hot, sweet, sour, spicy and salty all combine in the right amounts to make a fresh, fragrant and tangy dish. The hot and sour in this soup is quite mild, but you could boost it up by adding more chilli and more lime juice. It also literally takes 15 minutes to make, so is the perfect quick meal. I made this for our lunch yesterday. Initially I was worried that it wouldn't be filling enough, but the mushrooms and noodles were very substantial. It was the perfect quick and healthy lunch!

Ingredients

2 x 100g cakes dried bean thread vermicelli (also called glass noodles or cellophane noodles)

5 cups hot vegetable stock

150g oyster mushrooms

3 kaffir lime leaves, bruised and torn in half

2 long red chillis, chopped into about thirds (you don't have to eat them, just adds the hotness to the broth)

1 tsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tbsp soy sauce

Fresh coriander (cilantro), to serve

To Make

1. Soak the noodles in cold water for 15 minutes (they won't be cooked after 15 minutes, but they will be softened).

2. Wash the oyster mushrooms and slice them.

3. Combine all ingredients except the noodles  and coriander in a pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10-15 minutes (while your noodles are soaking). You can taste the broth and add more chilli, lime or soy sauce to taste.

4. Divide the noodles amongst two bowls and top with the mushrooms and broth. You can either remove the kaffir lime leaves before serving or serve with them and instruct whoever you are cooking for not to eat them. The big chunks of chilli the same, although you can eat them if you want! (My partner ate them). Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serves 2.

This month I'm featuring lots of amazing recipes from Cambodia!

Check out my other Cambodian recipe posts:

Kho Manor Nung To Hu (Pineapple and Tofu)

Cambodian Spiced Eggplant

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Parfait (Borbo Skor La-Pov)

Num Chet Chien (Banana Nuggets!)

Khmer Lemongrass Vegetable Curry

Nem To-hu Sap (Vegetarian Summer Rolls)

Tirk Salouk Swai (Mango Chilli Salsa)

Cucumber & Vermicelli Salad

Scottish Roasted Love Apple and Wine Soup

Now before you dismiss this as being some obscure ingredient which you'll never be find - don't worry! Love apple is a traditional name for tomato, although nobody seems sure why. There are a lot of theories on the internet but none of them have any credible source so I assume they're just people writing stuff. This gorgeous and rich love apple soup is roasted for extra rich heartiness, perfect with crusty bread for a warming Autumn meal.

May on Gormandize with A-dizzle and K-bobo is all about Scottish Food. I'm featuring the cuisine of a different country (in a vegan form!) every month. So far we've done Croatia, Chad, Bosnia and Iran. All were delicious and you should check out all the recipes in the archive. This month a reader has suggested that we do Scotland - which was posed as quite a challenge since Scottish cuisine is famed for its meatiness! I was pleasantly surprised to discover several non meat dishes (not a lot, but some!) and lots of delicious desserts! So it may be more a month of sweets than savouries this time!

This soup also rather neatly ties into the next Holiday Recipe Club. The theme ingredients for the Cince de Mayo hop (something which I know very little about) are dulce de leche, chorizos and tomato. That obviously doesn't leave me much choice- so tomatoes it is!

Ingredients

2 kg tomatoes

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stick, diced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 litre vegetable stock (or use a vegetable based beef stock for a richer flavour)

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup red wine

To Make

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 20 minutes.

3. Put the vegetable stock, onion, garlic, carrot, celery and tomato paste in a soup pot. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add the wine and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.

4. Add the roasted tomatoes and any juices left on the tray.

5. Blend the soup until very smooth and press through a strainer. Use a spoon to press all the liquid out of it and you should only be left with 1-2 tablespoons of thick paste at the end (mostly tomato skin and seeds), you can discard this.

6. Return to the pot and reheat gently. Serve with liberal cracked pepper and some crusty bread.

I'm featuring lots of recipes from the United Kingdom,

Check out my other recipe posts here:

Vegan Cauliflower Cheese

Summer Pudding

Mushroom & Guinness Pie

Treacle Tart

Vegan Bakewell Tart

Cranachan (Whiskey Cream with Raspberries and Oats)

Orange and Lemon Vegetables

Scottish Vegan Oat Scones

Swede & Parsnip Mini Cottage Pies

Green Tea Noodle Soup with Leek & Shitake

Recently I was on a jaunt to my local Asian supermarket stocking up on anything that looked cool to try out. You know what I found? Green sago! But that is a tangent - one that you can read about here. I also found Green Tea Noodles! They rather excited me. My favourite Japanese restaurant, Jazushi, makes an amazing green tea noodle salad and also served green tea noodles with their amazing Agedashi Tofu (which I always order). So when I was looking for inspiration I immediately grabbed the green tea noodles and cooked them up with a big fresh leek from my garden.

On another note - I've been nominated for the Best Australian Blogs 2012 People's Choice Award - you can vote for me by hitting up this link: http://www.sydneywriterscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/peopleschoice.html

Ingredients

1 packet of green tea noodles

1 leek, thinly sliced (just use the white parts and save the green parts for another meal)

500g fresh Shitake mushrooms, trimmed and sliced

1 bunch broccolini, cut into 1 inch length pieces

1 litre water

2 sachets of kombu dashi (mine come in 10g sachets)

3 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 cup sake (or substitute 2 tbsp mirin)

Shallots to garnish

To Make

1. Cook the green tea noodles according to the packet directions (should just be boiling them in water for 5 mins). Drain and rinse well under cold water. Set aside.

2. Heat 2 tbsp sesame oil in a saucepan and sauté the leeks until soft. Add the mushrooms, water, dashi powder, soy sauce and sake. Bring to a simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

3. Add broccolini and the other tablespoon of sesame oil and simmer for a further 5 mins (until the broccolini is just cooked). 

4. Divide the noodles evenly amongst two bowls, sprinkle with chopped shallots and ladle the vegetables and broth over the top. If you like you can drizzle some more sesame oil over the top.

Serves 2.

I've submitted this recipe to the Vegan Virtual Linky Potluck - click here to see the other entries.

Split Pea and Basil Stew

Sometimes I find the best recipes are created when you have something that you need to use up. My vegie garden is growing so beautifully right now and I am a tiny bit super proud of it. It's sort of like my child (except less high maintenance), every time somebody comes over to my house I invariable drag them outside to proudly show them my vegie garden and point out all the changes since last time I dragged them out to see it. My friends are probably sick of this but they will probably have to get over it. I imagine it is similar to if  they went over to somebody's house who had just had a baby - out come the baby photos (despite the fact that the baby is right there for you to look at) so that they can tell you all the tiny ways that the baby has changed over the last month which are all things that probably only they care about. Well, I'm like that with my vegie garden. It's like my child essentially. This is my other child, by the way, and I can tell you that she is definitely much cuter than my vegie-garden-child:

Uli Von Tuftsberg

However, what happens with a vegie garden (as I'm sure any vegie growers know) is that suddenly you get an influx of something which needs to be used up all at once before the plant goes to seed. So, this week the basil in my garden was rather thriving and I knew I needed to use up a fair bit of it to stop the plants going to seed. I was making lunch and what I really felt like was split pea soup/stew. So - the result was obviously Split Pea and Basil Stew! This is probably something I never would have tried if I hadn't had to use up the basil, which would have been a great loss because it was absolutely delicious (seconded by the two guests I had over for lunch that day). So the moral of the story is. Something.

Just to prove what a proud parent I am here is a picture of my basil (isn't it adorable??):

Split Pea and Basil Stew

Ingredients:

1 tbsp nuttelex (or other vegan margarine)

1 leek, washed and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1.5L vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups green split peas

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 carrot, chopped

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

5 tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Cracked pepper to taste

1 bunch fresh basil

To Make:

1. Melt nuttelex in a large soup pot. Add the leek and garlic and sauté until softened. Add fennel seeds and caraway seeds and sauté for a further 5 minutes.

2. Add the split peas, stock, potato, carrot, sweet potato, tomatoes, soy sauce and cumin and bring to the boil.

3. Reduce to a simmer and and cover. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the peas have gone nice and mushy.

4. Grind the basil to a paste in a mortar and pestle (leaving a small handful out to chop and use as garnish) or alternately use a food processor.

5. Add the basil paste and peas to the stew and simmer, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste with cracked pepper.

6. Serve topped with shredded fresh basil.

Serves 4.

Cabbage, Broad Bean and Caraway Soup

You'll be seeing a lot of cabbage recipes from us this month - mostly because many of the savoury vegan-friendly Croatian recipes we found were of the cabbage variety (although this recipe itself is not Croatian - I just invented it to use up a big bit of cabbage left on my fridge from my Croatian cooking). However, that isn't a bad thing at all because I think that this is the first cabbage recipe we have posted on this blog, so in essence we are filling a void. 

Unfortunately cabbage gets a very bad reputation amongst most people because of bad experiences with bad boiled cabbage and because of it's ability to cause gas. However - you shouldn't fear either of these because a) cabbage cooked properly is delicious and b) there are several carminative herbs and spices you can add in the cooking process to reduce this. This recipe uses caraway seeds as the carminative agent, however, I have read that cumin, sage, tarragon, fennel, thyme, aniseed, marjoram, basil, bergamot, chamomile, nutmeg, dill, cloves, garlic, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, juniper, rosemary, savory, oregano, mint or peppermint can also be used - although I haven't tried all of these so give me feedback if you do :) So, take this knowledge in hand and fear no more about cabbage - now you possess the knowledge to go bravely (without splitting your infinitives!) where no cabbageophobe has even gone before... cabbage soup!

However, even if that doens't convince you to stop worrying about cabbage giving you gas then you can take even further precautions by ending or starting any meal that contains cabbage with our delicious Cabbage-Is-My-Friend Tea which will take care of any worries you have in that area so that you can happily enjoy cabbage as frequently as you like!

Ingredients

1 onion, slices

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 green cabbage (or more of you have it), finely sliced

1 generous tsp caraway seeds

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp smoky paprika

2 potatoes, washed, peeled and thinly sliced

1L vegetable stock

1 cup fresh or frozen broad beans

1 tbsp soy sauce (or substitute salt to taste)

To Make:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion until soft. Add the cabbage and continue to sauté another 3-5 mins.

2. Add the spices and mix thorough well. Add the vegetable stock, potatoes and broad beans and bring to the boil.

3. Lower the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Add soy sauce and any other seasonings to taste.

4. When all vegetables are cooked well turn off the heat and allow to cool for a little while before blending it until very smooth in a blender or food processor (or with a hand held stick blender if you prefer a chunkier texture). 

5. Serve with some whole caraway sprinkled on top.

Serves 4, and perfect as a snack in a mug

This is also part of the Great Vegan Soup-Off Blog Hop- check out the other entries below!

Potato, Asparagus, Broad Bean and Red Lentil Soup

This soup is incredibly quick and easy to make, and the winning combination of potato and red lentils creates a beautiful creamy texture and flavour. And as for the asparagus...need I say more? Lets just say that these tall, slim stalks of supreme deliciousness know how to work it, work it good.

Potato, Asparagus, Broad Bean and Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
5 medium pink skinned potatos, cubed
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped, the tips reserved
1/4 cup of fresh broadbeans, peeled
3/4 cup of red lentils, rinsed
1 small brown onion, chopped
1 1/2 litres of vegetable stock
2 Tbsp of olive oil

How to Make:
1. Heat the olive oil in your stockpot and saute the onion on a medium heat until transparent.
2. Add all remaining ingredients other than the asparagus tips, which will be added later.
3. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 30mins.
4. Take the soup of the heat, grab either an electric stick mixer or a potato masher (or something else that enjoys blending innocent yet delicious vegetables) and mix/mash until some whole pieces of vegetables remain, yet the ingredients are well blended. Or shall we say, half blended, half intact...
5. Put the soup back on the stove and add the asparagus tips, simmering for 5 mins.
6. Serve and enjoy!
Serves 4

Multigrain Minestrone Soup with Chestnuts

Adding chestnuts to just about everything in is a habit I picked up when living in China when roasted chestnuts were sold cheap on the side of the road all winter. They add a lovely nutty sweetness to this soup which is a perfect one for using up all the little bits of vegies in your fridge, I just used whatever bits of vegies I had in my fridge so you can substitute any vegies that you have.

Ingredients:

5-6 raw chestnuts

1 litre vegetable stock

1/2 cup green lentils

3 tbsp brown rice
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp bulghur
3 tbsp quinoa
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 cup of finely chopped cauliflower
3-4 button mushrooms, diced
5 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/3 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 zucchini, diced
1/3 cup soup pasta
1-2 handfuls of baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste

To Make:
1. Preheat the oven or grill to high (as in over 200 degrees Celsius) and roast the chestnuts until they are slightly blackened on the outside and the shells are cracking. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing the shells, incuding as much of the dark brown skin underneath the shell as possible. Chop the chestnuts roughly and set aside to use later.
2. Bring the vegetable stock to the boil and add the lentils, brown rice and garlic. Simmer covered for 10 minutes while you prep all your other vegies.
3. Add the quinoa, bulghur, carrot, celery, cauliflower, mushroom, tomato paste, paprika and peas and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the grains are well cooked.
4. Once all the vegies and grains are cooked add the pasta, zucchini and chestnuts and simmer, stirring frequently, until the pasta is cooked (you may need to add a bit more water to stop all the pasta and grains sticking to the bottom).
5. Once the pasta is cooked through turn off the heat and stir the baby spinach leaves through and then serve immediately.

Serves 3-4.

Pumpkin, Leek and Garlic Soup

This one has a bit of a difference with the addition of the garlic right at the end so that the garlicy flavour really comes out.

Pumpkin, Leek and Garlic Soup

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 leek, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

7 cups of vegetable stock

500g Butternut pumpkin, chopped

500g Jap pumpkin, chopped

300g cauliflower, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

3 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

Cracked pepper, to garnish

To Make:

1. Heat some olive oil in a soup pot and saute the onion, leek and one of the garlic cloves until soft and transparent.

2. Add the vegetable stock, vegetables and spices and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 20 minutes or until all the vegies are well cooked (this will vary depending on how big you chopped your vegies). 

3. When the vegies are cooked transfer the soup to a blender with the remaining clove of raw garlic and purée in batches. Add back to the rinsed soup pot and heat gently.

4. Stir through the soy sauce and lemon juice. 

5. Eat! (Tastes great with fresh bread rolls!)

Winter Fennel and Pasta Soup

This recipe is a great base to adapt to whatever you have in the fridge and is so quick to make. It is great and warming on a winter day and never lasts very long when I cook it!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped finely

5 cloves garlic, chopped roughly

1/2 big fennel bulb (or 1 small fennel bulb), chopped finely

2-3 sticks of celery, chopped finely

2 carrots, chopped finely

2 potatos or a small sweet potato (whichever one you have in your pantry that you want to use up)

4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock

5 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tin mixed beans

1 cup small macaroni or any other soup pasta

To Make:

1. Heat some olive oil in a big soup pot. Add the onion and soften for 2 minutes. Add the fennel and garlic and saute for 3-5 minutes until fennel and onion are well aquainted and transparent.

2. Add the rest of the vegies, the tomato paste and the stock and bring to the boil. Boil for 15-20 minutes until vegies are cooked (this will take longer if you have chopped your vegies larger, but that's your own can of beans). Speaking of cans of beans, drain the can of mixed beans now and rinse the beans before adding to the pot with the pasta.

3. Simmer gently until the pasta is cooked and then eat in copious amounts!!

This soup is also great with leeks, peas, pumpkin or anything else you have a little bit left of and want to use up. The last friend I made this for now asks me whether I'm making soup every time she comes over :) It's a very simple but very impressive thing to knock up (not in that way....) for friends!

Enjoy indulgently!