Sunday, June 27, 2010

Tomato-Onion and Garlic-Overload Soup

Simple Summer Soup, Hot or Cold! 
With Vegan Garlic Bread


Calling All Garlic Lovers!

What do you do when you have a ton of garlic in your kitchen that you need to use up quickly?  You make this happy accident which is sure to keep the vampires away.  Warning: this is extreme garlic like I've never experienced.  You will want to warn your friends and family or just plan a mini vacation away from those you care about.  I ate this for lunch and I was quite strategic by serving it to my husband as well, who normally doesn't love soup, but he quite enjoyed this concoction.

What I love about this recipe is that it is fast, simple and there could be many variations with herbs and spices.  Once all the ingredients are prepped, it won't be long before you are reaping all of the natural cold fighting, mosquito repelling and health-boosting benefits that garlic has to offer.

Here's what you are going to need:



I normally like to use my own veggie broth, but this time I started with "Imagine", my favourite commercial vegetable broth brand which is both organic and low in salt. I highly recommend this brand but any veggie broth will do. - But nothing beats homemade!










Soup Ingredients (Serves 4)

Vegetable broth
Olive oil
20 cloves of garlic
1 medium size onion
1 large red pepper
Can of corn
Can of tomato paste
Handful of fresh parsley
Handful of fresh thyme

This is the tomato paste I used, but any tomato paste will do.  It adds a beautiful colour, thickened texture and robust taste.  It is an essential ingredient for this recipe.
I used the PC Blue Menu brand for the low salt content.  Salt is one of those ingredients you can always add later, but you can take it away.












Garlic Bread Ingredients

4 slices of vegan bread
4 tablespoons vegan margarine
4 tablespoons of parsley
2 large garlic cloves
Pinch of chili flakes


Earth Balance is my favourite brand of vegan margarine.  Check your local health food store for this or something comparable.














Soup Instructions:

1. Mince cloves of garlic, chop red pepper and onion, set aside.
2. Pour vegetable oil in large saucepan and put on medium low heat.
3. Put olive oil in medium skillet on medium heat.
4. Once heated, add 3/4 of the garlic and all of the onion.
5. Stir for a few minutes until browned.
6. Add remaining garlic to the broth mixture.
7. Add the fried onion and garlic mixture to the hot vegetable broth and stir.
8. Add can of corn to the broth.
9. Add red pepper to the mix, stir and bring to a boil.












10. Add tomato paste, stir until melted into the soup.
11. Finely chop parsley and thyme, then add to soup.
12.  Let simmer for at least a half hour.

Remove from heat and serve.


Garlic Bread Instructions:

1.Butter bread with vegan margarine.


2. Sprinkle minced garlic evenly over the bread and spread with a knife if needed.
3. Sprinkle chopped parsley and chili flakes evenly over the bread slices.


4. Cut the bread slices into 4 so they toast evenly.

5. Place on a baking sheet in your over or toaster oven for 10 minutes or until dark brown.

Remove from heat and serve.










This is a delicious and healthy summertime lunch meal.  You can eat the soup hot or cold, I personally prefer hot:)

Bon appetit! 

jd







Saturday, June 26, 2010

Portabella Mushroom Burgers

BBQ to Perfection and Impress Your Guests!


The Perfect Combination

Well folks, it has been a while since I last wrote.  So much has happened since I shared my holiday highlights back in December 2009.  

I finished school, moved back to Toronto and started my own accounting/bookkeeping business.  In the midst of all the change, much of our "stuff" was packed in storage for six months, including my cookbooks. I also had a couple of computer blow ups and lost quite a bit of data which had me off line from Lime Green Vegan for a while.  But now I'm back!

Life has been crazy and hectic for the past 6 months, but I never stopped searching for the perfect vegan recipes to share.  I'm excited about this next recipe, which is all about simplicity and the perfect combination of ingredients, resulting in a unique and delicious flavour.

We have tested these burgers on two completely separate test groups - life-long meat eaters - who were blown away by the amazing flavour and texture.  If you like mushrooms, you are going to LOVE these amazingly delicious and healthy burgers.  Be warned though, they are addictive, extremely filling and satisfying.  I'm craving them just writing about them!

Ingredients You Will Need (Serves 4)

4 portabella mushrooms
1 large red pepper
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic minced
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 table spoon of lemon juice
Freshly chopped basil, dill or any herb you like (added to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

-Wash mushrooms and remove stems
-Lightly oil the outside of the mushroom with some olive oil and place on a plate with the stem side facing up
-Mince garlic, dice red pepper and onion and place into a bowl
-Pour vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce and lemon juice over diced veggie mixture
-Add freshly chopped herbs of your choice to taste.  Ex. 12 leaves of basil
-Mix all ingredients until everything is evenly coated and mixed into a chunky liquid marinade
-Evenly spoon veggie mixture on top of each mushroom and all remaining liquid will be poured and soaked inside the cup of the mushrooms
-Marinate for 15 minutes to half an hour
-Put on the grill on low/medium and cook them your like, approx 15 minutes

Add salt and pepper to taste, place burger on a bun, add condiments of your choice or just eat as is with a fresh garden salad on the side.  

Variations and Ideas:

One of the great things about this recipe is that you can experiment and play around with the ingredients.  For example, you can alter the flavour greatly by using different grades and flavours of balsamic vinegar.  We love to use a 12 year old vinegar with the consistency of molasses, which adds a beautiful sweetness to the burger.  You can also try adding dijon mustard to the marinade mixture if you like a strong mustard taste.  As for condiments, sometimes we add vegan pesto to the mix. The possibilities are endless. If you discover a new variation of this recipe, please do post and share.  Would love to hear about your experiences.

Now that we are settled here in our new home in our favourite city, I am happy to say that I will be posting new delicious recipes on a more regular basis.  Stay tuned for more to come!

jd  

Welcome to LGV!

Joy Deveeve brings you a fresh Canadian blog dedicated to the healthiest and tastiest vegan recipes on the planet. Tested in her own kitchen, Joy delivers recipes that are sure to inspire new ideas and bring your meat loving friends over to the good side of life!