I bought a cantaloupe that was not ready when I was in the mood for it so it sat on my counter for a few days and then a few more because by then I was feeling a bit lazy about cutting it up. Then finally, I woke up to the smell of very ripe cantaloupe so I knew I could not put it off anymore. Well, I waited too long and it was a bit too ripe and a little too soft but was not bad by any means. Hmmm what to do with it? Cantaloupe Smoothie!!

I cut it up, froze half of it (for future use) and used the other half to make us some very refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothies. I was not sure if the over ripe taste would make it taste bad but mixed with other fruit and almond milk it was pretty darn tasty! Plus, I love smoothies because you get so much in one cup that you just would never really be able to eat in one sitting so this adds to my growing smoothie list.

This is not an exact recipe because I just made it taste and texture so you can do the same. It is in the order of amount from most to least.

Cantaloupe Smoothie

Ripe cantaloupe
Almond milk
Banana (I used some left over frozen bananas but fresh works great too)
Frozen pineapple
Frozen mango

Put into a great blender (I use my vita-mix for a perfect blend) and blend until very smooth, pour into a dazzling glass and ENJOY! Quick and Easy

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Tags: Breakfast, Cantaloupe Smoothie, Easy Vegan, Gluten Free, smoothie, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

These Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream Topping are to die for, seriously!  My husband is a big carrot cake fan and I have to say I never was.  Most restaurants or stores usually had that thick butter cream frosting with a little carrot decoration on the top that I found revolting.  I actually used to work in a restaurant as a waitress and we frosted the cakes and made that little decoration on the top and I never was tempted to sample those nasty little cakes.  I just did not like the dark leathery raisins, the either to dry or sticky cake with the disgustingly thick frosting that stuck to the roof of your mouth and might cause you to go into a sugar coma after eating it, YUCK.  I just really never understood the appeal for carrot cake that everyone had.  But he persisted in suggesting I make carrot cake so finally I decided I would look at some recipes and see if I could make it taste any better than what I remembered.

In my search for a good carrot cake recipe I found this amazing one that the author calls The Best Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe Ever and well, she is right.  I only adjusted the type of nuts I put in and adjusted the oil with some applesauce to reduce the fat but otherwise YUMMY!

These little guys were a huge hit here in our house and I sent some to school for my daughter’s birthday and they were even a hit there with the kids and teachers.  Most kids don’t want to eat food with visible vegetables in it and raisins and nuts can be iffy for some kids to (like me).  I love the use of the golden raisins which or more plump, sweet and less chewy and for the nuts I used a mixture of well chopped pecans and walnuts so it would not be bitter.  I soaked the raisins in water for about 30 minutes prior to using them to really plump them up so that when cooked they did not dry out.

I really try and stay away from the oil type toppings for which most vegan frosting is made from (Earth Balance and sugar!) and my favorite topping is the amazingly delicious Cashew Cream! For the pictures and my daughter’s party I decorated them but at home you can just put a big ol’ dollop on top and go to town.

For the muffins pictured I used white flour but have found success in half whole wheat half white.  Also date sugar can be substituted for half of the sugar, one day I might try date paste to see how that turns out to make them even healthier.

 Carrot Cake Muffins with Cashew Cream Topping
Makes 12-14 muffins

**If you do not have a vita-mix blender then you will need to soak your cashews for the cashew cream topping for at least 2-4 hours or preferably overnight.  If you do have a vita-mix then soak your cashews in some water while you make the muffins and the topping can cool while they are baking, see below for the recipe or click the above link.

2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup bronw sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups shredded carrots
3/4 cup oil (I split that with half apple sauce half coconut oil)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 golden raisins (soaked in water for 20 minutes then drained)
1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 chopped nuts (I used half pecans and half walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 then line the muffin tins or spray with cooking spray.

Mix the dry ingredients together then add the shredded carrots and oil (or applesauce mixture)and mix until you do not see any flour.

Add the orange juice and mix again then add the raisins (make sure to drain the water off if you soaked them), coconut and nuts.

Fill the muffin tins with the batter to the top (this will give you a overflowing muffin) and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool completely.  You should have already made the Cashew Cream and placed it in the fridge to cool.  Once the muffins have cooled completely and the Cashew Cream is chilled frost them however you like and ENJOY!

Cashew Cream;

1 cup raw cashews (If you do not have a Vita-Mix soak the cashews for at least an hour or better yet overnight then rinse well before blending.)
1 1/2- 2 cups water (amount depends on the thickness you desire-adjust as you go)
2-4 Tablespoons maple syrup (adjust amount to sweetness taste–can use a handful of dates or agave nectar if you would rather)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (can omit if you don’t have it)
If you soaked your cashews, drain and rinse very well.  Add them to your blender along with the lowest amount of water, desired amount of sweetener, vanilla extract.  Blend on high until smooth and creamy adjusting sweetener to taste and water as you go to desired taste and thickness.

You may use this right away or store in the refrigerator to thicken it even more and chill.  If you care about the color you may add a 1/2-1 teaspoon lemon juice to keep it on the whiter side.  ENJOY on everything you can think of!!!

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Tags: Breakfast, Carrot cake muffins, cashew cream, Dessert, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, vegan carrot cake, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Zpizza is a national and even international pizza restaurant that has has restaurants in 17 states in the US.  I had heard that they had a great vegan pizza so while on a trip we decided to give it a try and yahoo, I’m so glad we did.  As many vegans, gluten free or lactose intolerant people know pizza is one of those dream foods we all wish could be mastered but usually falls short in flavor or texture.  For me, this pizza is amazing and close enough to what I remember pizza being that I am in love.

This is the Berkely Vegan

On their menu page there is actually a link and photo to their gluten-free and vegan options.  This page explains all about their pizzas but goes into great detail about their vegan, and gluten-free options.  There are many vegan choices, 9 to be exact and they give all of the ingredients right there so you can see what you are getting.  They use Daiya cheese as the vegan choice of cheese and they really know how to use it.  I have myself used the Daiya cheese on a homemade pizza as well as having it on top of foods at restaurants but it does not melt as well as I would like it to.  They put it in between the toppings so it melts very nicely and since it is not on top it does not stick to your teeth like it normally can.

For their vegan meat choice which is not gluten free, they use the Gardein burger crumbles which are a perfect match for the pizza.  They have that sausage spicy kick and a great texture, I loved them on my pizza.  My daughter however does not like the spicy flavor so she opted for the fully gluten free pizza (see pic below of hers) with her own choice of toppings and loved that as well.  One note for you all, choosing your own toppings is SUPER pricey (40.00 for one little pizza!) so instead order a specific pizza and take things off or swap out, that does not change the price which is reasonable.

This is the Berkely Vegan up close

Another great thing about zpizza is they are a bit healthier than the regular pizza restaurants out there because they offer high quality mostly organic ingredients that I found to be very fresh.  Plus, they use eco-friendly to go containers which is great for our mother planet although they did put the pasta on a crappy styrofoam plate (which is not eco-friendly)so….  I would say they are a touch more pricey than the regular pizza places out there but it is worth the extra couple bucks for the quality and assurance that there are good things on it.

I have to say their gluten free crust is the best gluten free anything I have ever had.  It is light and airy but sort of chewy like the crust of sourdough bread.  They do however state on their website that zpizza is not a gluten-free environment so if you are just gluten sensitive this place would work but if you have a true allergy or celiac then you should decide for yourself.

This was our build your own

My youngest daughter loves pasta and can be picky about pizza and since they offer a marinara pasta we ordered that for her.  It was Horrible!  It was not a great sauce and it was extremely dry as you can see from my bad picture.  I think if we would have had them add some Daiya cheese to it for her it might have helped it a bit but I would never order that again.  They do also offer salad choices along with dressings that they say are vegan but we did not order those.

This was their gross, dry pasta

So besides the dry, nasty pasta I have to say if I had a zpizza in my town I would go often and would recommend it to anyone and everyone over all the other pizza places!

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Tags: daiya cheese, gluten free zpizza, restaurant review, vegan zpizza, zpizza review

The more my huband gets involved in our cooking the better it is getting!  He found these amazing vegan sausages on VeganDad and we went to making them right away and OMG these are yummy!  In the Vegan Dad’s post he said that the recipe really came from PPK website and anyone who knows of the amazing talent that Isa Chandra Moskowitz has knows that she knows what the hell she is doing and these really show it.

The only gripe I have about them is that they are cooked in tinfoil.  I do not like using tinfoil to cook in and if anyone has a tip on an alternative to tinfoil I would LOVE to hear it.  Otherwise these are something to bring into your regular rotation.  The options for using them are limitless, on pizza’s, in a bun with delicious toppings, next to your scramble for breakfast, and on and on I could go.

The other great thing about them is they have the power of beans in them and you can swap out many different beans depending on what you have on hand or what your taste preference is.  We did not have pinto at the time of these photos so we used super antioxidant rich black beans and although it does not make for a smooth colored sausage they taste spectacular. One piece of advice here, if you have spice sensitive kids back off on the red pepper and fennel it won’t change the texture just the taste of the sausages.  We mixed everything together without those and pulled theirs out and then added it in for ours that way everyone would eat them and be happy.

The recipe between the VeganDad and PPK is ever so slightly different and we chose what we liked from each and came up with what is below but honestly they are so similar you can chose for yourself which you want to mess with or use our combo below.

Homemade Vegan Sausages

1/2 cup pinto beans (or other bean of your choice-we used black), rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon olive oil (PPK says you can replace oil with 1 T tomato paste-we will do that next time)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, grated (we minced it)
1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Several dashes fresh black pepper

We steamed ours in a large pot with a lid and a raised steam basket (metal basket).  Since we were new to this recipe the first time we did not start the boiling process until we started to mix the sausages because it always takes longer the first time you try a recipe.

Set aside 6 sheets of tin foil approximately 5×5 in size.

In a large mixing bowl mash up the beans completely then add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well until thoroughly blended together.  This is a good time to get the water boiling so you can plop them right into the boiling water.

Divide the mixture up into six even pieces.  I wet my hands slightly for each sausage so it did not stick to my hands.  Roll the dough with your hands into the approximate size you want and then lay it on the end of the tinfoil and roll it all the way up and twist the ends up.  The shape will come together once it cooks.

Place the sausages into the steaming basket and cook for 40 minutes.

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Tags: Breakfast, Easy Vegan, PPK, vegan recipe, vegan sausages, VeganDad, Vegetarian

When I made the Tomato Bisque soup from The Conscious Cook by Tal Ronnen I decided that his Foccacia bread with Caramelized Onions was a must try along side of the soup.  It really is a delicious bread that that I could eat way to much of!

The first time I tried it with the soup I did not adjust the recipe to be lower fat as I usually do so I knew what I was working with.  From there I did however lower the fat as much as I could to keep it tasting good but be a healthier version of the original.  I am going to put the original recipe from his book below and you can then adjust it down to your tastes as well.

Here is what I did, I eliminated the Earth Balance and instead cooked the onions in a non stick pan occasionally adding water until they caramelized and then at the very end when I removed them from the heat and sprayed them with quick spray of coconut oil spray to give them the a good flavor along with the slight taste of oil without using a ton.

He does not say where the 1/4 cup of oil goes but I assume that is what he coats the bowl with and rolls the dough in, which is what I did the first time.  I eliminated that 1/4 cup completely and just spray the bowl with cooking spray to make the dough not stick the bowl and lightly spray the top of the dough so it did not stick to the cloth.  I did however use the 1/3 cup of oil in the recipe but the reduction I have done so far is very good and I will continue to try and lower the fat.  I might try half applesauce and half oil for the 1/3 cup next time.

Foccacia with Caramelized Onions (Adapted from Tal Ronnen’s The Conscious Cook)

Makes 1 large loaf; 6 to 8 servings

1 Tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Sea salt
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried rosemary needles
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Pour the warm water over the sugar and stir to dissolve.  Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit without stirring for 15 minutes so the yeast can activate (it should appear bubbly on the surface).  If it does not bubble, the yeast is not viable; start again with new yeast.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and 1 tablespoon salt.   Add the flour mixture, about 1 cup at a time, and the 1/4 cup oil, a spoonful or two at a time, to the yeast mixture.  Stir with a wooden spoon or mix on low speed to combine.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes (or continue to knead on low speed in the mixer for 10 minutes), or until firm, smooth dough forms.  Place the dough in a oiled bowl, turning over to coat with oil.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, place a sauté pan over medium heat.  Sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute.  Add 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil and the Earth Balance and heat for 30 seconds, being careful not to let it smoke.  This will create a nonstick effect.  Add the onions to the pan and sauté, stirring frequently, until very soft and browned, 20 to 25 minutes.  Set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush or spray the parchment with oil.  Turn the dough out onto the parchment and pull and stretch it with your hands to fill the pan.  The dough should stretch to the edge of the pan and be about 1/4 inch thick.  Use your fingertips to make dimples all over the dough, about 1 inch apart.  Do not otherwise press the dough.  Let rise, covered, for another 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.  In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, the red pepper flakes, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt, and the black pepper.  Brush the top of the dough with the oil mixture.  Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the pan front to back, spread the onions over the top, and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden and crusty.  Remove the dough to a cutting board, let cook for at least 10 minutes, then cut into squares.

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Tags: Foccacia with Caramelized Onions, Side dish, Tal Ronnen, The Conscious Cook, Vegan, Vegan bread, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Our family really loves the Kikkoman’s teriyaki sauce and I really love quick meals so this one is a winner.  It takes only about 15 minutes and tastes like you slaved away for hours in the kitchen.  My little ones gobble this up and my teen daughter always has me make extra so she can take it for lunch (even cold it is yummy).

To make this meal as quickly as possible it is best to use the 10 minute brown rice as well as have a bag of frozen veggies on hand.  Then you can just boil the rice, quick fry the chik’n patties and steam the veggies all in less than 15 minutes, seriously!

FYI, the teriyaki sauce can be slightly spicy so I usually only drizzle a little on everyone’s plate to make it look pretty then I pour some into a bowl after heating it up for self serve. Then everyone can adjust to their own tastes and spiciness but I promise it is not that spicy and if my 3 & 6 year old can eat this than anyone can!

Teriyaki Chik’n with Rice & Vegetables 
Serves: 4

1 box =  4 Boca Chik’n patties, defrosted
1/2 bag frozen veggies of your choice (or 2 cups fresh veggies chopped)
1/2 jar Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
2 packages of boil in a bag brown rice or 4 servings quick brown rice

Cook the brown rice per the package instructions.

While rice is cooking steam the veggies until tender crisp, strain off water and set aside.

While the rice and veggies are cooking chop the defrosted Chik’n patties into bite sized pieces and quick fry in a non stick pan with a little cooking spray until browned and heated though.

Warm up the teriyaki sauce and put into a serving bowl.

Plate the food with the rice on the bottom, top with desired amount of veggies and chik’n then drizzle with the teriyaki sauce and ENJOY!

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Tags: Dinner, Easy Vegan, Quick and easy, Teriyaki Chik'n with Rice & Vegetables, vegan chicken, vegan recipe, Vegetarian

Today is the day that I got to pick the lucky winner for the Vegan Unplugged book giveaway.  The lucky winner is… Karen Levine!  I will be mailing out her copy of the book tomorrow but don’t be sad if you did not win you can buy your own copy, just click the hyperlinked text above and get yourself a great book on how to be more prepared should a disaster of some sort hit where you live.

I have to say again how much I love this book!  Even if you do not have every ingredient for every recipe from the book inside of your pantry you will still be inspired to improvise by using what you have on hand.  It really opens up your creative mind juices and gets you thinking of all the amazing things you could create just from the stuff you have sitting in your cupboards.  I wanted to share one of the many many wonderful recipes in this book with you so today I whipped up the Rice Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce and it seriously took me only 16 minutes to make this wonderfully tasty dish that looks like it is from a 4 star restaurant.  What do you expect from the recipe author of this book, she is a chef!!

I did not have a can of stir-fry vegetables handy but I did have a bag of frozen ones so I used that.  The book tells you that you should always use the fridge/frozen things first since they would go bad and I have had those veggies just a few months short of too long anyway so I’m glad I used them.  They still tasted great, especially with the delightful sauce that covers it all.

Try this recipe to see how quick, easy and luscious pantry cruise can be and then buy the book and try even more of them for yourself.

Rice Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Serves: 4

8 ounces thin rice noodles
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 cup water
1 (15-ounces) can stir-fry vegetables, drained
2 Tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts

Soak the noodles in boiling water until soft, about 15 minutes.  While the noodles are softening, prepare the sauce.

In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, and 1/2 cup of the water.  Blend until smooth.

Transfer the peanut sauce to a large pot and stir in as much of the remaining water as needed to give it a desirable consistency.  Heat the sauce over low heat, stirring until it is hot.  Stir in the vegetables and heat through until hot.  Keep warm.

Drain the softened noodles and add to the pot.  Toss gently to combine with the peanut sauce.  Serve sprinkled with the peanuts.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Asian dinner, Gluten Free Asian food, Jon Robertson, Peanut butter sauce, Rice Noods w-Spicy Peanut Sauce, Robin Robertson, vegan unplugged

This is my first giveaway and I’m excited about it.  Our family has been exploring emergency preparedness and doing our own little things to ensure our families survival should some sort of disaster occur.  This could be as little as a power outage that lasts for a few days to something major that we just don’t want to think about.  Watch out zombies, we are ready and waiting for ya!

One thing I did to help increase our knowledge and ability to be prepared is to get my paws on a copy of Vegan Unplugged by Jon Robertson.  As far as I know this is the only emergency preparedness books written specifically for vegans.  In my opinion it should be on every person’s bookshelf because as we all know meat, eggs and dairy products are not shelf stable and this book has nonperishable food for everyone who needs to eat.  This book is what the author calls a pantry cuisine cookbook and survival guide.  Basically it has a bunch of recipes that you can make straight from your cupboard and many of them do not even need to be cooked if you don’t have power or a camping stove handy.

He has the basic survival information in the book from how to make fire, how to make a solar cooker, to suggested equipment and supplies you might need so you can prepare if you so desire.  There is a list on how to come up with a family plan as well as a breakdown of what to do for different types of disasters like blackouts, hurricanes, tornadoes, and even a pandemic.  Of course being vegan he also has a plan for your fury friends!

The book also offers what the author calls a 5 day meal box which is a box filled with 5 full days of meals that you can keep in your car for road trips, camping trips or hotel stays.  It is a really great idea and one that we will be using.

It is a book worth having on your shelf and in addition to all of what I have mentioned so far his recipes are right in line with the typical New Years resolutions of being more healthy or losing weight because as most of us know the only way to do that is to eat WHOLE foods and this book is packed full of them.

How To Enter This Contest:

Step 1

• Add The Veggie Gal to at least one circle on Google+, Then re-share this message with your public circle by clicking share.

And/Or

• Follow @TheVeggieGal on Twitter and then tweet out a message that begins with the following phrase:

Crazy! @TheVeggieGal is giving away a copy of Vegan Unplugged by Jon Robertson http://www.theveggiegal.com/blog/?p=5195 [Add your own custom message here]

And/Or

• Like The Veggie Gal on Facebook

Step 2

Fill out this simple form CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED, so we can get in touch with you if you are the lucky winner.  (Note:  You must link your entries from Step 1 in order to be eligible.  We will not count any submissions which simply only include a name and email address and no links.)

The Terms:

The giveaway starts immediately and will run until Monday, January 16th at Midnight CST after which the winner will be chosen randomly and notified via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or email.

This is a United States contest only. One entry per person for each method is allowed; entering multiple times through the same method will not increase your chances of winning.

Tags: disaster planning, emergency preparedness giveaway, survival guide, vegan giveaway, vegan unplugged

These Peppermint Chocolate Truffles are a great party appetizer.  Because they are covered in candy canes most people won’t realize that underneath that these babies are healthy goodness.  If you really want to make them pure healthy goodness and completely raw just omit the candy cane and add peppermint flavoring instead.

My little ones think these are the best Christmas treat around.  I guess I tend to agree since I grab a couple every time I walk past the plate.

You can really change up the nuts you use by your own taste preference or what you might have one hand.  This is a make by taste recipe so you just throw in the amount that looks good to you and taste as you go.  I used cashews because they have the most subtle taste and make for a creamy texture.  For the chocolate flavor you could add bakers chocolate, regular dairy free chocolate chips or regular cocoa powder instead of the cacao powder that I am suggesting.

For those who may not know, cacao powder is a super food and is the raw and unprocessed powder straight from the cacao bean where all chocolate comes from.  It is loaded with antioxidants and is super duper good for you!

Peppermint Chocolate Truffles

Makes: as many as you want

Nut of your choice (I used cashews)
Dates (if pretty dry soak for an hour or more and drain off the water or save the water for a smoothie later)
Cacao powder (or chocolate form of your choice-see above)
Agave nectar as needed (it is pretty sweet without it and you can use the soak water to add moisture if needed)
Candy canes, crushed (or peppermint flavoring)

Use a half nuts and half dates ratio (approx).  Place the dates, nuts, cacao powder and agave necatar (if using) into a high powered blender or food processor (I use a Vita-Mix) and blend until very smooth.  Taste as you go to adjust the flavor.

Place candy canes on a paper towel and cover with another paper towel and hit with a hammer to crush.  Remove the plastic and pour onto a large plate.

Roll the nut/date mixture into small bite size balls and then roll in the crushed candy canes and continue until you have gone through it all.  They will be sticky so it is best to place them on a cookie sheet and let sit out for an hour or so so they dry out a bit or you can just eat them right away.  ENJOY!

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Tags: Christmas appetizers, Gluten Free, Peppermint Chocolate Truffles, Raw Truffles, Vegan appetizers, vegan recipe, Vegan Truffles, Vegetarian

We recently decided to try the Tomato Bisque recipe from The Conscious Cook cookbook by Tal Ronnin and WOWIE YUM.  I usually adjust recipes to add less oil where I can but he is such a wonderful cook who it seems has taken such care and time with his recipes that I thought I should just leave it as he made it and I’m glad I did.

This soup tastes like the best soup from the best restaurant you have ever been too and one you would pay a fortune for but it is cheap to make at home.  It is super rich and packed with flavor yet smooth (even when I left it chunky) and really just explosion on your taste buds.  Honestly, I can’t say enough about how delicious this soup was.  This is a perfect meal to serve to skeptical guests who think vegan food is bland and boring.

I usually like a more chunky soup and my husband and kids like a creamy soup so I did it both ways and you can see the texture of both in the pics so you can decide which looks more to your own liking.

I am typing this recipe out exactly as it is written in his book and as I said I did not change a thing from the ingredients and yum.  I did however not blend mine as much and did not put it through the sieve to make it super smooth because I wanted all the fiber and texture but you decide if you want it my way or his, I’m sure the taste is the same.  I also included his recipe for the cashew cream below the soup.  BEWARE you need to soak your nuts overnight (unless you have a Vita-Mix,which I HIGHLY recommend!) so plan ahead!!!

I pared it with a wonderful salad of my own making but with a dressing from his book and also with his Focaccia bread (I will post that recipe soon too) and it was a super satisfying meal that almost leaves you intoxicated.  Get up and try this soup!

Tomato Bisque
Makes 6 servings

Sea salt
4 tablesppons Earth Balance
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
5 cups faux chicken stock (try Better Than Bouillon brand)
1 (28-ounce) can whole fire-roasted tomatoes,  juice included
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups regular Cashew Cream (see below)
Parsley for garnish

Place a large stockpot over medium heat.  Sprinkle the bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute.  Add the Earth Balance and stir until melted, being careful not to let it burn.  This will create a nonstick effect.  Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes.

Add the stock, tomatoes with juice, parsley, thyme and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, then add the Cashew Cream.  Continue to simmer (do not boil) for 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf.  Working in batches, pour the soup into a blend, cover the lid with a towel (the hot liquid tends to erupt), and blend on high several minutes, until very smooth.  Pour the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley.  ENJOY!

Cashew Cream:

2 cups whole raw cashews (not pieces, which are often dry) rinsed very well under cold water.

Put the cashews in a  bowl and add cold water to cover them.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water.  Place them in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch.  Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth.  (If you’re not using a professional high speed blender such as a Vita-Mix, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, stain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)

Makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream

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Tags: Dinner, Healthy Meal, Tal Ronnen, Tomato Bisque from The Conscious Cook, Vegan, vegan recipe, Vegan soup, Vegetarian