Day 356 Spice Mix

Spice Mix

3 Tablespoons Rubbed or Fresh Sage
1 Tablespoon Ground Rainbow Pepper
1 Tablespoon Paprika
1 Tablespoon Ground Fenugeek
1 Tablespoon Allspice
1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 Teaspoon Dried Tarragon, crushed

Mix all the spices together and store in a jar.  This mix is good for making mock meats, pot pies, and stews.

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Day 223 Yellow Split Pea Soup with Spiced Yogurt

Yellow Split Pea Soup with Spiced Yogurt

1 Tablespoon Earth Balance
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Inch Piece of Ginger Root, peeled and minced
1 Branch of Fresh Sage
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1 1/2 Cups Yellow Split Peas, soaked for at least an hour
2 Celery Stalks, diced
2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
7 Cups Water
Grated Peel and Juice of 1 Lemon

Spiced Yogurt

1/2 Cup Plain Coconut Milk Yogurt
1/2 Teaspoon Turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1/8 Teaspoon Cayenne
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
Pinch of Salt

Soaked Yellow Split Peas

1.  Heat the Earth Balance and oil in a soup pot and add the onion, garlic, ginger, sage and salt.  Cook for a minute and add the cumin and cloves.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the peas with the celery, carrots and 7 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until the peas have completely fallen apart.

Soup before blending

2.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Season to taste with additional salt, the lemon peel and lemon juice.

3.  Whisk the spiced yogurt ingredients together.  Garnish the soup.

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Feeling Better

I am healing from a sinus infection that included a wonderful temperature that went over 100 degrees. It is nice to feel like cooking again with the muscle aches and shivers.  I made one of my favs for breakfast - a almond butter, orange marmalade banana sandwich on the Acorn Squash Roll.

Leftovers were for lunch. For the last week we have been eating bulgar wheat or brown rice with frozen vegetables for dinner.  It was an easy fix for when I didn't feel good. I put the last serving of that over some spinach, added the Kale Salsa, green onion and some vegan cheese.  On the side, was tortilla chips with cheese.

Mashed sweet potatoes

Dinner started with some mashed sweet potatoes that were seasoned with balsamic vinegar and salt.

I sauteed some seitan, mushrooms, and green onion in a custom spice mix with some balsamic vinegar.

Then it all came together as this.  The seitan mix was layered on top of the sweet potatoes.  There was a side salad made with butter lettuce, kale salsa, vegan cheese and balsamic vinegar.

spice mix

My spice mix is cayenne pepper, ground cumin and salt.  For a late night snack, I spread half a acorn squash roll with sundried tomato sauce and sprinkled some of the vegan cheddar and parsley on top.