Mushroom, Kale, and Pasta Soup

I am feeling really congested today and have had a major sinus-headache, so I really wanted something "brothy" tonight.

This recipe from my Garden of Eden Organic Farm Box was perfect!  I made my own vegetarian vegetable broth in the slow-cooker this afternoon and by the time dinner came around it was ready for me to add the fresh kale, parsley and mushrooms.  I also added garbanzo beans and kept the pasta separate and just combined the soup and pasta in my bowl.

Vegetable Broth

10 cups water
Celery
Carrots
Parsley
Leeks
Fresh rosemary
Fresh Thyme
Garlic
Yellow squash

I threw everything in the slow cooker for a couple hours and let it all "stew."

Two hours later, I put about 5 cups of the broth in a pot on the stove and added a bunch of kale and mushrooms and parsley and garbanzos and let it heat up for about 5 minutes.  In a bowl, I added the pasta and ladled some brothy soup on top of it.  Added some salt and pepper and it was so good!

The Lusty Vegan

For Christmas I received a new vegan cookbook called The Lusty Vegan.  I have made two recipes already and to be completely honest am not super impressed so far.  They just seem kind of bland, so I end up adding a ton of salt and other ingredients. 

First, I made the Bean Dip.  I followed the recipe exactly, and in the end, it didn't really taste any different than if I had just heated up the can of refried beans by itself... I mean, I love refried beans, but I was expecting something different.

Then, I made the coconut, rosemary stew (pictured above).  Again, very bland and this time too coconuty.  I had to add cumin, turmeric, and curry powder, and of course plenty of salt.  It actually tasted a lot better as leftovers over the next few days.  I mean, I felt like I had to eat it anyway because it would have been a huge waste of all those yummy vegetables! 

I'm skeptical about trying anymore recipes from this book, but I won't give up yet!

Veggie Meatball Subs

I don't know what inspired me to make these, but they turned out to be AMAZING.

Ingredients
Frozen vegan meatballs
Marinara sauce
Sauteed onions and red peppers
Daiya vegan cheese
French baguette

I mean, it's pretty obvious -- just put all the ingredients together, and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Pretty fast and easy to make too.