Split pea soup with tempeh bacon.

I've never had split pea soup until last month. In my pregan days, I was the pickiest eater on the planet and split pea soup did not fit into my diet of chicken strips, macaroni n' cheese. Split pea soup was green and full of vegetables and, therefore, sent from the devil himself as far as I was concerned. Now that I have seen the light and know that vegetables are our friends, I want to eat this all the time.

Olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1/2 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic

1/2 pkg tempeh bacon

3 bay leaves

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp thyme

1 1/2 C dried split peas

8 C vegetable/chikn broth

1/2 C white wine

Saute veggies in olive oil over medium heat until soft, 10ish minutes. Add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add broth, seasonings and split peas and bring to boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium, cover and simmer for about an hour.

Sometime while it's cooking, fry tempeh bacon in olive oil over medium heat until crisp and set aside. Do not eat it all. Or do and cook more.

After the soup has simmered, you'll have to decide whether you want it hearty and chunky or smooth and velvety. I'm obsessed with my food processor and all things smooth, so I chose the latter. Once it's done simmering, fish out the bay leaves, add wine and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want it chunky, just add tempeh bacon and dig in. If you're going to blend it, make sure to let it cool before you start and add the tempeh after.

Makes: a ton.
Lasts: forever.

Senate Bean Soup.

While browsing Tastespotting one day I came across a tasty sounding recipe for a bean soup on this link. The ingredient list was short and sweet and although winter hasn't officially reared her barren head yet, I've been in the mood for creamy goodness. Take that how you will. I feel like soup is something that you just shouldn't ever use a recipe for, but I wanted to try it anyway and made only a few minor changes. Make it. Eat it. Love it.
 

1 (15 oz) can white/cannelini beans

1 1/4 C water

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp Earth Balance (I also added a few rounds of olive oil)

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped parsley

1/3 C celery, chopped

2 tsp liquid smoke

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbsp hot sauce

4 garlic cloves or 1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 large bay leaf (I used a handful of small broken ones which were a bitch to fish out at the end)

1 medium white potato, baked (I used two small red potatoes)

I also added about about 1/2 C of white wine because I'm a booze hound.

1/2 C plain soymilk

Saute onions, celery and garlic in oil and butter over medium heat until soft. Add wine, drained beans, water, bay leaf, salt, parsley, onion, celery, liquid smoke, hot sauce, pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer while potato bakes.

 

Bake potato in microwave until tender.

 

Remove bay leaf from pot and set pot aside to cool. Roughly chop potato and set aside to cool.

 

Toss the potatoes and 1-2 cups of the bean mixture into a food processor ONCE COOLED and puree. If you put hot soup in a food processor the lid will pop off and melt your face with molten soup lava. Patience is good here.

 

Add the pureed mix to the bean and broth mix and add in the soymilk to thin. You can puree the whole thing if you want, or leave out the food processor step and enjoy a chunky, hearty soup.