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Veggie

Creamy Dairy-Free Celery Soup

Dairy free celery soup … wait- can celery soup be made dairy free?  Remember those old cans of celery soup? We used them in kinds of casseroles and hot dishes. It was the basis of everything. But I certainly never ate it plain.

But this soup. This celery soup is the bomb. While I’m sure it would be great in all kinds of dishes, it’s stunning on its own. Creamy and silky with just the the right amount of celery essence.

A little handful of cashews take the place of cream and create a dairy free soup while still feeling luxurious. I’m tossing a bit of this in the freezer!

Happy Eats,

Monique

Creamy Dairy-Free Celery Soup

2 tbls olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced (about 1 heaping cup)

5 cups celery, diced

1 garlic clove

1 tsp salt

3-4 cups broth

1/2 cup cashews (preferably soaked)

1 tbls fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh parsley, loosely packed

 

Warm the oil over medium heat, adding in the onions. Saute until they begin to soften and brown, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the celery and continue to saute another 10 minutes.

Add in the garlic clove, salt and cashews. Stir well and saute another minute. Add in the broth and simmer 10 minutes or until all the celery is softened.

Place the soup in a blender with the lemon juice and parsley, blend on high for 60 seconds until creamy.

To serve: Pour into a bowl. Add a drizzle of olive oil (or a good spoonful of ghee) and fresh cracked pepper.

Tahini Kale Coleslaw

You can never go wrong with a side of coleslaw and this Tahini Kale Coleslaw is no different. But this one changes up the dressing with creamy tahini and ume paste- a sweet and salty fermented plum paste that offers an addictive flavor.  Substitute vinegar and perhaps a touch of honey in place of the ume.

 

Tahini Kale Coleslaw

2 cups red cabbage, sliced thin

1 cup kale, torn into pieces

1/2 green apple, cut into matchsticks

1 carrot, shredded

2 tbls pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

2 tbls craisins

handful of snipped chives

2 tbls tahini

2 tsp ume paste (or apple cider vinegar + a touch of honey)

6 tbls orange juice

1 tbls lemon juice

1 tbls extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Whisk together the tahini, ume paste or vinegar, orange & lemon juice and oil.

Toss the cabbage, kale, carrot, apple, pepitas and craisins with dressing.  Top with snipped chives.

Add salt and pepper as desired to taste.

 

Poblano Avocado Soup with Grilled Corn Salad

Each of these recipes is so good on their own, but when you combine the Poblano Avocado Soup with the Corn Salad, it’s absolutely so good! Perfect for late summer when the corn is perfectly sweet. Serve with a bunch of fresh herbs for extra flavor and presentation. ~monique

AVOCADO POBLANO  SOUP

1 poblano pepper, grilled or roasted and skin scraped

1 small avocado

¼ cup raw or toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

2 tbls lime

1 garlic clove, crushed

~1 cup coconut milk

salt to taste

  • Add the poblano, pumpkins seeds, lime, garlic clove, 1/2 tsp salt and coconut milk to the blender, blend on high until smooth. 
  • Add in the avocado and blend to combine again. This should be a really smooth sauce. Add additional coconut milk or water as needed to achieve a desired consistency.
  • Taste and adjust salt & lime to taste.

GRILLED CORN SALAD

1 garlic clove, minced

2 ears grilled corn, cut off cob

1/4 cup finely diced grilled  red onion

1 tbls minced jalapeno 

2 tbls olive oil

1 tbls lime juice

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

  • Toss the garlic, corn, onion jalapeno, olive oil, lime and salt

Putting it all together:
Place a scoop of the corn salad into soup bowl, pour the avocado soup around it.

Adorn with fresh herbs: Cilantro, basil, mint, fennel  or try parsley, oregano, dill

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

A creamy, delectable, ‘cheesy’ bechamel sauce made from cashews and nutritional yeast. It’s sunning and you’ll never miss the dairy! This cashew cheese sauce is great on EVERYTHING (like my Chorizo Stuffed Squash). Trust me!

~Monique

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

1 cup soaked cashews

2 tbls olive oil

1/2 onion, diced

3-4 garlic cloves

1 celery stick

1 tbls dijon mustard

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3  cup nutritional yeast

2-4 cups broth or water

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Heat 1 tbls of oil over medium heat, add the onions and saute 5 minutes. Add in the celery and saute another 5 minutes, the onions should be becoming browned. Add the garlic in and saute for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Place the  onion mixture in the blender with the soaked cashews, remaining olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and 2 cups of broth or water. Blend on high until creamy and warm. Add additional liquid as needed to reach desired consistency. Taste and adjust as needed.

NOTE: Be careful of heating cashew sauces in a pan, they become very thick and burn quickly. I like to use them straight from the blender. But if you need to re-heat the sauce, do it on low temperature and stir constantly. Stop before boiling. 

Chorizo Sausage-Stuffed Summer Squash

Take your summer squash up a knotch by making a sausage-stuffed summer squash using chorizo. Guaranteed to fill you up and taste amazing.  I created it dairy free, but give you an option to top with cheese based on your preference.

Enjoy!

~Monique

 

Chorizo Stuffed Summer Sausage

4 large yellow summer squash or zucchini

4 chorizo sausages

2 tbls olive or avocado oil or ghee

1 small onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery sticks, diced

1 tbls fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

Optional: edible flowers, cheese

Remove the sausages from the casing and saute until cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Remove from pan and set aside. Remove an extra grease from pan as well.

While the meat is cooking. Cut the squash in half lengwise and scoop out the insides (saving this for the stuffing), leaving just enough flesh for the squash to retain their shape.

Rub the squash with 1 tbls of oil, season well with salt and pepper. Grill (or roast) the squash until just fork tender.

Dice the onions and celery and mince the garlic. Also dice up insides of the squash.

Heat remaining oil over medium high heat, add the diced onions and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes just to soften. Add in the garlic and the diced squash and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes until the squash is lightly sauted. Add back in the chorizo nd the fresh thyme and toss well. If the pan is super dry, add a couple tablespoons of water.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed.

Place each squash on a platter and fill each with the chorizo filling.

Drizzle with my creamy , ‘cheesy’ Cashew Bechamel sauce. Top with edible flowers. Enjoy while warm.

Optional: Or top with a bit of cheese, then place under the oven broiler for a couple minutes to melt the cheese.

Baked Carrot Chips – Savory and Sweet

savory carrot chips

Ingredients
1 large carrot

1 tsp melted coconut oil

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a carrot peeler to make thin carrot slices. Toss all the carrots with the coconut oil and lay each carrot slice on the parchment paper in a single layer. Sprinkle the salt over the top.

Bake until crispy. This will take about an hour (see note below). Remove from oven and let cool, they will crisp some as they cool. Test one by taking it off the pan and letting it sit for 30 -60 seconds to see if it crisps up.  You may need to take some pieces out sooner than others, keep a close on on them.

sweet carrot chips

Ingredients
1 large carrot

1 tsp melted coconut oil

1 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt

1/2 tsp coconut sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a carrot peeler to make thin carrot slices. Melt the coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon together and toss with the carrot slices coating each well. Lay slices in a single layer on the parchment lined pan. Sprinkle with coconut sugar and salt. Bake until crispy.  Test one by taking it off the pan and letting it sit for 30 -60 seconds to see if it crisps up.

Notes
Slower, lower baking will ensure a more even cooking with less burning. You can bake these faster at 400 degrees in about 15-20 minutes but you’ll need to keep a close eye on them after about 10 minutes (see my photo below.)

~The savory is great for regular ol’snacking! 

~The sweet is fun to crumble on desserts like ice cream or anywhere you need a little extra crunch!

Carrot chips when cooked too quickly at high heat

Coconut Bacon

Ingredients
1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp maple syrup

2 Tbls tamari

1 tsp smoky paprika

Pinch of sea salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss all the ingredient, except the salt, in bowl; be sure to coat all the coconut. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Bake for about 7 minutes, flip and bake until crispy, about another 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool, they will crisp some as they cool. You may need to take some pieces out sooner than others, keep a close on on them.

Notes
These super fun coconut bacon pieces are so similar to little bacon bits- toss them on your salad, in a wrap or just pop them into your mouth!

Kale and Butternut Squash Egg Bowl

Prep Time
5 Minutes

Cooking Time
10 minutes

Ingredients
one big slice of onion, quartered
1 cup butternut squash, cubed
1 tbls coconut oil
1 cup kale
1 minced garlic clove
Optional toppings: avocado and sprouts

Directions
Melt the coconut oil in a medium to small skillet. Add the onion and squash, cook 5-7 minutes until the squash is begins to soften, tossing well. Add in the kale and garlic and toss well. Cook another 2 minutes to wilt the kale.

Push the mixture to the sides of the pan making a hole in the middle for the egg. Add a dab of oil if the pan is too dry. Crack the egg into the pan, cover and cook egg as desired.

Top with good pinch of coarse sea salt, black pepper, avocado and fresh sprouts.

Lemon Kale Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash (oil, salt and pepper)

1 tbls olive or coconut oil or ghee

2 cups sliced leeks

4 cups curly kale (about 4 leaves), torn into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup water

1/2-1 tsp aleppo or red pepper flakes

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt

juice of 1 lemon

small handful of fresh parsley

small handful of fresh mint

Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions
Roast the spaghetti squash: preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper.

Place cut side down on an oven-proof pan, roast until squash is fork tender (40-60 minutes depending on the size of your squash.) Use a fork to release the long spaghetti squash strands.

Start the kale when the squash is nearly done:

Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add in the leeks and saute until just tender and edges begin to brown. Add in the kale and toss well. Continue to cook to wilt kale. Add in 1/2 cup water- this will help the kale to cook, simmer and steam.

Once the water has evaporated, add in the garlic, salt and pepper flakes, toss well and cook for another minute. Use the lemon to deglaze the pan. Remove from heat and toss in the fresh parsley and mint.

Fill the spaghetti squash with the kale mixture, be sure to include any juices in the pan. Top with toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

 

Notes
This would be great with sausage or chicken too, just cook with the leeks and continue as directed.

Roast the squash ahead of time (during your meal prep) and just rewarm for a super easy supper.

If you are really struggling to cut the squash in half, try microwaving it for a few minutes to soften it first.

Crock-Pot Shredded Beef with Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients
Roasted spaghetti squash (see our roasted spaghetti squash recipe)

Crock-pot beef (see our simple crockpot beef recipe)

Salsa (see our oregano cumin salsa recipe)

Directions
This is a great recipe for when you have left over shredded beef. Just toss with roasted spaghetti squash and add a spoonful of salsa.

Super easy and delicious.

Curry Soup with Sweet Potato Noodles

Cooking Time
20 minutes

Yields
4 bowls

Ingredients
1 tbls coconut oil

1 leek

1 celery stick

1/2 tsp granulated garlic (or 1 glove minced garlic)

1 tbls minced ginger

1 heaping tsp red curry paste

2 cups spiralized sweet potato

1/2 tsp harissa powder (or a few shakes of cayenne or chili pepper)

2 cups water

2 cup coconut milk

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Melt the oil over medium heat, add in the chopped leek and celery. Cook until the leeks begin to get golden brown on the edges, tossing often.

Add in the garlic, ginger and red curry paste- stir and cook for about 1 minute.

Add in the sweet potato, harissa or cayenne, again stirring to coat well. The pan should be quite dry at this stage. Deglaze with 1 cup of water. Add in the remaining water, coconut milk and the chickpeas. Stir until well combined, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a big squeeze of lime for freshness.

Notes
This is a simple, satisfying soup that offers good fats, carbs and protein. Add in cooked chicken, turkey or shrimp to really up the protein amount.