Monday, August 2, 2010

Curried Vegetable Mushroom Soup


Soup is great to have in the refrigerator for a number of reasons. I love that it is better the next day as the flavors get a chance to marry. When you add beans to the soup it also provides protein, which I love. It is easy and reheats well for a quick lunch. If it is hot outside you can make it in a Crockpot without warming up your kitchen.

You are probably not surprised to see more mushrooms in this soup since I have been trying to get them into us every day for their antiproliferative properties. We hadn’t had turmeric in a while so I thought making an Indian flavored soup was a good idea. I decided to add a little coconut milk to the soup to add a rich background. I won’t buy full fat coconut milk due to the fat level. Consuming saturated fat concerns me so I only buy the reduced fat version. If all you have is full fat milk I would suggest using no more than 1/3 of the can of the full fat stuff since the reduced fat version has 68% less fat. Here is what I made for my lunch today:

Curried Vegetable Mushroom Soup
Makes 6 servings of about 2 cups each

Ingredients:

1 cup dried mushrooms
2 cups water
½ red onion, peeled and finely diced (allow to stand 10 minutes before cooking)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced (allow to stand 10 minutes before cooking)
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, no salt added
13.5 ounce can of reduced fat coconut milk (Let’s Do Organic Brand)
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
½ teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
freshly ground black pepper to taste (I used about ½ teaspoon, be generous the piperine in the black pepper increases the absorption of the turmeric)
4 carrots, diced
1 cup moong dal (aka split mung beans)
2 cups of water, or what is necessary to cook the split mung beans
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely minced
6 tablespoons cashew crème fraiche

Directions:

Combine the mushrooms and 2 cups of water in a microwave safe bowl and heat until hot. Allow the mushrooms for soak for 30 minutes. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid to capture the sediment so it doesn’t end up in your soup. Chop the mushrooms into pieces that will fit on your spoon.

In a soup pot combine everything except the optional water, parsley and cashew crème. Simmer until the beans and carrots are tender. You may need to add water depending on how absorbent your beans.

Taste for seasonings and adjust before serving. To serve, top the soup with little fresh parsley and a dollop of cashew crème fraiche.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 253.95
Calories From Fat (25%) - 63.98

Total Fat - 6.91g
Saturated Fat - 3.77g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 71.94mg
Potassium - 996.81mg
Total Carbohydrates - 38.81g
Fiber - 9.86g
Sugar - 8.7g
Protein - 11.72g

Comments:

This is flavorful and very filling, not to mention healthy, of course. I love soups like this that have a little bit of everything. I could eat this soup for a week and be happy. You can serve this over a grain or potato if you like but I think it is good as it is.

Unrelated Note:

I debated about mentioning this but decided why not. If you like my blog and want others to realize that vegan food can be both cruelty free and healthy, please take the VegNews survey and write in my blog.  By responding to the survey you are also entering to win some nice prizes. Thanks for considering this. ;-)

Today has been a little busy at my house like most Monday’s. After I exercised I had a few things to do  around the house and spent a little time in the kitchen making the marinated veggies and this soup. The soup smelled so inviting I had to have a bowl for lunch though I knew it would taste even better tomorrow. To go with the soup I also had a cup of frozen grapes.

Don’t you just love the taste of healthy whole plant based food? I can’t imagine eating any other way now that I have completely committed to it. I really like that after I eat I don’t feel lethargic or sluggish. Somehow that makes eating so much more pleasurable. ;-)

I need to run for now while I figure out what I am making for dinner. Talk to you all later. I hope everyone is having a great day.

18 comments:

  1. This looks absolutely delicious. I must make it as soon as I get the ingredients!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Krystina,

    Thanks! :-) I was happy with this and think you might like it. I hope so.

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love soup, lol! Even though it is 90 something here with dew points in the 70s and horribly humid and muggy, your post has me craving soup :-) Yum!

    Courtney

    ReplyDelete
  4. Courtney,

    Thank you so much for the nice comment. Considering how much I know you like the heat that was a huge compliment. ;-)

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is some luscious looking soup! I have been spooked off of cooking with dried mushrooms, I made soup with them once and thought it was a gross texture. I'm thinking maybe I didn't soak them long enough. I doubt it was 30 minutes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sarah,

    Thanks, I liked it and since I know you love Indian food this sounds right up your alley. ;-)

    Regarding the mushrooms not only do I soak them for 30 minutes but then cook them for another 45. Also the older they are the longer they take to cook, like beans. If you want to use them in quick cooking soup you could soak and then cook the mushrooms the day before and keep them in the frig or freezer to use later. I have done that before too.

    I hope you are having a great Monday,
    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  7. OK, just finished up the survey and gave you an honorable mention!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Aimee,

    Thanks! I really appreciate that. :-)

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ali,
    Just a reminder...would you add the global vegan to your blog roll?
    Thanks!
    Aimee

    ReplyDelete
  10. Aimee,

    Thanks for the reminder, I thought I had added it. Old age I guess. ;-)

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your way of eating is definitely inspiring. I mean, it's practically like my way of eating, but I do eat more processed food than I should. One of my next goals is to eat more mushrooms. I did that a lot 7 years ago, after my cancer bout. Which dried mushrooms do you buy? What part of the store do you find them in?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jenny,

    Thanks! I am happy to hear that.

    I buy many different types of mushrooms. I like to buy dried shitakes and maitakes at Wegman's or our local Asian market. Costco also carries a big jar of mixed dried mushrooms which I also use a lot. Dan is fond of morels and I like porcinis. Our regular grocery store carries the Melissa's brand. The healthfood store carries the Fungus Amongst brand. I have also seen dried mushrooms on Amazon grocery. I hope that helped.

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jenny,

    Glad I could help. :-) I have more mushrooms soaking now. I want to make a mushroom pate today that doesn't use any beans. We will see how that works. Assuming I like the texture, it will be a good daily dose of 'shrooms. ;-)

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm glad you mentioned the survey... I've never read VegNews and was glad to have the chance to vote for you!

    I've been making a list to take to our local Asian market -- dulce, dried mushrooms, goji berries, and maybe lowfat coconut milk. Would an Asian store be likely to carry hemp seeds? They're so expensive at Whole Foods.

    What do you put in your basic stir-fry sauce? I threw together what I had last night (too many things to list!) and it was okay, but I'd like your input.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Laura,

    Thanks, that is very nice of you. I really appreciate it. :-)

    I have not seen hempseeds at our Asian market but it is worth a look. I buy ours from Amazon grocery. They have the best price I have seen. They are great on salads. We think they taste like pine nuts.

    Now I tend to use vegetarian oyster sauce (which is mushroom based) and mirin. The other Asian condiments are so high in sodium I have been using less of them lately. If sodium isn't an issue I also like sriracha and liquid aminos or sriracha, black bean and liquid aminos. All of the sauces are better with fresh garlic and ginger in them. Did that help?

    Ali

    ReplyDelete
  16. That's a great help, thanks. I bought mirin a while back for something or other (can't remember), but haven't thought of using it that way.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Laura,

    White miso and mirin makes a great fat free salad dressing. Maybe that is why you bought the mirin. ;-)

    Ali

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails