Soul Soup

I LOVE soul food. The other day I was craving soup AND soul food. I put together a list of ingredients that I thought would satisfy my hunger and the result was spicy, yummy and full of soul. This was about a week ago, so I'm going to try to remember exactly what I did. 

First I roasted some garlic as I prepared the rest. 

In a large soup pot: 

-Saute 1 small sweet onion (cut into chunks) w/ some olive oil

Once the onions start to become translucent add: 

- Two or three hot pepper (remove seeds, cut in half)

-Add a couple of cups of chopped greens (I used a combo of mustard and collard. TIP: Trader Joe's sells a mixture of these greens already cut and washed)

Once  the greens are soft remove from heat. 

In a food processor blend the following: 

- 1/2 can of black-eyed peas (put the rest aside)

- 1 can diced tomatoes

-A teaspoon or so of tamari

-The contents from the soup pot

-Ground pepper to taste

-Cayenne pepper to taste

-Paprika to taste

-Cajun spice-blend to taste

Put the blended ingredients into the soup pot, add the following on medium heat: 

-The remaining black-eyed peas

-One can of black beans (no need to drain them)

- One can of vegetable broth

- 1/2 bag of frozen sweet corn

-2 to 3 bulbs of roasted garlic (Remove the garlic from the bulbs and either add chunks of garlic or mush the pieces first. If you don't want chunks of garlic in your soup, you can add the garlic in the blending phase.)

Adjust spice, pepper and salt to taste. This soup is packed with spice and garlic. If that's not your thing, either cut down or eliminate those ingredients. 

Cook until thoroughly heated. 

NOTE: I've made several variations of this soup. Here is a version with a clear broth, red beans, potatoes, corn and collard greens. 

Bamboo Steamers

Bamboo Steamers rock my world. I have three sets; all various sizes and I use them constantly. 

Here's how they work....

You put water in the bottom of a wok or pan, then the steamer goes on top. The steamers are stackable, so you can cook a variety of things all at once. Plus, no oil is needed, so your food is lower in fat.

I have an extra large one I picked up in San Francisco's Chinatown that I use for asparagus. I love using them for steaming asian dumplings (I line the racks with parchment paper for easy clean up). When making homemade seitan, I use it to steam the dough into cutlets. You can steam all kinds of veggies; such as Swiss Chard, Eggplant, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Corn Cobs, etc.  

Pic credit: Amazon. 

Sweet Potato Fries

These fries are baked and have so much flavor that ketchup is definitely optional. 

You'll need a big pan or cookie sheet. I'd line it with parchment paper to make the clean-up a snap. Plus it will allow you to pick up the fries and move them without messiness. If you've never used parchment paper - get some! 

Modify  the number of potatoes used, depending on the size of your pan/cookie sheet and the number of peeps you're going to feed. For up to three people I'd use two medium sweet potatoes. 

Pre-heat oven for 400 to 410 degrees. 

- Peel the potatoes

- Slice potatoes into stick "like" shapes. I always have an odd assortment of shapes, such as short, rounded edges, skinny, etc. The various shapes will cook up differently - some will be crispy, others will be soft in the inside (a potpourri of flavor sensations). 

- Place the potato pieces on cookie sheet (or pan) so that they're not overlapping.

- Lightly pour extra virgin olive oil over the fries (don't make them greasy, just enough to make them wet)

- Season the fries (be sure to oil the fries before seasoning). I dust the fries with sea salt (or seasoning salt), dill weed, coarse ground pepper and paprika. For extra zip I also use red pepper flakes and/or a blend of cajun spices. The spicy mixed with the sweet tastes really good!! 

- Bake for 20 to 35 minutes. If you like your fries extremely crispy then cook around 30 to 35 minutes. I like mine soft and plump, so I usually pull them out around 20 to 25 minutes. If you're unsure of how long you should cook them, pull them out of the oven periodically and sample a fry. You can always flip the fries mid-way, but I never do. 

- After removing from the oven, pull up the parchment paper and give the fries a good shake. All the seasoning and oil will mix together to get the fries nice and coated with yummy goodness. Serve right away. 

Savory steamed dumplings: Sweet potato, shiitake and mock duck (gluten)

My Dad turned 89 last week and we had a large gathering at my house. I made all of the food; which was all vegan. It was carnivore approved and no one missed any of the flesh or (milk) puss they were used to. I made a variety of foods and my guests nagged me to give them the recipes. Since they all came from my head, I need to blog as much of the dishes as I can before I forget. 

One of the show stoppers was my steamed dumplings. These little suckers are a little time consuming to make, but well worth it. If you've never made asian dumplings, I'd suggest watching a tutorial on the web. If you google it, you'll find step by step images and video on how to stuff and fold the dumpling. When buying the dumpling skins, make sure they are the round ones (the square ones are for wonton and the thickness is different) and vegan (some brands contain egg). 

I used to make one dumpling at a time, but I found it easier to lay out as many dumpling skins as you can (I used an extra large cutting board as my base), place the stuffing in each, then fold (you must wet the rim of the dumpling before you fold and pinch the skin edges together). You will need something to steam the dumplings with. I use the traditional bamboo steamers, which is placed in a wok. The wok contains the water which then steams the dumplings. I line my bamboo steamer with parchment paper. The dumplings peel right off and there is no cleanup. I also flavor the water in the wok with miso and/or large chunks of sea salt. 

Dumpling contents:

Put the following in a food processor.....

 

- 1 large sweet potato (cooked: either bake ahead of time or pop in the microwave until soft)

- 1 handful of shiitake mushrooms (I used fresh ones, however if you use the dried ones make sure you rehydrate them enough to be soft)

- 1 can of mock duck (wheat gluten) drained (you can use your own seitan, but this stuff has been perfectly flavored for the job)

- a couple of shakes of dark mushroom soy sauce (this stuff is the bomb! - it has a rich, salty flavor that brings out the flavor of the mushrooms)

- a couple of shakes of vegan mushroom oyster sauce (this stuff is also the bomb - it has a sweet taste that will bring out the flavor of the sweet potato)

- a few shakes of thick ground pepper

Pulse in the food processor until everything is chopped up. You want a thick consistency, not creamy; so don't blend the mixture. You might want to open the food processor between each pulse to push the contents down. 

I stored the mixture in the fridge for 24 hours to bring out the flavor. If you don't have that much time, you can probably start stuffing the dumplings whenever you want. Just make sure that the mixture is at least room temperature or colder. If you used a hot potato, you'll need to wait until the mixture cools. 

Now start stuffing the dumplings. Each dumpling will only hold a little dollop of the mixture, so you can make around 25 or so from this recipe. Don't over stuff the dumpling or it will tear. 

Serve warm, with a dipping sauce (although they're so tasty you don't really need extra sauce). I prefer sweet chili sauce or hoisin (plum sauce). However, tradational dipping sauce is fine too, but is salty rather than sweet. 

Eat Your Veggies

Lot's of people seem to have a fear of vegetables. Perhaps it goes back to their childhood; maybe they were forced to clear their plate (filled with canned or over cooked veggies) before leaving the table. Then there is the veggie specific fear, such as Kale, which typically stems from not knowing what to do with it or because it seems "exotic". 

Vegetables are rich in flavor, minerals and vitamins. Instead of centering your meal around a piece of meat (or even fake meat), try making the veggies the star of the show. Vegetables have luscious colors, which can make a home-cooked meal look tres gourmet. 

If you don't like veggies, try preparing them in different ways. Perhaps you might like certain veggies raw rather than cooked. Going raw is always a great option for veggies. However, if you're looking for a hot meal, try sautéing, steaming, baking/roasting or BBQ-ing your veggies. 

Veggies also make great snacks. Instead of a bag of chips, eat a bag of snap peas! 

Some of my favorite vegetables (such as kale, beets, swiss chard, eggplants, etc.) may seem inaccessible to some; however keep in mind that the "strangest" veggies are often the tastiest. Don't feel intimated by vegetables; instead try a large variety using various flavor combinations. 

More to come...