BONUS RECIPE: Chickpea Noodle Soup

Robin Robertson was kind enough to share a recipe from her new book One-Dish Vegan. 

Chickpea Noodle Soup

Recipe © 2013 by Robin Robertson and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press

 Gluten-free option | Soy-free| Serves 4

This comforting, versatile soup can be altered easily to suit your taste. For example, vary the vegetables according to personal preference, or substitute seitan, tempeh, or different beans for the chickpeas. As the noodles cook in the soup, they will absorb some of the broth, so you may want to add a little more broth before serving. Alternatively, if you have leftover cooked pasta from another meal, you can just add it when ready to serve instead of cooking the noodles right in the soup. To make this soup gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta and, of course, make sure that your vegetable broth is gluten-free.

Ingredients:

·          2 teaspoons olive oil or 1/4 cup water

·          1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

·          2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

·          1 celery rib, thinly sliced

·          3 garlic cloves, minced

·          1 teaspoon dried basil

·          1 teaspoon dried thyme

·          7 cups vegetable broth, or more if needed

·          4 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

·          4 cups coarsely chopped stemmed kale or cabbage

·      3 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15.5-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

·          1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

·          Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·          6 ounces uncooked linguine, broken into thirds

·          1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas

·          2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley

 Directions:

 1. Heat the oil or water in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer, then add the basil, thyme, and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

 2. Add the green beans, kale, chickpeas, and tomatoes with their juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

 3. Stir in the pasta, peas, and parsley. Simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve hot.

Why Use a Slow Cooker?

  

I am so excited to host a guest post by one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors: Robin Robertson. She is about to release a new cookbook called Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker (The Harvard Common Press, 2012). I haven't gotten to see this one yet but from reading her post, I certainly can't wait to get it . . . and you can be sure I'll post a review when I do. So without further ado . . . here's Robin!

Why Use a Slow Cooker?

by Robin Robertson

Most slow-cooker enthusiasts would agree that convenience, economy, and great taste are what keep them coming back to their slow cookers time and again. When you cook in a slow cooker, the longer cooking times allow the flavors of the ingredients to meld into a deep complexity that is often unparalleled in other cooking methods. Slow cooking can be more nutritious, too, since the long cooking time allows the nutrients to concentrate in the food as it draws more flavor out of the ingredients. When you factor in the convenience quotient, you’ve got a kitchen helper worthy of the name.

What could be easier than assembling your ingredients, putting them in the slow cooker, and turning it on? That’s it! Several hours later, dinner is served. For added convenience, your meal can be served directly from the ceramic pot in which it was cooked. In addition, the removable ceramic insert can be refrigerated, so you can prepare your ingredients the night before and refrigerate them overnight right in the insert so it’s all ready to cook the next day. Slow cooking can be a terrific solution for busy people who want to eat healthy delicious meals.

In addition to cooking soups and stews, a slow cooker can be used to do such diverse things as cook corn on the cob, braise tofu, and make seitan from scratch. Its versatility extends to casserole-type dishes such as lasagna or mac and cheese, and even “bake” breads and desserts—dishes usually associated with the oven.  It’s also ideal for making jams, chutneys, and other condiments.

Perhaps one of the most popular dishes to make in a slow cooker is chili. One of my favorite chili recipes in Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker is this Two-Lentil Chili.  Using two kinds of lentils give this chili a great texture — the red lentils cook down and thicken while the brown lentils hold their shape.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Recipe: Two-Lentil Chili

Serves 4 to 6

Slow Cooker Size: 4- to 6-quart

Cook Time: 6 to 8 hours on Low

Gluten-free

Soy-free Option

Ingredients

·          2 teaspoons olive oil (optional)

·          1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped

·          4 garlic cloves, minced

·          1 or 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and minced

·          1 bell pepper (any color), seeded and chopped

·          3 tablespoons chili powder

·          1 teaspoon dried oregano

·          1 teaspoon ground cumin

·          1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and picked over

·          1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and picked over

·          1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

·          1 tablespoon soy sauce

·          1 teaspoon natural sugar

·          1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

·          Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·          4 cups water

·          Diced avocado, minced onion, vegan sour cream, shredded vegan cheese, and/or chopped cilantro, for garnish

Directions

1. For the best flavor, heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, chiles, and bell pepper and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the chili powder, oregano, and cumin and sauté for 30 seconds longer. Alternatively, omit the oil and sauté these ingredients in a few tablespoons of water or combine them in a microwave-safe bowl with a little water, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes.

2. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker. Add both lentils, the tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, cocoa, and salt and pepper to taste. (You may need to add up to 2 teaspoons of salt.) Stir in the water, cover, and cook on Low until the lentils and vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 hours.

3. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve hot, garnished with your favorite chili toppings.

Recipe © 2012 by Robin Robertson and used by permission of The Harvard Common Press.

Quick Veggie Stew

Need a quick dinner that's super healthy. As long as you have veggies in the house, this is a snap and will be ready in less than 30 minutes!

Quick Vegetable Stew
This is a great way to use up veggies from your CSA box or garden. You don’t need to chop fine—just cut everything into bite-sized pieces. If you know I'll be home late and want a dinner to be ready, make it in the morning and stick it in the refrigerator so the flavors can meld.

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, diced to bite-sized pieces
2 carrots, sliced
1 quart vegetable broth
3 cups chopped broccoli
2 cups bite-sized green beans
1 zucchini, sliced into half-moons
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley for serving (optional)

Place a large pot (I love my cast iron for this) over low heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and carrots. Cook and stir another 5 minutes. Add the broth. Turn heat to high. Add the remaining vegetables and herbs. When mixture boils, cover the pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired when serving.

Serves 6

Roasted Carrot and Cauliflower Soup

And the roastathon continues. Here's today's creation:


Roasted Carrot and Cauliflower Soup
This is fancy enough to serve for company, but easy enough to cook for a weekday meal. Cut regular carrots into 1-inch slices, but if they are fat farmers’ market carrots like I got in my CSA box this week, cut them into 1/2-inch slices.

4 cups sliced (1-inch) carrots
1 head cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets
1 white onion, peeled and cut into wedges
5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/2 cups walnuts
5 cups water (divided)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or lemon thyme
2 teaspoons light miso (optional)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, toss carrots, cauliflower, onion, and garlic in enough olive oil to coat. Place on a large baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, or until carrots and caultiflower are tender. Stir and turn vegetables once or twice so they don’t burn. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Remove peel from garlic.
You will need to blend the soup in two batches. Place walnuts and 3 cups water in blender and blend until smooth. Add about half the thyme, miso, and vegetables and blend until smooth. Pour into a medium pan. Put the remaining 2 cups water, thyme, miso, and vegetables to the blender. Blend until smooth. Add to pan and stir together. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Heat to desired temperature.

Serves 6

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup

I was talking to a friend last weekend about my slow cooker experiments and said she loved Moroccan Lentil Soup--so that was the experiment of the day. And yum -- I really liked this version. I may continue to fine tune the spices -- I didn't have coriander but think that would be a good addition. But for a first try, very pleased!

Slow Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup

1 onion, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 1/2 cups brown/green lentils
3/4 cup brown rice
12 cups water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste
black pepper to taste

Turn slow cooker to high or low depending on when you want it ready. Add onion, celery, carrots, lentils, rice, water, cumin, ginger, tumeric, and paprika (in other words everything but the tomatoes, salt and pepper). Cover and cook 4-5 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve or keep on warm until ready to serve. This actually gets better as it sits.

Serves 10

I'm in love!

. . . with my new slow cooker. Dinner #3 was another big hit with the family. Here's what I did.

White Bean Soup

2 cups dried navy beans
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 quart vegetable stock
3 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Soak beans in lots of water overnight (I do this right in the slow cooker, why bother with another dish.) Drain soak water and place beans in slow cooker turned on to low. Add onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, stock, water, oregano, and basil. Cover and cook on low about 8 hours (or longer). Stir in corn and spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 15 minutes or so, until corn and spinach are cooked.

My family liked this topped with parmesan (dairy or nondairy version).

Serves 8

New Slow Cooker

Hooray--I got a new slow cooker! After checking online reviews, I decided on a Hamilton Beach oval slow cooker and took it for its first test run yesterday. I got 17 Bean & Barley Mix from Trader Joes, which I soaked overnight. In the morning, I put onion, garlic, diced carrots, oregano, basil, and half veggie stock and half water in the pot with the bean mix on low. I came home to the most wonderful aroma--in fact, the girls asked for bowls of soup for their snack--they couldn't wait until dinner. I added some diced zucchini and chopped kale and let it cook for another hour and we ate it for dinner. Everyone had more than one serving and we have just enough leftover for lunch. Hooray for slow cookers!

Healthy soup in 30 minutes? Yup!

My life seems to be all about quick dinners lately--At least until I get myself a new crock pot. Tonight, we arrived home from play practice starving so I put together this soup in 30 minutes. It was the perfect meal for a cold night and fed all four of us with just enough for the girls to take for lunch in thermoses tomorrow. I have this seasoning saute mix from Trader Joe's that I love . . . it's a blend of herbs and spices and is an easy way to spice up almost anything.

Quick Vegetable-Bean Soup

Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, cut into half-moons
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 quart vegetable stock
1 small head cauliflower, chopped
2 cups chopped kale, cabbage, or spinach
1 (15-ounce) can cooked kidney beans (1 3/4 cups)
sea salt
black pepper
Seasoning mix (optional)

Coat bottom of large pot with olive oil and place over low heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in celery, garlic, carrots and potatoes and sauté a few more minutes. Add vegetable stock. Cover and turn heat to high. When mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 minutes. Add cauliflower, kale (or cabbage or spinach), and beans. Cover and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt, pepper, and seasoning mix to taste.

Serves six

Slow cooker success at last!

Well -- mystery solved. I made the identical split pea soup recipe from the other day when the peas never softened but made it in a borrowed slow cooker. It was such a treat to come home Friday evening to a perfectly cooked dinner! And even better, this slow cooker had a removable canister so I could bring it to the table, and it was much easier to wash.

So, if you want to come home to a nourishing, delicious meal, here's my recipe:

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

1 smallish onion, chopped fine
2 stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
2 cups dried split peas (green or yellow)
8 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Place all ingredients in slow cooker set to low. Cover and cook 8 to 12 hours. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serves 8

Note: I also like to add 1 small head cauliflower, chopped (about 3 cups) when I have it on hand.

Oh . . . and this also works on the stovetop. Just simmer for about an hour before seasoning with salt and pepper.

The Hard to Cook Bean Mystery

I feel like I'm Nancy Drew trying to solve this mystery of the hard beans. When I got home at 10 pm Monday night and the lentils were still hard, I just transferred the whole thing to a pot and stuck in in the refrigerator to deal with later. On Tuesday, when I got home from work, I tried cooking the soup on the stovetop . . . after 2 hours, the lentils were a little softer but definitely not soft enough so I pureed the soup with my immersion blender and added some diced tomatoes and frozen corn. The soup tasted good enough . . . but still not the lentil soup I had been envisioning.

To try to narrow down the problem I wanted to see if the problem might be old beans . . . or maybe even our hard water. I
had some uncooked lentils left so I cooked them from scratch on the stove top. Within 30 minutes, they were soft and perfect.

So to recap, I proved that it's not the beans and not our water . . . it must be the crock pot. But what's really weirding me out is why the lentils didn't soften eventually--not even when I transferred them to the stovetop. It's like there was something that permanently hardened them. I know adding acidic foods can do that but I didn't. I didn't add salt either which some say can keep the beans hard. So, must be the crock pot right?

We'll see. I have borrowed a crock pot from a friend so I will try that next.

Week Two--Slow Cooker Thursday

Week two of the great crock pot experiment was Split Pea Soup. Now, Split Pea Soup is probably the easiest soup on the planet to make—just chop onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and throw them in a pot with water and split peas and some herbs—which is what I did. The house smelled great when I got home. But when I lifted the cover to check the soup --- the peas were still hard as a rock. What’s with that???? Everything else looked perfect. So, okay. I let it cook. Another hour, still hard. And another . . . we were starving.

So, we ended up having sandwiches for dinner, except my husband who snagged my last frozen Tempeh Stuffed Pepper!

I let the soup continue to cook. When I went to bed, the peas were still hard. I let the dang soup cook all night long. In the morning, the peas were softer but still not mushy. We’ll eat it for dinner tonight but it definitely isn’t my best soup. It has a slight overcooked taste and the peas are still slightly crunchy

So, what went wrong? This has actually happened to me a couple of times before when I’ve made split pea soup on the stovetop. Usually, I can cook a split pea soup in an hour—1 and 1/2 hours tops. But every once in a while they just don’t soften, in which case I usually puree the soup in the blender.

I did some goggling and it looks like I’m not the only one who has had this problem. The biggest consensus seems to be that the peas are old—but when you buy split peas, how do you know how old they are? I usually buy them in bulk and even if they have a date of when they were put in the bulk bin, who knows how long they sat in storage before the store go them.

I also found one interesting comment here. One commenter said, “Sounds like you've got peas that are known in the industry as ‘HTC.’ Yes, they really have an acronym for hard-to-cook. It's a defect that occurs in all kinds of legumes, and is typically caused by improper storage and/or excessive age.

Split peas are NOT normally soaked but people have tried it to help this problem and it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

Now I absolutely love split pea soup and so does my family, but how can you tell if the split peas are HTC or not? Anyone have a test?

Crockpot Thursday

I decided I'm going to put a crockpot section in my new cookbook as I've noticed most crockpot recipes seem to be meat-based, and it's so handy for a busy family. And since Thursday is my busiest day and I usually don't get home until we're all already starving, I'm instituting Crockpot Thursday . . . actually I think the politically correct term is slow cooker. Okay, Slow Cooker Thursday.

So, I had some dried baby lima beans I've been wanting to use, plus assorted winter veggies from the Farmers' Market. This was an experiment because I wasn't sure if the beans would cook all the way through or if the veggies would get too mushy. The one slow cooker cookbook I have says you have to saute the onions, garlic, celery in oil before putting in the crockpot but to me that seemed to defeat the purpose if using a slow cooker: convenience and one pot to wash. So I just threw diced onions, celery, garlic, carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, and lima beans into the pot with veggie broth and herbs at 7:30 this morning before I left for work and hoped for the best.

Well, when I got home at 6:00 this evening, the whole house smelled wonderful--so welcoming! And I am happy to report the soup was PERFECT! My family gobbled it up, barely leaving enough for my one of my daughters to take for lunch tomorrow (believe it or not, they are arguing over who gets to take it). It was TOTALLY worth the 15 minutes of crazed chopping this morning for such a relaxing dinner.

Hooray for Slow Cooker Thursday!

Winter Vegetable Chowder

Chowders are so satisfying and comforting, expecially on a cold winter day. I took one of my favorite recipes from Simply Natural Baby Food called White Bean and Corn Chowder (in the section of recipes for older kids) and substituted garbanzo beans for the white beans, and added broccoli, celery, and cabbage.

Yummy!

Soup that's a meal

Here's an easy soup that makes a great hearty meal for these cold fall nights (with leftovers for lunch!).

Get a 16-ounce bag of Trader Joe's 17 Bean & Barley Mix. (If you don't have a TJ's near you, I bet your grocery or natural food stores has something similar, maybe even in the bulk bin. This mixture has baby limas, black beans, black-eyed peas, garbanzos, pinto, kidney, navy beans, etc. I put them to soak in the morning before I left for work. When I got home, I drained the bean mixture. Then I chopped an onion and in a large pot sauteed it in olive oil over low heat. Then I added the beans plus 1 1/2 quarts of water (you could also use stock). Cover, bring to a boil, and cooked for about 20 minutes. Then I added 4 carrots and 2 potatoes, diced. Cooked for about half an hour more, or until beans were tender. Then I added a large can of diced tomatoes with the juice, a cup of corn, salt, pepper, dried basil and thyme to taste. We have enough soup for a couple of meals and best of all, my family LOVED it.

Squash and White Bean Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes from The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. I made a triple batch for our staff lunch for October.



Squash and White Bean Soup

1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups water or vegetable stock
1 butternut, kabucha, or hubbard squash, peeled and cut into cubes (about 7 cups)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons miso
1 tablespoon tahini
2 cups cooked white beans
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley or watercress
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In large soup pot over medium-low heat, add onion and oil. Stir gently to spread and then cook about 15 minutes without stirring until onions are brown and caramelized. Stir in garlic. Add water or stock and squash. Cover and bring to boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer 30 minutes until squash is tender. Puree squash mixture in blender or food processor with spices, miso, and tahini. Add water if soup is too thick. Return to pot and stir in beans and parsley or watercress over low heat. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Garnish with roasted pumpkin or squash seeds if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings

Crockpot

I don't usually think of using my crockpot in the summer but it really is handy when I have a busy day and don't want to have to worry about dinner. Today, for example, I knew I'd be running around driving kids to parties, grocery shopping, doing laundry--all those things to get ready for another busy week of work/school. I threw the ingredients for split pea soup in the crock pot this morning and come dinner time, I'll just have to serve it. It'll be nice to have a bit of down time tonight before the week starts.

Lunch Box Thermoses

With the weather turned cooler, I'm really using thermoses for my daughters' school lunches. Not only do they get a healthy, hot lunch every day, it's so easy to give them dinner leftovers or soup. 

Here's a few tips:

- Get a smaller thermos. I really like the 5-inch high thermoses. They are the perfect size for kids and fit easily into any kind of lunch box. The last couple of years I was using the thermoses sold by Laptop Lunchbox but not only was they expensive, even the smaller size is just too tall. My kids don't want that much of any one item and it's harder to eat from that tall bottle, especially for younger kids. And, if you don't fill the thermos all the way, the food cools down too fast. (The smaller Laptop Lunch ones are great for adults though.)

- Get a stainless steel thermos--plastic leaches chemicals into the food when hot food is put into it (which is why I don't recommend the 'heat and go' type thermoses).

- Fill the thermos with hot, hot water while you are heating the food. This will help the thermos to heat up and the food will stay hot longer.

- If heating food in the microwave, I find out how much food fits in the thermos by filling it with water and pouring it into a measuring cup. Then when heating food in the morning, I fill the measuring cup to that level (my thermoses hold about 1 1/4 cups of food) and just nuke that. Never microwave in plastic -- chemicals leach into your food. Or of course, you can heat the food in a pot on the stove.

- Don't forget to pack a fork or spoon. (Woops -- have done that several times. Sorry kids!)

Book Review: Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons (2)

Check out my full review of Nava Atlas' newest book, Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons in VegFamily Magazine.

Book Review: Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons

Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons is the 4th edition of Nava's book previously titled Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons. It is essentially the same book as the 3rd edition (with the green cover), but with the color photos added along with the new cover. It is substantially different from the first two editions. 

I am a total soup nut so I was happy to get a copy of this book. I hadn't seen any of the previous editions but I have lots of Nava's other books so I knew it would be good. I was not disappointed. The recipes are arranged by seasons which is a really nice feature for those trying to eat local, in season foods. I turned straight the the winter soups and found a couple just perfect for this rainy winter weekend. The soups were both easy to make, used simple ingredients that I had in the house, and, most importantly, my family loved them. I look forward to trying more recipes from this cookbook and a full review will be forthcoming in the March issue of VegFamily Magazine.

Nava has generously agreed to share the recipes for the two soups I made this weekend.

Three-Bean Soup with Brown Rice
Red, white, and green beans in a tomato broth
8 servings
A warming, hearty, high-fiber soup, this is great served with Green Chili Cornbread (page 000) and a simple salad or coleslaw.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large celery stalk, diced
6 cups water
1/2 cup raw brown rice, rinsed
One 16-ounce can salt-free crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
One 10-ounce package frozen green beans
One 16-ounce can great northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
One 16-ounce can kidney or red beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon lime juice, or more to taste
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro or parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Thin limes wedges for garnish, optional

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and celery continue to sauté until all are golden.

Add the water, celery, rice, tomatoes, oregano, and chili powder. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Add the three types of beans and simmer over very low heat for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the rice and green beans are quite tender.

Stir in the lime juice and cilantro, then season with salt and pepper. If time allows, let the soup stand off the heat for an hour or longer, then heat through  before serving. Garnish each serving with two or three lime wedges, if desired.




Hearty Winter Roots Soup
A chunky mélange of rutabaga, carrots, potatoes, and parsnips with a hint of cheese
6 to 8 servings
This hearty soup makes use of a couple of underused winter vegetables—parsnips and rutabaga—to great results. Make sure you have a good, sharp knife for cutting the rutabaga.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups peeled, diced rutabaga
2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
2 medium parsnips, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons salt-free seasoning (see page 00 for brands)
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1  cup rice milk, or as needed
1/4 cup Silk creamer
1 cup grated cheddar-style nondairy cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until  golden.

Add the rutabaga, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, celery, oats, wine, seasoning, bouillon cubes, and just enough water to barely cover the vegetables. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

With a slotted spoon, remove about 2 cups of the vegetables and transfer to a shallow bowl or a plate. Mash coarsely, then stir back into the soup. Add the rice milk and allow the soup to simmer over very low heat for another 10 minutes.

Stir in the creamer, then sprinkle in the cheese, a little at a time, stirring in until fairly well melted each time.

If the soup is too thick, adjust the consistency with a bit more rice milk. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at once, or if time allows, let the soup stand off the heat for an hour or so before serving, then heat through gently before serving.