Yellow Yum-Yum Soup

This soup was born from a soul-stirring need to have soup, despite having only a few standard soup ingredients on hand. Like, I just NEEDED to eat some salty, hot, delicious soup. And I would stop at nothing to get it.

Even if it meant that I pulled a bunch of random stuff out of my pantry and threw it into a huge pot, salted and spiced it and then ate it up. Which is what I did. And you know what? It turned out really amazingly good! I got lucky this time. This ain't my first rodeo, and I know what tastes good, but sometimes my pantry raids turn out terribly. This soup, though, was delicious, and has now been dubbed "yellow yum-yum soup." My kid and my husband loved it!

YELLOW YUM-YUM SOUP
1 15-ounce can coconut milk
2 cans vegetable broth (using the coconut milk can)
1 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced into ribbons
1 15-ounce can white beans, any kind (I used great northern)
2 cubes yellow curry
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (fresh Thai basil would be even better!)
Dash of turmeric
2 tablespoons lime juice, or more to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
A couple of sprinkles of sesame oil, optional

• Put the coconut milk and broth into a medium to large-sized pot. Heat and stir until just boiling.
• Add all remaining ingredients. 
• Simmer over medium-low heat until cabbage is just starting to get soft. About half and hour.
• Adjust spices to taste. I like an obscene amount of lime juice. 
• Serve hot. 
• It's just that easy!

Happy National Kale Day!

Visit http://www.nationalkaleday.org/ to learn more!

Have You Had Your Kale Today?

Hey All!

So, here's the new deal with me... I'm re-designing my plant-based diet to exclude as much processed food as humanly possible, most importantly processed sugar, and I am striving to make each meal as nutrient-dense as I can. So, from here on out, the goal is to cram as many vitamins, minerals, grams of fiber, and phytochemicals as I can manage into as yummy a meal as I can possibly dream up. So, the days of white flour and sugar on the Bankrupt Vegan site are done. Jen needs to get healthy, lose weight, and get back on her feet! Yes, I'm referring to myself in the 3rd person - and, yeah, I know that's creepy. But, hey, Jen is glad you're here anyway.

According to the fantastic book, Super Immunity, written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, "Green vegetables such as kale, cabbage, collards, and broccoli, plus some non-green vegetables such as cauliflower and turnips, are called 'cruciferous' vegetable. They are named for their flowers, which have four equally spaced petals in the shape of a cross - hence the Latin word crucifer, meaning 'cross-bearer.' All vegetables contain protective micronutrients and phytochemicals, but cruciferous vegetables have a unique chemical composition: they have sulfur-containing compounds that are responsible for their pungent or bitter flavors. When their cell walls are broken by blending or chopping, a chemical reaction occurs that converts these sulfur-containing compounds into isothiocyanates (ITCs) - an array of compounds with proven and powerful immune-boosting effects and anticancer activity."  "Because different ITCs work in different locations in the cell, and on different molecules, they can have combined additive effects, working synergistically to remove carcinogens and kill cancer cells. Furthermore, some ITCs have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, or even immunologic effects."

Holy mackerel! Cruciferous vegetables are real nutrition champions! We should be bathing in them! Shooting them up! Snorting them!
Okay - I kid, I kid... but only about the weird stuff I said we should do with vegetables (unless you're into that sort of thing). The 'nutrition champions' part is 100% true.

So, what's your favorite cruci-veg? Mine's definitely kale. It's cheap to buy organic and it's easy to prepare.
I'm always looking for ways to get it down my family's gullets without any fussin'. The very best way I've found to do that is via the wondrous and magnificent kale chip.

I love you, kale chip.

It's so easy, my daughter can help me with the preparation 

(she's always more likely to eat anything she helps to make).

De-stalkin' those li'l buggers.

Tearing them into chip-sized pieces.

A lot of folks recommend using a dehydrator but, alas, I am too poor for one of those fancy contraptions. However, after a few years of kale chip experimentation, I think I have found a savvy and resourceful way to dry out the chips without too large a risk of burning them.
Try these bad boys on for size and tell me what you think:

1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized bits
A drizzle of olive oil, to taste (Don't over-do it! Just a couple of teaspoons or so will do)
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of paprika, if you dare
1/4 to 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast, to taste (we like a LOT)

• Preheat oven to the "warm" setting, or to the lowest setting you can put it at. Around 200 degrees is fine. 
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and use either clean hands or a pair of salad tongs to stir everything together. Make sure all leaves are well-coated.
• Place on a large baking sheet with a light coating of oil or baking spray. You can also use a Sil-Pat, if you have one. That's what I use and it works great. If you don't have one, get one! It helps you to avoid adding extra oil to your baking sheet.
• Place in the oven and set your timer on one hour. After an hour, check your chips about every 15 minutes, giving the sheet a little shake or a stir with a spatula occasionally to make sure they are cooking evenly.When they start to crisp up, have a taste to make sure they are to your liking. It's hard to tell when their done just with visual cues. And once they're dried out, they will overcook and burn very easily. Keep a close eye on them!
• When the chips are done, all them to cool for just a few minutes, then enjoy! We love them plain, but they're also fantastic on salads.
• They will keep for weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.

Ginger Tempeh and Greens Over Brown Rice

A friend of mine gave me a huge sack full of delicious organic kale, so I've been sticking it in absolutely everything! Anyone ever make a kale brownie?? I might have to try...
Anyway, try this simple dish. It's easy, doesn't take long to whip up if you already have your rice made, and it's healthy and high in protein. Enjoy!

4 cups cooked long-grain brown rice (about 2 cups uncooked)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 8-ounce package of tempeh, cubed (I used the spicy kind)
1 stalk's worth of broccoli florets
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large kale leaf, stalk removed and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, crushed (I used this stuff)
Small handful of fresh parsley, stems removed, minced
4 cloves garlic, crushed with flat of knife and minced
1/8 cup orange juice
1/8 cup soy sauce (use tamari for gluten-free)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon agave nectar (optional)

• In a large skillet, gently saute onions and garlic in oil over medium-low heat for about two minutes. 
• Add ginger and red bell pepper. Saute another minute or so.
• Add remaining ingredients, stir and gently saute until everything is coated and well-mixed. Then reduce heat to low and cover. Allow steam to gently "green" the broccoli and kale. 
• Everything should be hot and crispy, but be very careful not to overcook. Nobody likes limp, mushy veggies.
• Serve over brown rice.
• Makes 4 large servings. 
• Enjoy!