Comfort Food

When I was first married, I didn't know my way around a kitchen - unless I was baking cookies of course. My Handsome Husband cooked ALL our meals, and when he was at work or away I simply ate left overs or something from a can. This really didn't bother me in the least, and he enjoyed cooking, so it was a good arrangement for us. Fast forward a few years, and we were expecting our first babe, I was sicker than a dog, bouncing back and forth to the city for specialist appointments, and off work. With all my newly found free time I thought I should at least have supper waiting when my better half walked in the door from work. At first the meals were meager, burnt, and left a lot to be desired. Thankfully, My Man choked down the gruel and encouraged me so that I was able to have the courage to keep on cooking and make it to the place I am today - creating new recipes! What a gift it is to have his unconditional belief in me!
One of the first meals I prepared was straight from a can, and tasted horrible, but of course received two thumbs up. We laugh about my humble beginnings in the kitchen now, but seriously guys, this was no laughing matter. How did he choke down that stuff??? In honor of that early disaster, I recreated the meal - this time completely from scratch, using whole food ingredients. No cans required.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

an original recipe, created by me

6 cups water

3 tabs low sodium veggie broth

6-8 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, pressed

3 tbsp - ¼ cup water, for sauteing

¼ cup flour

2 cups almond milk

¾ cups nutritional yeast

¾ cups soy yogurt, plain

1 can strained and washed white kidney beans

½ tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Bring first three items to a simmer in a large pot, and let simmer for 15 minutes.

In a skillet, sauté the onion and crushed garlic until transparent, then add the flour and milk, stirring constantly until a thick paste forms. Add this mixture to the broccoli pot.

Add nutritional yeast, and soy yogurt to the pot, then seasonings. After stirring everything well, ladle into a blender, and blend until desired consistency. Leaving some soup in the blender, add in the beans and emulsify completely. Add this thicker mix to the soup pot, and stir to combine. Serve warm with fresh focaccia bread – so good!

We made this soup while winds drove rain sideways against our windows. It was quite the comfort food amidst the storm :) Darius really wanted me to take a picture of him with his soup, as he would emphatically praise the soup after every slurpy bite. Life definitely becomes more entertaining when kids are on the scene!

Protien Packed Mac'

I posted the other day on facebook about the macaroni and cheese I had really enjoyed eating, and wouldn't you know, I got a few requests for the recipe. So, here you go!

I have recently been loving the blog Healthy Happy Life where blogger Kathy shares yummy vegan recipes. In her 2011 Recipe round up, I noticed a Mac and Cheese recipe that actually looked like it would taste like a real cheese sauce instead of the cardboard tasting oil sauces I have come across up till now. I made Kathy's recipe as directed, then added in just a couple of tweaks, so I'll be sending you to her for the bulk of the recipe, then read on for what I did to make it better - and boy did it ever!

Mac and Cheese Bake

Ingredients

all listed at Healthy Happy Life for her Mac and Cheese recipe

plus an additional three cups cooked pasta

can of corn, drained

corn flakes, roughly 1 cup

Directions

once pasta is cooked, drained and rinsed, and the cheese sauce is bubbly and hot, combine the two in a bowl along with the corn. Once thoroughly combined, transfer to a oven safe corning ware dish, cover with cornflakes, and bake in a 375*F over for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving so that the sauce does not scorch any little mouths!

With beans, sweet potato,  and nutritional yeast hidden in this gem of a dish, it is a nutritional powerhouse. Use whole wheat pasta to up the ante and your set! I need to put a bit of a disclaimer on it though, as my husband informed me that it is delicious, but does not taste like real cheese. So, if you eat 'real' cheese don't expect this to mimic the real deal, but for those of us who haven't tasted cheese in a while, this is a delight!