Raw Vegan Seaweed Soup

Wow!

Raw vegan creamy seaweed soup

I really, really liked this soup.

I was a little skeptical, but it was fantastic. Not to mention fast and easy!

I got this recipe out of a raw vegan cookbook... somewhere. Unfortunately, I did not write down which cookbook, and I regret that I cannot give proper credit! If anyone knows where this came from, please let me know and I will cite appropriately.

Seaweed is very high in iron, calcium, and other minerals. Seaweed also has strong anti-inflammatory compounds, as well as antiviral and anticoagulant properties. For more information on the health benefits of different types of seaweed, click here and here.

Raw Vegan Seaweed Soup
Serves 2-4

Ingredients
1 ounce wakame
5 cups filtered water
1 cup raw pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon sea salt

Soak the seaweed in the water in a large bowl for 10 to 15 minutes. Using a strainer, strain the seaweed over another bowl. Measure 3 cups of the seaweed water and discard the rest (or use it on your plants).

In a high speed blender, combine the 3 cups of seaweed water with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Using a ladle, remove any foam that rises to the top. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with some of the soaked seaweed.

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon

My first batch of Homemade Bouillon

Vegetable broth is one of those ingredients that has stumped me for a while. I never realized how many recipes call for vegetable (or chicken) broth. I searched for about a year, but no matter which brand I looked at, there was always something in the ingredients that I was sensitive to.

But I also noticed something else. Even if I didn't have food sensitivities.... there are some products that I don't think I'd want to consume.

For example, take a look at the ingredients in a major brand of bouillon:

Ingredients: with Other Natural Flavors Ingredients: Salt, Sugar, Flavor (Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Salt), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Contains 2% or less of Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking Agent), Fat Flavor (Partially Hydrogenated Corn Oil, Flavoring), Natural Flavor (Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Salt, Sugar, Whey Powder [from Milk], Lactic Acid), Spice, Onion Powder, Dehydrated Cooked Beef, Caramel Color, Dried Beef Stock, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Autolyzed Yeast, Flavoring. No MSG Added (Contains Naturally Occurring Glutamates).

Food allergies and sensitivities aside... yuck! That is not even food- those are laboratory ingredients designed to taste like food.

In contrast, here are the ingredients in a top organic brand:

Ingredients
Vegetables* and Concentrated Vegetables* (Carrots*, Celery*, Onion*, Tomato*), Salt, Soy Sauce* (Water, Soybean*, Salt, Alcohol*), Cane Sugar*, Maltodextrin*, Natural Flavor, Potato Starch*, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dried Onion*, Dried Garlic*, and Spice*. *Certified Organic by QAI

At least it is real food : ) But- as those of you with gluten or other sensitivities know- these ingredients still present an allergy/health issue- "natural flavor" could be anything. The catch-all "natural flavor" is so frustrating. It could be derived from corn, or soy, or wheat-- you simply do not know.

Even if the "natural flavor" turned out to be safe for me, I avoid corn, soy, potato, and yeast, due to allergies and sensitivities. So, even the organic brand does not work for me.

Of course, there are other brands, but I've found that they all contain very similar ingredients. Same goes for broth that comes in a box or can. In recipes, I would just use water instead of broth, but there was definitely flavor lacking in the final product.

One day, I came across this recipe for DIY Bouillon on 101 Cookbooks. This recipe is so easy, much healthier than store-bought, is made entirely from whole food (organic, if you choose) ingredients, and you can customize ingredients to your own needs or preferences.

I made a batch a while back, and it lasted forever. I used it in everything- in every recipe that called for broth (finally!), as extra flavor when making soup, in the rice cooker when making rice or quinoa, basically anything that could use some seasoning. I just love it. It is now a staple in my kitchen.

This time, I made half a batch, and adjusted the ingredients based on seasonal availability, and the fact that I am now tolerating more foods (yay!) I am posting with the ingredients I used, but click on the link above for the full/original version on 101 Cookbooks.

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon (Gluten free, Yeast free, Nightshade free, Vegan)
Equipment needed: Food processor
Makes about 1 1/2 cups (one quart, and one pint mason jar)

Ingredients
2 1/2 ounces leeks, slice into rings and wash well
3 1/2 ounces fennel bulb, roughly chopped
4 ounces carrot, scrubbed and roughly chopped
1 stalk celery
1 3/4 ounces shallots
2 small-ish garlic cloves
4.5 ounces fine grain sea salt
3/4 ounce parsley
1 ounce cilantro

Method
Add vegetables to food processor, and pulse a few times to mix. Scrape down sides of food processor, if necessary. Add remaining ingredients, and process until well combined. You will wind up with a loose paste.

Spoon into jars, and keep in freezer until needed. Because of all the salt, it barely solidifies, so it is easy to scoop out when you need it.

As the original recipe suggests, I typically use about 1 tsp of this bouillon per 1 cup liquid; although sometimes I use a little more. It is totally up to you- feel free to adjust amounts (and ingredients) to your preference.

This recipe is linked to Made From Scratch Mondays on Living With Food Allergies and Celiac Disease. Be sure to check their page for more gluten free recipe ideas.

Pomegranate Lentil Soup

Brrrrr! Cold outside = make soup!

Here is a recipe I originally found on theKitchn. It is warm, tasty, full of iron, protein, & fiber. I used spinach instead of chard, only because that's what I had on hand. I didn't put the pretty pomegranate arils on top, either, because I didn't have any. But I think that punch of red would be very pretty on top of the soup. Especially in the heart shaped bowl :)

This recipe contains no gluten, corn, dairy, soy, or nightshades.

Pomegranate Lentil Soup 
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 cups brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 1/2 cups finely chopped chard (I used fresh spinach, but any dark leafy green would work)
6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice* (I've found Costco has the best price on pomegranate juice, but Target is a close second, especially when on sale)
1 large pomegranate, de-seeded (I've noticed in the produce section of some groceries, you can now buy a small container of pomegranate arils already out of the pomegranate)
*If making it from scratch, you will need about 3-4 pomegranates to make 1 1/2 cups of juice.

Method
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and sauté until onion is translucent.
Add cumin and coriander and sauté for another minute.
Add lentils, chard, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Stir in pomegranate juice and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Click here to see nutritional information and health benefits of: Lentils, Pomegranate, more on Pomegranate, Chard, Spinach, and other Green Leafy vegetables

This recipe is linked to Made From Scratch Mondays on Allergies and Celiac- check it out for more gluten free and allergy-friendly recipes.

Wheat and Soy Free Soy Sauce

Many of you with food allergies have no doubt discovered by now that soy sauce contains not just soy, but also wheat. Tamari can be a good wheat-free substitute, but it still contains soy, which is another top-8 allergen, and a common sensitivity for those who are gluten sensitive.

Image source

(I admit, I chose this photo because of the Disney bottle:)

What about Nama Shoyu? Nama Shoyu is an unpasteurized soy sauce often used in raw recipes (even though Nama Shoyu is not technically "raw", most raw foodists find that it is one of the acceptable non-raw components of a raw diet, since it still contains living enzymes). Note that Nama Shoyu is not gluten free, and still contains soy. The only difference between Nama Shoyu and regular soy sauce is that Nama (which means raw) Shoyu (which means soy sauce) is not heat pasteurized.

Also note that all three: soy sauce, tamari, and nama shoyu, are fermented products which are fermented by Saccharomyces yeasts and Aspergillus molds- which may pose a concern for those who are yeast and/or mold sensitive.

So what's a gluten, soy, or mold-sensitive person to do???

You can make a homemade substitution. It is not exactly the same as soy sauce, but it does provide some of the earthy, umami flavor and saltiness of soy sauce. Note: This recipe uses mushrooms, so if you are avoiding molds and fungus this might not work for you either. I probably could not have tolerated this a few years ago, but I can tolerate it now, in moderation.

Joan made this recipe at Thanksgiving, and gave me half of the finished batch. I froze it in ice cube trays, then kept the cubes in a container in the freezer, and used as needed. Ice cube trays are about one tablespoon per ice cube (I actually measured out one tablespoon per ice cube the first time; this time I just eyeballed and filled them). I found one cube was the perfect amount for most recipes.

I have finally used all of my frozen "nama shoyu", so today I made more, and thought I'd share how easy it is. It is really nice to have on hand. Previously, I had no good substitution for soy sauce, and that left a lot of recipes lacking.

Soy Sauce Substitute (Gluten Free, Soy Free, Raw, Vegan)
Makes 2 cups (32 Tablespoons; 2 ice cube trays)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Equipment: blender

Ingredients
One large portabella mushroom
One tablespoon sea salt
Two cups filtered water

Method
Blend all ingredients in high speed blender (I'm sure a regular blender will work too)

You only need a portobella mushroom, but I had some King Trumpet mushrooms left over from another recipe, so I threw a few of those in also. I thought it might add another dimension to the flavor of the sauce, plus King Trumpet mushrooms are supposed to be super-healthy, so why not throw 'em in there:

Put ingredients in blender:

Blend:

I put some in a small jar that I will keep in the fridge and use right away. 

The rest I froze in ice cube trays, to use later: 

I hope this recipe is helpful to you. I think any flavorful, earthy mushroom would probably work in this recipe. I'd love to hear if you try another variety, and how it turns out. By the way, I learned today that Portobello mushrooms are crimini mushrooms that have been allowed to grow to full maturity. Who knew?

Gluten Free Vegan Mini Pot Pie Casseroles

Hello everyone! I know, long time no post. I have so many things I want to post about... but today I want to share with you my first ever attempt at making a vegetable pot pie. Ever. I've never made pot pie before... not gluten free, vegan, or any other way (unless frozen dinners count?)

This recipe was a series of experiments. The whole reason I made a pot pie was because I wanted to try a gluten free pie crust that works for my specific food allergies. One day I may get around to writing a separate post about the pie crust, but that is a story for another day :)

I've never made a gluten-free pie crust before. So that was challenge #1.

I've also never made a pot pie before. That was challenge #2.

Since I've never made a pot pie, I didn't really know what goes into a traditional pot pie- but after reading oodles of recipes, I learned that it typically includes butter, and a lot of cream. I wanted a dairy-free pot pie filling, so that was challenge #3.

I'm happy to report that after lots of reading, planning, chopping, cooking & experimenting, the result was a successful gluten-free, allergy-friendly recipe that included NO dairy, corn, or soy. It tastes great, contains TONS of veggies, and without the high fat dairy and cream, I think it is healthier than the "traditional" version.

I chose to make four mini-pies instead of one large pie, because I planned to freeze individual portions for reheating later. But you could certainly make this dish as one large casserole. Note: the pie crust in the photos IS gluten free, but was NOT vegan. The rest of the pot pie is vegan. To make the entire recipe vegan, simply use a vegan shortening in the pie crust.

This recipe is linked to Cybele Pascal's Allergy Friendly Friday <-- follow the link for more allergy-friendly recipes and ideas.

OK, here is the step-by-step:

Gluten Free Vegan Mini Pot Pies (no gluten, dairy, soy, egg, corn or potato)
Makes 4-5 mini casseroles, or one large casserole
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium head of fennel, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 cups baby onions, blanched and peeled
3-4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
Sea salt and black pepper to season
1/4 cup gluten free flour mix
1 cup allergy-friendly vegetable broth
1 cup rice milk
1 cup frozen baby green peas
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh chives
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Gluten free pie crust (use your favorite, or recipe below)
Approximately 1/3 cup rice milk plus 1 teaspoon agave- to brush the tops of the crusts for browning
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper- for tops of crusts

Method
Prep: Blanch and peel the baby onions.
Chop all of the veggies. Chop. Chop. Chop. It is a lot of veggies :)

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F and put rack in the middle.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large pan (I used a large cast iron pan). When it is hot, add fennel, celery, onions, and carrots, and cook until softened, and onions are translucent, about 2-4 minutes.

Add mushrooms, season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring rarely, until mushrooms have let off water and are shrunken, about 5-7 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stir to coat, and cook about 1-2 minutes. Carefully add vegetable broth and rice milk, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add peas, fresh herbs, and vinegar, and stir to coat. Season well with sea salt and fresh ground pepper (yes, season again. I know it seems like a lot of salt and pepper, but trust me, it is ok).

Ladle filling into mini-casseroles (or one large casserole).

Can I digress for just a moment to show you these adorable mini casserole dishes...???

Too cute, right??? I love the idea that once you get to the bottom, SURPRISE, you get a cheerful message : )

OK, roll out pie dough and trim to fit the top of your casserole (I just used the lid as a guide):

Place dough over the top of the dish. Tip: brush the top sides of dish (where the crust will hang over) with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking.

Brush tops with rice milk/agave mixture. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt and fresh ground pepper, and cut slits in the top to vent.

Place mini-pies on baking sheet, and bake in center of oven at 375 degrees F for 45-50 minutes, or until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling hot. These are about halfway done (I was really impatient and kept checking to see if they were going to turn out ok :)

And finally... Ta-da!

Yummmmmmm!

Easy Gluten Free Pie Crust
Makes one 9 inch pie crust
This pie crust can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use

Ingredients
1/2 cup non-dairy, non-soy shortening (such as Spectrum Organic Shortening)
2-4 tablespoons cold water
5 oz (about 1 1/4 cups) gluten free flour mix
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon guar gum

Method
Cut shortening into 1/2 inch pieces and place it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes.

Chill some water with ice cubes while preparing the dry ingredients.

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and guar gum in bowl of food processor and mix until combined.

Add the shortening and pulse 6-10 times, or until the mixture resembles a coarse meal with some pea size pieces of flour-covered shortening. Do not over mix!!!

With processor running (I use the "dough" setting, with the "S" blade), add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture just barely starts to clump together. You want just enough water so that when you pinch the dough, it holds together. Do not add more water than necessary. Do not over process.

Remove the dough from the food processor and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour, or up to 3 days.

When ready to roll the dough, place a piece of parchment paper on the counter, and sprinkle with gluten free flour. Place dough on parchment, and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour before rolling. Roll dough to desired size and shape (a cool rolling pin helps, I actually stick mine in the freezer first). Tip: if you are making several small pie crusts, divide the dough, and roll out one section at a time, keeping remaining sections in the refrigerator until you need them.

Lift the entire piece of parchment from the counter, flip and carefully center dough over the casserole, lay dough on top of filling/dish, and carefully peel away parchment paper. Voila!

Gluten Free Savory Caraway Quinoa Crackers

These savory crackers get a protein boost from the nutty-flavored quinoa.
Gluten free, vegan, egg and dairy free, corn free, sugar free, nut free, soy free.

Gluten Free Caraway Quinoa Crackers
Makes 2 baking sheets of crackers (actual number of crackers depends on how you cut them)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of your favorite gluten free flour mix
1 tsp guar gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
5-6 Tbsp olive oil
1/3-1/2 cup water
Topping: Caraway seeds and coarse ground sea salt

Method
Preheat oven to 375F
Place the GF flour mix, guar gum, baking soda, and salt in the food processor. Process to combine.
Add quinoa, process to combine.
With processor running (I use the "dough" setting) add the olive oil, and then the water. Only add enough water for the dough to form a ball. Stop when you have a ball.
Divide the ball in half (it is easier to work in small batches).
Place one half of the dough ball on a piece of parchment paper. Lay another piece of parchment paper on top and roll flat, as thin as you can.
Remove top piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle dough with caraway seeds and sea salt, and put the parchment back on top. Gently roll, just enough to press the seeds into the dough.
Remove top piece of parchment, and use cookie cutters or knife to cut into desired shapes.
Slide entire sheet of parchment and dough onto baking sheet and bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.
Let cool.
Repeat with second ball of dough.

Health benefits of quinoa, caraway, olive oil

I have an illustrated tutorial on the method in this post. I just wanted to post the ingredients for this recipe for my own reference because I keep forgetting to write down which one works. OK, now I am going to throw away my recipe page with notes scribbled all over it, and go with this one on the blog!

Savory Kalamata Olive Bread

The idea for this recipe was inspired by this article in the New York Times.

Savory Kalamata Olive Bread
Gluten, corn, soy, nightshade, dairy and yeast free

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix
• 2 teaspoons corn free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vegetable bouillon* dissolved in 1/3 cup seltzer water (you could use regular water, or you could just use 1/3 cup vegetable broth*)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 scallions, chopped

*carefully check the ingredients in your vegetable broth or bouillon to be sure it is safe for your food allergies/sensitivities. if there is no commercial broth or bouillon that works for you, you can make your own and keep it on hand. for this recipe, you could probably substitute sea salt for the bouillon if you need to.

Method

• Line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, whisk GF flour mix, baking powder, black pepper, and garlic clove.
• In a small bowl, whisk eggs, then whisk in olive oil, seltzer water and bouillon.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until mixed. Fold in olives, carrots, and scallions.
• Pour into loaf pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes, or until crust is golden and knife comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan, let cool another 5 minutes.
• This recipe produces a crumbly savory bread with a golden crust and soft inside. Enjoy!