Author: karenwpullen

New Year’s Day Soup

karenwpullen Soups and Stews
New Year’s Day Soup

It’s traditional on January 1 to have black-eyed peas for luck, and collards for money. This soup incorporates both, with jalapeno for a little kick and some extra vegetables for variety. You can use canned, dried, or fresh black-eyed peas. It’s a nutritional powerhouse and a great way to start the new year!

To prepare the collards: rinse them, then trim away the tough center stem and chop the leaves into shreds.

Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Print Recipe

New Year’s Day Soup

With black-eyed peas for luck, and collards for money, this soup is a nutritional powerhouse.
Course: Main Course, Soup
Keyword: healthy, lunch, peas

Ingredients

  • 1 onion chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 2 large carrots chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1/2 jalapeno pepper minced
  • 1 quart veggie broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 Tbs miso
  • 2 Tbs mushroom powder optional
  • 4 cups collard greens trimmed, chopped
  • 2 15-oz cans black-eyed peas drained and rinsed (see notes)
  • 1 15-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 2 Tbs red wine

Instructions

  • In a large pot, cook onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and jalapeno over medium heat, stirring. Add water if it starts to stick.
  • Whisk the miso in the two cups of water until dissolved. Add it, and all remaining ingredients, to the soup pot.
  • Simmer to blend the flavors, 10 – 20 minutes. Taste for salt.

Notes

It’s always optional to use dried peas. Soak them for 6-12 hours, drain, then cover with water and simmer for an hour or until they are soft.
Fresh black-eyed peas are usually available in the grocery store around New Year’s Day. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, drop in the peas, and cook until they are tender. Test after ten minutes; it could take 20 minutes or longer.

Homemade Pasta with Quick Alfredo Sauce

karenwpullen Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes, Sauces and dressings , , ,
Homemade Pasta with Quick Alfredo Sauce

Noodles are my favorite food, and homemade is the best! It’s easier than you think.

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time2 minutes
resting1 hour
Total Time1 hour 12 minutes
Print Recipe

Fresh Pasta

It's much better than dried, and doesn't take a long time. Try it!
Course: Main Course, Pasta
Servings: 4

Equipment

  • food processor optional
  • pasta machine optional

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup semolina flour
  • 1/2 cup water

Instructions

  • Mix the flours together and stir in the water until the dough is holding together in a fairly stiff clump. I use a food processor for this step but it's not essential.
  • Knead the dough for about 5 minutes to develop the gluten. If the dough is crumbly, add a little water. If it's wet, add a little flour.
  • Wrap the dough and let it rest for an hour. Resting is important. You can also refrigerate it overnight. Or freeze.
  • Cut off one-third of the dough. Rewrap the remaining. Roll the dough out as thin as possible. Use flour if it sticks. Or, use a pasta machine to roll the dough, following machine directions.
  • Cut the dough into desired noodle shape. You can use a pasta machine, or mixer attachment, or knife.
  • Drop into boiling salted water for 2 minutes. The noodles will float to the top when they are done.
Prep Time5 minutes
Print Recipe

Quick Alfredo Sauce

Blend it up in a minute!!
Course: Sauces and dressings
Servings: 6

Equipment

  • blender

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cashews If you don't have a high-speed blender, soak them in hot water for an hour to soften. Then drain.
  • 1 cup veggie broth
  • 1 Tbs nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp miso
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt optional, depending on the saltiness of the veggie broth. Miso is salty too.

Instructions

  • Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until creamy.
  • Use immediately, refrigerate, or warm in a saucepan.

Live on Facebook

karenwpullen Recipes

It’s been a while since I did any Facebook Lives but yesterday I plunged back in and demonstrated mung bean omelets.

Another thing to do with the mung bean batter is to make “muffins” with the batter and filling. Grease the cups of a muffin tin, or use silicon cups like I do. Into each cup pour a couple tablespoons of batter. Add a tablespoon or two of filled (I added potatoes and a bit of chopped Mrs. Fields sausage.) Top with more batter. Cook them at 350 for 15 minutes, until the muffin starts to pull away from the pan.

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time3 minutes
Print Recipe

Mung Bean Omelet

Mung beans can be used to make a beautiful omelet
Course: Breakfast
Keyword: brunch
Servings: 2

Equipment

  • non-stick pan
  • blender

Ingredients

mung bean batter

  • 1 cup mung beans shelled, split
  • 1 1/4 cup plant milk any kind
  • 1 tsp black salt aka kala namak
  • 1 clove garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

omelet filling – so many possibilities. Any or all of these:

  • 1 medium potato diced
  • 1/2 bell pepper any color, diced
  • 1 tomato chopped
  • 1 handful spinach
  • 3 green onions chopped

Instructions

mung bean batter

  • Soak the mung beans in water, 8 hours or longer. I refrigerate them for this step.
  • Drain and rinse the beans. Add them to a blender with the rest of the batter ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy. The batter should be pourable but not thick, thin but not watery.

Filling

  • If you are using diced potatoes, cook them in boiling water for 7-9 minutes until done.
  • Sauté whatever filling ingredients you choose. It's necessary to cook them a little (unless you like them uncooked) because the mung bean batter cooks very quickly and will barely even warm the filling.

Make the omelet

  • Heat your non-stick pan over medium heat.
  • Pour 1/2 cup of batter onto the pan. Swirl the pan around to encourage the batter to spread out into a circle of thin batter.
  • Spread filling over half of the circle of batter.
  • The batter cooks quickly, in a couple of minutes. When the edge easily lifts from the pan, the omelet is done. Fold the omelet in half and slide it out of the pan.

Notes

It’s always nice to have a sauce with an omelet. Some options are a vegan cheese sauce (there’s a good one with this nachos recipe) or a quick whisk of vegan mayo and salsa.