Celery Chowder

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter
• 4 cups celery, finely chopped
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and finely diced
• 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 3 cups cashew milk

In a large skillet melt butter and sauté onion until soft.  Stir in the celery and cook until soft.  Stir in potatoes and stir until all the vegetables have browned.  Combine water and flour and add to pot.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add salt, pepper and soymilk and blend until smooth using a hand blender.  Return to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Cashew Milk:

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 3 cups water

Cover cashews in water and let sit for 4 hours. Drain and rinse. Add cashews to a blender and slow add water as you blend. Blend for at least 2 minutes or until mixture is smooth. Strain, if necessary (depending on your blender power).

Trailblazer Stew

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose (gluten-free) flour
• 2 pounds portabella mushrooms cleaned and cubed
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon marjoram leaves
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups mushroom broth
• 1 cup water
• 4 carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 ears of corn, quartered
• 4 medium red potatoes, quartered
• 4 small onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic.  Toss portabellas with flour and add to hot oil and brown.  Combine portabellas and remaining ingredients in a soup pot.  Cover and simmer on a medium heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve with tortillas.

Mushroom Broth:

• 2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms (or mushroom of choice)
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce

Blend ingredients in a blender and add to sauce pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain mixture, using your hand to press liquid out of mushroom bits.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 head broccoli, chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup plain soymilk
• Salt and pepper to taste

In large soup pot, sauté garlic and onions in olive oil until onions are translucent.  Add broccoli, cauliflower, celery, potatoes, and vegetable stock.  Cook on a medium heat until all vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Reserve a small portion of broccoli, blend mixture until smooth and return to pot.  Add the broccoli, nutritional yeast, nutmeg, soymilk, salt and pepper and heat mixture through without allowing it to boil.

Split Pea Soup

• 1 ½ cups dried green peas
• 5 cups vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 onion, peeled
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 3 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 2 tablespoon tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Clean peas, place in soup pot, cover with cold water and soak overnight OR bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for one hour.  Drain.

Add vegetable stock, liquid smoke, onion, celery, carrots, cloves, bay leaf, and thyme.  Bring to a boil and reduce to medium-low heat.  Simmer for 3 hours.

Remove onion, cloves, and bay leaf and let soup cool.  With a hand mixer or blender blend soup until smooth.

Mix tapioca flour and water and add to the pot along with black pepper.  Heat to a boil; simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Oyster Plant Chowder

• Juice of 1 lemon
• ¾ pound purple salsify (oyster plant)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 2 cups sea or vegetable stock
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup plain soymilk
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke

Fill a medium bowl with cold water and add the lemon juice. Peel the salsify and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Add the salsify to the lemon water.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté onions over medium heat until translucent.  Drain the salsify and add to the onions along with the potatoes.  Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Add the stock and wine and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.  Add the soymilk, Old Bay, nutritional yeast, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and liquid smoke.  Heat through and serve.

Crawdaddy’s Bisque

Like many classic Cajun recipes, this one starts with a roux. It’s important to stay with the roux to make sure it doesn’t burn. Master this, and you’ve mastered an important piece of Americana cooking. The cook time determines the color of a roux and this recipe needs a 30-minute brown roux.  As a gluten-free alternative, use potato flour (starch is key).

• ½ cup corn or vegetable oil
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 can dice tomatoes, drained
• 5 cups sea stock
• ½ teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ cup green onions, chopped
• ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat.  Add the flour and cook for 30 minutes, stirring constantly, until you have a brown roux.  Add the tomato paste, onion, celery, pepper, garlic and thyme and cook for 10 minutes.  Add bay leaves, tomatoes, sea stock, salt, sugar and cayenne pepper.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Serve over rice and sprinkle with green onions and parsley.

Vegan Sea Stock

Use in vegan seafood recipes.

• 6 cups water
• 10 medium dried shiitake or 8 medium dried porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 oz dried kombu seaweed (dried sea kelp)
• 2 teaspoons light miso
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt

Simmer for 30 minutes and drain.

Autumn Harvest Stew

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 6 medium yellow onions, peeled, and quartered
• 3 medium potatoes cut into medium cubes
• 3 parsnips, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 3 carrots, sliced into 1 inch piece
• 1 small butternut squash, seeded, peeled, and cut into medium chunks
• 1 small pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and cut into medium chunks
• 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
• 1 small eggplant cut into large chunks
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 large green bell peppers, seeded and diced
• 2 cups or one 16 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 10 whole, peeled garlic cloves
• 1 can black beans, rinsed

• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ¼ teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup or 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon molasses

In a large soup pot, add oil and layer vegetables in order listed above, onions through black beans.

Combine spices and sprinkle over layered vegetables.  Combine vegetable stock, wine, tomato sauce, and molasses and pour over vegetables.

Cover pot with tight lid and cook stew over a medium-low heat for 40 minutes.  With a long, wooden spoon, mix all ingredients before serving.

Summer Harvest Stew

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter substitute
• 2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed, and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 celery rib, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cups reduced vegetable stock
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• ¼ cup brown rice
• 3 medium carrots, sliced
• 1 small head of cauliflower cut into florets
• ¼ pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 medium zucchini cut in half, lengthwise, and sliced
• 20 green beans trimmed and cut into thirds
• Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pan; add leeks and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add garlic, celery, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and vegetable stock.  Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.  Stir in peppers and rice and cover, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook carrots and cauliflower in salted water for 4 minutes.  Rinse under cold water and drain.  Add carrots, cauliflower, and mushrooms to the pot, cooking for 10 minutes.  Add zucchini and green beans, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chili Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve over chili.