French Onion Soup

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Medium Onions, thinly sliced
1 Container Fresh Sliced Mushrooms
1 tsp Mustard Seed
1 tsp Celery Seed
1 tsp Thyme
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
4 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 Cup Red Wine
Swiss Cheese

Heat oil over medium heat in a soup pot.  Add onions and saute until golden brown and they start to caramelize.  Add mushrooms and spices and stir to combine.  Saute for a few minutes until mushrooms are moist and spices are fragrant.  Add vegetable broth and wine.  Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer.  Let simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Turn on the broiler.  Ladel soup into oven proof ramekins and top with swiss cheese.  Broil for a couple minutes, watching carefully not to burn the cheese.  Remove when cheese is bubbly and starts to brown. (Omit cheese for a vegan option)

Asparagus Tart

1/2 Package of Phyllo Dough
Oil for brushing dough & asparagus
1 Bunch of Asparagus, Trimmed
3/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1/2 tsp Ground Mustard
1 Tbsp Tahini (optional)
2 Small Blocks of Tofu, Pressed
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Follow directions on the package of phyllo dough.  I lightly brushed oil on each piece to make it stay together and pressed it together.  Lay dough on top of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  To prepare filling, mix basil, garlic, mustard, tofu, tahini, salt and pepper in a food processor.  If its not blending well, add a little bit of oil to loosen it up.  Pulse mixture until it resembles a pesto mixture.  Spread pesto mixture on top of the dough leaving about an inch around the sides.  Lay asparagus on top of the pesto.  My cookie sheet is on the small side since the place I'm living in has a small oven so I folded the sides up so its not hanging off the side of the sheet. Lightly brush the tart with a extra virgin olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Asparagus Scrambled Tofu

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Sweet Onion, Diced
A Handful of Asparagus (Around 5-6 Spears), Chopped
2 Small Blocks of Tofu, Pressed
Salt & Pepper to Taste
1/4 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Mustard (I used Stone Ground but Dijon would work too)

Heat oil over med-high heat and add onions.  Saute until they start to turn golden and season with salt and pepper.  Add asparagus, lower heat to medium and stir for a few minutes.  Break up tofu in hands as you add it to the onion asparagus mixture and stir to combine.  Add turmeric and mustard and a little more cracked pepper and stir over medium heat.  Your scramble should be fragrant and the asparagus should be bright green.  Serves 2.

Asparagus Soup

While rummaging through the grocery store trying to find some fresh veggies to cook for dinner with $20 in my wallet and my carnivorous boyfriend in toe, I was panicking a little.  The boyfriend's palate isn't as diverse as mine, even though he'll eat anything I cook. And to top it off, the man hates onions.  I made eggplant parmesan last weekend which he was quite nervous about at first but smashed all of it, even my left overs.  Score!  Nothing makes me happier than feeding a meat eater and having them crave more <3 Anyways, Asparagus was on sale - I found my victim :)  But how was I going to make a soup without an onion base??  I always use onions!!  AND when I tried using shallots instead, he obviously wasn't fooled even though technically shallots are in the garlic family.  I searched, read the backs of soup cans, and even called my mother who loves cooking more than I do then *BAM* it hit me!  LEEKS!  I used leeks in the last soup I made him!  AND they would taste delicious next to asparagus!  Yay!!

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Leek, Diced
1 Garlic Clove, Minced
1 Bunch of Asparagus, Trimmed and Chopped
3 Small White Potatoes, Chopped
Salt & Pepper to Taste
2 Cans of Vegetable Stock
1/4 to 1/2 Cup of half & half or plain vegan creamer

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add leeks and saute until fragrant.  Add garlic, asparagus, and potatoes.  Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or until potatoes start to get translucent.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in vegetable stock and cook, simmering, for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Blend to desired thickness with either an emmersion blender or a regular blender.  Add half & half and stir to combine.  Do a taste test to see if any more salt or pepper is needed and add accordingly.  Serve hot!!

*I served this with homemade garlic bread to not only the boyfriend but his meat eating friends and it was a success!!  Men like it.  Score one for me :)

Sweet Potato Chili

Since fall has arrived, I've been craving all the yummy winter squash recipes that come along with the season.  Crock pot recipes are super easy and ideal since we're drifting into fall and its starting to cool down.  I've had sweet potato chili in the past and I had no idea what was in it but I loved it.  But this is my recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Sweet Potato Chili

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Sweet Potatoes (or yams) skinned and cut into bite size pieces
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes with juices (I use fire roasted)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat non-stick pan over med-high heat and add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.  Add the diced onion and saute until golden.  Add the garlic and stir to combine.  Add the onions to the crock pot.  In the same skillet, add 1 Tbsp of the olive oil into the pan and add the chopped sweet potatoes.  Stir around the just to give the potatoes some color and add the chili powder, cumin, cayenne and cinnamon and stir to combine and continue stirring until fragrant.  Add the sweet potatoes to the onions in the crock pot along with the beans, tomatoes, and salt and pepper.  Stir all ingredients together and turn crock pot on low.  Cover and cook 4-6 hours.  Serve hot with vegan sour cream, cilantro or any other desirable toppings.

Smokey Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 Tbsp Olive Oil or Butter
2 Med Leeks, sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Celery Seed
1 tsp Ground Mustard
3 Med White Potatoes, chopped
1 Cup Baby Carrots (whole)
4 Cups Broccoli
5 Cups Vegetable Broth (I used 3 Veggie 'Beef Bullion cubes & 2 Vegetable Bullion cubes)
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup Smoked Provolone, shredded

Heat oil in a large pot over meduim heat.  When melted, add Leeks and saute until soft.  Add Salt, pepper, celery seed, and ground mustard and stir to combine.  Add chopped potatoes, carrots and broccoli.  Add Vegetable broth and cook, covered for 20 minutes.  Blend with an immersion blender to the desired texture.  I blended mine very smooth.  Add the milk and cheeses and cook about 5 minutes longer to melt the cheeses.  Serve hot.

Greek Red Lentil Soup

In Greek, it's called Fakes Soupa (Fah-kess Soo-pah).  It's a lentil based tomato soup served with Red Wine Vinegar and Feta cheese.  Since we are eating vegan, I tossed out the feta and substituted it for vegan sour cream.  Feta or regular sour cream can be used if you do eat dairy.  This recipe is naturally vegan and naturally gluten free. Those recipes are the best because they are fresh, delicious, and easy.  You don't have to go on a witch-hunt to find the ingredients.  Dry red lentils can be found in the bulk area at any whole foods market.

Greek Red Lentil Soup


3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Large Red Onion, Chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Small Carrots, Peeled and Diced (about 1/2 cup)
4 Vine Ripened Tomatoes, 1 Chopped & 3 Pureed
1 (8oz) Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Cup Dry Red Lentils, rinsed
1 Tbsp Rosemary Olive Oil (Optional)
3 1/4 - 4 Cups Vegetable Broth (Use 4 Cups if you like the soup thinner)
2 Bay Leaves
Pinch of dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Vegan Sour Cream (Optional)
Chopped Kalamata Olives (Optional)
Red Wine Vinegar



Heat Oil over medium heat in a large pot.  Add onion, and saute until translucent.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant.  Add carrots and chopped tomato and saute for about 2 minutes.  Add pureed tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Stir to combine and add rosemary olive oil if using*.  Stir in lentils, vegetable broth, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper.  Bring soup to a boil, cover, and lower heat so soup is simmering.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve soup hot with sour cream, chopped olives, and red wine vinegar drizzled on top.

*I have a large collection of flavored olive oils.  I use them in cooking and for flavorful salad dressings.  I purchase my oils at Temecula Olive Oil Company, but you can purchase oils and any local grocery store.