jasonXkeller.com

I’ve never made cream of asparagus soup before, but I knew we had some asparagus that needed used and it sounded good, so why not.  When I got home I inspected the fridge to see what else we had on hand.  This is how it all went down.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3 c. Vegan Chicken Broth (I use McKay’s.  One is vegan, one is not.  Be sure to check)
• 1 lb Fresh Asparagus
• 1/2 c.  Yellow Onion
• 1 c. Red Bell Pepper
• 1 c. Sliced Crimini Mushrooms
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 3 Tbsp. Tofutti Sour Supreme
• 2 Tbsp. Earth Balance
• 1/2 tsp. Sage
• Salt and Pepper

This can easily done in under 30 minutes if you don’t lolly-gag.  Start by prepping your vegetables.  Asparagus can be woody near the ends.  Use your judgment, but removing the bottom inch should be good enough.  Next cut the asparagus into 1/4 inch chunks, leaving the ends as a garnish if you like. (I did this.  It didn’t contribute much to the texture, but it looked nice)  Then dice your onion and bell pepper.  This time around I used pre-cleaned and sliced criminis from Trader Joe’s but if you have whole ones, slice them now too.  Add some olive oil to a large pan over medium heat.  Saute for about five minutes.

While the veggies are doing their thing you want to mix your broth. (a pre-prepared broth is fine, but vegan varieties aren’t very common) Bring the water/broth to a simmer.  For McKay’s, stir in 1. tsp per cup of water.  While this is heating up, add salt pepper and sage to the veggie mix.

After your veggies are nice and tender, remove them from the heat and add them to your broth.  Add your Earth Balance and return the entire mixture to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Use a timer people!  (If you are using the spears as a garnish, this would be the time to throw them in a pan over medium heat with some olive oil and salt.)  Test a piece of the asparagus after 15 minutes.  If you used quarter inch chunks, they should be al dente at this point.  If your pieces are little bigger it may require the additional 5 minutes.

Once they’re all softened up, add the entire mixture to the blender.  WARNING!!! Be very careful when blending hot liquids.  Be sure to use the lid and start slowly.  I walked my blender up to high and left it there for almost a full minute.  This texture was perfect for me.  Once you’ve got it where you like it, you can pour it directly into bowls or place it in whatever dish you’ll serve it from.

This is optional, but once the soup was served, I added a dollop of Sour Supreme and the sauteed spears.  I would have taken a photo, but I wasn’t thinking.  Next time, I promise!

The yield was around 6 cups.  I suppose this could serve 2 as it did for me, or 6 if you were serving it on the side.  Eat well and stay healthy!

While it might not technically be vegan, I’d be willing to give it the old “ominus dominus.”  Though some will surely disagree, my issue with consuming animal products is based in the practices of the meat and dairy industries in America and other developed countries; factory farming, in particular.  It is their irreverence for life and unnecessary cruelty that are the problem.  I do not believe for a second that all people everywhere should abstain from animal based diets.  Veganism is a luxury that we have while living in a consumer driven country.  Many people throughout the world do not have that luxury.

What I challenge all vegans to consider, is that eating vegan is not always the most responsible dietary choice.  Consider this story I heard from my friend Krissi Green.  Her friends were in Hawaii on vacation.  At one point they were out to lunch at a local restaurant.  The man, whose name I can’t recall orders the mahi mahi and his wife orders a tofu dish.  Which is the more responsible choice?  The mahi was caught wild that day, by a local fisherman with one boat.  The tofu started as soybeans grown in Iowa.  During the process, the soil was tilled and fertilized, seeds were planted, crops were irrigated, harvested, shipped, processed, packaged in plastic, shipped again and only then does it arrive at the restaurant.  Which meal required the lives of more animals, directly or indirectly?  Which meal had a more profound affect on the source ecosystem?

I have been vegan for a very long time and I feel there is merit to maintaining that diet, however we seem to overlook the overwhelming negative affects that our agricultural practices have on the environment and human and non-human animals.  Would the worldwide acceptance of a vegan diet be any more sustainable than the current omnivorous one?  I think there is a strong argument to be made, that hunting or fishing for the meat that you eat and growing your own vegetables would, over a lifetime, lead to less unnecessary suffering than 90% of the diets vegans maintain today.  I know this is idealistic, and I am not trying to convert vegans to meat eaters.  I am only trying to promote real pragmatic thought about the goals you hope to achieve and whether those goals can or even should be met by your current diet.  When it is all said and done, eat responsibly and with intent.

As far as eating people…I don’t recommend it, but I guess if you kill them with your bare hands, it’s vegan.

Thank you Chris.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both.  Seitan tends to be higher in protein, versatile, and is easy to make at home.  The drawback is that it is farther removed from the whole-food source.  The primary ingredient is wheat gluten flower.  While flour is quite simply, ground wheat berries, wheat gluten flower requires additional processing to isolate the gluten.  Tempeh, on the other hand is made from whole soy beans.  This gives gives it a considerable advantage over it’s more processed counterpart.  Furthering its case, tempeh is a cultured product.  The fermentation that takes place helps to “pre-digest” parts of the bean which facilitates the absorption of nutrients.  Tempeh is also much higher in fiber and lower in sodium than seitan and most other foods, for that matter.  The main drawback to tempeh, is the difficulty in making it at home.  There is a steep learning curve for growing your own cultures.  The temperature ranges necessary to maintain a stable culture require special equipment.  Seitan, on the other hand, is much like making bread.  It requires only a bowl and possibly a pot, depending on the recipe.  This gives seitan a leg up in the area of  cost effectiveness.  To buy the tempeh equivalent to the amount of seitan I use weekly, would land me in the poor house.  Additionally, making your seitan at home allows you to control the use of sodium and preservatives, which offsets some of its disadvantages.  All in all, I admit that tempeh is a better protein source from a health standpoint, but I prefer seitan for its flavor, versatility and cost.  Below is a link to one of my favorite seitan recipes.  It is highly adaptable to any flavors you would like to include.

http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15959&p=1

I was going to give you a detailed bio of my vegan life, but for the sake of brevity I am going to keep this simple.

1. I have been vegan for 15 years so most likely I’ve done it or tried it.

2. I survived being vegan in rural Pennsylvania in the 90’s, which makes me determined and innovative.

3. I survived being vegan in the Marine Corps for six years. It can be done.

4. I was able 40 lbs of lean muscle on a vegan diet. I inderstand how to maintain a healthy adapted for specific fitness goals.

5. Through extensive trial and error I have determined some of the best tasting and healthiest vegan options for both cooking and eating out. I’ve eaten terrible things and had terrible service so you don’t have to.

In this section I intend to cover all things vegan. This will include diet, philosophy, recipes, restaurant and product reviews, and interviews and testimonies of vegan athletes and entrepreneurs.