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):

• Vegetable oil
• 3 medium sized onions
• 1 red paprika
• 1 cube bouillon
• 1 can of crushed tomatoes
• garlic
• 2 decilitres of red lenses
• salt

Directions:

chop the onions and slice the paprika. Fry them with the oil until the onions are a little soft, then pour the water in and add the lenses. Add the bouillon and let it cook for about 8 minutes. Then add the tomatoes and as much garlic as you feel like at the moment. Let it cook for a while. Then take a spoon and taste the lenses. If they´re soft, the soup is ready to eat, if not, let it cook for a little while and then taste it again.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation time: 20 min

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):

• 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.

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

• 1.5 pounds 13 dry-bean mix
• 2 medium potatoes (I used yukon gold), diced (1/2″ cubes)
• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 1 medium bunch celery, sliced
• 2 medium-large yellow onions, diced
• 4-5 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch kale sliced (I used half red and half green)
• 1/2 package (~6 oz) firm tofu drained and diced (1/2″ cubes)
• 2 14.5 oz cans undrained tomato product (diced, stewed, crushed, etc.)
• 6-8 cups good strong (preferably homemade) vegetable stock (should have a good color to
• it, nice dark brown)
• 1/2 – 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large bay leaves
• heavy dash oregano & basil
• salt and pepper (more if your stock is watery)

Directions:

Rinse and soak 13 bean mix overnight
covered with cold water. Drain water
and set aside.

Heat oil in large stock pot over medium
heat (hot enough to sauté). Add onions
and stir, cooking 3-5 minutes until soft
but not brown. Add garlic, bay leaves,
and spices and stir, cooking another 2
minutes. Add bean mix (drained) and
stir for a minute. Add vegetable broth
and bring to a boil, then cover and turn
down to a simmer.

Let simmer for about an hour, stirring
occasionally. When the beans are just
starting to soften (are edible but still
a bit crunchy…should be at this
point), add the carrot, celery, and
potatoes and stir.

If too much liquid has boiled off, feel
free to add more stock or water. Bring
back to a simmer and let simmer covered,
stirring occasionally, for another 30
minutes or until the potatoes are
getting tender.

Now add the kale, tofu, and tomatoes
(with their juices) and stir through.
Simmer for another 5-10 minutes covered,
until the kale has wilted and the tofu
is heated through.

Taste, and season to taste, salt and
pepper, whatever spices you feel like,
and serve, preferable with a good
crunchy french bread.

When I made this, it made a massive
amount of soup, so cutting the recipe in
half wouldn’t be a bad idea. Unless
you’re cooking for a large group, in
which case it could be perfect.

Serves: Lots (Almost a full stock pot)

Preparation time: 2-3 hours.