Lentil Vegetable Soup

I randomly decided to grab a bag of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix while grocery shopping last week, it was a great deal and is a healthy base for a hearty soup.  When I got home I started reading everything on the packaging and found a recipe on the back and decided to try it out.  I made some alterations to the original recipe provided and came up with a yummy, filling, healthy soup.  Just in time for our cold drizzly nights!

I know that the color doesn't look appetizing, but the flavor is delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Vegi Soup Mix
• 4 + cups of Vegetable Broth
• 1 cup of your choice of Non-Dairy Milk
• 2 Carrots, Chopped
• 1 Small Yellow Onion, Chopped
• 2 Stalks of Celery, Chopped
• Dash or Two of Garlic Powder
• Salt and Pepper to Taste

Method:

Put one cup of Vegi Soup Mix and 3 cups of veggie broth in a pot and bring to a simmer.  Let soup mix and broth simmer for about a half hour.  Keep an eye on the pot, I ended up adding as much veggie broth as I needed to keep the mixture "soupy" and stir it every once in a while.  In the mean time chop up the veggies.  Once your 1/2 hour is up add the veggies and more broth as needed and let cook until the carrots are soft (about a 1/2 hour).  Once the veggies are soft pull the pot off of the burner and let cool for about 10 minutes.  Poor ingredients into your blender and blend well.  Once the soup is blended add the cup of milk and blend until it's combined well.  Finally add the garlic powder, salt and pepper; season to your liking.

Serve with your favorite rustic bread, I enjoyed mine with sourdough bread while my husband loved his with garlic bread.

Chai Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

Now that Fall is right around the corner I find myself craving everything that has to do with pumpkins.  Today I got my fix and made up some comforting gooey cookies.  I haven't made these cookies since going vegan and learning about the strange ingredients in a lot of pre-packaged foods.  Thanks to Food Fight! Grocery and Wholesome Chow I was finally able to re-create this favorite Fall treat of mine, without worrying about what scary ingredients were lurking in my cookies.

• 1 can of pumpkin puree (do not buy pumpkin pie mix in a can, just pumpkin puree)
• 1 bag of Wholesome Chow's Chai Spiced Cake Mix
• 1/2 a bag, or a few handfuls of your favorite vegan chocolate chips.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Do not follow the instructions on the back of your cake mix bag.  Simply empty the bag of cake mix and your can of pumpkin puree in a mixing bowl.  Combine together well with a stiff spatula, once combined fold in your chocolate chips.

Take a spoon full of the batter and place on cookie sheet.  These guys are usually done in about 12 minutes for me, but time may vary for your oven.  

The end result is a thick cake like cookie that has the flavors of Fall in a bite!