Roasted Mushroom & Lentil Soup

1/2 cup lentils
16-20 large button mushrooms
2 bay leaves
3L water
2 tbsps olive oil
Salt
Pepper
For extra thickening of soup
1 heaping tbsp tapioca starch
2 tbsps water
In a large pot bring water to a boil. Add lentils. Remove stems of mushrooms and roughly chopping them. Add these stems to the lentil mixture and simmer at medium high heat. Lentils require 20-30 minutes to soften. Add water if required.
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a sheet pan with olive oil. Place mushroom caps face down. Roast for 20-30 minutes till golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool and slice.
When lentils have softened add bay leaves and sliced roasted mushrooms. Simmer for 15 minutes or till the soup slightly thickens. If you like your soup more thick, mix your tapioca starch with water creating a paste. Add paste to the soup after shutting off the heat. Keep stirring to prevent clumps.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

If you like creamy soup, add a splash of heavy coconut cream after thickening.

This soup recipe is entirely vegan friendly. Dairy free.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Leave me comments below to let me know how you liked it.

Happy Soup Day :)

2012/10 October: Products I've Used Up

Happy Planet essential energy fruit smoothie with Yerba Mate. This was delicious. It's an easy breakfast too. Mix one scoop of brown rice or soy protein. Give it a good whisk and voila protein shake.

GoBio Organic Berry Pudding a fruity lactose free dessert. I add mashed berries to this to make a raspberry curd. Good for toast, French toast, waffles and pancakes. Odd enough I don't eat it as a pudding.

Tazo Well~Being Tazo Rest herbal infusion. A pulling blend of rose petals, valerian root & citrusy herbs. Caffeine free. This has always been my bedtime tea and I love it.

O'Doughs Flax Buns gluten free burger buns. They don't come pre-sliced and they are frozen. Best microwaved, sliced and toasted. Delicious just the way they are. I enjoy making eggwiches with this bun.

Bacon Meatball Carbonara

Ingredients:
4 slices Freybe bacon, diced
2 eggs
12 mini meatballs (see my meatball recipe)
1 package brown rice pasta
1 tbsp butter
Salt & Pepper

Cook pasta as per directions on the back of the package. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside in colander.

In the same pot on medium high heat melt butter add bacon. Brown the bacon. Add the meatballs. Add a 1/4 cup of water to deglaze the pot.

Add cooked pasta and crack eggs over pasta. Turn heat to medium low. Stir constantly to create the creamy egg sauce.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Jack O Lantern: 2 Ways

Have you ever thought that throwing away or composting a perfectly fine pumpkin wasteful?

Have you ever wondered what you could do with the pumpkin?

Pumpkin Bisque

Peel and cube the pumpkin, lightly toss with olive oil. Roast at 400F on a lightly greased baking sheet until slightly golden.

Blend with 2-3 cups (start with 2 cups and add more as needed, this depends on how much pumpkin you have) low sodium chicken stock. Add a dollop of butter and 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt for a delicious Autumn soup. Sea Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve with some toasted pumpkin seeds on top.

Pumpkin Chickpea Lentil Stew

Peel and cube pumpkin. Drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Soak 1/2 cup lentils for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse lentils.

In a slow cooker turned to High. Add pumpkin cubes, chickpeas, lentils, 1L low sodium chicken stock, 1 bay leaf and 1 can of cubed stew tomatoes.

Let cook for 4-5 hours on High. Sea salt and pepper to taste. Serve with garlic toast or dinner rolls.