Vegan Mofo #14 - Terry’s Cuban Black Bean Soup with Cashew Crema...

Vegan Mofo #14 - Terry’s Cuban Black Bean Soup with Cashew Crema 

The Region - Cuba
The Book - Viva Vegan!
The Author -Terry Hope Romero
The Recipe - Cuban Black Bean Soup
Page # 150 Cashew Crema is on page #51
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - About 2 ½ -3 hours - most of it inactive

Today we’re going to stick with our Caribbean theme and talk about Black Bean Soup. I actually don’t know where black bean soup originated, but Terry Hope Romero has it listed as Cuban in her Viva Vegan! Book, and since Cuba is a part of the Caribbean I’m just going with that. You do often hear Black Bean soup being called Cuban Black Bean soup, and since Caribbean Cuisine is such a fusion of Spanish, Caribbean and African cooking that’s good enough for me.

Regardless of where it originated it’s a favorite soup of mine. I used to be really fascinated by Cuban Cuisine before I went vegan and there was a restaurant on Commercial Drive in Vancouver that I used to enjoy, but Cuban food isn’t exactly known for being vegan, and even black bean soup is often made with bacon, ham or bacon grease. The be all and end all of black bean soup for me used to be a delicious version I would get at a Caribbean style restaurant here in Chicago. That version was made with bacon however and so I haven’t had it in years, but I still have a special place in my heart for it’s flavor, and I haven’t made or found a restaurant version of this special soup that can really compare to the beloved one of my pre-vegan days.

Enter Terry’s amazing take on Cuban Black Bean Soup and not only do you have a real winner but a vegan version that can really stand up to it’s non-vegan counterpart, and even beat it I think. The ingredients here are simple enough, black beans, water, salt, bay leaves, olive oil, garlic, onion, green pepper, tomatoes, red wine, oregano, cumin, liquid smoke, red wine vinegar or lime juice and then cashew cream, onion, and cilantro for serving. Though the components are simple enough I think the secret is really in the method. I’ve wanted to make Terry’s version of this soup since I first bought Viva Vegan! But I always found the long cooking time to be daunting. Little did I realize that it really is a necessity, I think it makes all the difference and since most of that time is inactive it really doesn’t seem like such a chore to make. I also think it makes a big difference sauteeing the veggies as a sofrito and then adding them in for the last 35 minutes of cooking, rather then letting them cook directly in the pot as many soups do. I also think the addition of both liquid smoke and wine give it that fermented smoky flavor that most black bean soups have courtesy of animal products. I ended up upping the liquid smoke to double the amount specified and it was perfect.

If it still sounds like a lot of work I recommend making this soup on a lazy morning when you have nothing else to do and while you let it simmer you can read a book, or do some yoga as I did yesterday. It really is worth all of your effort.

For the final product I blended 2 ½ cups of the soup in a blender then poured it back into the pot to get that thick creamy texture, and I made Terry’s Cashew Crema to go along with it. Her Cashew Crema is super easy just cashews, water, lime juice, agave, and salt. This is probably one of the best cashew creams I’ve ever had and I’ve made it several times. It’s perfect for Latin American style meals. Lastly I took her suggestion and garnished my soup with minced cilantro but instead of using raw sweet onion I used sliced green onions because that’s how I prefer my black bean soup.

I really can’t say enough good things about this meal, it brings me back to another time, and transplants me to an Island nation far away. It’s every bit as mouth watering as it looks, and oh so comforting on a slightly chilly, grey, autumn afternoon.

Vegan Mofo #13 - Jenny & Heather's Southwest Black Bean and Corn Mini Burgers with Smoky Paprika Cashew Cheese...

Vegan Mofo #13 - Jenny & Heather's Southwest Black Bean and Corn Mini Burgers with Smoky Paprika Cashew Cheese

The Book - Spork-Fed
The Author - Jenny Engel & Heather Goldberg
The Recipe - Southwest Black Bean and Corn Mini Burgers with Smoky Paprika Cashew Cheese
Page # 79-80
Difficulty - Easy
Duration - Roughly 30 minutes - longer if you prefer to bake your burgers as opposed to frying them

I made these for two reasons 1) I was really craving a simple bean and grain sort of veggie burger, and 2) I’ve hardly used this cook book since I first purchased it. The promise of a smoky cashew cheese didn’t hurt either I might add.  I wasn’t sure how these burgers were going to turn out, and since my husband does not like beans very much I wasn’t sure if he’d like them, turns out I needn’t have worried because these mini burgers are incredible! They’re so good in fact that my husband loved them and went back for seconds! He even liked the cashew cheese!

What I really appreciate about these burgers is their simplicity and their emphasis on simple whole food ingredients. These burgers are a mixture of black beans, corn, garlic, onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper, chipotle powder, lemon juice, agave, rolled oats, and bread crumbs. At first I thought the addition of oats was a little strange but It’s actually one of the things I ended up liking best about these burgers. The oats give the burgers a great taste, and wonderful texture. They’re hearty, and grainy but in the best way possible. These burgers actually taste a bit like a regular burger, I bet you could even give one of these to someone and they wouldn’t know the difference.

The Cashew cheese is also really simple and utilizes pantry staples like cashews, garlic powder, sea salt, agave, smokes paprika, vegetable oil, lemon juice, thyme, soy or almond milk and black pepper.

I think I may have played around with the spice amounts for both the burgers and the cheese to suit my personal preference but otherwise I followed the recipe by the book. Except I chose to bake these rather then fry them to avoid excess oil. I actually think baking them was a great idea, it really melded the flavor.

To serve I put them on pretzel slider buns with a bit of vegan mayo, a lot of arugula, a dollop of the cashew cheese and some pickled jalapenos. The pickled jalapenos really bring it to another level although if you don’t like heat you could easily serve it with some tomato instead.

This is pure good food, just the way I like it!

Ancient Inca Tri-Quinoa Stew...

Yesterday was a relatively chilly day, it was also a rather busy day for me, coming at the end of a busy weekend. I wanted something warming, and hearty for dinner that wouldn’t take all that much effort or time on my part, and I wanted to incorporate Quinoa. I’ve been really craving this delicious little grain over the past few days, and as I never seem to eat enough of it, I really wanted to make a dish that would showcase it prominently.

For those of you unfamiliar with Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) it is a grain like crop, hailing from the Andean region of Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia and Peru, where it was domesticated for human consumption roughly 4000 years ago. Quinoa is a very nutrient dense food, containing all the essential amino acids, which makes it a complete protein! It’s also a good source of fiber, calcium, phosphorus and iron. The Incas held this crop as sacred and referred to it as the "Mother of all Grains" and is it any wonder? A 100g serving of Quinoa contains 7g of fiber, 14g of protein, 35% Iron, 55% Magnesium, 65% phosphorus, 33% Zinc, and many B Vitamins as well as Vitamin E. Amazing! Quinoa was also called the "Gold of the Incas" because they recognized and utilized it’s value. Inca warriors would often sit down to a big dish of Quinoa just before battle because they believed this grain made them strong and powerful.

What I really love about quinoa - aside from it’s delicious flavor of course - is it’s versatility. You can use it in any way that you’d traditionally use rice, barley, cous cous or other grains. I’ve seen people make Greek Dolmas with Quinoa, and it’s becoming more and more popular to make sushi with it as well. You can steam or stir-fry veggies to spoon over top of it, use it in stew, soup or chili, toss it into salads or even eat it as a breakfast porridge instead of oatmeal as the Inca did. Quinoa is also very quick to cook, in roughly 20 minutes you can have a big steaming pot of it ready to go. Personally I like to cook mine in low-sodium vegetable broth - as I do with rice and cous cous - but water is totally fine too. So if you haven’t tried quinoa you absolutely must, and if you have tried it an liked it you should try to make it a staple in your diet for it’s wonderful health benefits! Just make sure you rinse your Quinoa first to remove any bitter residue.

As for this stew, I wanted something with a South American flair that would compliment the Quinoa’s region or origin, but at the same time I wanted a stew that was lightly seasoned. Too often our food is overly spiced and so the natural flavors don’t get the chance to truly shine through. In this dish I wanted to be able to taste the nuttiness of the Quinoa, the sweetness of the corn, the tanginess of lime and the acidity of the tomatoes. However if you want the stew to be a little more spicy or a little more sweet or a little more tart feel free to adjust the seasonings to suit your preference, oh and while I’ve listed the avocado as being optional I definitely recommend it. It pairs so beautifully with the stew and lends a wonderful mouth feel to have creamy raw avocado mixed in with your hot grainy stew. Although a dollop or two of guacamole would probably be just as good if you’d prefer.

Okay, before I get to it let me just say that I know this is going to look like a lot of ingredients but trust me when I say this dish is actually really simple and comes together very easy. You hardly have to do any chopping and most of the cook time is spent with you just sitting around waiting for the stew to finish simmering. There Is so much you can do in that downtime. Shower, read, check your e-mail you name it. It’s the perfect after work dinner. Throw everything in a pot and go!

Ancient Inca Tri-Quinoa Stew

1/4 C Vegetable Broth
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
10 Garlic Cloves Minced
1 Large Red Onion
1 Orange Bell Pepper
6-10 Baby Bella Mushrooms chopped
½ C White Quinoa
½ C Black Quinoa
½ C Red Quinoa
3 ½ C Vegetable Broth
1 ½ C Corn Kernels
1 15 oz Can Black Beans
1 28oz Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
3 tsp Chili Powder
3 tsp Ground Cumin
2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1/8 tsp White Pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
Black Pepper to taste
3-4Tbsp Lime Juice
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 Bunch Cilantro minced
Sliced Avocado (Optional but highly recommended)

- Pour quarter cup of vegetable broth and 2 tbsp of lime juice into a soup pot. Add minced garlic, onion, and bell pepper and saute on medium until veggies are soft and translucent. About 5-7 minutes, sprinkle with black pepper to taste, add in mushrooms and saute another 3-4 minutes.

- Add all quinoa to the pot along with the fire roasted tomatoes and remaining 3 ½ C vegetable broth, bring to a boil. Let boil for five minutes then reduce heat and let simmer for 35 minutes.

- Add in Corn kernels, black beans, chili powder, cumin, oregano, white pepper, and smoked paprika and let simmer another 15-20 minutes.

- By now Quinoa should be fully cooked and expanded and the amount of liquid in the pot should have decreased some. If this is not the case then let simmer an additional ten minutes. Otherwise add in Cilantro, the last 3 tbsp of lime juice, and agave nectar. Stir to combine, simmer for 5 minutes and then serve.

- Garnish with half a sliced avocado per bowl, and serve with a side salad or a hunk of cornbread. I decided to serve mine with cornbread. The basic recipe for which I got from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s book "The Joy of Vegan Baking" However I added in a 1/3 C of minced cilantro and 2 Tbsp of minced Jalapeno for a little Latin kick.

***Note: I realize not all of you may have access to so many different types of Quinoa, so if you don’t, don’t fret. It’s perfectly all right to use whatever kind you have and I don’t think the flavor of the stew will suffer for it. Although Black Quinoa is my absolute favorite so if you can find it I highly recommend you grab some! Also you can use any bell pepper you have, I would have used red but orange was the only kind I had at the time.***