Thai Coconut Soup- My Way

I've been wanting to make Thai coconut soup for a very long time, but I never seem to have all the ingredients on hand at the same time. Today was no exception, but I was closer than I'd ever been to having everything that I needed, so I figured "Why not??!!"... haha. I didn't have red curry paste or bamboo shoots, but I was confident I could make it work without those ingredients... well semi confident... Lol. I know the peas aren't a usual component, but I wanted to add some extra nutrition and a little color, and I think they went quite well in the soup :) 

1 can coconut milk

1 cup veggie stock

2 small/med tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 tsp sriracha (or more if you like more spice)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp yellow curry powder

2 tbsp coconut oil 

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced/grated ginger

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup julienne sliced carrots 

6 mushrooms halved and finely sliced ( abiout 2 cups)

10 baby corn, sliced into rounds

3/4 cup thinly sliced red pepper

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1.5 cups bean sprouts

5" piece of lemon grass roughly chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves, sliced

Cheese cloth (optional)

Fresh chopped cilantro to garnish

In a high speed blender combine coconut milk, veggie stock, tomatoes, sriracha, salt and curry powder. Blend on high until smooth. Set aside.
Place large pot on stove on medium heat. Add coconut oil and once heated, add onion. Cook for a couple minutes and add garlic and ginger. Pour the contents from the blender into the pot and add the rest of the vegetables. Place lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves in the cheese cloth and tie closed so that they can't get loose. You don't have to do this, but it makes it easier to remove them. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Remove cheescloth pouch. Ladle into bowls and serve with fresh chopped cilantro on top.

Pictures/Recipes of Valentine's Day Dinner

As promised I am posting a couple pictures of our dinner from last night. The real star of the show was the Coconut Key Lime Pie from the little house of veggies blog! It was so good! It was also pretty simple to make, made of mostly nutritious ingredients, and all raw, so no baking involved!  You would never guess that the main ingredient in the pie is avocado! The recipe may seem a bit odd to you at first, but believe me, it is soooo worth trying! I made some extra coconut whip to add on top of the pie when it was served. Delish! The recipe called for a 9" spring form pan, but I only had an 8" and a 9 3/4", so I used the 9 3/4". Next time I think I will use the 8" pan, and the pie was a little flatter than the original picture I saw.

The main course of our meal was Chana Masala with veggies, chickpeas and brown jasmine rice. Yes, you read right.... brown jasmine rice! I was so excited to see this at the grocery store, as I LOVE jasmine rice, but usually don't eat it because I have only seen the white variety in the store. I am in heaven now! It was sooooo good!:) I love making chana masala because it is so tasty, and when you add chickpeas and veggies like broccoli to it, it is really healthy too. Hudson even loved it! I just added half the spice/salt at the beginning and then added the rest after I took a portion out for Hudson.
If you'd like to try the chana masala yourself, here is the recipe.
You will need:
1 cup rice (dry measurement)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons tomato paste (plain)
1-2 tablespoons curry powder (unsalted), depending on how strong you like it
4 tablespoons soymilk/soy cream/rice milk, your choice
1 tablespoons vegan margarine
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1.5 cups chickpeas (cooked or canned. But beware of the salt content if you used canned)
1.5 cups broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1.5 cups cauliflower, cut into bit sized pieces
fresh ground pepper to taste

First, put the rice on to cook (follow the package instructions). You will want about 2 cups cooked, so use 1 cup dry of regular rice, or 2 cups if you are using brown minute rice. Next, put the broccoli and cauliflower to steam as you prepare the rest of the dish. As the veggies are steaming, add the vegetable oil to a large frying pan (wok size), and cook the onion on medium heat so that they soften, but don't brown. After about 2 -3 minutes, add the garlic. Let cook for another minute. Now add in the soymilk, margarine, curry power, tomato paste and salt. Stir together to form a sauce type mixture. Once everything is mixed well, add in the chickpeas and red pepper. Let simmer on low/medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the red pepper softens slightly, and the chickpeas are heated through. Add in the steamed veggies, and toss together. Your rice should be cooked about the same time that it takes to make the dish. Serve the chana masala mixture over rice, and voila! Enjoy!