Dinner ~ Broccoli & Corn Soup

It's interesting going into many grocery stores today and seeing broccoli florets for sale. I've often wondered, what are they doing with the stems?  I tend to buy the entire broccoli and keep the stems for making soup. As a rule of thumb, making an attempt to eat the entire edible parts of a plant is usually a good idea, as different parts of plants have complimentary health benefits. Think yin and yang of being in balance.

Broccoli & Corn Soup

1 c water

3 c unsweetened rice milk

2 c chopped broccoli stems

1/2 c broccoli florets

1 c sweet corn

1 c chopped cauliflower

sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat broccoli stems in water and rice milk until tender. Process in blender until smooth. Return to pot and add sweet corn, cauliflower, and broccoli florets. Cook for 3 minutes longer on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. 

Dinner: Broccoli and corn soup with homemade croutons, vegan steak tips, risotto, and vegetable medley with broccoli, collard greens, red cabbage and shaved carrots. 

Lunch ~ Corn Fritters

When locally produced corn is in abundant supply,  I will typically buy it in bulk, shuck it from the cob, and freeze for future use in soups, salads, and fritters. While warm corn fritters are absolutely delicious to have on their own, they are also a nice addition to steamed or raw vegetables as part of a complete meal. 

Lunch: Corn fritters with green onions and tarter sauce. 

Corn Fritters

2 c sweet corn

1/4 c chopped leeks

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 c flour

1/2 c cornmeal

1/2 c water

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Heat safflower oil in wok. Drop desired dollop of batter into heated oil. Cook on both sides until golden brown. Remove from wok and allow excess oil to absorb into paper towel. Serve with vegan tarter sauce, ketchup, or chutney preserves. 

Dinner ~ Seitan Steaks with Carmelized Onions & Mushrooms

Seitan is a excellent meal choice when you are feeling like a hearty, vegetarian/vegan meal. It is wheat gluten, that has a texture similar to meat products. When preparing seitan, it can be flavored with shoyu, ginger, curry, or a myriad of other spices. 

For this meal, I served the pan-seared seitan on a bed of wheat grain then topped it with caramelized onions and mushrooms. As I am not much of a baker, I chose to pair this meal with a local, seasonal fruit of Concord grapes.  When I was young, we had a grapevine in our backyard. Eating Concord grapes evokes an childhood memory of walking into our kitchen, the air thick with the sweet, sticky smell of homemade grape jam being preserved by my mother and grandmother.

To complete this meal, pour yourself a glass of merlot or cabernet. Salut!  

Dinner: Seitan steaks with carmelized onions and mushrooms, corn, steamed broccoli, wheat grain, and Concord grapes. 

Lunch ~ Arugula & Bok Choy Salad

Lunch: Arugula and steamed bok choy salad greens with red and orange heirloom carrots, radishes, and red peppers topped with a mustard tahini dressing, sprouts. Side of sliced avocado, couscous salad, bean salad and bing cherries. 

For lunch I tend to gravitate towards warm soups and abundantly leafy green salads. It feels good to eat food that is filled with bursts of color! I add a side of beans for protein and cherries for sweetness.

A homemade dressing is easy to make ~ from nutty tasting tahini, citrusy orange, to crunchy chia seeds ~ the various combinations of flavors are seemingly endless. When you make it yourself, you can assure that there is no added colors or so called "natural flavors".