“Stoup”

Yesterday was Mabon or the Autumn Equinox, the first day of Fall. Fall is my favorite season, I love the crispness in the air and I get in a crazy cleaning/organizing/planting mode. I love stews and soups during this time of year. It’s comfort food. Served with a hunk of bread, a nice Bavarian pretzel or crackers and you’ll fill those tummies, too.

Part of why I find this blog hard to maintain is that, being low income, I cook and bake a lot WITHOUT recipes. Tonight’s Stoup (stew + soup = stoup) was one of these meals...Ingredients are bolded in the instructions below. Enjoy!

I mixed up 18-20 cups of vegan chicken broth, bring up to boil- I use Tops brand, but Better Bullion and frontier both offer vegan chicken broths.

I then added 6-8 chopped potatoes and 1 bunch of chopped kale and set to simmer.

I chopped up 2 onions, peeled a head of garlic and slivered the cloves, chopped half a bunch of celery, peeled and sliced 3 carrots, and a bag of Gardein Sweet & Sour pork bites cut each piece into 4 (toss the sauce or save it for a later meal). Heat a little oil in a pan and sauté all of this until the onions and garlic are softened and the “pork” is browned, stirring frequently...add a little water to scrape up the bits from the bottom at the end.

Add one can of garbonzo beans, two cans of diced or stewed tomatoes, a healthy squirt of liquid aminos or soy sauce, 6 packets of Goya Sazón, salt and pepper, a Tbsp of Italian seasoning blend, and a couple of tsp of smoked paprika, a couple tsp of chili powder and your veggie/“pork” mix to the broth and keep simmering & stirring   every so often. I usually give 20 min for flavors to blend. 

Taste and adjust seasoning as you like. About 10 min before you want to serve, bring to a boil and add 1/2 lb of orzo pasta, cook until done and serve. I served tonight’s stoup with a huge soft Bavarian Pretzel Log, our local Aldi had them in the freezer section and they are accidentally vegan!!

The other thing about this recipe, swap things out....don’t have kale but have some frozen chopped spinach? Use it instead....don’t have Sazón? Add some more chili powder. Don’t have fresh potatoes, etc- sub canned mixed veg. If you use mostly canned veg, it doesn’t NEED to cook as long but it won’t hurt it. Veggie broth is just as good as vegan chicken broth. Have fun and enjoy your stoup.

It’s been forevah!!!

Life’s been hectic, the worlds in chaos. But yes, I still cook. No recipe tonight, just food porn. I made BBQ Chickn breasts, lemon pepper bok choi & spinach, and jerk seasoned rice n beans.

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Frugal Vegan Broth

We are low income. I have an old friend who thinks I should write a book on frugality/money saving tips. I am just doing what I can to allow us to breath a little easier.

Today’s project is broth-making. I make broth every few months, on years that we don’t compost - that’s because broth is made from scraps. So for the last couple of months, every time I cut or trim veggies I add those scraps to a freezer bag....I had a collection of 3 full gallon-sized bags in our freezer, so I decided it was time to make broth. The scraps include: carrot sweet potato peels and potato peels, trimmings from tomatoes, asparagus, onions, scallions, garlic, bell & jalapeño peppers, garlic scapes, cabbage, mushrooms, herbs and I’m sure a few other veg I am forgetting. I’ll also add things like miso (this time dried soup packets), nutritional yeast, seaweed sheets, and mushroom powder....it varies to what’s available in our kitchen.

I place these in my largest stock pot (ours is big enough that it’s an awkward fit on our stovetop) and fill it up with water...I’ll add a Tbsp of ginger paste and garlic/chili paste and 3 heaping spoons of the paste leftover from making Master Tonic/Fire Cider*** and kale flakes bring to a boil, then simmer for H O U R S, adding water as needed. I make it on a day when I know I’ll be home and not too busy. In the evening, I cool it down and freeze it in muffin tins....full size muffin tins makes it easier for adding to recipes.

***Since cooler weather & cold/flu season is approaching, I’ll do a post with my particular Master Tonic recipe. It’s a immune boosting mix of veg/herbs/fruit steeped in ACV...you take a couple of tablespoons when you feel a germ coming on and it helps you avoid or shortens the length. Our family has used this Home Remedy for years and most of us swear by it.

Another Take on the Hummus Stuffed Portobellos on a Bed of Spinach

Making another riff on this- http://gillvegfood.blogspot.com/2015/05/sorry-it-been-so-long.html?m=1

Our “local” chain, Wegmans, is trying to please all of us hummus-heads with a ton of varieties and one of our favorite in the gilleoin household is the Moroccan Lentil version....it has lentils, cumin, coriander, turmeric, etc. So it’s very Indian tasting..... so this time, I generously oiled my baking dish & tossed my spinach with 1/2 can coconut milk, a Tbsp of chili garlic sauce, a tsp of ginger paste, and some curry powder & ground cumin. I cleaned and seasoned the portobellos with salt & pepper and stuffed them with the Moroccan Lentil hummus. I plan on serving with a drizzle of non-dairy yogurt thinned with a bit more of the coconut milk on top and basmati rice on the side.