Black-eyed Pea Soup

This is a hearty, flavorful soup with a slightly spicy, smoky kick to it. Sadly, as soup is not the most photogenic food, I don't have any decent photos to include.

2 TBSP safflower oil
2 large green bell peppers, diced (about 3 cups)
1 very large (or 2 medium) Vidalia onion, diced (about 3 cups)
1 to 1.25 lb white mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1” pieces about 0.25” thick
4 medium tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
24 oz frozen black-eyed peas
6 or 7 cups vegan “chicken” broth or vegetable broth
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 bay leaves
2 TBSP Earth Balance soy free buttery spread
½ cup organic potato flakes

In a large stock pot, heat oil over medium. Add pepper and onion and cook covered, stirring periodically, until the onions and peppers start to soften. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, and broth before turning the heat up to high. Combine salt, pepper, and smoked paprika and stir them into the soup along with the potato flakes. Gently stir in the bay leaves and buttery spread. Once the soup reaches a boil, cover it again and turn the heat to low. Simmer until all the vegetables and the black-eyed peas are tender. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

Notes:
For the broth, my first choice is definitely vegan “chicken” broth. Both Better Than Bouillon and Edward & Sons make it, the former is paste while the latter is cubes. Make it with at least as much bouillon as the package says to use, possibly extra to suit your taste.
If you wish to substitute canned black-eyed peas for frozen, be aware that they will be softer; frozen works best in this recipe.
To lower the fat content, skip the oil and use the buttery spread to cook the onions and peppers instead of adding it later.
Do not use regular paprika in place of smoked paprika! The smoked paprika gives this soup a delightful smoky flavor that you won’t get from regular paprika.
This makes a lot of soup because I like to make enough to have leftover soup to last several people for days. If you want to make a smaller amount of soup, see the halved ingredients list below:

Half Recipe Ingredients
1 TBSP safflower oil
1 large green bell peppers, diced (about 1.5 cups)
1/2 very large (or 2 medium) Vidalia onion, diced (about 1.5 cups)
8 to 10 oz white mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1” pieces about 0.25” thick
2 medium tomatoes, diced (about 1.5 cups)
12 oz frozen black-eyed peas
3 or 3.5 cups vegan “chicken” broth or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 bay leaves
1 TBSP Earth Balance soy free buttery spread
¼ cup organic potato flakes

Mushroom Gravy

There are a lot of fancy mushroom gravy recipes out there with many ingredients and sometimes hours of cooking time. This recipe is a for a basic mushroom gravy with only four ingredients and minimal prep and cooking time. Makes about 1 to 1.5 cups, enough for two to three people.



Ingredients:

1 8oz package of white button mushroom (similar types of mushrooms should work too, like portabella or cremini)
1 cup water
1 cube Edward & Sons organic "not-beef" bouillon *
1 TBSP non-gmo or organic corn starch **

Wash the mushrooms, remove the stems, and cut them into pieces roughly the size of a nickel or quarter and 0.25" thick. In a saucepan, heat the water over high and add the bouillon cube, stirring to dissolve. When it boils, add the mushrooms, stir, cover with a tight fitting lid, and reduce the heat to medium or so. Allow the mushrooms to cook until they are quite tender, at least 15 minutes but probably longer (just check them periodically). Once they mushrooms are done, removed them from the pan and set aside. Return the pan to medium and a small whisk to stir in the corn starch. Keep whisking gently over medium heat until the liquid becomes somewhat translucent and thickens. Stir in the mushrooms, remove from heat, serve hot and enjoy!

* This makes the gravy salty so do not use this and serve with food that is already salty. If you want to use this gravy with salty food or are watching your sodium intake, try using only part of the cube or use a low-sodium bouillon or broth instead.

** This amount of corn starch gives you a thin gravy. For a thicker version, just increase the corn starch a bit. Other thickeners, like tapioca starch or arrowroot, will have different results so you may need to make adjustments for those.

Lazy Stuffed Peppers

Although the words "stuffed peppers" bring to mind an endless list of possible stuffings, this recipe is the lazy version and contains only 5 ingredients (including water used during cooking). It doesn't even require the use of an oven or stove because all the cooking happens in the microwave. The recipe makes just enough for two if served with some sides.

Ingredients:

1 large bell pepper
2 to 3 button mushrooms
about 3/4 cup of vegan soy "meatballs"
vegan grated topping (soy Parmesan)***
water


Thaw the "meatballs" & crumble them into a bowl; chop mushrooms & add to the bowl. Cut the pepper in half lengthwise & remove seeds. Place pepper halves in glass baking dish and stuff with mixture from bowl then top generously with soy Parmesan. Pour 1/4 inch water into baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, & microwave until pepper is cooked (about 8 minutes in mine).

*** I like Galaxy Foods vegan grated topping best