Chic’n’stu (the vegan way)

Chewy!

Hai guys! I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad it’s almost friday. Work has gotten to the point where I’m almost ready to, well, blog about it, but I don’t want to blow my cover just yet. So I’ll be telling you about Tuesday’s dinner instead.

You might remember that I wasn’t too sure about the leeks + parsnip combo. Always the classy lady, I let the boyfriend have the first sip; he survived. The soup was actually rather tasty. As promised, here’s the recipe!

You'd better believe the 'hearty' part.

Creamy, hearty soup — serves 4 to 6
1 big onion, diced • 1 leek, sliced – make sure you include the green part • olive oil • 2 cups parsnip, diced • 4 tbsp brown rice • salt, pepper • water

Place the diced onion and sliced leek in a heavy-bottomed cooking pot, drizzle with olive oil. Cook on strong heat, stirring from time to time so it doesn’t stick, until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add the diced parsnips cut in chunks, pour enough water to cover*, add the rice and season to taste. I have a feather-light hand with salt, so the finished soup always needs re-seasoning… better than being too salty though! Cook for 20 minutes or so, until the parsnip is tender (stick a knife in it to check).

On to blending! I use an immersion blender, but I guess a regular blender / food processor would work fine. In that case, take care not to spill HOT soup over yourself while transferring from the cooking pot to the blender…

* depending on how thick you like your soup, you might have to add a lot of water: keep in mind that rice will absorb some of it! As you can see on the picture above, my version was extremely rich, close to mash.

I’m all for protein complementation, but I was in no mood for long cooking time, let alone soaking, so I decided to make socca — my first try had been a bit bland, so I thought I would make it again and think of India. Or something.

Whisk, bake, munch.

Easy Indian-ish socca (adapted from Rachel Shulman’s recipe)
1,5 cup water • 1 cup chickpea flour • salt, pepper • 1 tsp ground cumin • 1 tsp Gena chai mix • 2 tbsp olive oil + enough to oil the pan (1tsp?) • 1 tsp cumin seeds

Place the chickpea flour in a bowl, add the water, salt, pepper, olive oil, ground cumin and chai mix. Whisk the mixture together, cover the bowl with a towel and leave it be for at least 5 minutes. Meanwhile, go and make something else.

When you come back, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Oil an oven-proof pan (I used olive oil), pour the batter in it, sprinkle with cumin seeds and bake for about 15 minutes.

If you check the original recipe, you’ll note that I passed on the flour sifting and socca browning part… Yeah, I’m lazy. But I wanted fast and tasty legume, and this indian spices-kissed socca totally delivered. It was my first time using the chai mix in a savory dish, too. Yum! I might use it again, next time I’m making dhal.

News of the world: my organic store is out of sweet potatoes. I’m so frustrated I could stomp my feet. How am I supposed to live without my new loved one, healthy chocolate frosting? … I guess PB & date paste will have to save the day.

And finally, a quick update on my reading adventures:
– Your Best Birth: done
– Crazy Sexy Diet: almost there! I’m currently browsing the supplements chapter… and thinking that I should take B12, since I rarely eat cheese and eggs now.
– Little House on a Small Planet: halfway through it, and loving it. Anyone heard of this book? Reading it on this side of the ocean feels funny, because it was clearly written for a North American audience — our houses are not as big as yours — but it is thought-provoking.

What about you? Any current read you’d like to share?