Vegan Tortilla Soup

This soup satisfies in so many ways: it's light, yet filling, and is great during the summer as well as winter. It has a depth of flavor, but is very easy and quick to make. You could have this ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes.

In a big pot, saute chopped onion and garlic in some olive oil. To that add 1 chopped jalapeno (or more if you like it hot), 1 large diced tomato, 1 cup of frozen corn, chopped green and red bell peppers, 1 can of hominy, 4 cups of veggie stock, a pinch of cilantro, cumin, black pepper, and turmeric. You can also add any kind of bean to this, but I usually leave them out. Simmer 15-20 minutes until all the flavors marry. Serve with more cilantro on top, a wedge of lime, and baked tortilla strips. Sour cream, sliced radish, and guacamole are also great garnishes.

Vegan Enchiladas

Enchiladas are so good and versatile. You can give them any kind of filling you want. These particular ones we make are vegan, but you can easily throw in meat or cheese. I make my own enchilada sauce, and a delicious green sauce that I like to spoon on top after they come out of the oven.

In a large skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once that heats up, add corn (we use frozen, but whatever you have on hand will work), minced onion, minced garlic, black beans, chopped bell peppers, black pepper, cumin, coriander, and turmeric. While those flavors are mingling, get your tortillas out and ready.

For the enchilada sauce, combine two tablespoons of each of the following ingredients in a sauce pan: olive oil, minced garlic, minced onion, oregano, chili powder, basil, black pepper, cumin, and parsley. To that, add 6oz of tomato sauce, a splash of taco sauce, and 1 1/2 cups of water. Stir and simmer until everything reduces into a dark red sauce.

Once your filling is done, grab a baking dish and fill your tortillas. Line the dish with the little bundles, and liberally pour the enchilada sauce over all of them. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye on these, as they don't need to cook; the baking is to warm and firm the tortillas and adhere the enchilada sauce to them.

While those are baking, time to create the green sauce. I got this sauce from a recipe for a totally different dish, but found that it is perfect for any food that needs a fresh, spicy zip. We use Cookie + Kate's recipe:

In a blender (we use our single serving attachment for our Ninja blender for this), combine a handful of spinach, cilantro, a jalapeno, 2 tablespoons of chopped onion and garlic, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 cup of veggie broth. Blend until completely smooth. Once your enchiladas come out of the oven and are plated, drizzle the green sauce over them and serve with a wedge of lime. Amazing!

Kielbasa and Cabbage

This is a favorite of ours, and is great on a chilly evening. It's quick, easy, and cheap to make. Plus it's a one pot meal, which is always great!

Roughly chop half a head of cabbage (or a whole head if you're feeding several people), and put in a large skillet. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of bacon grease and plenty of black pepper. Let this cook down, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. Cut up a link of kielbasa, half an onion, and a bell pepper of your choice. Add these to the cabbage and cook until onion is translucent and kielbasa pieces plump up. This is a lovely meal on its own, but it also pairs nicely with cornbread.

Pickled Vegetables

These are so simple to make, and can be used on sandwiches (like the banh mi below), salads, in wraps, as a side, or as a snack straight out of the jar. You can use any veggie you like, although I've found that potatoes don't do too well in this brine.

First, grab a mason jar. Select which veggies you want to use and cut all of them up into thin match sticks. We like to use carrots, cucumbers, and daikon (a Japanese radish). Jicama would be delicious to use - can't wait to try that when we are back in the states! Place the cut up veggies into the jar and fill with:

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt

If the brine doesn't cover all of the veggies, add more white wine vinegar until it does. You don't want any food breaking the surface of the brine. If you're using a jar that is a quart or bigger, obviously you'll need a lot more of all the ingredients. Screw the lid on snugly, give it a good shake then place in the fridge. After a couple of days, you'll have yummy pickled veggies!

Banh Mi

Just a couple of months ago we discovered banh mi, which is a type of Vietnamese sandwich. There are dozens of different varieties, some with meat, some with tofu, and they often have pickled vegetables on them. We normally do ours up with just veggies, but sometimes we include tofu. The way we make ours is adapted from Love & Lemons' recipe, which you can view here.  Here is what we do:

Cut extra firm tofu into bite size squares and marinate in this mixture:
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 minced garlic clove
a dash of powdered ginger or grated ginger
black pepper

Let them marinate for at least an hour, then fry with a bit of olive oil in a skillet until the outside is crispy. Cut your French baguette open to make a sandwich. We use arugula, then lay the tofu on top of that. Then layer in the pickled veggies, which I'll give the recipe for in a different post. Top with a drizzle of ranch dressing and sriracha.

Deviled Eggs

Traditionally I make deviled eggs like my mom does: yolk, Marzetti's slaw dressing, salt and pepper. Here in Japan, you can't find Marzetti's products anywhere, so over the past couple of years I've gotten really creative with my deviled egg recipe. Nowadays, here's what I do:

Hard boil eggs, peel, then slice each egg in half and separate whites and yolks. Place yolks in a bowl and mix with about 1/2 cup mayonnaise, a tiny squirt of mustard, one diced sweet gherkin pickle, three tablespoons of sweet gherkin pickle juice, one tablespoon tartar sauce, salt and pepper. The mixture should not be dry, but not runny either; it should be creamy and easy to work with, yet hold stiff peaks. Since the measurements will differ with how many eggs you're making, add each ingredient a little bit at a time so you can guarantee it will not be runny. If it's too runny, the only thing that will thicken it is more yolks, so go slowly.

Once your yolk mixture is perfected, fill all the whites using either a couple of forks or spoons, or an icing bag if you would like them to look extra fancy. Sprinkle the top of each one with a tiny bit of black pepper and paprika. Chill before serving.

Eggnog French Toast

We love making this in the winter. Next year we'll need to make homemade eggnog to create this with! We first heard of this years ago from my husband's uncle. We took the idea and made it our own, so this isn't necessarily his uncle's exact recipe. It pairs great with maple syrup.

Mix together:
2 eggs
eggnog
pumpkin spice
cinnamon
nutmeg
vanilla

I eyeball everything, and adjust the amounts based on how many people I'm feeding. 2 eggs with this mixture is enough for 2 people. Dip your bread in the mixture and fry in a buttered skillet. Once golden, plate and serve with fruit and syrup. You can also make this as a casserole, which we took to a Christmas brunch once. In order to do that, butter a casserole dish or cake pan. Cut each piece of bread into 3 strips and dip each strip into the mixture. Line the dish with the battered strips until they are near the top. Pour any left over mixture over the strips, then mix up about half a batch more and pour over them again. The liquid mixture should fill the dish about 2/3 full. Bake at 450F degrees for 20 minutes or until golden on top. It will taste like a delicious eggnog bread pudding.

The Recipe Box

My husband and I decided to make a blog about our cooking, baking, family recipes that have been passed down, and food in general. We are foodies who believe that love makes a home, and the center of that home is the kitchen. The kitchen not only provides life-giving meals for the family, but also life lessons, cooking skills, listing/budgeting/shopping skills, extra warmth for the house on chilly nights, science lessons (from growing a whole new stalk of celery from a trimming, to the botulism of left overs), and even a makeshift doctor office for stings, cuts, bites, and rashes.

On this blog you'll see a lot of recipes that we make here in our kitchen, as well as any foodie adventures we stumble into. We are from Kentucky, but we currently live in Japan, so going out to eat is always exciting. Along with the food recipes, we will also include home remedy recipes from our mothers, grandmothers, and new ones that we have learned about.

Our recipes are quite eclectic, with a healthy blend of vegetarian, vegan, omnivorous, and down home country cooking. We love trying new recipes as well as making dishes previous generations made down on the farm. In our fridge you'll find veggies and soy milk next to the mason jar of bacon grease, and in the freezer you'll find frozen fruit and beef roast next to the veggie burgers. We hope you enjoy our culinary endeavors and feel free to try any of the recipes you see!