Cantonese-Style Fried Rice

Servings: 3-5
Prep time: about 20 min

*2 or 3 eggs
*2 tsp salt
*1/2 tsp dry sherry
*2 tbsp onion, minced
*5 tbsp cooking oil
*4 cups cooked rice
*1 tsp Chinese brown gravy syrup or 1/2 tsp Kitchen Boquet or Gravy Master
*1 cup bean sprouts or the shredded thick part of lettuce as a substitute

1. Beat eggs with salt & sherry.
2. Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat. Stir in onion then egg mixture. Scramble and break into pieces until quite dry.
3. Add rice, gravy & bean sprouts. Stir constantly until the ingredients are well blended & thoroughly heated (about 8 to 10 minutes).

Note: 1/2 cup of diced or shredded meat or fake meat can be added with rice, if you want.

Note: Never use soy sauce because it makes the rice too soft.

Note: Fried rice is the way Chinese use leftover rice, so its fine to use day-old rice for this recipe.

Curry Pumpkin Soup

~special thanks to Jen for this recipe!~

*1/2 stick butter
*1.5 large white onions
*2 tbsp lime juice
* plus or minus 1/4 cup masaman or panang curry paste
*kosher salt & pepper
*bay leaves (Jen says: "we didn’t use these")
*1/2 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup white wine
*1 can coconut milk
*2 cups milk
*2 small cans (or 1 large can) pumpkin puree
*1/2 cup black rum
*3 cups vegetable stock
*optional: parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, etc (to taste)

1. Sauté onions in butter.
2. Add curry paste, lime juice, bay leaf, optional ingredients & brown sugar. Stir 1 minute.
3. Add white wine, coconut milk & milk.
4. Simmer on medium heat about 20 minutes to reduce.
5. Meanwhile, combine pumpkin, stock & rum in a medium saucepan until warm & uniform in texture. Add to other ingredients.
6. Reduce for 20-30 more minutes by simmering.

(Jen says: "Recipe says to add honey or sugar, salt & herbs, garlic if needed to taste- but I have not tried those.")

Honey Granola

~ Taryn & Brendan's alterations of the recipe from "Breakfast Lunch Tea Rose Bakery" by Rose Carrarini. Thanks, guys!~


(pistachio granola image from Taryn and Brendan)

Prep time: several hours

*5 1/3 cups rolled oats
*2 cups chopped walnuts (you can use any combination: almonds or seeds or whatever)
*1/4 cup roasted ground flaxseeds (the original recipe calls for wheatgerm)
*1/2 cup vegetable oil
*1 cup honey
*1/2 cup water
*a few drops of vanilla
*a pinch of cinnamon (Taryn & Brendan caution: don't use more than a pinch!)
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*dried or fresh fruit to serve

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix together the oats, honey, nuts, seeds, ground flaxseeds.
3. Put the oil, honey, water, vanilla, cinnamon & salt in a saucepan. Bring just to a boil, stirring constantly, then pour over the dry ingredients & mix well.
4. If the mixture is too wet add more oats - there should be no excess liquid & it should be sticky.
5. Spread out evenly on a couple baking trays & bake for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
6. Reduce the temperature to 275 degrees & continue baking until the granola is golden, about 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
7. Switch off the oven & leave to dry out for at least another hour, or up to overnight.

Note: Taryn & Brendan say not to store the granola with raisins or other dried fruit because it makes the fruit hard.

Homemade Yogurt

~special thanks to Taryn and Brendan for this recipe~

Apparently this is really easy to make. The recipe is for plain yogurt, but it can be sweetened with honey or maple syrup after the yogurt is made. The recipe is called "Effie's Mom's Incredibly Easy Recipe for Homemade Yogurt"; it originally comes from the website No Impact Man & has been only slightly modified below.


Prep time: wont be ready until the next day

*milk (use your containers as your guide for how much milk to use)
*1 tbsp live yogurt (to get the culture going)
*you'll also need glass or plastic containers & 2 or 3 towels

1. Boil milk (Taryn and Brendan use 1% and say that you can use soy or almond milk; No Impact Man recommends whole milk) in a large pot until it boils and foams at the top. Shut it off before it spills over.
2. Let the milk cool off until you can keep your pinky finger in the milk for 10 seconds without burning it (No Impact Man says: "a temperature reading would have been great for this step but I don't think they had these back in Greece 70 years ago"... apparently Effie's mom is Greek and quite old).
3. In a small bowl that holds about 2 cups, beat one tablespoon of live yogurt until smooth. Slowly add one cup of the milk from the pot, stirring slowly until combined.
4. Transfer this mixture from step #3 to the pot of boiled milk, slowly pouring it into the pot while mixing the pot of milk (with a spatula or long spoon) the whole time in order to combine thoroughly.
5. Pour into glass or plastic containers and seal them.
6. Arrange the containers together and cover with 2 to 3 towels keeping them in a warm place of the house (No Impact Man says: "and no, you don't need some sort of a yogurt maker gadget to keep them warm"). Let them sit overnight.
7. In the morning place them in the refrigerator and they will get cold. Yogurt is done.
8. Do a dance!

Veggie Black Bean Soup

Prep time: 30 min
Servings: 4

*1/2 small onion, chopped
*1/2 cup chopped carrots
*1/2 cup chopped celery
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1/8 black pepper (freshly ground if you're fancy, regular black pepper if you're like me)
*2 cups vegetable broth
*2 cups fresh baby spinach
*14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
*1/3 cup chickpeas (out of a can), rinsed and drained
*1/3 cup low-salt black beans (out of a can), rinsed and drained
*oil or cooking spray

1. Heat a little bit of cooking spray or oil in a large pot. Saute the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, & pepper for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are tender.
2. Add broth, spinach, tomatoes, chickpeas, & black beans. Bring to a boil.
3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Calories: 95

Note: Of course, you can adjust the ingredients to your own liking. I usually forgo the onion and celery and put in zucchini and green bell pepper instead. I've tried it with corn, too.

Pear with Vanilla Almond Dip

Prep time: less than 5 min!
Servings: 1

*1/8 tsp almond extract
*1/4 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
*dash of nutmeg
*pear, sliced

1. Stir the almond extract & the nutmeg into the yogurt.
2. Serve with the sliced pear.


Note: This is unbelievably delicious. I can't explain it.

Chocolatey Nut Clusters

Prep time: about 20 min, plus one hour to cool
Servings: makes about 20 clusters

*6 oz semisweet chocolate
*2 tsp vegetable shortening
*2 cups unsalted mixed nuts (8 oz)

1. Mix the chocolate & the shortening in a medium-sized saucepan. Heat over low heat & stir occasionally until the chocolate melts (about 3 minutes).
2. Remove from heat & stir in the nuts.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Make clusters of the chocolatey nuts by spooning little heaps onto the wax paper with a tablespoon. Leave about 1 inch between the clusters.
4. Put them in the fridge for at least 1 hour to harden.


Note: These are messy, even after they've hardened.

"Meatball" Subs

Prep time: 5 min!

*sub rolls
*fake meatballs (look in the frozen foods section of your grocery store)
*spaghetti sauce
*slices of mozzarella cheese

1. Heat the meatballs according to the package directions.
2. Put 6-7 meatballs on a sub roll, pour spaghetti sauce over them & then put slices of mozzarella cheese on top.
3. Put the subs back in the microwave long enough to melt the cheese & heat the sauce.

Note: These are sooooooo easy to make and they're super yummy.

Easy Egg Drop Soup

Prep Time: 15 min!
Servings: 4-6

* 2 cans (about 30 oz) broth (chicken broth is traditionally used, but I substituted vegetable broth)
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (regular soy sauce is too salty for this recipe!)
* 1/2 cup chopped green onion

1. Bring broth to a boil. Meanwhile, whip the eggs.
2. Once the broth is boiling, take the pot off the heat & add the soy sauce.
3. Stir in the eggs. As you stir, the eggs will separate into stringy pieces.
4. Add the green onion & stir.
5. Serve hot.

Cous Cous Soup

~special thanks to Candi for this recipe!~

Prep time: 15 min!
Servings: 8

* 8 cups broth (the orignal recipe calls for chicken broth, I used vegetable broth)
* 1 cup cous cous
* 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomato
* 1-2 thinly sliced, seeded jalapeno peppers
* 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Bring broth to a boil.
2. Stir in cous cous & cook for 5 minutes. (Meanwhile, dice the tomato & jalapeno.)
3. Add the tomato & jalapeno. Cook for about 8 more minutes.
4. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, & serve.

Note: if the soup becomes too thick, add water.

Note: add Tabasco sauce for a Mexican flavor or fresh basil for an Italian flavor!

Vegan Cornbread

I've decided to also post delicious side dishes that go well with the soup recipes that I love.



Prep Time: less than 30 minutes
Servings: 6

* 1 cup cornmeal
* 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use all-purpose flour & it works out just fine)
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 cup soy milk
* 1/3 cup molasses or maple syrup (I use maple syrup)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Pour batter into a lightly oiled 8-inch round pan.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Nutritional Analysis: 299 calories per serving

Recipe from: Simply Vegan by Debra Wasserman

Sweet Potato Soup

~ suggested by Taryn! ~

Prep Time: about 45 minutes, once the sweet potatoes are baked
Servings: ?

Note: Taryn says, "You can use sweet potato or canned pumpkin."

* 2 onions
* 4 baked sweeet potatoes or 1 can of pumpkin
* vegetable stock
* nutmeg
* salt
* pepper
*smoked sweet paprika or fake bacon (note from Mary: MorningStar Farms makes good fake bacon, available in the frozen section of grocery stores)

1. Fry the onions until translucent. Add the sweet potato mush & spices. Then add stock. If you like thinner soup, add a lot of stock or if you like thicker soup add less stock.
2. Cook for about 1/2 hour.
3. Top with smoked sweet paprika or crumbled fake bacon.


Taryn says: I love this with pumpernickel bread.

Garbanzo Bean Stew

~ suggested by Taryn! ~

Prep Time: depends... at least 1 hour
Servings: ?

Note: Taryn says, "I use dried beans because I think that they taste better, but canned is fine."

* 1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans (if using a can, just use the whole can)
* 2 onions, chopped
* 1 head garlic, smashed & chopped
* 1/8 cup olive oil
* water
* 1 potato, chopped
* 1 can of whole tomatoes (Taryn says: We used canned roasted tomatoes. You may need more spices with plain ones.)
* salt & pepper

1. Soak the beans for 24 hours.
2. Fry onion & garlic in oil until translucent.
3. Add beans & enough water to cover. (Taryn says: The less water you cook beans in, the quicker they cook.)
4. Turn the heat down & cover. Check the beans after an hour, but expect them to take up to 4 hours to cook.
5. Add the potato & tomatoes, including juice.
6. When the potato is done, add salt & pepper to taste.

Cream of Asparagus

~ suggested by Amber! ~

Prep Time: ?
Servings: 12


* 1 1/4 sticks butter plus 1 1/2 tbsp butter
* 1/2 cup flour
* 12 1/2 cups stock (Amber says: I use chicken, but you can use vegetable stock or any stock that is light colored & clear)
* 1 cup asparagus
* 3/4 cup onion, diced
* 3 cups hot milk
* salt to taste
* white pepper to taste
* heavy cream to garnish (optional)
* asparagus tips to garnish (optional)

1. Heat 1 1/4 sticks of butter on low until thoroughly melted. Stir in flour. You will see a light golden color. Now you have a blonde roux.
2. Allow to cool slightly.
3. Whisk the mixture into warmed stock.
4. Sweat onion & asparagus in 1 1/2 tbsp of butter, then add to stock. Simmer until soft & tender.
5. Puree vegetables & pass through a cheesecloth or foodmill & add back to stock. (Amber says: This is the annoying part of the recipe. You get all of the flavor but lose the stringy quality of the asparagus. If you own a foodmill, that may be easier than using cheesecloth.)
6. Add hot milk until you reach the desired consistency. Temperature of the milk is important because cold milk does not reach very well when suddenly added to a warm mixture, so mix similar-temperature liquids together. Heat soup again, but do not let it boil after adding milk.
7. Season to taste & serve.

Tortilla Soup

~ suggested by Jen! ~

Prep Time: about 45 min
Servings: about 8

* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 cup corn kernels (frozen/canned), rinsed
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup white hominy, rinsed
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 4 oz can chopped green chile peppers
* 2 tsp chili powder
* 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
* 1 tsp dried cumin
* ½ cup chopped cilantro
* 2 cans veggie broth
* 28 oz crushed/diced tomatoes

Optional ingredients (Jen says: I use about 2 tsp lime, a lot of cayenne):
* Lime juice
* Cayenne pepper or tobasco to heat it up
* Sugar- if it gets too sour from all the acid

Garnish options:
* Tortilla chips
* Sliced avocado (Jen says: my favorite)
* Monterey Jack cheese
* Chopped green onions

1. In a medium to large pot, heat olive oil over medium. Saute onion & garlic. Stir in chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, broth. Bring to boil & simmer 10 minutes.
2. Stir in corn, hominy, green chiles, black beans, cilantro. Simmer 10 minutes.
3. Serve with any of the garnishes above.

Barley & Lentil Soup

(picture by Jen)

~ suggested by Jen! ~

Prep Time: about 1 hour
Servings: 8-10

* 1 cup chopped onion
* 6 cups vegetable broth
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 2 tsp dried rosemary
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tsp dried oregano
* 28oz can diced tomatoes
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* ¾ cup rinsed lentils (uncooked)
* 2 cups carrots
* 3/4 cup rinsed pearl barley (uncooked)

1. In large soup pot, cook onions, celery & garlic in hot olive oil until tender.
2. Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils, barley, rosemary, oregano, pepper, & carrots.
3. Cook for 40 minutes, or until barley, lentils and carrots tender.

Note: Jen says, "I like to eat this with cheese and crackers on the side."

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Prep Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4-6

* 32 oz vegetable broth
* 1 chopped green bell pepper
* 1 chopped red or yellow bell pepper
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 14. 5 oz can diced tomatoes, pureed in a blender
* about 10 oz meatless crumbles (or for you beef-eating carnivores, you could probably use cooked hamburger meat, but I'm not going to vouch for how the soup turns out)
* 3/4 cup brown minute rice
* a bit of oil for sauteing

1. Prepare all of the vegetables.
2. Saute the onion & garlic in the oil until they are soft.
3. Add the peppers & cook until they are tender.
4. Add pureed tomatoes, meatless crumbles, & broth. Bring to a slow boil.
5. Once boiling, add the rice. Cover & cook until rice is tender (about 10 minutes).

Nutritional Analysis: n/a

Recipe from: Greenmeanie, posted on vegweb.com (slightly modified by me)

Panzanella Soup

Prep Time: 25 min
Servings: 4

* 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
* 1/3 cup minced fresh basil or 2 tbsp dried
* 2 tbsp minced fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried
* 1 cup fresh tomatoes, peeled & chopped or 1 cup canned tomatoes,
drained, peeled & chopped
* 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
* 4 cups cubed bread, crust removed
* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat, & saute the garlic, onion, basil, & oregano until the onions are soft (about 8 min).
2. Add the tomatoes, broth, & bread. Stir until the mixture is heated throughout & you have a coarse porridge.
3. Spoon into serving bowls & sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over each.

Nutritional Analysis: 259 calories/serving

Recipe from: Almost Vegetarian by Diana Shaw

Avgolemono

This is a quick version of a Greek classic.

Prep Time: 10 min!
Servings: 6

* 7 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
* 1 cup orzo pasta
* 3 eggs
* juice of 1 lemon
* 1 tbsp cold water
* salt & black pepper

1. Put the stock into a large pan & bring to a boil.
2. Add the orzo and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Beat the eggs until frothy, then add the lemon juice & the tablespoon of cold water. Slowly stir in a ladelful of the hot stock, then add one or two more.
4. Take the pan of stock off the heat. Slowly add the egg mixture to the pan. DO NOT LET THE SOUP BOIL ONCE THE EGGS HAVE BEEN ADDED OR IT WILL CURDLE.
5. Season with salt & pepper.

Recipe from: Thirty Minute Cooking by Jenni Fleetwood

Tip: Be sure you use good quality stock. The stock will make or break this recipe.

Savanah Beans & Greens Soup

Prep time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

* 2 cups chopped onion
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 cups water or vegetable stock
* 1/2 lb collard greens or kale
* 2 cups undrained (16 oz) canned tomato, chopped
* 2 (16 oz) can black-eyed peas
* 1 tbsp white vinegar
* 1 tbsp brown sugar
* pinch of dried thyme
* 1/4 tsp allspice
* a couple of splashes of Tabasco or hot sauce
* 2 cups cooked rice
* salt to taste

1. In soup pot, combine onions & garlic in 2 cups water/stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Cut collards/kale in small pieces.
3. Add greens, tomatoes & their juice, black-eyed peas, the additional cup of water/stock, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, allspice, & Tabasco/hot sauce to the pot.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Stir in rice & cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Add salt to taste.

Nutritional Analysis: 255 calories/10 oz. serving

Recipe from: Moosewood Restaurant

Chilled Strawberry Soup

Prep Time: 15 min!
Servings: 8

* 1 peach, peeled & sliced
* 1 nectarine, peeled & sliced
* 2 cups strawberries, sliced
* 2 (8 oz) cartons strawberry yogurt
* 1 tbsp sugar
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* fresh mint leaves

1. Put peach, nectarine, strawberry slices, yogurt, sugar, and lemon juice in blender. Process until smooth.

2. Cover and refrigerate. Spoon into soup bowls and garnish with mint.

Nutrition Analysis: 93 calories/serving.

Note: to make this recipe vegan, use soy yogurt!

Recipe from Try-Foods Intl., Inc.