Soups, Seitan and More

Here is that mac and cheese from YRR that Jim thought was the best ever. On the side is the Mustard Seitan Cutlet. I think we've had these 3-4 times since the book came out. It's quickly becoming a go-to recipe. Ignore the roasted asparagus. I'm sure you've seen me post it a gazillion or so times by now. Focus on these soups instead.

We have soup about 5 times a week during the fall and winter. No kidding. Here are the two latest batches. We've been having a version of tempeh noodle soup forever. Talk about easy! But the Cauliflower Soup is a brand new recipe that we had for lunch today. It's not too heavy but still has some substance to it, thanks to the beans. It would be a great starter for a dinner party. Check out that muffin on the side! It might look a little familiar. It's adapted from Ash's Cinnamon Swirl Loaf that I can't keep in the house. It's so good! I just took out the swirl, added some cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest and dried cranberries and blueberries to the batter. I eat that stuff by the spoonful.

Cauliflower Soup
This is one of those worry-free recipes.... just adapt like crazy and make it up as you go. I like a lot of different layers of onions in any soup, but you can easily go with all one kind. The herbs are all dried, and I use between 1/2 to 1 tsp of each, depending on how you like it.

1/2 - 1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, sliced
1 leek, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, chopped
3-4 cups cauliflower, chopped small
Coriander
Cumin
Parsley
Basil
Dill
1 can white beans, drained (navy)
6-8 cups water (about an inch above the veggies)
3-4 cubes boullion
1 Tbsp tamari
2 Tbsp nooch
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
salt, pepper and white pepper to taste

Saute everything up to the celery stalk for about 5 minutes, then add the garlic, potato and cauliflower to saute for another 5 minutes or so. Add the herbs and cook for a minute, then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1/2 hour or so. You could blender this for a chowder style soup or have it straight, like we do.

Over the weekend, we also had calzones. With dough from the freezer, these came together fast and with all that spinach, we loved them!


Tonight's Dinner: a version of Kittee's Stuffed Tofu!