Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 8 cups water, or 8 cups homemade veggie stock
• 2 vegetable bouillon cubes (omit if using veggie stock)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse grind pepper
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium diced onion
• 1/4 cup red lentils
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 2 cups dried mushrooms such as porcini, shiitake, morel, etc, or 3 cups fresh
• 1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (kitchen shears does this job nicely)
• 1/4 cup chopped dried yellow tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups carrots (I prefer baby, but sliced works well also)
• Assorted other veggies and spices to taste (you can also substitute any of the above to
• suit your mood)

Directions:

Throw everything into a stock pot, bring
to a rapid boil, reduce heat and simmer
at least 20 minutes.

You can also stick
it in a crock pot and let it go all day.
My favorite way to serve this is with a
huge salad and some really crusty, warm,
fresh-from-the-oven sourdough bread.

Serves: varies, usually 8-10

Preparation time: about an hour, including cook time

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 or 2 lbs white beans
• various vegetables
• macaroni elbows
• canned tomatoes
• mild, soft spices (Italian seasoning, bazil, oregano, etc.)

Directions:

I concocted this after stomach surgery, while looking for
non-fat survival meals. Boiling the beans and draining the
liquid eliminates the complex vegan sugars and carbohydrates,
which cause gas and bloating.

Boil a pound of beans ’til soft and ready to eat. Drain the
water and rinse if desired. Very important to drain the
beans if you want to be gas-free.

Cook any veggies hanging around in your fridge. I use a
separate pot to cook tomatoes, sliced carrots, onions,
garlic, celery, cabbage, whatever. With a hand blender I
puree veggies and spices and then add this mixture to the
beans which are in a large pot. Cook all this together and
add anything for flavor. A handful of elbow macaroni won’t
hurt, but watch your texture. I prefer it very thick, like
porridge.

This is a rough guide, but you get proteins and the
essential amino acids. It freezes well in serving size
plastic containers.

Following stomach surgery a year ago, I could not digest
meat or the slightest animal fat. I LIVED on this stuff,
three times a day, and never experienced discomfort.
I pureed a lot of carrots, which provided thickening without
flour. As I improved, different spices were introduced
(chile, paprika). One can tailor this to one’s taste; but
the most important thing is to DRAIN THE BEANS.
I can make a week’s supply, and need only a knife, spoon,
hand blender and two pots. (I hate cleanups)

Preparation time: 3-4 hours

Serves:

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 3 14 oz cans of beans (I use a mix of black and kidney)
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
• 2 tablespoons chili powder plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cheyenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
• dash of salt
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (I use the diced jarred kind and it comes out fine)
• 1 medium onion — chopped
• 1 medium green pepper– chopped
• olive oil

Directions:

This is my version of veggie chili.
It’s so easy that even my friends
who “can’t cook” have made it with no
trouble. Be sure to use enough chili
powder and pepper or it will be rather
bland.

In a large stock pot, heat a small
amount of olive oil over medium heat.
Saute the onion, pepper and garlic
until tender.

Add the can of tomatoes
and spices. Lower the heat.

Drain and
rinse beans and add them to the pot.
Stir and allow to simmer for flavors to
combine. Adjust seasonings. (If you
allow this to sit over very low heat,
you don’t have to watch it– just stir
occasionally. The longer it cooks, the
better it tastes.)

Serve over brown rice or barley. It’s
also good with a sprinkle of vegan
cheddar “vegan cheese”.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes (plus cooking time)

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 2-3 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2-3 large, sweet Yellow Onions [5-6 cups]
• ½ teaspoon Salt + ½ -1 teaspoon Brown Sugar + 2 tablespoon Flour
• 3 or more large cloves Garlic, peeled + 2-3 cups Carrots, sliced 1/4″ thick
• ½ teaspoon ground Thyme + 1 teaspoon dry bazil
• 2 Quarts [8 cups] Vegetable Stock * (see below)
• 2 heaping tablespoon Sonoma brand dried Tomato Tapenade [a mash of dried Tomatoes, Olive Oil, &
• Garlic, available at Williams-Sonoma, or make your own]
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

- In a medium to large stockpot, heat Oil on low. Slice
Onions medium thin & quarter. Add Onions to pot, cover, &
heat over low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove
cover & add Salt & Brown Sugar. Raise heat to medium & stir
frequently for 15-20 minutes. Do not let Onions stick to
bottom of pot. Add Flour & stir for 3 minutes.

- Add 1 cup Vegetable Stock, Garlic, Carrots, Thyme. &
Basil. Cover & simmer for 5 minutes. Add remainder of
Stock & heat to simmer. Stir in Tapenade. (A whisk may be
handy) Season with Salt & Pepper to taste. Serve with a
crusty vegan bread. Makes 4 servings.

* Vegetable stock – To a large stock pot add:

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 2 large Yellow Onions, trim off roots, leave on skin, cut in half
• 1 large Green Pepper, seeded, cut in half
• 3-4 large carrots, sliced length-wise
• 3 stalks celery, cut in pieces
• 2 medium Potabello mushrooms (or equivalent amount of Shitaki)

Directions:

- Cover with water & simmer 4-8 hours, adding water only if
needed. When done, strain soup & mash/squeeze Vegetables to
capture as much juice as possible. Reduce over low heat, if
desired. Freezes very well.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 50 min.

(not for the politically correct!)

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of red beans
• 1 can of white or great northern beans
• 1 can golden corn
• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1-2 dashes hot pepper sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon veg. oil

Directions:

In a large pot, saute the onion in the oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the pepper and cook until
the onion begins to brown. Drain the beans and corn and add to the pot. Add the crushed
tomatoes and stir. Put in the spices and mix well. After the mixture begins to boil,
reduce the heat, cover and and cook until the peppers are soft. Stir frequently while
simmering. Rice is a natural with this. However, since we eat a lot of rice, I made corn
bread with this and it was great together! All three of my picky kids liked it! (Although
the 4 year old picked out the onions).

Serves: about 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Nutrition Information: Don’t know.