Vegan MOFO - Day 3 - MMmm MMmm Cream of Mushroom Soup

I'm pretty certain most of the people who grew up in the US in the last few decades have a family recipe that included the famous red and white can of Cream of Mushroom Soup. Over the years this pantry staple has shown up on millions of Thanksgiving tables as part of the ever-popular green bean casserole. A dear friend of mine uses it in her cheezy potato dish - which I plan on veganizing later this month. My mom used to make a giant pan of pork chops and simmer them in cream of mushroom soup. It made them fall-off-the-bone (I know gross) tender. Fred made some type of tuna concoction with it. This was the experiment that failed miserably for me the other day. I'm hoping that with this creation, I can perfect that dish and re-claim my kitchen dignity.

I don't want to break my arm patting myself on the back, but this was teh bomb. It was darn close to the original. The parsley makes it look slightly different, but the flavor is just about spot on. I'm still doing my Biggest Loser Challenge, so sadly I only had a little taste. I don't know how long I can hold out. I may just need to hit the gym for an extra hour or two this week.

Without further ado, I bring you:

MMmm MMmm Cream of Mushroom Soup

6 - 1 cup Servings

2 Tablespoon Earth Balance or canola oil (Earth Balance will give a richer flavor)
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 stalk celery, diced fine
2 cloves garlic minced
8 oz sliced white or cremini mushrooms
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
½ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Pinch nutmeg
¼ cup all purpose flour
(if you like your soup thicker use 1/3 cup)
(if you are substituting in a recipe that calls for condensed undiluted, use 2/3 cup)
3 cups vegetable broth, hot
1 cup soy creamer

Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

In a 2 quart sauce pan heat Earth Balance or canola oil and add onion, celery, and garlic. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sliced mushrooms and cook until liquid is released, about 5-10 minutes. Make sure there is still a bit of liquid from the mushrooms. Add dried spices mixing thoroughly. Sauté for about another minute, until herbs are fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, adding a small amount of the broth if needed. Slowly pour in hot vegetable broth, whisking frequently. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes until thickened. At this point you can use an immersion blender to puree if you like a smoother soup before adding soy creamer. Add soy creamer and simmer for 5 more minutes being careful not to boil.

**If you use this recipe for blogging or posting, I just ask that you make sure to link to this post.

Vegan MOFO Day 30 - Re-making a classic Coq au Vin

I was very inspired by Vegan Hezbollah (sp?). I didn't get in on the fun of converting some very meaty recipes then, so I thought I would take a shot at it now.

My grandma was an incredible cook. When I was very young I remember her making, what to me, were very fancy dinners. One such dinner was Coq au Vin. This is a pretty sophisticated dish for a little girl, but I instantly fell in love with it. Years later while in culinary school, I was re-introduced to this classic dish. Again...total love! I have this incredible yearning to re-create a vegan version of this dish.

I am working 12 hour shifts for the next few days, so for this experiment, I am enlisting the help of my man, Fred. Poor guy is going to be the guinea pig for yet another kitchen expriment. He is ususally an incredibly good sport about being the victim of my experiments. I'm hoping this one doesn't put him over the edge.

I'm posting the recipe preemptively as I may not get to post later today. I'm hoping it will be successful. I will post the results, pictures and any tweeking that may have happened in the process as soon as I can.

Koq au Vin

Serves 4

1 cup Butler soy curls
1 cup vegetable broth
¼ cup inexpensive red wine
5 tempeh bacon style strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 cocktail onions
1-8 oz package cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, reserve about 1 tsp for garnish
1 cup inexpensive red wine
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup flour
2 bay leaves
Salt
Pepper

Re-hydrate soy curls by heating vegetable broth and ¼ cup wine to just barely starting to boil and pouring over soy curls in medium sized bowl. Let soak for 10 minutes. Once re-hydrated, drain and squeeze out liquid. Make sure to save the soaking liquid. In an iron skillet sauté soy curls until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

Slice tempeh strips into matchstick sized slices. In same iron skillet, add olive oil and sauté tempeh strips until they are golden and crispy. Be careful not to break up the pieces. When golden, remove from pan and set aside.

If there is no more oil in the pan, add a bit more oil. Add cocktail onions and sauté until dark golden brown. Once the onions are browned, add the mushrooms and sauté until they just start to release their liquid. If needed add more oil. Add thyme and fresh cracked pepper. Saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Stir in flour until well incorporated. Add 1 cup of red wine to deglaze pan making sure all cooked bits are released from bottom of pan. Add reserved soaking liquid and 2 cups vegetable stock. Add bay leaves. Simmer until reduced by half and sauce is thickened. Add chopped parsley and soy curls. and tempeh. Simmer for 10 more minutes. If sauce is too thick, add small amount of vegetable stock until desired thickness is achieved. Carefully stir in tempeh. Simmer on low for 5 more minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving. Serve over roasted or mashed potatoes, or wide noodles.

I made a few tweaks as we were cooking. The recipe is updated to reflect the changes.

Holy moses this is delicious! I'm not kidding. This was rich flavorful bliss. Fred did an awesome job with the prep. He did most of the work. I did a few tweaks to get a good final product. I really loved this dish. My grandma would be proud.

Vegan MOFO Day 27 - Soup's on!

Quite some time ago, I was at a restaurant and had this incredible soup. It was a cream of mushroom with green chiles. It has haunted my dreams ever since. I could not stop thinking about the intermingling of the robust mushrooms and the spicy chiles. The original version was chock full of heavy cream and butter. I wanted my own veganized version to enjoy. I thawed out my hatch green chiles and got to creating. When the soup was finished, it just seemed like it was missing something. I threw in 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and it was magic. This is a perfect soup to enjoy now that the weather is cooling off.

Hatch Green Chile and Mushroom Bisque

6 servings

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 stalk celery, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves gently packed
4 roasted and peeled hatch chilis with seeds
1 teaspoon mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
5 Tablespoons flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups hot vegetable broth or stock
8 oz package of cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 cup soy creamer
juice of 1/2 small lemon
2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire Sauce

Heat oil in large heavy bottomed pot. Saute onions, celery, and garlic until onions are transluscent. Add cilantro and chiles and saute for 2 more minutes. Add oregano through cumin and saute until liquid is almost gone. Stir in flour until incorporated. Deglaze with sherry. Add hot stock, sliced mushrooms, and bay leaves. Simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Stir in soy creamer, lemon, and Worcestershire and simmer for 10 more minutes on very low heat, do not boil. Serve with cilanto leaves as garnish (optional)

If you want to make this a more hearty soup for a meal, add one can of drained and rinsed black beans. This will up the protein content and fill you right up.

I heated this up for lunch today. It is even better after sitting overnight. I hope you love it as much as I do!