Leek & Dill Soup

From the start, I have to state that this is my Romanian Aunt Anca's recipe and I fell in love with it from first taste. It's low in fat, full of fiber and vegetables, surprisingly sweet and savory at the same time, and absolutley delicious. This also fits really well in the "easy peasy" department as you don't have to babysit it much and it practically makes itself.

2 leeks, white part and a little of green, cleaned and chopped fine

1/2 zucchini, cubed (optional)

handful of peas

water to cover

1/4 cup chopped dill, saved for the end

Combine leeks, zucchini and peas and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. You can blend 1/2 of it with an immersion blender until smooth, or leave it as is, chunky. Add in the dill, and season to taste with salt & pepper. 

You can easily add anything else to this soup you'd like: a potato, carrots, celery, etc. Enjoy and experiment. 

Leek & Mushroom Crustless Quiche with Coconut Bacon & Chili

I can't remember the last time I ate eggs - probably 6 years ago? I don't miss them honestly, but sometimes I do feel like a scramble or a quiche of some sort. I try to stay away from soy if I can, so when this new product hit the shelves (Follow Your Heart VeganEgg), I decided to try it out! Well, the first time I made the quiche, all three of us (including our 16 year old, who has discerning teenage taste buds) fought over it. It was gone in 15 minutes. 

Vegan Egg comes in a powder (see picture below), so you have to add liquid to it to resemble a scrambled egg. It's mainly made from Algal protein and flour (a type of seaweed), and some black salt and nutritional yeast (which gives it en eggy flavor, a sulfur-rich taste). It does contain carageenan, so if you have some tummy troubles, scroll down to the bottom of recipe to read what I have to say about it.

Otherwise, this quiche is gorgeous, light, fluffy, and resembles eggs exceedingly well. The flavors are slightly sweet from the caramelized leek, with a salty and umami taste from the mushrooms. And, the coconut bacon takes it over the top. I like the light kick the chili flakes add, and also, and wouldn't be mad if you served it with some kind of hot sauce (I won't tell). 

Coconut Bacon, Recipe Found here. 

I used this recipe as a template, although I tweaked it so it's crustless (low-glycemic and gluten free) and loaded with veggies (fiber and flavor!). I include it here in case you want to see the original. 

1 tsp coconut oil

2 cleaned leeks, white part, quartered and sliced into small ringlets

1/2 red onion, medium chop

two pinches sea salt

2 cups baby portabella mushrooms, chopped

3 vegan eggs (6 level tablespoons of Vegan Egg plus 1.5 cups ice cold water)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup coconut creamer

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup coconut bacon (recipe found here)

chili flakes for garnish

Melt coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add in the leeks, onion and two pinches of salt and cover until they sweat and begin to caramelize. Watch them closely as they may burn. Once caramelized, add in the mushrooms, cover, and sweat until they soften. Set aside. 

In a bowl, combine the vegan egg, 1/2 tsp salt, coconut creamer, almond milk and wish until smooth. Add in the mushroom and leek mixture and stir to combine well. Pour into a pie dish and bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, sprinkle with chili flakes, coconut bacon, and serve warm. Enjoy!

A note about Carageenan: it gets a bad rap, but I keep reading conflicting articles on it ~ it hurts some people's tummies and causes inflammation, and for others it doesn't (and in fact helps fight viruses?). When in doubt, and if you're sensitive to digestive upset, I wouldn't use this product ~ period. Why risk it? For us, it hasn't caused us any digestive discomfort, so it's OK with us to use this product once in a great while as an occasional treat...and I mean treat. Once a month? If you're concerned, definitely do your own research and go the cautious route. That said, I found this to be a good article. Also, it's hard to find, but I buy it on Thrive Market (Amazon also carries it and maybe some health food stores).