Creamy Zucchini Soup topped with Sauteed Creminis

This soup accompanied a bagel with cream cheese last night. It is quite thick and creamy so make sure you loosen your belt buckle for this one. Enjoy warm or cold like a vichyssoise.

 Creamy Zucchini Soup with Sauteed Shrooms


2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 med onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
olive oil
salt 
pepper
fresh herbs(parsley), chopped
.5 cup raw cashews
1 cup water

handful of chopped mushrooms
olive oil
3 cloves garlic
salt 
pepper
splash white wine
fresh herbs (parsley and dill) chopped
lemon, ready for juicing


For the cashew cream puree the raw cashew with the water until you get a creamy smooth consistency.


For the soup, sweat the onions and garlic over medium heat to bring out the sweetness of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. After about 5 minutes add your chopped zucchinis and cook until soft. Season again with salt and pepper and some fresh parsley. Add the cashew cream and cook for another 5 minutes until warmed through. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or scoop into a regular blender and puree that way. Serve topped with the sauteed creminis or other mushrooms (just not god awful white buttons, the absolute worst of all mushrooms. It's honestly a disgrace to all edible fungi. I think they should kick it out of the family).

For the mushrooms, get some oil in a hot pan. Add the mushrooms and let cook for about 3 minutes, getting browned. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper. Let get slightly brown and then splash with white wine. Cook until wine reduces and then sprinkle with fresh herbs and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Navy Bean Soup

Well it was another freezing day here in Urbana.  Why is it so cold when it is only October??  We really needed a meal to warm us up.  We decided to make this super simple and easy-on-the-pockets dish.  (Vegan food is so cheap if you eat veggies all the time.)

Navy Bean Soup

1 onion
few cloves of garlic
few celery stalks
few carrots
can of navy beans
veggie broth or bouillion cube
salt and pepper

Get a big pot hot and add a little bit of oil and add the onion and garlic.  Cook onion til you are done chopping the other veggies.  Add celery and carrots.  Cook for a little while more while you open the beans and rinse them off.  Add the beans and add enough water to cover.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Mush it up a bit.  Add more veggie broth (I did about 2 cups, you can add as much or as little as you like.)  Cook for a little while longer until it thickens up.  Serve with homemade bread and mashed potatoes.  Eat fast so you can finish your homework after dinner!  (Oh wait, that's just me.)