Soup and Salad

Minestrone Soup and Cobb Salad.

Cobb Salad you may ask? How do you make a Cobb Salad vegan? It is not too hard. Replace the the chicken with chickpeas. Replace the bacon with "bacon flavored" coconut strips. Replace the egg with avocado. Done.

There is a couple things you have to actually cook for this salad. If you are making your own beans, like I did, put one cup of beans in a pressure cooker and pressure cook for 27 minutes. You will also have to bake your coconut bacon. I was really hesitant to try this because I am not a big fan of coconut flavor. If I can mask the flavor like in a curry, etc. then it doesn't bother me. But I was afraid this would taste too much like bacon. But I tried it and it is great. It just tastes like crispy smoke.

It is easy to make. You just stir the sauce over the coconut and bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees F. Just make sure to stir it every 5 minutes so it doesn't burn.

The minestrone soup is really easy. Just pop everything in a slow cooker or an Instantpot and forget about it for awhile.

Minestrone

Ingredients

1 Medium Yellow Onion, skinned and diced

1 tsp Olive Oil

4 c + 1 T Vegetable Broth, divided

2 Large Carrots, diced

2 Stalks Celery, diced

6 Cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp Dried Oregano, divided

1 14 oz. Fire Roasted Tomatoes (keep juice)

1 6 oz. can Tomato Paste

Fresh Cracked Pepper, to taste

1 Zucchini, diced

1 c White Beans

1 c Kidney Beans

1 c Small or Medium Whole Grain Shell Pasta

1-2 c Fresh Green Beans, chopped

3-4 Handfuls Baby Spinach

Directions

1. Dice onion. Combine olive oil and 1 T vegetable broth in large saucepan and saute about 3 minutes.

2. Dice carrot and celery and add to onion, saute until soft.

3. Mince garlic and add to saute vegetables. Saute until soft.

4. Add can of tomatoes (with juice), tomato paste, 4 c vegetable broth, 1 tsp oregano, and couple cracks of pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and boil for 5 minutes.

5. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer partially covered 30 minutes.

6. Dice zucchini and add zucchini and beans to the soup. Add pasta, bring to a boil until pasta is al dente.

7. Bring back to simmer and add green beans and spinach. Stir until wilted. Add 1 tsp of oregano and serve

***OR***

1. Bring a pot of water to boil and boil pasta until al dente.

2. Meanwhile do steps 1-3 above. Add everything except green beans and spinach and slow cook on high, medium, or low depending on how long you want to cook.

3. Add beans and spinach right before serving.

Salad

Ingredients

-1 head Romaine Lettuce, chopped -cherry tomatoes, halved -1 cucumber, quartered and diced -corn -1 avocado, peeled and diced -1 can garbanzo beans -Turmeric, to taste

-Garlic powder, to taste

-Cumin, to taste

-Salt and pepper to taste -2 c Coconut flakes -2 T Soy Sauce -1 T Liquid Smoke -1 T Maple Syrup -1/2 tsp Smoke Paprika .

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain beans and toss with spices to taste. 2. Roast for 20 minutes, stir halfway through. 3. Combine soy sauce, liquid smoke, syrup, paprika, and coconut. Roast at 325 for 15 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes. 4. Prep rest of ingredients and build your vegetable nachos....I mean salad.

5. ENJOY