Vegan Stroganoff
for Environment911.org
March 12, 2021

Traditional Beef Stroganoff gets a vegan twist with this all-mushroom version of the classic dish

There was a restaurant in my neighborhood that made a Chicken Stroganoff years ago, and I think that was the last time I had Stroganoff. I don’t enjoy beef, and tend to eat vegetarian, but the other day I saw a photo of Stroganoff and thought: I bet I can veganize this.

The results were even better than I imagined. Not only was it quick and super easy, but it was also hearty and filling—and I used a mix of mushrooms that I really enjoyed (I can’t wait to try it with seasonal ones like morels and chanterelles).

INGREDIENTS

- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups mushrooms, cleaned, chopped, variety of your choice
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 3/4 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp flour
- Fresh thyme (or dried)
- 1/4 cup plain vegan yogurt or sour cream
- Salt and pepper
- 4 oz pasta, your choice, but a wide noodle is best (and make sure it doesn’t contain eggs if you're doing strictly vegan)
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, melt the vegan butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté for a few minutes, then add the garlic, thyme and the mushrooms.
Continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened (5 minutess or more, depending on the type of mushrooms used).

Add the white wine and deglaze the pan, then simmer.
In a bowl, whisk the flour with the stock and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Then add to the skillet gradually, whisking as you go until incorporated, and the sauce begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and let stand for a minute, and then add in the vegan yogurt or sour cream, salt and pepper, cooked pasta and stir together.

Season to taste (add more thyme or salt and pepper if needed), then plate and top with chopped parsley.

Makes 2 servings

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Miso Soup
from 3 Recipes for Soup Season - for BC Living
November 10, 2020

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I find that in many sushi restaurants, the miso soup is about 95 percent broth with a few teeny-tiny bits of tofu, and maybe some seaweed if you’re lucky. Well, at home, you get to control how many extras go in when you make it from scratch, and it’s actually super easy.

The issue for me with most of the instant versions of miso soup is that they are full of MSG (monosodium glutamate), to which I'm allergic, so making it myself helps me control exactly what is going into the soup.

If you're not a purist (seaweed, tofu, green onions), you can load up your miso soup with other veggies. My next batch I might add mushrooms, but you can toss in lettuce, onions, clams, bean sprouts, carrots, eggplant, anything! Just make sure that you add anything that needs to cooked/softened before you boil the dashi (instructions below).

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups dashi (for vegan stock, follow this recipe)

• 3 tbsp brown miso

• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

• Silken or medium tofu, cubed, at least 1 cup, more if you'd like

• Wakame seaweed
  

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Make the dashi ahead of time (I made the vegetarian version with just the kelp, soaked in water overnight).

2. Add 4 cups of dashi to a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer.

3. Two options here: place miso in a small bowl and add a bit of the hot dashi, stirring to dissolve or add miso to the pot and whisk until dissolved. Make sure soup does not come to a boil.

4. Add the tofu after the miso is broken down and heat through.

5. In a pot or bowl, rehydrate the wakame seaweed (some packages have instructions) in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes. Then, drain and cut up into smaller pieces. Start with a small amount—you’ll be surprised at how much it grows.

6. Place some of the seaweed in a serving bowl, and add approximately 1 cup of the miso soup with tofu. Top with green onions and you're ready to eat!

NOTE: The homemade dashi should last about a week in the fridge. If you double the dashi, you can freeze it for a quicker soup another day!

Makes 4 cups

Pasta Fazool
from 3 Recipes for Soup Season - for BC Living
November 10, 2020

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This soup is also called pasta e fagioli, but saying pasta fazool is so much more fun. It is hearty, full of veggies and beans, and tiny, tiny pasta pieces. If you need a solid dinner after a hard day at work or a workout, then this is for you. It's super easy, especially if you can chop your veggies in a food processor, and I had almost all the ingredients in my house already.

There are a ton of different variations on this recipe. Add in some sausage for protein, toss in some leafy greens, or maybe change up the beans if you have something different on hand (chickpeas, for example). If you're vegan, skip the sausage or find some vegan sausage to toss in and sprinkle some nutritional yeast on top or vegan Parmesan, instead of regular Parmesan, which is the usual topping. 
 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, organic if available

• 1 can of white kidney beans

• 5-6 cups of veggie stock, homemade from the freezer is perfect for this

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

• 2 mild Italian sausages, optional (vegan, if required)

• Handful of kale or other leafy green, roughly chopped, optional

• 1 tbsp of olive oil

• 1 tsp of Italian seasoning

• Salt and pepper

• 1 cup of ditalini (short macaroni) pasta (macaroni is a good substitute if you can't find ditalini and brown rice or gluten-free are also good options)

• 1 tbsp of Parmesan, optional (vegan, if required)

• Fresh basil, chopped for topping, optional

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Finely chop the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery (I did it in a food processor to save time).

2. Heat olive oil in large pot, then add chopped onion, garlic, celery, carrots and seasoning and stir.

3. Cook for 15 to 25 minutes until softened and reduced in volume by at least half (the water will evaporate).

4. If using sausage, remove from casing and add to the pot, breaking it up with a spoon and cooking until it is no longer pink. You may need to use a splash of stock after this to deglaze the pan.

5. Add crushed tomato and 5 cups of stock and bring up to a boil, then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes (with a lid on) until it reduces slightly. If you want a thicker soup, you can cook it down some more. If it needs to be thinned out some more, add more stock.

6. In a separate pot, boil some salted water, and then cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain and cool with cold water, then drain again.

7. In the main pot, add kidney beans, salt and pepper, and stir, cooking for a few minutes until the beans are heated through.

8. Two options here: you can stir the pasta directly into the pot if you’re going to be consuming it all within the next few days. If you are going to freeze some of the soup, do not add the pasta as when you reheat it, the pasta will expand and become soggy. Instead, cook fresh pasta the day you’re reheating it.

9. Serve in bowls with additional pepper on top, optional Parmesan, nutritional yeast (or cashew Parmesan) and fresh basil.

NOTE: If using kale or other leafy greens, add them when you add the tomato and stock.

Serves 6