Vegan Lasagna Soup

Too tired to make lasagna or don’t have the time? This recipe is for you! Lasagna soup has all the great flavors of lasagna, without the labor and time necessary to make the dish. Why haven’t I been making lasagna soup all my life? My recipe is a slightly healthier and vegan version of the soup that is the ultimate comfort food. It’s sure to be loved by everyone.

I heard the states are having a snow storm?! Has that already passed? Life with an almost two month old really steals you sense of time!

No fresh snow up here in Alaska, unfortunately. Maybe it's a good thing though; we've been having bright and sunny, chilly days and Oliver still seems a wee bit too little to be taken out for a ski. He did ,however, have his first outdoor jaunt this week! Todd ran in a local footrace and we bought a used stroller in the library parking lot minutes before it started so I could have the little man with us. Oliver and I met up with a friend, whose husband was also running, and her little five month old cutie pie. We causally strolled over to our local coffee house/cafe to chat about how much our lives have changed. While there we ran into my BFF's mom who joined us for coffee. It was such a lovely, small-town day and a much needed escape from the house. 

Anyways, I thought this soup would hopefully warm you all up as it seems you might be bundled up inside as well. It's comfort food in a bowl, and so much easier and quicker than making actual lasagna. I honestly don't know if I'll ever make traditional lasagna again! Unless I have a bunch of almond pulp on hand because that stuff makes the best ricotta and you know I can't waste anything! I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we did. 

Vegan Lasagna Soup

Recipe by Kathleen @ Produce On Parade

Too tired to make lasagna or don’t have the time? This recipe is for you! Lasagna soup has all the great flavors of lasagna, without the labor and time necessary to make the dish. Why haven’t I been making lasagna soup all my life? My recipe is a slightly healthier and vegan version of the soup that is the ultimate comfort food. It’s sure to be loved by everyone.

Yield: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried TVP (textured vegetable protein)
• 1 scant cup hot water
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium red or green bell pepper, diced
• 32 oz vegetable broth
• 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup frozen corn (optional)
• 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Dash of freshly ground black pepper
• 12 oz (2 ½ cups) broken, dried lasagna noodles or pasta of choice
• ½ cup vegan shredded mozzarella
• 2 handfuls of fresh spinach, torn

Cooking Directions

1. In a medium bowl, soak the TVP in the water, soy sauce, and liquid smoke; stirring to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, saute an additional 3 minutes.
3. Add the reconstituted TVP, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, corn, and seasonings. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Stir in pasta and cover; cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. One pasta is al dente, remove from heat and stir in cheese and spinach; add additional liquid smoke to taste. Serve hot. The pasta will absorb more of the liquid as it sits so feel free to add additional water or broth if you like.

Pumpkin Tom Kha (Coconut Lemongrass Soup)

This soup is inspired by the Lao Pumpkin and Coconut Tom Kha at my favorite local restaurant, Pho Lena, in Anchorage. It’s basically Tom Kha Gai without the chicken and with pumpkin instead. I add tofu for a protein boost! In Alaska, it can be difficult to find some of the very specific ingredients for Tom Kha so I’ve included commonplace substitutions. I have to use ginger, lime rind, and canned mushrooms because galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and straw mushrooms aren’t accessible. Still, the soup is absolutely divine!

I'm almost scared to post this recipe, but I have to because it's one of my very favorite soups and I'm not ignorant to the fact that many folks aren't able to source authentic, specialty ingredients; especially those of us in rural areas (and especially in Alaska).

Does this mean we can't or shouldn't try to replicate our favorite ethnic dishes? I don't think so. In no way am I claiming this Tom Kha to be authentic, however, I think it's a pretty darn good replication with ingredients one can get at any local grocery store. It's my hope that you enjoy it as much as I do and if you're able to find galangal, straw mushrooms, and kaffir lime leaves... um...send me some in the mail, please. Pretty please?

It's my great joy to share this recipe with all of you small-town kids who struggle with making pretty much anything 'authentic'. I refuse to be constrained to tofu noodle soup because my store doesn't care bird's eye chilis. Who's with me!?

Pumpkin Tom Kha (Coconut Lemongrass Soup)

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 10/28/2016

This soup is inspired by the Lao Pumpkin and Coconut Tom Kha at my favorite local restaurant, Pho Lena, in Anchorage. It’s basically Tom Kha Gai without the chicken and with pumpkin instead. I add tofu for a protein boost! In Alaska, it can be difficult to find some of the very specific ingredients for Tom Kha so I’ve included commonplace substitutions. I have to use ginger, lime rind, and canned mushrooms because galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and straw mushrooms aren’t accessible. Still, the soup is absolutely divine!

Ingredients

• 1 small pumpkin or delicata squash (2 cups cubed)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 oz can of full-fat coconut milk
• 1 stick of fresh lemongrass
• 1 1-inch piece of galangal or ginger, peeled and micrograted
• dash of crushed red pepper, to taste
• 6 kaffir lime leaves or 1 1-inch piece of lime rind
• ¼ cup brown sugar (optional)
• ½ lb fresh straw mushrooms or 1 8oz can of sliced mushrooms, drained
• ½ of a 14 oz block of firm tofu, cubed
• 2 limes, juiced (¼ cup juice)
• 3 tbsp vegan fish sauce or 1 tbsp soy sauce, to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Deseed the pumpkin and cut off the ends. Slice into wedges and steam for 15-20 minutes until just tender. Set aside to cool. Slice off the skin (leave skin on if using delicata) and cube.
2. In a large soup pot, bring the vegetable broth and coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium high heat then reduce to a very low simmer.
3. Slice the lemongrass in half lengthwise and bruise with the back of a measuring cup. Add the lemongrass, galangal, crushed red pepper, lime leaves, and brown sugar to the pot and stir; simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms and tofu, simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, and basil. Remove from heat. Serve hot and topped with cilantro.

Yield: 4

Chickpea & Chard Stew

A quick and easy flavorful stew that’s as healthy as it is tasty. Full of protein and fiber, this hearty stew will fill you up and keep you satisfied. It’s a staple in our house!

Whew! I've been gone for a short while, huh? Sorry 'bout that. Part of my absence was due to our destruction/recreation of the study. More specifically putting in a wall to wall desk! Thus, my computer found itself unplugged and stuffed into the corner on vacation for at last a week while we worked. Check out my social media (links in the right sidebar), where I plan to post a photo of the awesome new desk. I posted some photos of our kitchen last week!

Also, the site had been down for a few days and I had to sort out what had made it crash. Turned out it was some snippet of code in my sidebar. That's why you might not have been able to access the site last week. Being the no-nonsense lady that I am I just straight up and whacked the entire sidebar rather than pick through the code. Oh well, at least it's back up!

Still, I'd be exaggerating to say that my neglect of this little space was all to do with the update of the study and the site being down. Most of it was that I was just into some really great books and that I spent most of my free time reading. My free time is pretty limited these days. Anytime spent not working on things for the house (organizing stuff from moving, updating the study, installing a water filter [thanks, Dad!], creating a guest room, spreading topsoil for the lawn, digging large rocks out of the driveway... the list is never-ending) is coveted. It doesn't leave a lot of room for cooking and honestly I've been kind of too pooped to cook. Fresh fruit has overtaken my life as my main source of nutrition these days. It could be worse I suppose. We'll also be having about one month straight of guests, so you may hear less from me than even now!

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

— Confucius

When I have cooked, it's mostly been sweets (brownies and cinnamon rolls, predominantly) and soups. Who knows. Stress does weird things to people. I finally dug out the camera that was buried in the mess of the study to snap some photos of this wonderful stew though. Yay! Gold star for me for actually doing something productive here! I have made this stew countless times and I really enjoy the flavor. It's always those staple recipes that I neglect to share! They are arguably the most important too. I'll be better about sharing my staples, promise. In the meantime I'm just taking smarts from good ol' Confucius here...

Chickpea & Chard Stew

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 07/13/2016

A quick and easy flavorful stew that’s as healthy as it is tasty. Full of protein and fiber, this hearty stew will fill you up and keep you satisfied. It’s a staple in our house! NOTES: More water can be added to any leftovers, if desired, as the pasta will absorb some of the liquid while sitting.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, liquid included
• 2 15 oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½-1 cup water
• 1 cup pasta of choice
• 1 bunch of chard, de-stemmed and chopped (or spinach)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic; saute for about 3 minutes until the onion is tender. Add the cumin, ginger, and salt; saute for an additional minute or two until the garlic is fragrant.
2. Stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat then stir in the pasta. Reduce to a gentle boil and cook for about 9 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the chard, to wilt. Before serving, stir in the lemon juice and cilantro. Serve hot.

Yield: 6