What better way is there to endure an ice storm, than make a pot of soup? Not that I need an excuse to make soup, I just seem to enjoy it even more during nasty weather. There was some kale in the fridge so I decided to make the Spicy Kale Soup from Vegan Fire and Spice. I changed the recipe a bit — I didn’t have red-skinned potatoes in the house so I used Yukon Golds. Then there were some white beans that I wanted to use up so I subbed those for the kidney beans called for in the recipe. I’ve actually made this soup with chickpeas on another occasion and that works great, too. All in all, this is a very easy and versatile recipe — hot and brothy, and perfect for a chilly day. A final splash of sherry takes it to the next level.
Spicy Kale Soup
Adapted from Vegan Fire and Spice.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
5 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt (more or less, depending on the saltiness of your broth)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 bay leaf
5 cups chopped fresh kale
2 cups cooked white beans
Splash of sherry
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot. Cover, and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, potatoes, broth, salt, oregano, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the kale and cook until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes longer. Add the beans and a healthy splash of sherry and simmer just until heated through. Taste to adjust seasonings. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
Serves 4
We had out-of-town company over the long weekend, so I had been cooking up a storm. Afterwards, I discovered my refrigerator filled with little containers of leftovers from the meals we enjoyed. There wasn’t enough of anything to “heat and eat,” but enough to provide lots of starting points to create several new meals. Here are some examples:
I had just enough leftover dressing and other ingredients to recreate Sunday night’s Caesar salad (the sprinkles are dulse flakes):
A few cups of leftover rotini were tossed with what was left of a vegetable tian and topped with panko crumbs for a yummy casserole:
Here’s a rice pilaf made with cremini mushrooms and fresh thyme:
I combined leftover cooked rice noodles that didn’t make it into a soup with some stray veggies for this noodle stir-fry:
Did you notice that there were no leftover desserts?
In my excitement to announce Gary’s pick for the contest winner, I signed off before I had a chance to say: Thank you! I am overwhelmed by the wonderful comments and good wishes you’ve sent my way. I am truly grateful for all your kind words about my blog, my cookbooks, and my new website. It all means so much to me. I look forward to another great year of blogging right here on my Vegan Planet blog.
Now for a clarification: This blog will remain my blog — it’s not going anywhere! It is only my website that has changed to www.globalvegankitchen.com.
We have dear friends visiting this weekend and I’ve been cooking up a storm. I’ll try to remember to take some photos and post about the food next week.
I have two great reasons to celebrate! Today is the one-year anniversary of my blog (where did the time go?)… AND….on this auspicious day, I am also pleased to announce the birth of my gorgeous new website! Global Vegan Kitchen is officially up and running.
The new url is: http://www.globalvegankitchen.com/ and this site replaces http://www.robinrobertson.com/, which will vanish sometime next week. Be sure to place the new URL in your favorites and bookmarks.
The new site was designed by my friend, long-time vegan, and interactive multimedia designer, Mark Sutton. I’m very excited about the new design and would love to hear your comments. Check it out and let me know what you think.
To add some fizz to the festivities, I’m giving away a cookbook! Just leave a comment on this post, and it will automatically be entered in a drawing for a free copy of Vegan Fire and Spice. (If you already have it, I’ll send you one of my other books.) My cat Gary will choose the winner.
Thanks to all of you for helping to make my first year of blogging a wonderful experience!
Here it is well into the new year and I’m still having fun with my favorite Christmas gift: a jar of Himalayan Salt, given to me by a dear friend, which makes it all the more cherished. Not only does this salt have a wonderful flavor, it’s also super fun to use! Apparently, Himalayan salt is available in smaller crystals that you can grind in a spice mill, but the kind I got is in the form of big pink rock-like chunks that come with their own adorable little grater. How cool is that? Can you imagine going to a restaurant and whipping out your own chunk of pink salt and little grater? Okay, I’d never actually do that, but I am still having loads of fun with it all on my own!
I’ll leave you now with a couple photos of test recipes for my 1,000 Vegan Recipes cookbook.
Broccoli and White Beans with Potatoes and Walnuts:
And this is a yummy spinach salad with Fuji apple, figs, and toasted almonds:
