Aug 8, 2013

"grills gone vegan" + black bean and carrot soup

Greetings from the new website!

Weekly Vegan Menu has moved to Zsu's Vegan Pantry and I am excited to introduce the new website. Please bookmark this new site: www.zsusveganpantry.com. 

Not only has the blog's address and site have changed, but so has my family's location. We are now in San Diego, California, hoping to get out of our cramped apartment and into a more spacious house in the near future.

Right now I am cooking in a small kitchen, where I can reach from the fridge to the stove to the sink in a single step and where our teenage girls are sharing a room. Eek! NO teenager should ever have to share a room with another teenager  -- even though I remember doing the very same thing in my teens years; somehow it seems harder now. Generation gap.

Now that our family is semi-settled from our cross-country move, it is time to thank Tami from Vegan Appetite and author of Grills Gone Vegan, to extend a gratitude for announcing my photo of  her Corn-on-the-Cob recipe from the Grills Gone Vegan cookbook as her second place winner. My prize was a gift certificate to her very, very favorite online spice store, Penzeys Spices. I haven't had the chance to use the prize funds, yet, but I have taken a gander through their catalog and I have some great ideas!
Check them out!

Since grilling season is still in full swing, I made a couple of more recipes from GGV: The Red-Eye Tofu Steaks (page 82) with Creamy Harissa Sauce (page 172) and Lemon-Kissed Coucous (page 104).






It was amazing. Tami always knows just how to coax flavors. The tofu was smoky because of the marinade and the sauce was perfectly spicy without over-kill. That couscous really is lemon-kissed; even my husband who doesn't care for lemon in anything savory really loved this couscous. The couscous recipe is actually part of another recipe on that same page, Tunisian Skewers -- another one I highly recommend.

Since I can't give you those recipes, how about one of mine: Black Bean and Carrot Soup. No grilling-comparison, but it is a pretty good weeknight meal recipe.





Quick and easy soup using a few cans of black beans and four large carrots, this soup is blended a bit to get rich and thick while staying gluten free. I added spices and four to five large handfuls of fresh spinach at the end for added nutrition. Top it with crispy tortilla strips and fresh jalapenos and dinner is ready in around 30 minutes. Deep flavors without a lot of time.



Black Bean and Carrot Soup Print-Friendly Recipe

3 comments:

  1. How awesome this new site looks. Fresh and oh so So Cal! :)
    As always, your pictures and words are lovely.
    Welcome to Southern California, were the Vegan eating is GOOD, and to your new home in cyber space as well.

    PS:
    Veggie Grill just opened in your area. If you have not been, you may really want to give it a try.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, in2insight! Very happy to be here! I'll definitely check out Veggie Grill, thanks. So far our staple has been Native Foods, a place I know you adore. So do we!

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  2. Oooh, this looks delicious! I'm eager to try it. It also looks highly modifiable. I'm thinking of adding mushrooms, as well (I...add mushrooms to everything).

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Thanks for your comment! I'll check if it's spam and post if it is not. I appreciate your time and effort for commenting! ~ Zsu