Vegan White Lasagna Soup

What a week! It feels like it's been so long, but it's probably because so much happened in such a short amount of time. My husband moved his CPA business to a more permanent location and it is perfect. In the heart of this tiny town I love so much, walking distance from our home, and with great people. 

I also thought my son had an iron deficiency or something wrong for the past month. Iron is fine, turns out he's just growing up. He is almost 3 and a half and is finally starting to act slightly calmer than in the past. I can't wait to tell him the story one day of how his mother had to make sure there wasn't something seriously wrong with him when he started to mature. Oh, Warren.

Willa is almost 6 months old and I'm getting more excited to start introducing solids to her. Warren loved oatmeal so I think we might start with that too. She's also starting to put herself in the crawling position when she's on the floor. I'm excited and sad all at the same time. She seems to be growing up faster than Warren did. But she's also got a big brother she has to keep up with. 

Here's a couple pictures of what we've been up to!

Willa is so happy in the morning!

Warren loves being outside, playing at the park.

The new office! Needs some decorating but we will get there.

Willa's Christmas outfit with daddy.

And Warren's...giddy up, cowboy.

Took Warren tubing, so Willa and I hung out in the lodge.

After a day of tubing, we handled it well!

And our adorable 1920's fortune teller. 

And now for some food!

This recipe is so comforting. The walnuts add a unique dimension that really does resemble meat crumbles. I also went more rogue with this recipe than others. It turned out so good I had to hurry and write it all down before I forgot what I did!

Original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:

Cashew Cream:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp. lemon juice
Pinch of salt and pepper

Lasagna "Meat":

2 cups raw walnuts
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. pepper

For the Rest of the Soup:

6 cloves garlic or more!
1/2 a sweet onion, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
6 cups vegetable broth
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 c. Nutritional yeast
2 tsp. maple syrup
8 lasagna sheets
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 10 oz. packages kale
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. The cashews need to be soaked for 6-8 hours. Overnight works best. If you are in a pinch, you can soak the cashews in boiling water for about 15-30 minutes.
2. Once you are ready to make the soup, make the cashew cream first. Drain the soaked cashews and add them to a blender with the rest of the cashew cream ingredients. Blend on high, scraping down the sides as needed until the cream is super smooth and velvety with no texture. This may take a few minutes. Set this aside.
3. Make the lasagna "meat". Put all ingredients into a food processor. Blend until it starts to resemble meat crumbles. You may need to scrape the sides once or twice between blending. Set this aside.
4. Now, in a large soup pot, saute onions and garlic on medium high heat, using vegetable broth as needed so it doesn't stick to the pan. Reduce heat as needed until the garlic and onions are slightly caramelized. This may take 5-10 minutes.
5. Then add the lemon juice to the pot and scrape any bits of garlic and onion off the bottom.
6. Next, pour in the vegetable broth, and whisk in the Italian seasonings, nutritional yeast, and maple syrup.
7. Now, pour all the cashew cream you made into the pot and whisk to combine everything.
8. Do the same with the lasagna "meat" and diced tomatoes.
9. Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
10. Next, break the lasagna sheets into about 1-2 inch pieces. Then add them to the soup.
11. Simmer, stirring frequently until the noodles are al dente. Check your package for timing.
12. Once the noodles are done, taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Add the kale as well.
13. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Best Ever Minestrone Soup

 Oh my! A full year of no blogging? 😭It has been busy to say the least and how I have missed posting my favorite recipes. Even though I haven't put any food on my blog I have been doing a TON of cooking so hopefully I can catch up this year. 

Also, HUGE shoutout to my husband for letting me steal away for an afternoon to check out this adorable new coffee shop that opened up in our small Idaho town. I feel very fortunate to live here and raise our family. I was a Treasure Valley girl for 10 years but I'm definitely becoming a bigger fan of the Magic Valley. 

So...why haven't I been blogging as usual? Well for a very exciting reason right here. <3

Meet Willa Frances! We welcomed this precious little girl a couple days before Warren's 3rd birthday in August. She is so sweet and the perfect calm to Warren's tornado of terror. He is such a proud big brother and showers her with hugs and kisses daily. Hopefully he will remember this when she's old enough to steal all his toys!

My pregnancy however, was incredibly difficult and I am very grateful to be feeling more like myself these days. I spent 9 months basically in the fetal position on our couch, very different than my first "easy" in comparison pregnancy. It was quite challenging at moments, especially with an active toddler running around, yet was worth it all. But seriously, I'm glad that shit is over. 

I had a panic moment of what to post for my recipe because there are so many delicious ones I've discovered this year. However, this soup recipe I would make every week for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. It's that good. So here's the best minestrone soup you will ever have in your entire life. And be sure to pick up some good sourdough bread. If you're lucky enough to have someone local make it like I do, even better. 

This recipe can be found here. Be sure to check out more recipes from this website too. You won't be disappointed. 

Healthy Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 cup vegetable broth

5 cups water (or broth)

1 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (I've used fire roasted and it's so good)

3 tbsp. tomato paste

6 sundried tomato halves, chopped, about 1/4 cup *smoked takes this soup to a whole new level

1 tbsp. white miso

2 tbsp. nutritional yeast

1 cup dry pasta, don't overdo this or it turns to goulash instead of soup

1 15.5 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups, or up to 1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables

Spice/Herb Ingredients: *prep this first in a small ramakin 

2 tbsp. dried minced onions

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 tsp. dried basil

2 tsp. dried oregano

2 tsp. dried parsley

2 bay leaves

pinch cumin

2 1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

3 cups fresh baby spinach (or greens of choice)

Optional Toppings:

Fresh parsley, chopped

Vegan parmesan cheese found here.

Directions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, add the diced onion and celery. Sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes until the veggies are tender. Add a splash of vegetable broth if needed to prevent sticking.

2. Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute.

3. Add the water, vegetable broth, petite diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chopped sundried tomatoes, and bring to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.

4. Add the Spice/Herb Mix, stir to combine.

5. Add the pasta, beans, nutritional yeast, miso, and mixed veggies, and simmer until the pasta is almost tender, then add the baby spinach. Continue to simmer until the pasta is tender. Discard the bay leaf. 

6. Serve with your favorite toppings. 

Enjoy! And don't forget the fresh bread!