Garlic Soup

My fiance, Greg, told me about this garlic soup after he tried it while he was in the Czech Republic. It's also called Česnečka, which I learned after a quick Google search! I didn't know what to imagine when he described it to me. I just pictured a very strong..garlic flavored soup. Even while I was cooking it, I was a bit worried that it would turn out horrible because the entire kitchen smelled of garlic. Nothing else, not a hint of any other flavor. Just garlic! I thought there is no way this will turn out tasting good. But I was wrong! Once it's finished cooking and you add in the toasted bread, it has a tasty butter flavor to it that mixes really well with the broth. Greg said it didn't taste quite the same as what he had, but he liked it and I really liked it too. In fact, just sitting here thinking about it makes me want to whip up another pot of it! Below is the recipe Greg gave me to go by, tweaked to make it vegan.

Ingredients:
8 cups broth (beef or chicken) I used G. Washington 'beef' broth.
6 cloves of garlic (more or less, according to your personal taste)
1 tsp. salt (more or less according to your person taste)
1 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. vegan butter substitute (I used Blue Bonnet, Earth Balance is also good too)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and dices into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. caraway seeds
2 tbsp. parsley
slices of bread

Mash the garlic together with the salt.

Place the garlic and salt mixture into a large pot, add broth and slowly bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer. Add caraway seeds, potatoes, marjoram, and butter. Simmer uncovered till potatoes are tender. Add in the pepper.

Fry slices of bread in butter (you're basically making croutons). Place a slice of bread in each bowl and ladle the garlic soup over the bread. Sprinkle with parsley.

With this bowl, I went a little crazy with the pieces of toasted bread. I probably used a slice and a half, which you might think is too much for a small bowl of soup like I had..but I think the bread is what makes the whole thing. But like with the garlic, salt and pepper - you can just adjust the recipe to your liking.

Macaroni Salad

My mom made this today and I thought I would make a blog post about it because it's really simple to make and it's so good! To me, it tastes just like the real thing. For this recipe, she used Nayonaise. We've tried both Nayonaise and Veganaise before. I think Veganaise is a *little* bit better, probably the closest to mayonnaise you're going to get...Nayonaise has a stronger vinegar taste to it. That's the only difference that I've noticed. I like vinegar though, so either one will work for me!

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
2 cups of Nayonaise/Veganaise
1 large onion
2 stalks of celery
1 tsp. basil
2 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Just cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box, drain them and then add in all the other ingredients listed above. Obviously you can add more or less of certain ingredients depending on your taste. Like for ours, my mom probably added a little over 2 cups of Nayonaise because we think it tastes better when it's more creamy..We also like a lot of onion, so we put tons of onion in...It all depends on what you like.

Product Review: Amy's Tofu Scramble

Before I went vegan I would have scrambled eggs quite often for breakfast (probably TOO often, from a health perspective..) so when I first tried this, I was hoping it would satisfy my cravings for that. Thankfully, it did! I love this but I try not to eat it too often because it is frozen, and I try to stay away from frozen foods as much as I can..but when I'm not feeling well, or just want something quick - this is great to just pop in the microwave for four minutes and it's done.

The tofu scramble itself is delicious. I'd like to learn how to make it myself. It would be a lot cheaper and I would have it more often. But, this scramble is made up of tofu (obviously) and tons of veggies. It has spinach, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots and tomato. There is also a side of hash browns.

It's vegan, gluten free and all organic. I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

Bite-Sized Taco Appetizers

I came up with this little idea after my family's get together on New Year's Eve. Now, I know it's been done before - but probably not quite as often vegan style! So I thought I would make a post about it. They're a great little snack to serve and they're healthy too. Very low calorie!

Ingredients:

Tostitos Scoops

Lightlife 'meatless' ground beef (1 package equals close to 1 pound of beef)

Old El Paso taco seasoning packet

Dayia jack style cheese (shredded)

mild salsa

All you have to really do is cook the ground beef according to the package, including the seasoning packet and you're done with the 'hardest' part of this recipe.

The rest is simply putting your little mini tacos together. Scoop the meat and salsa into the Scoop and sprinkle some vegan cheese on top. You could add in onions or peppers if you'd like - I thought of doing that myself..but I figured since there's already onions and tomatoes in the salsa I used, it didn't really need any extra. But there you have it..So simple and so tasty. A great appetizer to serve at your next party!

Stay tuned for more (hopefully) more frequent updates! One of my resolutions this year is to make this blog even better - and share as many recipes as I can think of with everyone. My goal is to make at least one post a week. Of course, that depends on my health - and if I'm feeling good enough to actually do some cooking that week. But I am definitely going to try my hardest to make that happen! 

Garlic and Breadcrumb Pasta

I saw this recipe floating around Pinterest for quite awhile and finally decided to give it a try. It always sounded really good to me - and it ended up tasting really good as well, so I don't know why I waited so long to make it.

Ingredients:

8 ounces of pasta (I used angel hair pasta just cause that's my personal favorite)

6 cloves of garlic (chopped fine)

2 tbs. olive oil

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

2 and 1/2 tbs. lemon juice

1/4 cup parsley (more/less depending on what you like)

First, cook your pasta as directed on the box.

Next, heat up your oil in a medium size pan. Add your garlic. Cook it for about 5 minutes - just make sure it doesn't burn.

Add your breadcrumbs in with the garlic. Make sure to stir it frequently. You only want to keep it on the heat until it turns a light golden brown color.

Once your pasta is done, you can put it back in the pot or in a bowl to add in the rest of your ingredients.

Toss in the garlic/breadcrumb mixture and then add the lemon juice and parsley. For mine, I used slightly less than 1/4 cup - I just thought the whole 1/4 cup was a little too much parsley! I also tossed in a little extra olive oil as I mixed everything together when I thought it was getting too dry.

Simple, quick and tasty!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

I was in a baking mood this week and I was tired of cupcakes and super sweet icing..I wanted something a little sweet but also a little healthier than cupcakes. So I decided on these banana chocolate chip muffins! I love 'em. They have been my breakfast for the past few days along with a cup of soymilk!

 

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas mashed

2 1/3 cup flour (I use King Arthur gluten free flour)

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup applesauce

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup soymilk

1/2 vegan chocolate chips (I like to use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips)

 

Now for this, I used my BabyCake maker, but if you're baking the typical way - preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

 

In a large bowl, mix the mashed bananas, applesauce, vanilla, sugar, and almond milk together. 

 

Once you have everything mixed well, slowly beat the dry ingredients in with the wet. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until they're golden brown. I always check mine with a toothpick. When it comes out clean, you know they're done!

 

 

 



Rice & Veggie Mix - With Duck Sauce!

The title pretty much explains it all. I love brown rice, and I saw so many recipes online with different vegetables thrown in, and different dressings, or cheese mixes to use along with it..but none of them sounded that appealing to me when I was looking. So I decided to just make some rice, add in the vegetables I like the best (broccoli, carrots, and onions). Then I got the brilliant idea to add in duck sauce!

Whenever we got Chinese food in the past, it always came with a packet of duck sauce. That's the only time I had ever seen it or heard of it. Until recently! One of our local grocery stores started carrying jars of it so I had to get one to have on hand. I've used it with other things in the past, but it's always the best with rice in my opinion. It gives it a sweet yet tangy flavor that nothing else does. It's so, so good!

Ingredients

4 servings of brown rice

2 small heads of broccoli

1/2 a bag of baby carrots sliced

1 small onion

1/4 cup duck sauce

This whole process is so simple. Boil your rice. While that's cooking, steam (or saute) your veggies. Once they're done, simply mix them together and add in the duck sauce. Looking back, I probably could've added 1/2 a cup because I like the flavor so much..but this recipe is all about adding in however much you like of both the sauce and vegetables.