Vegan Mushroom Soup

So I'm thinking today is officially day one of the 30 day soup and salad challenge.  Even though I've done a few soups this month today is the day I decided I'm going to commit to it.  Flipping through the pages of the Soup recipe book I found a number of recipes that I'm actually really looking forward to trying.  Some recipes gave me creative ideas of my own that I'm a little anxious about trying also.  Let's just cross our fingers and hope that they turn out as well as todays soup. The family loved it and I've got a few finicky eaters so that made me happy.

So the soup of the day for Monday was Mushroom Soup with Caesar Salad.  Since I learned how to make the dressing I've been stuck on this salad our last few meals.  I'm thinking I may have to retire it temporarily so that we don't get burned out on it.

The mushroom soup was probably the easiest I've made so far.  It was about 10 to 15 minutes to prep and 20-30 to cook.  I did let the soup simmer a little longer than the recipe suggested though, but thats just me.  All I had to do was mince the mushrooms and green onions, saute them and then combine everything else.  Viola!!! Pretty simple right?  The down side is that you can't (well you can, but I myself find it difficult to) have soup and NOT have bread.  So ciabatta rolls it was. So much for my goal to stay away from bread right?  I guess I'll just gradually wean myself.

All in all I consider this a pretty healthy and very tasty meal.  We'll definitely be having this one again.  SOON!  Lol.  Definitely give this a try if you're a mushroom fan.  The only thing I'd probably do differently next time is probably mince the mushrooms a little more so that its not as chunky, although Hubby enjoyed it the way it was.  If you'd like the recipe let me know, I'm always willing to share.  Stay tuned for tomorrows soup.

Peace and Blessings!!!!

The Pie Experiment....

*EDIT* THE LINK FOR THE PIE AND FOR THE CRUST FOR THOSE THAT ASKED. DOUBLE THE CRUST RECIPE FOR TOP AND BOTTOM CRUST.

So I've never been much of a baker...well let me take that back I've never really had the desire to try my hand at baking with the exception of pre-made cookies and boxed cakes. I've made cookies from scratch and have become quite good at that but that's been the extent of my baking skills.

On our journey as we've begun to change our diet and our eating habits I think what I've missed most are desserts; My evil nemesis if you will and my downfall when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight...that and pasta and bread...Ok well food period, but that's another story. Smile!!!! I'm exaggerating a tad bit, but you all get my point right? I LOVE, ADORE, and have quite the love affair with food, desserts especially

So being almost Vegan (we still eat fish) it's been difficult..no down right impossible to find desserts without animal products in them. We had some pears in the kitchen that no one seemed to be eating and I thought to myself 'Hmmm....what kind of sweet treat can I make with these?' After searching sites online I came across a recipe for a pear pie. I decided I would try my hand at it and was So very surprised at the results. It was SO very good. I made the crust from scratch also and substituted the ingredients in the recipe. Instead of all purpose flour I used Spelt Flour, Earth Balance butter, and Agave honey to replace the sugar. I was a little disappointed because I didn't make quite enough crust for the top and bottom layers so I had to make due as best I could. I'm not really a crust person anyway. I added a little honey and cinnamon to the crust as well and the family loved it. I didn't get a picture of the finished product but I did get a picture of part of the process:



Then after the success with that pie I decided I'd try apple...and OH MY GOODNESS!!!! That one was just as good so now I'm thinking I'm a baking mad woman. Lol

The crust was brushed with a honey and butter mixture. I learned in this process that you shouldn't brush the crust until the baking has almost finished because the crust got a little darker than I would have liked. But hey that's just aesthetics because AGAIN let me remind you I'm not really a crust person...I like the soft crust underneath but that's about it.






The Apple pie was like heaven with this ice cream...YUM