Vegan Chicken Barley Soup

-
Chicken soup is one of those foods that is just a part of the fabric of our lives. It makes us feel better when we're sick. It warms us up after a hard day out in the cold. It conjures up memories of grandma from when we were children.

There's no chicken in this. There's no faux chicken in it either. It is however, designed to recreate the soothing and satisfying tastes, textures and aromas of classic chicken soup without the chicken.

Veggies
2 cups diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup diced poblano
1/2 a jalapeno, minced
3 cloves sliced garlic
1 cup diced green cabbage
1/2 cup diced kale

Liquids
1/2 cup white wine
3-5 cups water
2 tbls olive oil

1/2 cup dry pearl barley
2 handfuls fresh parsley

Spices
2 1/2 tsps salt
2 bay leaves
2 tps thyme
2 tsps rosemary
2 tsps basil
2 tsps paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsps black pepper

Combine all veggies, except cabbage and kale, liquids (3 cups water) and half of all spices in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Add barley. 1 cup more water.

Continue simmering covered until barely is tender. Adding more water as needed to keep a soup level of liquid in the pot.

When barley is just barely tender, add kale and cabbage and more water if required. Simmer 3 more minutes. Turn off heat. Keep pot on hot stove burner. Stir in remaining spices and parsley. Let sit covered 3 more minutes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vegan Spicy Curry Vinaigrette Recipe

-
Image
I was thinking about ways to make classic curry lighter and more summery. A flash idea that I had was curry vinaigrette. Eliminate the heavy coconut milk. Forego thick tomato based sauce. Replace the base with a vinegar based dressing.  What I came up with is this.  Curry Vinaigrette Ingredients 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tbls olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 jalapeno, minced 1 habanero, minced 2 tsps curry powder 2 tsps salt Heat all ingredients in a small sauce pan until the liquid begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Pour hot vinaigrette over prepared vegetable/bean mix that you've chosen to curry. Stir to combine and coat.  Allow to cool/absorb for at least 10 minutes.  It's kind of a hybrid quick pickle and vinaigrette dressing. Perfect for when you want something light, but flavorful. 
Read more

Hummus Mac and Cheese

-
As I was eating my salad with hummus dressing this afternoon I accidentally discovered yet another awesome way to use hummus. My hummus and salad and some macaroni got all mixed up together with some nutri yeast and vinegar. It was an amazing accident. Hummus is a culinary chameleon! It is a vegan dream. It does so much. Fills so many voids. Mayonnaise, butter, salad dressing, and now mac and cheese. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. I wasn't trying to make this happen. It was just serendipity. There are numerous ideas already out there about making 'vegan mac and cheese', many of which are quite good. But I've yet to find any that incorporate hummus into the mix. And let me tell you, it's the perfect addition. It adds that rich, creamy texture that is expected of the classic comfort food. I'd even venture to say, that while it wouldn't fool people into thinking it is actual mac and cheese, it would please anyone enough that they'd be quite conte...
Read more

Easy Vegan Garlic Sauce (No Tofu) Recipe

-
Image
I recently learned that many of the foods that I consume on the regular are iodine blocking. While these foods are generally considered beneficial and good for a person, they do have some properties that can have negative effects. Particularly when consumed often and for those who may have a genetic predisposition toward hypothyroidism.  My mother had an underactive thyroid.  I noticed some of the tell tale symptoms appearing for myself.  That is when I did a little research and discovered that cruciferous vegetables and soy can inhibit iodine absorption. And since an animal product free diet means iodine intake is somewhat limited, I figured that maybe I had to cut back a little on tofu. I was eating a lot of it thinking the extra protein would be helpful. Guess I was wrong about that.  So, I started coming up with new ideas for sauces and purees that didn't use tofu.  Don't get me wrong. I think tofu is great. But I suppose too much of anything is not good....
Read more