Vegan Comfort Food: Blue Cornmeal Muffins & Broccoli Soup

Looking outside was dismal enough, wind screeching, rain dumping. Went and looked at Weather Underground’s map…yikes, shouldn’t have. The Cascade Mountains are being pounded with snow, a swath of green/yellow and orange over most of Western Washington (blue in the mountains). OK, soup day it is! It just seemed right. Up first though, I had a recipe from the December 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times, that called to be vegan-ized. Lest you all think I make no mistakes….my first batch came out like hard dense pucks. And I realized I had forgotten to put the flour in. Really, brain? How do you forget the FLOUR? Doh, I felt stupid as I dumped them in the compost bin. The second batch turned out perfectly. In some ways I thought they even tasted better the second day (I made them yesterday while it also dumped rain…..) Anyhow, they are delicious and one doesn’t miss the egg or the all-purpose flour!

Blue Cornmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Blue Cornmeal
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup granulated sugar, preferably organic
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp water
• ¼ cup neutral vegetable oil
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup frozen corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°, spray a 12 count muffin tin with neutral vegetable oil liberally (preferably use a traditional pan, not a non-stick).

Whisk the vinegar into the almond milk, let sit. Add the water to the ground flaxseed, let hydrate for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile stir the cornmeal through salt together in a large bowl.

Whisk the flaxseed and oil together till smooth, add in the soured milk. Stir into the dry ingredients till just mixed, add ¾ of the corn, stir in.

Divide equally between the muffin tins. Sprinkle on the remaining corn on top.

Bake for 20 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes, run a thin metal spatula around, pop out, place on a cooling rack.

Let leftovers cool fully, cover and store on the counter for up to 2 days.

Makes 12 muffins.

Having received a copy of 300 Sensational Soups to review, I got poking through it. At first I had my eye on a butternut soup. Then I looked in my refrigerator and noticed that gee, maybe I should use all that broccoli I bought on sale over the weekend instead. So Broccoli Buttermilk Soup it was, easily vegan-ized as well!

The cookbook is a dream for fall and winter, and yes, that butternut soup will get made as well. Maybe later in the week. While it dumps even more rain…….soups, chowders, even dessert soups. So many delicious ones…..

Broccoli Soup (As adapted from page 50)

Ingredients:

• 1½ to 2 pounds fresh broccoli
• 2 Tbsp olive oil or Earth Balance Buttery stick
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg
• Ground black pepper and fine sea salt

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Meanwhile cut the florets off the broccoli crowns, set 1 cup aside, place the rest in another bowl. Trim the stalks and peel, then slice up.

Add the 1 cup of florets to the boiling water, blanch for 2 minutes. Scoop out and immerse in a bowl of ice water, drain and place on paper towels to drain.

Stir the lemon juice into the milk, whisk and let sit.

Drain the water from the pot, place over medium-high and heat the oil, sauté the onion, thyme and salt for 3 minutes, until onion is softened.

Add broccoli stalks, broth and bay leaf, bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

Add the uncooked florets, return to simmer and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove and discard bay leaf.

Use an immersion blender to make the soup smooth, add in the cayenne, nutmeg and soured milk and let heat through, but do not let simmer or boil. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper.

Serve with the reserved cooked florets on top.

Serves 4.

~Sarah

FTC Disclaimer: We received a review copy of the book.