Recipe: Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

This soup has a wonderful simplicity to it.  Sometimes coconut in soup can be really cloyingly sweet of overwhelming but in this soup its nicely balanced with the soft flavor of rice and the heartiness of mushroom. Since this takes only a few minutes to come together it’s perfect for when you don’t feel well or on a cold night where you just want a warm dinner right away.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Adapted from Florida Coastal Cooking

Recipe: Mushroom Ragu

This is one of those recipes that doesn’t seem like much but it takes mushrooms from a bland, boring food to the perfect topping for almost anything. I used this ragu smothered over the tops of popovers but it’d be great on polenta, over rice, and even as a pasta sauce.

Mushroom Ragu

Recipe: Scallion Pancakes

These are like naan on steroids. They’re very unassuming but they were super quick to make and absolutely delicious. I didn’t do a great job at pan frying but they still were crispy and crunchy and completely satisfying. I made the dough the night before and then fried them up in the morning so that’s an option if you’re a little low on time or you like to last minute cook in the morning.

Scallion Pancake

Adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Recipe: Refried Beans

A basic staple of cooking re-fried beans. I hemmed and hawed if I wanted to post this recipe because it’s so basic and also because I used to buy re-fried bean (gasp!) instead of making them but since moving to Estonia that is no longer an option so now I make my own. They’re super easy to make and delicious so if you don’t have access to canned ones, give it a go.

Refried Beans

Recipe: Cauliflower and Chickpea Coconut Curry

This is such an easy and delicious curry. It is incidentally vegan as well, it’s gluten free, I think it might be accidentally paleo – really it’s good for everyone doing every diet except for low carbs (though you could eat it by itself without the rice and it’s probably good for that too). It made about 6 servings and I was more than happy to eat all of them myself but I did have to share so I see a repeat of this recipe next month!

Cauliflower and Chickpea Coconut Curry

Recipe: Roasted Tomato Soup

This is your very super basic tomato soup. It’s earthy and comforting and warm. I’m always skeptical of vegan dishes but despite not having any dairy (yes, no butter or cream!) the texture of the soup is creamy and thick. I accidentally had a bit of a heavy hand on the red pepper flakes but when enjoyed with a crusty piece of bread the extra spice was just right.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Adapted from Get Off Your Tush and Cook