spring pea soup with lemon and dill ~vegan, gluten free~

Fresh, light and screaming of spring!

Spring Pea Soup with Lemon and Dill ~vegan, gluten free~

Fresh peas, kale, leeks, lemon and dill…

Aborio rice and butter beans add a velvety texture, filling and delicious!

Spring Pea Soup with Lemon and Dill ~vegan, gluten free~

Dill, super easy to grow and super healthy for you too!

Got gas???  

Add dill to meals or chew it raw to tame tummy troubles!

Similar to many spring herbs and vegetables, dill promotes detoxification of the liver.  It activates liver enzymes, which attach to toxins in body preventing them from doing damage making dill a chemoprotective food.  The active components in dill are limonene, carvone and anethofuran, which contain antimicrobial and anticancer properties.

Besides adding dill to soup or chewing it raw, try making dill sauce!   Combine fresh dill, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and lemon zest in a blender.  Blend and serve over roasted vegetables, salads or grains.  Or drizzle it over spring soup like this one!

spring pea soup with lemon and dill
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 leek, chopped, white parts only
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-2 carrots, chopped
  • ½ cup aborio rice or brown rice
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 4-5 large kale leaves, de-stemmed and finely chopped
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • ⅓ cup fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • sea salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add leek and sauté for a few minutes, until soft.
  2. Add garlic and carrots, saute for another few minutes or until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Mix in rice. Stir to coat rice with oil.
  4. Add broth, kale and beans. Bring to a soft boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover and cook until rice is tender.
  5. Stir in dill, lemon juice and peas. Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Serve with a lemon wedge and enjoy!

Spring Pea Soup with Lemon and Dill ~vegan, gluten free~

I would be so grateful if you could take a few seconds and vote for my recipe!

My Toasted Coconut Chocolate Cream Pie recipe made it to the top 10 in a Nasoya Tofu recipe contest!

If you’re on Facebook…click the link below to vote!

 http://nasoya-think-beyond-the-block.pgtb.me/mbnCGV

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Many Thanks :)

quinoa corn chowder Vegan Gluten Free

Corn chowder and I have never been friends.  To be honest, I’m not sure I have ever had traditional corn chowder made with cream.  It always looked good, but I knew it wouldn’t make me feel good.

Problem solved…replace cream with quinoa!!!

Quinoa and Corn Chowder ~vegan, dairy free, gluten free~

This recipe uses blended quinoa to create a mock cream based soup (yet another reason to love quinoa!)

Using quinoa in place of cream (per cup) drastically cuts the amount of fat down by 40 grams, increases the fiber content by 5 grams, increases the protein content by 6 grams and it tastes great to boot!  I would say this is a winning situation!

Quinoa and Corn Chowder ~vegan, dairy free, gluten free~

Quinoa Corn Chowder

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup white onion, chopped

1 cup leek, sliced (white part only)

1 carrot, diced

1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)

3 cups frozen corn (preferably organic)

3 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon saffron

1 cup red pepper, diced

parsley for garnish (optional)

Quinoa and Corn Chowder ~vegan, dairy free, gluten free~

-In a large saucepan, add olive oil, onions and leeks and sauté over medium heat until translucent.  Add carrots and sauté an additional 2 minutes.

-Add broth, uncooked quinoa, 2 cups of the corn, bay leaf, ground black pepper, sea salt, cayenne pepper and saffron.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa is cooked.

-Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and either use a hand-held immersion blender or blender/food processor to puree soup.  I used a vitamix.  (add more broth if soup is too thick)

-Return soup to saucepan over low heat.  Add remaining cup of corn and diced red pepper and cook until heated through.  Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

~Serve warm  and enjoy~

getting it all over your face (optional)

getting it all over your face (optional)

lemon tahini miso soup with chickpeas

With the frigid temps these days, I’ve been cooking nothing but soup, soup and more soup!

Here is a new twist on traditional miso soup!

I was inspired from Heidi Swanson over at the blog 101 cookbooks to add tahini to my miso soup.  If you haven’t checked out this site you should!  She is one of the first bloggers I ever started following and I own all her cook books.  Her photographs are beautiful and tell a story all their own.  But, what I like most about her blog is the simple yet complex recipes she creates.  She puts a spin on wholesome ingredients, which bring them to life.  You can find the original recipe here, I can’t wait to try it out some night soon!

In the meantime, try out my recipe :)

lemon tahini miso soup with chickpeas ~vegan, gluten free~

Lemon Tahini Miso Soup with Chickpeas

a few gluggs of olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red onion, diced

2 carrots, chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

1.5 cups water

1/4 cup uncooked short grain brown rice

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 large handful of baby spinach leaves

1 generous pinch of wakame

Miso Mixture

1/2 lemon, juiced

4 tablespoons miso paste

3 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons braggs amino acids

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seed oil

Garnish

2 scallions, chopped

-In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic and onion.  Saute until fragrant.

-Add broth, water, carrots, brown rice, chickpeas and spinach.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and add wakame.

-Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together miso paste, tahini, lemon juice, bragg’s amino acids and toasted sesame seed oil.  Stir until well combined.

-Add miso mixture to soup and stir well.  It is important not to add miso paste to soup when it is boiling!

-Garnish with chopped scallions and enjoy!

This recipe got a thumbs up from the whole family, even Noah!  

lemon tahini miso soup with chickpeas ~vegan, gluten free~