sausage and butternut squash stew

  

Overview

Time: 45 minutes
Dishes: large pot, measuring cup

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I sit here totally stuffed! This stew is perfectly amazing - flavorful, with vegan sausage, cumin, fennel, smoked paprika, and topped with a horseradish crema. Really easy to make, too, but cutting that butternut squash has its own set of challenges, though there are tips and tricks to make it easier. 

For more info on how to cut your squash easily, check out my post HERE, or buy already cut squash, or go it the quick and dirty way: 

• use a sharp knife to cut the neck from the bulb, 
• peel the neck portion with the knife (as it sits on the cut end ; don't worry about how much rind you cut off - just cut!), and 
• worry about the bulb portion another time. 

I used Field Roast sausage in this vegan stew, but you are welcome to use whatever plant-based sausage you like. There is huge flavor punch from the cumin, fennel and smoked paprika to help out any mild-flavored sausage.

The butternut squash is a flavor affinity with horseradish, sausage and kale, therefore do not skip the easy to make crema; it will round off the flavors deliciously!  

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Gather your ingredients.
• Chop sausage while onion cooks.
• Chop potato while sausage cooks.
• Chop squash while broth comes to boil.
• Chop kale after squash is chopped.
• Make sauce while stew cooks.

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Sausage and Butternut Squash Stew

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

weekday

Serve with crusty bread.

1. Base: Add the oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, fennel, cumin and sausage. Cover and cook until the onion is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir as needed.        

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

4 links (about 13 ounces) vegan sausage, sliced 

2. Roux: Add the flour and the paprika to the Base (flour first, so the paprika doesn’t burn). Stir and cook for 30 seconds. 

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

3. Liquid: Add the broth to the Roux. Mix well. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Add the potatoes, squash and kale as they are chopped. Salt as needed. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  

6 cups vegetable broth

1 pound red potatoes, chopped (peeled, optional) 

4 cups chopped butternut squash (about 1 pound) 

1/2 bunch kale, sliced into thin ribbons

4. Cream: Mix the sour cream, horseradish and sugar. Serve the stew in bowls, add a dollop of Cream and add fresh ground pepper.  

1/2 cup nondairy sour cream

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon sugar   

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

kettle goulash

  

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: large pot 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

Although no kettle required, real Hungarian Goulash is slightly thick, but not from flour; it is thick from paprika and the starch from the potato. In fact, there is six tablespoons of paprika in this meatless, vegetarian and vegan soup. It was really scrumptious and so easy to make! 

Kettle Goulash differs from regular Goulash in thickness. Regular Goulash is more soupy and Kettle Goulash is thicker - whether that is because of the method of cooking (kettle on an open fire evaporates liquid faster) or because of the mounds of paprika that is poured on the meat even before any liquid is added, I am not sure. However, I do know that I like this version a lot! If you like it soupier, add more water and serve with pasta.

I used Gardein beefless tips this time, but both my son and I think it would be better with seitan. Our husbands, however, thought it was great as is - so there you have it - a matter of opinion, again. 

I made this the old-fashioned way, where the onion is first cooked a little and then the protein is added and shrouded in paprika. It is not stirred but is covered and cooked for 5 minutes. Then the broth is added along with the vegetables, stirred well, and simmered. 

I highly recommend trying this soup! Serve with some crusty bread and garlicky greens; it is very filling and delicious, not to mention crazy easy to make.

NEW TO PLANT-BASED EATING? Get my free zines and check out the wrap-up of Fall 2020 recipes HERE. Great way to set yourself up for success!

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Chop the onions and garlic.
• Chop the seitan (or use beefless tips; do not thaw) while the onion cooks.
• Cover to cook the protein and paprika together.
• Chop the vegetable while the protein cooks.

 

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly.)

Goulash

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 to 6 servings 

easy

1. Onion Base: Add the oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for 4 minutes, until the onion is golden. 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2. Protein: Add the Gardein or seitan on top of the Onion Base. Add the paprika evenly. Do not stir. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. 

4 cups frozen Gardein beefless tips or diced Easy Simple Seitan (Fall 2020) 

6 tablespoons Hungarian paprika

3. Vegetables: Add the potato, celery, carrot, pepper, tomato paste and vegetable broth. Stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and reduce to a medium simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.  

2 large Russet potatoes (20 ounces total), peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 medium carrots, sliced 

1 medium bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4 cups vegetable broth

4. Serve: Season to taste and serve with crusty bread. 

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

chicken-free rice soup

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: large pot, rice cooker

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

Tasty! I thought I would have leftovers of this meatless, vegetarian and vegan dish, but wound up needing to make a second batch. It's easy, too, so that wasn't a big deal.

This is really just a simple rice soup with a delicious broth. I used brown rice, so that always makes it take 15 minutes longer, using Instant Pot, so something to keep in mind.

The recipe calls for Easy Savory Broth Mix which you can find HERE or use any chicken-like broth mix, but don't skimp on it if the flavor is a bit bland. 

I used Gardein today, but I can see this with tofu, beans, zucchini or green beans or a plethora of other vegetables, so don't be afraid to try different ingredients. Keep the broth and rice and substitute your heart out.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Start the rice first.
• Cook the scallopini using a lid. 
• Chop the vegetables while it cooks. Add the vegetables and then take out the scallopini to avoid using another dish.
• Use a lid to cook the vegetables and soup, too.

 

Chicken-Free Rice Soup

Makes 4 servings 

easy

1. Rice: Cook the rice as desired, in a rice cooker or Instant Pot.

1 cup rice, any kind

2. Protein: Spray the bottom of a large pot with oil. Add the scallopini and cook, covered, over medium heat, until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Remove to the cutting board and chop when cool.

oil spray

4 Gardein scallopini

3. Soup: Add the oil and vegetables to the now empty pot. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stir as needed:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

salt

4. Broth: Add the seasoning to the Soup and cook for 1 minutes. Add the water and cover. Cook over medium-high heat until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.

2 tablespoons Easy Savory Broth Mix**

8 cups water

5. Finish: Add the Rice, Protein and greens. Cook for another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve

4 cups baby spinach or baby kale

 

 

 

** Substitute for Savory Broth Mix: 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon sage and 1 teaspoon oregano. 

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pin it!

southwest vegetable soup

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: large pot 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

This meatless, vegetarian and vegan soup is so delicious and it is so easy to make! It's a take on Chili's restaurant's version and I can see why it is popular. It is full of vegetables and it has just the right amount of thickness. The soup is thickened with corn tortillas so it is super easy. 

A few tips: 

• Since the recipe uses 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, freeze the rest for later use, if you have any leftover. 
• Chop the tortillas small because they have to dissolve to thicken the soup. 
• Use zucchini or green beans here; makes no difference. 
• You can use water and Better Than Boullion - 8 cups water plus 2 tablespoons boullion. 
• Don't drain the beans; the kidney bean aquafaba is perfect here.

Add plenty of vegan cheese or diced avocado and broken tortilla chips - here's where to use up the bottom of that chip bag we always seeem to be left with.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Start the broth, diced tomato and tortillas first. Heat over high heat to get them boiling fast. Use a lid.
• Add the rest of the ingredients as you have them ready. Don't drain the beans.
• Cook the soup over medium heat so that it is simmering at a good pace throughout - none of that lightly simmering stuff; you need the tortillas to disintegrate. No lid here.

 

Southwest Vegetable Soup

Makes 4 servings 

easy

1. Base: Add the broth, tomatoes and tortillas to a large pot. Bring to boil over high heat with a lid. Reduce to a low boil/strong simmer. The tortillas need to dissolve to thicken the soup.

8 cups vegetable broth

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes (do not drain)

6 minced corn tortillas

2. Soup: Add the rest of the ingredients to the Base as they are ready:

1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans (do not drain)

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 (4-ounce) can diced chiles

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

3. Cook the Soup at a strong simmer until the tortillas disintegrate, about medium heat, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

4. Serve: Ladle into bowls and top as desired:

Shredded vegan yellow cheese

Diced avocados

Broken tortilla chips

Minced cilantro 

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

green curry

Overview

Time: 30 minutes
Dishes: large pot

Heads Up! basil or cilantro, green curry paste, 2 light coconut milk 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

Today's vegetarian, vegan and meatless dish is really easy and fast and tastes amazing! When we lived in Austin, there was a Thai place that made curry that was more of a soup and I've been wanting to recreate that for ages. 

Here it is! As great as I remember it!

I used jarred green curry paste (check for shrimp paste in the ingredients), but you can make your own with little fuss, but even that was too much for me on a weeknight.

Cooking Tip: cook your paste in 1/4 cup coconut milk (not oil) until the paste releases its flavors, before adding the rest of the milk. (I was low on green curry paste so I added a tablespoon of red to my dish - you know, whatever it takes!)

An aside: Please be aware that there are brands of coconut milk (Arroy-D and Chaokoh) that use and abuse monkeys to pick their coconuts (as of 9/2020). Please choose a more compassionate brand of coconut milk. Source. 

This curry has tofu, peppers, zucchini and spinach, but feel free to add Gardein scallopini if you want, or just extra vegetables - that never fails! Keep in mind you will need fresh herbs at the end - either basil or cilantro, depending on the diners. 

Add a squeeze of lime at the end and enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Prepare your rice right away (if using).
• Get all the ingredients out and prepare the pot.
• Press the tofu for 5 minutes.
• Cook the curry paste with 1/4 cup of coconut milk.
• Chop the vegetables while the paste cooks; add as it is ready.

 

Green Curry

Makes 4 servings 

easy

Serve with rice

1. Base: Cook the curry paste and the 1/4 cup coconut milk in a large pot over medium heat. Stir and cook until the paste has released its aroma, about 3 minutes.

3 to 5 tablespoons green curry paste

1/4 cup of (14-ounce) can light coconut milk**

2. Soup: Add the rest of the liquid ingredients to the Base. Bring to light boil over medium-high heat and reduce to simmer over medium heat:

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk**

remainder of other can light coconut milk**

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons tamari

3. Vegetables: Add the vegetables to the soup as they are ready. Cook the soup until the vegetables are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes:

1-pound regular tofu, pressed 5 minutes, cubed

1 bell pepper, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

3 scallions, sliced

zest of a lime

4. Greens: When the vegetables are tender add the spinach and cook to wilt:

4 to 6 cups baby spinach

5. Serve: When the spinach is tender add the herbs and lime and serve:

1/2 cup cilantro or basil, chopped

juice of the lime zested

 

 

 

** Need a total of 2 (14-ounce) cans of light coconut milk.

 

 

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pin it!

"veganize it! + giveaway

I'm back for the third week in a row, and with another cookbook review. It seems that more than flowers are sprouting up for spring.

This new book is from Robin Robertson - another in the "win" pile! This is called Veganize It! Easy DIY Recipes for a Plant-Based Kitchen (AMAZON, B&N).

As always, Robin is very thorough and imparts tons of information in this newest volume. As the title indicates, this book turns non-vegan ingredients and recipes into delicious vegan ones! Robin starts with a pantry list then moves into ingredients to know and also shares a few basic tips and tricks. Then come the recipes!

The chapters range from DIY Dairy-Free and Egg-Free, Too, and Plant-Based Meats to Vegan Charcuterie and Instead of Seafood, to list a few.

I decided to test the book thoroughly and make as many of the ingredients at home as was called for in the recipes - because although Robin gives you basic recipes to veganize, she also assembles those recipes into a dish.

For my first main recipe I chose to make Cheesy Sausage Biscuits because I figured it would make a wonderful breakfast dish with some tofu scramble. This recipe includes DIY ingredients such as vegan butter, Maple Breakfast Sausage, nondairy milk and vegan sour cream. Although all of these recipes are in the book you can certainly use store-bought ingredients when you like. I decided to make the sour cream and the sausage:

The sausage was easy and quick to make and it was as promised: delicious.

The sour cream was just as easy to prepare and just as tasty. I used the remaining sour cream to make a salsa-ranch dressing. Yum!

When you add all these ingredients together, it makes this cheesy, sausage-y, fluffy and buttery biscuit. We all really enjoyed these! In fact, the biggest problem was that I didn't make enough!

The next main recipe I wanted to make was Cheesy Steak-Out Sandwiches. This recipe needs Vegan Worcestershire Sauce, Cheddary Sauce and either portobellos or seitan. I chose to make Baked Seitan Roast because I have a mushroom hater in the family.

I am a seitan lover and this simple roast was wonderful, especially in this sandwich.  I also made the Cheddary Sauce, which was equally amazing and brought this sandwich up another level.

Wrap all these scrumptious ingredients into a freshly baked roll and you have this perfect sandwich! If you are wondering if mushrooms would do this justice, I can assure you that it would!

This book is definitely an asset to your collection - or the beginning of your collection of cookbooks! It is unique and varied enough that the book is worth its price in gold. It has recipes such as scrapple, hot dogs, wellington, ribs, omelets, feta, butter, jerky, pepperoni, sea scallops, fish-free fillets, oyster sauce, kimchi, pasta, ganache, and the list goes on!

Robin has offered to share a recipe with you and since I focused so much on seitan for my review, I wanted to show you some more range and am sharing Robin's Clam Free Chowder.

After the recipe, be sure to enter the contest to win Veganize It! from Robin and her publisher. It's easy to enter - leave a comment (and be sure I can contact you, should you win!) Contest is open to US residents only and will conclude April 3, 2017. Good luck!

Photo by William and Susan Brinson.

Text excerpted from VEGANIZE IT! © 2017 by Robin Robertson. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved. Photo by William and Susan Brinson.

CLAM-FREE CHOWDER

Oyster mushrooms star in this vegan interpretation of New England clam chowder made with diced potatoes, onion, and celery with a creamy, cashew-based broth. If oyster mushrooms are unavailable, substitute white button mushrooms, chanterelles, or a combination of both.

SERVES 4

2 tablespoons vegan butter
8 ounces oyster mushrooms, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 celery rib, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dulse or nori flakes
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
½ cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 1 hour, then drained
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the same pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the potatoes, bay leaves, dulse, thyme, Old Bay, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then decrease the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are just tender. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the liquid smoke.

2 While the soup is simmering, blend the cashews and 1 cup of the almond milk in a high-speed blender until smooth. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the cashew mixture and the remaining 1 cup almond milk. Stir in the reserved mushrooms and heat the soup for a minute or two until hot. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Serve hot, garnished with the parsley.