13 Bean Soup & Hickory Cheddar Kale Sandwich

Today it is a cold one and there is snow on the ground. Tomorrow, maybe sunny and 60? Either way, the Chicago weather has provoked me to continue on with my soup kick. This time I changed up the Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup recipe to be vegan and added some lazy additions.  It went quite well with a grilled cheese sandwich.


13 Bean Soup

2 cups of Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix
2 boxes of vegetable broth
2 cups of water
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 of a bottle of marinara sauce
1 Tbs chili powder

1.Wash and pick through the beans. Cover with fresh water and let soak overnight. I happened to start mine in the afternoon and rinsed the beans several times before letting them soak until the morning. 
2. Rinse and drain the beans one more time.
3. Saute your onion and garlic in big pot.
4. Add vegetable broth, water, and beans.
5. Add tomato sauce and chili powder.
6. Let simmer until beans are tender.  Bobs says 3 to 3 1/2 hours. I just kept mine on until the soup was thick and reduced and the beans were tender.

Hickory Cheddar Kale Sandwich

Ingredients:
Bread Slices
WayFare Hickory Cheddar Dairy Free Spread
Sauted Greens ( I used kale, arugula, and beet tops sauted in garlic and olive oil)
Vegan Butter Spread. I used Earth Balance.


Make this just like you would a grilled cheese with greens in the middle. The vegan cheese spread gets very hot so be cautious when you bite into your sandwich!!

All Veggie Minestrone

Hubby is months into his mostly vegan diet. We enjoyed this big pot of soup with family, down on the farm in Ohio. It is very close to my grandma's recipe that everyone loved, including me.  All I had to do was swap out beef broth for veggie. Also, this go around I didn't add cabbage. If you would like to add it - please do. 

Minestrone 

Ingredients

8 cups of vegetable stock or broth
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of cannellini beans
1 1/2 packed cups of fresh torn spinach
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped into discs and then halved
1 stalk of celery diced. Chop up the leaves and add those, too.
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
2 tbs parsley
1 cup of shredded zucchini (you can slice if you like - we just had shredded on hand)
1 cup of Italian flat beans
1 can of diced tomatoes

**cook up some macaroni or ditalini or other small pasta on the side.

Directions: Saute onion, celery, and carrots in 1-2 TBS of olive oil until they sweat a bit and start to soften. Add stock and the rest of your veggies and herbs. Cook until the tomato taste mellows and soup reduces a bit. I cook mine low and slow for several hours.

To serve - scoop noodles into your bowl and top with soup and vegan Parmesan or mozzarella  if you wish. You can also drizzle a bit of good olive oil on top. Enjoy

Smoky Sweet Potato, Kale, & White Bean Soup

My mother-in-law made a version of this soup the day before we came back to Chicago.  I mixed it up a bit with a less clear broth and a bit of smoky seasoning.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato (cubed)
2 boxes of Trader Joe's Vegetable Broth (this brand has a bit of tomato in the broth)
3 cups of chopped fresh kale
1 can of Great Northern Beans (drained)
1 small onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper (to taste)
Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning Blend (to taste)

Directions:

In a dutch oven saute onions and garlic in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add kale and let cook until the kale has reduced and wilted. Add the broth, the chopped potato and the beans.  Salt and pepper and add a few twists of the African Smoke.  Let cook until the soup reduces and thickens a bit.