Lentil and Vegetable Soup

This is a hearty soup. When I make it I puree a little bit of it for my kids and they love it that way (even the super picky one kinda likes it). For grown ups I keep it chunky. This is comfort food, like vegan chicken soup. Oh yeah, and it's fat free.

1 c. dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 c. water
8 c. vegetable broth, separated
2 tsp. sea salt, separated
3 bay leaves
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. fine black pepper
1 yellow or white onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 small leeks (white parts only), sliced or 1/4 a small green cabbage, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

1) In a large soup pot add the lentils, 1 c. water, 4 c. vegetable broth, 1 tsp. sea salt and 3 bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

3) Add the remaining ingredients, return to a simmer and continue to simmer, covered, for an additional 30 minutes.

This makes a big pot of soup, about 8 (or so) servings

Macro Plate

Everything about this meal is nourishing, balancing and delicious. The amounts for this recipe serve one so if you're serving more than 1, obviously, kick each of the ingredients up 1 notch for each serving. I like to use grated daikon radish as a garnish for this because it's said to break up fat deposits and help flush the fat out of our bodies (cool!). This is a great use for the bean recipes I posted earlier: Pinto Beans or Black Beans.

Toasted sesame oil
3 leaves bok choi, sliced with the leaves and stems divided
1/2 a small onion, sliced thinly
1 c. cooked brown rice or brown rice cooked with other grains (buckwheat groats, hulled barley, spelt, wild rice, etc.)
2 Tbsp. Umeboshi Vinaigrette, divided
Sea salt
Cooked beans such as pinto or black (or baked tofu)
Grated daikon radish (optional)
1/8 tsp. shoyu or tamari (optional)
Black sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

1) Heat a little toasted sesame oil over medium heat in a saute pan (cast iron, if possible) and add the onion and the white bok choi stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted (5-7 minutes). If it starts to dry out add a Tbsp. or two of water.

2) As the bok choi and onion cook, place 1 c. of cooked grain into a bowl and mix together with 1 Tbsp. Umeboshi Vinaigrette. Then plate the rice.

That big white thing is the daikon radish.

3) Grate the daikon radish (I like to use about 2-3 Tbsp. of radish), place it on the plate with the grains and sprinkle with 1/8 tsp. tamari or shoyu and place about 1/4 to 1/2 c. cooked tofu or beans next to the daikon radish.

4) Once the onions and bok choi stems are cooked, add the chopped green portion of the bok choi and a sprinkling of sea salt and continue to cook for a additional 1-2 minutes.

5) Add the cooked greens and onions to the plate and drizzle with the second Tbsp. of Umeboshi Vinaigrette. Garnish with black sesame seeds if desired.

Umeboshi Vinaigrette

Umeboshi plums are a dried Japanese plum pickled with shisho leaves. They are very purifying and alkalizing for the blood and are said to promote good digestion. Umeboshi vinegar and umeboshi paste are byproducts from the pickling process and while they are not as health promoting as the plums themselves they are still very good for you and tasty too. I like to use this to drizzle over cooked grains or cooked greens. It is the main seasoning in my Macro Plate recipe. This vinaigrette is very strongly flavored so you don't need to use much for seasoning.

Mixing Umeboshi Vinaigrette into rice.

2 Tbsp. ume plum vinegar
1 tsp. shoyu or tamari
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. mirin
1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. tahini
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame seeds or gomasio

1) Place all of the ingredients in a small jar and shake vigorously or whisk together in a bowl. That's it.

This makes about 3 1/2 Tbsp.

Hawthorne Chowder

Nathanial Hawthorne is amongst my top 10 favorite authors. I'm in the middle of reading his complete works and I started to wonder...what did Nathanial Hawthorne eat, and could a vegan dish be made to match the types of food eaten in the first half of the 19th century in America?

In my extensive research via google and wikipedia (along with a few other New England history related sites) I discovered what I probably already knew. People back then ate a lot of sea food, wild game, and eggs. They also preserved a lot of fresh vegetables via pickling and kept many vegetables cool in their root cellars. Many of the vegetables cultivated then were the same as that which is now available except that things were pretty much local and seasonal. Root vegetables and squashes would have been consumed through the colder months for as long as they lasted, corn was very popular, and hot peppers were introduced via the Native Americans around this time. Finally, as it is today, chowder was a popular style of soup in the New England of Hawthorne's time.

Therefore, my second question is answered: of course a vegan dish can be created using the foods that would traditionally have graced the maw of Nathanial Hawthorne. And here is what I came up with to go along with an evening of reading, "The House of the Seven Gables."

1 Tbsp. non-hydrogenated vegan margarine or extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow or white onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 small parsnip, diced
1 root of celery (celeric), diced (if you can't find celeric use an extra parsnip or potato)
2 ribs celery, diced
2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
7 c. vegetable broth
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 c. corn, fresh off the cob or frozen
1 c. soy milk

1) Melt the margarine, such as Earth Balance Buttery Spread, or heat the oil in a large soup pot and add the onion, celery, celery root, carrots and parsnip. Saute until soft, about 10 minutes.

2) Add the potato, broth, salt, pepper and chipotle chile powder, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

3) Remove the soup from the heat and puree with an immersion blender.

4) Add the corn and soy milk and bring back to a simmer to heat through.

This makes about 6 servings.

Miso Soup for Two

This is my favorite breakfast in the fall and winter. Even the smell of it is calming and gentle. Miso paste is a Japanese fermented paste usually made out of soy beans or barley, but it could be made from other grains or beans. It is high in protein and minerals and has the good bacteria for your intestinal flora (as long as you don't purchase a brand that is pasteurized and/or contains MSG or preservatives - read the label!). Another lovely thing about miso soup is that it takes under 10 minutes to make it.

Miso soup is also the perfect medium for sea vegetables. If you are into groovy health foods you probably already know all about sea vegetables. If not, I encourage you to try these nutritional powerhouses. Sea vegetables are extremely high in calcium and also have high levels of iodine, protein and tons of other minerals. They have also been shown to fight against tumors, alkalize our blood, remove radio active particles from the body, lower blood pressure, and much more. Most of us are all familiar with nori from sushi rolls, but there are many other wonderful sea vegetables to try. My two favorites are wakame, which is used in this soup, and kombu which I often use when I cook beans (it's said to enhance their flavor and reduce gassiness). Hijiki is another good one that is often used in fritters, but it has a stronger flavor so if you aren't sure if you will like this "seaweed" stuff, start with a milder flavored one like wakame.

Rehydrating wakame.

Most sea vegetables come dried and usually need to be rehydrated in warm water and then sliced or torn before using - for instance wakame looks like tiny little beads, but after you soak it they unfurl into larger fronds. Very cool. If you can't find sea vegetables in your town they are quite affordable online and can easily be found through Amazon or through various Macrobiotic sites such as Gold Mine.

Most Miso comes in paste form (don't get powdered, please) in a plastic tub. Typically you will find mild white miso and stronger red miso at regular grocery stores (usually by the tofu). Give either one a try, or both. If you happen to live near an Asian specialty grocery store (lucky you!) you will find many different types to choose from - barley miso is said to be the best for health. Miso has a sort of meaty, salty yet mello flavor that is very pleasent. It can also be used in dips and spreads.

You never want to boil miso paste because that kills all of the good living enzymes that are in there, so be sure to keep an eye on your soup and keep it at a low simmer.

4 c. filtered water
1 tsp. shoyu or tamari 
3 tsp. miso paste, any kind (just make sure it's naturally fermented)
About 8 little dried pieces of wakame, rehydrated and sliced
(Other optional ingredients: thinly sliced onion (white or green), 4 Tbsp. cubed silken tofu, grated daikon radish, umeboshi plum paste or 1/2 a diced umeboshi plum)


1) Place the water and shoyu or tamari in a soup pan over medium high heat.

2) As the water is coming up to a simmer soak the wakame in warm water and slice it into bitesized pieces once it opens up into flat leaves. Also place 3 tsp. of miso paste in a bowl and set aside.

3) Once the water starts to show little bubbles at the bottom of the pan, ladle some of the hot water from the soup over the miso paste and use a spoon to help dissolve the paste in the water.

4) Add the wakame, the dissolved miso paste, and any other optional ingredients to the pan and turn the heat to a level so that it will be at a very low simmer. Let it cook for about 4 miutes and then serve.

Chipotle Corn Skillet

One of my favorite flavors with corn is chipotle chile - smokey and sweet together. Chipotle chile powder is pretty spicy, so if you don't like that kind of heat you can use smoked paprika instead - the idea is to get that smokey flavor mixed with the corn.

Chipotle Corn served with an open faced garden burger.

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, quartered & sliced into thin half moons
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 lb. of corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1/2 to 1 tsp. chipotle chile powder (or smoked paprika)
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

1) Heat the oil in a large saute pan and fry the onion until it's just beginning to brown, 7-10 minutes, then add the garlic (if using) and saute for a minute more.

2) Add the remaining ingredients and toss to mix, saute for an additional 3-5 minutes until the corn is heated through.


This makes about 4 servings.

Tomato Soup with Fennel and Parsnips

This soup is so savory and delicious and perfect for dipping freshly baked bread or homemade garlic bread into. It's a pureed soup, so if you want to make it a little heartier you could add cooked white beans or chickpeas and cook for an additional 15 minutes after the soup is pureed.

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. diced shallot, about 3 large
1/2 lb. parsnips, peeled and diced
1 large bulb fennel, cored and diced
1 lbs. fresh tomatoes pureed in a blender or 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
4 c. vegetable broth
About 10 leaves of fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp. dried tarragon or 2 tsp. fresh tarragon
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Black pepper to taste

1) Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and then add the shallot parsnips and fennel. Sprinkle with a little sea salt to draw out the liquid and saute for about 10-12 minutes until softened and just starting to brown.

2) Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 30 minutes, covered.

3) Remove from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes and then puree with an immersion blender or in a blender.

4) If you want to add beans add the beans after the soup is pureed and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes.

This soup serves 4.