Easy Egg Drop Soup

Prep Time: 15 min!
Servings: 4-6

* 2 cans (about 30 oz) broth (chicken broth is traditionally used, but I substituted vegetable broth)
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (regular soy sauce is too salty for this recipe!)
* 1/2 cup chopped green onion

1. Bring broth to a boil. Meanwhile, whip the eggs.

2. Once the broth is boiling, take the pot off the heat & add the soy sauce.

3. Stir in the eggs. As you stir, the eggs will separate into stringy pieces.

4. Add the green onion & stir.

5. Serve hot.

Cous Cous Soup

~special thanks to Candi for this recipe!~

Prep time: 15 min!
Servings: 8

* 8 cups broth (the orignal recipe calls for chicken broth, I used vegetable broth)
* 1 cup cous cous
* 1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomato
* 1-2 thinly sliced, seeded jalapeno peppers
* 1 tbsp lemon juice

1. Bring broth to a boil.

2. Stir in cous cous & cook for 5 minutes. (Meanwhile, dice the tomato & jalapeno.)

3. Add the tomato & jalapeno. Cook for about 8 more minutes.

4. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, & serve.

Note: if the soup becomes too thick, add water.

Note: add Tabasco sauce for a Mexican flavor or fresh basil for an Italian flavor!

Vegan Cornbread

Prep Time: less than 30 minutes
Servings: 6

* 1 cup cornmeal
* 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use all-purpose flour & it works out just fine)
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 cup soy milk
* 1/3 cup molasses or maple syrup (I use maple syrup)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix ingredients together in a bowl.

3. Pour batter into a lightly oiled 8-inch round pan.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Soup

~ suggested by my friend Taryn! ~

Prep Time: about 45 minutes, once the sweet potatoes are baked

Note: Taryn says, "You can use sweet potato or canned pumpkin."

* 2 onions
* 4 baked sweeet potatoes or 1 can of pumpkin
* vegetable stock
* nutmeg
* salt
* pepper
*smoked sweet paprika or fake bacon (note from Mary: MorningStar Farms makes good fake bacon, available in the frozen section of grocery stores)

1. Fry the onions until translucent. Add the sweet potato mush & spices. Then add stock. If you like thinner soup, add a lot of stock or if you like thicker soup add less stock.

2. Cook for about 1/2 hour.

3. Top with smoked sweet paprika or crumbled fake bacon.


Taryn says: I love this with pumpernickel bread.

Garbanzo Bean Stew

~ suggested by my friend Taryn! ~

Prep Time: depends... at least 1 hour

Note: Taryn says, "I use dried beans because I think that they taste better, but canned is fine."

* 1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans (if using a can, just use the whole can)
* 2 onions, chopped
* 1 head garlic, smashed & chopped
* 1/8 cup olive oil
* water
* 1 potato, chopped
* 1 can of whole tomatoes (Taryn says: We used canned roasted tomatoes. You may need more spices with plain ones.)
* salt & pepper

1. Soak the beans for 24 hours.

2. Fry onion & garlic in oil until translucent.

3. Add beans & enough water to cover. (Taryn says: The less water you cook beans in, the quicker they cook.)

4. Turn the heat down & cover. Check the beans after an hour, but expect them to take up to 4 hours to cook.

5. Add the potato & tomatoes, including juice.

6. When the potato is done, add salt & pepper to taste.

Cream of Asparagus

~ suggested by my friend Amber! ~

Servings: 12

* 1 1/4 sticks butter plus 1 1/2 tbsp butter
* 1/2 cup flour
* 12 1/2 cups stock (Amber says: I use chicken, but you can use vegetable stock or any stock that is light colored & clear)
* 1 cup asparagus
* 3/4 cup onion, diced
* 3 cups hot milk
* salt to taste
* white pepper to taste
* heavy cream to garnish (optional)
* asparagus tips to garnish (optional)

1. Heat 1 1/4 sticks of butter on low until thoroughly melted. Stir in flour. You will see a light golden color. Now you have a blonde roux.

2. Allow to cool slightly.

3. Whisk the mixture into warmed stock.

4. Sweat onion & asparagus in 1 1/2 tbsp of butter, then add to stock. Simmer until soft & tender.

5. Puree vegetables & pass through a cheesecloth or foodmill & add back to stock. (Amber says: This is the annoying part of the recipe. You get all of the flavor but lose the stringy quality of the asparagus. If you own a foodmill, that may be easier than using cheesecloth.)

6. Add hot milk until you reach the desired consistency. Temperature of the milk is important because cold milk does not reach very well when suddenly added to a warm mixture, so mix similar-temperature liquids together. Heat soup again, but do not let it boil after adding milk.

7. Season to taste & serve.

Tortilla Soup

~ suggested by my friend Jen! ~

Prep Time: about 45 min
Servings: about 8

* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 cup corn kernels (frozen/canned), rinsed
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 cup white hominy, rinsed
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 4 oz can chopped green chile peppers
* 2 tsp chili powder
* 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained
* 1 tsp dried cumin
* ½ cup chopped cilantro
* 2 cans veggie broth
* 28 oz crushed/diced tomatoes

Optional ingredients (Jen says: I use about 2 tsp lime, a lot of cayenne):
* Lime juice
* Cayenne pepper or tobasco to heat it up
* Sugar- if it gets too sour from all the acid

Garnish options:
* Tortilla chips
* Sliced avocado (Jen says: my favorite)
* Monterey Jack cheese
* Chopped green onions

1. In a medium to large pot, heat olive oil over medium. Saute onion & garlic. Stir in chili powder, cumin, tomatoes, broth. Bring to boil & simmer 10 minutes.

2. Stir in corn, hominy, green chiles, black beans, cilantro. Simmer 10 minutes.

3. Serve with any of the garnishes above.

Barley and Lentil Soup

(picture by Jen)

~ Suggested by my friend Jen! ~

Time: about 1 hour
Servings: 8-10

* 1 cup chopped onion
* 6 cups vegetable broth
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 2 tsp dried rosemary
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 tsp dried oregano
* 28oz can diced tomatoes
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* ¾ cup rinsed lentils (uncooked)
* 2 cups carrots
* 3/4 cup rinsed pearl barley (uncooked)

1. In large soup pot, cook onions, celery & garlic in hot olive oil until tender.

2. Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, lentils, barley, rosemary, oregano, pepper, & carrots.

3. Cook for 40 minutes, or until barley, lentils and carrots tender.

Note: Jen says, "I like to eat this with cheese and crackers on the side."

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4-6

* 32 oz vegetable broth
* 1 chopped green bell pepper
* 1 chopped red or yellow bell pepper
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 14. 5 oz can diced tomatoes, pureed in a blender
* about 10 oz meatless crumbles (or for you beef-eating carnivores, you could probably use cooked hamburger meat, but I'm not going to vouch for how the soup turns out)
* 3/4 cup brown minute rice
* a bit of oil for sauteing

1. Prepare all of the vegetables.

2. Saute the onion & garlic in the oil until they are soft.

3. Add the peppers & cook until they are tender.

4. Add pureed tomatoes, meatless crumbles, & broth. Bring to a slow boil.

5. Once boiling, add the rice. Cover & cook until rice is tender (about 10 minutes).

Panzanella Soup

Time: 25 min
Servings: 4

* 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
* 1/3 cup minced fresh basil or 2 tbsp dried
* 2 tbsp minced fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried
* 1 cup fresh tomatoes, peeled & chopped or 1 cup canned tomatoes,
drained, peeled & chopped
* 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
* 4 cups cubed bread, crust removed
* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Heat olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat, & saute the garlic, onion, basil, & oregano until the onions are soft (about 8 min).

2. Add the tomatoes, broth, & bread. Stir until the mixture is heated throughout & you have a coarse porridge.

3. Spoon into serving bowls & sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over each.