Big Sky Cafe's Vegetarian Pozole

This recipe makes a HUGE pot of soup, but you'll enjoy eating it all week.

• 2 29 oz cans hominy (about 6 cups)
• 4 dried chilies, soaked a few hours and minced
• Olive oil
• 3 cups diced onions
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. roasted, ground cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. roasted, ground coriander seeds
• 2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 lb. tomatillos, peeled and cut in eighths
• 16 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

If you haven't already, start by soaking the dried chilies in water for a least two hours. If you're making the hominy from scratch, go ahead and do that now.

Grind the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a food mill, and then toast the powder in a pot over high heat —about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil, onions, and garlic and sauté with the salt, black pepper, oregano, cumin and coriander until the onions are translucent.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomatillos, chilies, vegetable stock and hominy. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for about an hour and a half.

Add the lime juice, cilantro & salt and pepper to taste. Top with avocado, pumpkin seeds, and more cilantro. To make spicier, add a good splash of Sriracha sauce.

This recipe is based off Big Sky Cafe's Vegetarian Pozole recipe by Charles Myers.

Shitake and Bok Choy Soup with Wild Rice

So I know summer isn't really a soup type of month, but I could probably eat this soup any and everyday and not get tired of it.

• 1 to 1.5 cups dried Shitake mushrooms (I get mine at Costco)
• 1/4 cup wild rice
• 3/4 cup brown rice (I used brown basmati)
• 1 block extra firm tofu, frozen, thawed, and drained
• 3 heads (stalks?) bok choy
• 3 Tbsp fermented black beans (I got mine from an Asian market, but you could probably use regular black beans with some salt)
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Start by combining the wild rice and the brown rice with approximately 2 - 2 1/3 cups water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer and cover the rice. Cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until just cooked.

 

While the rice is cooking, soak the Shitake mushrooms in the 4 cups of water for about 10 minutes. Bring the water to a boil and add the soy sauce. Boil the mushrooms for approximately 5 minutes. Turn the water down to simmer, and add the bok choy leaves, leaving out the very center/white leaves. Let this simmer for around 10 minutes on low.

Meanwhile, slice the tofu into 1 inch squares, approximately 1/4 inch thick. Add a little oil to a saute pan, and heat over medium heat. Once the oil it hot, add the tofu and cook on one side for 8 minutes, then turn and cook the other side. The tofu should be slightly crispy on the outside.

Finally, add the fermented black beans to the soup mixture and remove from the stove. Spoon generous amounts of the rice into bowls and ladle the soup over the top. Top with the crispy fried tofu. Add more soy sauce and/or Sriacha sauce to taste.  This soup could work with a variety of veggies like baby corn, broccoli, edamame, or spinach.

Creamy Petite Pea Soup

Easton and I took a trip to the dog park today, as we do most Sundays. Two hours playing and a bath afterwards make for a tired puppy. But, as they say, a tired puppy is a happy puppy (except for the bath part, hahaha).

Easton misses his girlfriend, Olivia.

About this soup. I had originally started soaking raw cashews to make some nut cheese, but I got lazy and that never happened. I figured I needed to use them up soon, and I recently saw a recipe for Fresh Pea Soup with Mint Cream in Love Soup by Anna Thomas. This isn't that soup, mainly because I didn't have half the ingredients. But it did give me an idea to make a creamy pea soup, so I started throwing things together, and this is what I came up with. (Unfortunately my regular camera wasn't working, so I didn't get good pictures.)

• 1 lb frozen peas (I used Trader Joe's Petite Peas)
• 8 oz leeks (I used frozen)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight in water
• 4 cups water or veggie broth
• 15 large basil leaves (probably about 1/2 cup chopped)
• Oil or Earth Balance
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika

Begin by sautéing the leeks in a tablespoon of Earth Balance or a good drizzle of oil. Cook for about five minutes until thawed and soft. Add the garlic and cook for another 3 or so minutes, until the garlic and leeks start to brown. Next add the frozen peas and water, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes until the peas are thoroughly heated. Add the soaked cashews, basil, curry powder, and paprika and blend well with an immersion blender (you could use a regular blender but I find it way more messy to try and transfer the soup). Season with salt and serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a glug of olive oil.