Canned soup, is the gateway to vegetarian food.

When I decided to adopt a vegetarian diet in 1977, I was 16 years old. I didn’t know much about cooking but had read Peter Singer’s eye-opening book, Animal Liberation, and I was outraged, saddened, and moved to make a change.

I basically started subsisting on either Campbell’s vegetarian vegetable soup with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or Campbell’s tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. I’m grateful for Campbell’s but happy for the evolution of vegan alternatives. Panera Bread’s vegan-friendly choices, for instance, are great, and Chipotle is awesome. It’s exciting to find all the other vegan selections available in restaurants and grocery stores everywhere.

There is still a long way to go to improve the options and expand the choices but coming from the 70s, we’ve come a long way, baby!

Minestrone Soup-A simple, healthy, vegan choice.

So, soup’s on! And it’s healthy and delicious, too! It couldn’t be simpler to make and it warms and comforts straight from the bowl to your tummy.

YUMMY!

minestrone soup — Mmm Mmmm good for you!

Sandwiches are a perfect go-to for soup and we’ve got your sandwiches here, too! Try our Naturally Nautical Not-Tuna Sandwich:

vegan not tuna sandwich — Naturally nautical not tuna sandwich

grilled eggplant, zucchini squash, peppers and onion on a ciabatta — glorious grilled veggie sandwich

Yet another option is our Extra Sloppy For Ya’s, Sloppy Joes, so try them and let us know what you think!

extra sloppy for yas, sloppy joe sandwich

Here’s to happy, healthy, vegan choices! CHEERS!

thehamptonsvegan

Major Magic in Miraculous Minestrone Soup

A major magic miraculous minestrone soup bowl full of goodness!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings: 6 servings

Course: dinner

Cuisine: vegan

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoons oil
1 medium-large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup pasta like elbows, small shells, ditalini or broken spaghetti into 2-3 inch pieces
2 cups fresh baby spinach but if not using baby spinach, tear into smaller pieces or use 1/2 box frozen spinach, thawed and sqeezed to drain
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery seed optional
8 cups vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1-2 small to medium potatoes, diced
1/2 small zucchini, chopped small optional
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed or any beans you prefer
1/2-1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn optional

Method

Heat oil in a large soup pot on medium-high heat.
Add onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened a bit, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil water for pasta and then cook pasta until done. Drain and set aside.
When the onions and veggies in the soup pot are softened, add spinach now, if using fresh. Cook until wilted down. Add herbs and cook for 1 more minute.
Pour in vegetable broth and tomatoes, then add potatoes and zucchini. Bring soup to a boil and cook for a few minutes.
Reduce to a simmer and add peas, corn, beans, cooked pasta, and frozen spinach if not using fresh. Simmer on low for another 5 minutes or so to heat through then serve warm.

Jump to Recipe

Champion Corn Chowder for the Win!

Champion corn chowder is a beautiful thing but it was through necessity that this invention was mothered. And necessity is the mother of invention, so the proverb goes! Let me explain.

Corn Chowder- The Soup for Summer

Soup is ideal for a cool autumn day or brisk winter weather. There’s nothing like a steamy bowl of warm soup to chase away the chill. It’s like a hug for your tummy! Too “corny”? (sorry, couldn’t resist)

But summertime usually doesn’t make me think of soup. Unless it’s this champion corn chowder! Because it’s the epitome of an easy, light summer meal. So perfectly satisfying without being heavy. And it pairs perfectly with our glorious grilled veggie sandwich!

As if you needed another reason for corn on the cob!

Our family loves corn on the cob. As summer starts to come into view one of the utmost thoughts on my family’s foody minds is when corn on the cob will finally be available again. It can’t get here soon enough and although some of us like it more than others (I’m looking at you, babe aka the big guy!), I miss it too.

When we were a wee little family we boiled our corn on the cob and it got the job done. But later, we started grilling it on the outdoor barbecue grill. Also good, and definitely a step up from the boiled water method.

More recently, though, we’ve started roasting it in the oven and this is our favorite way of all. This may or may not have been a clever way for the big guy, aka, the grill master of the house, to weasel out of his one cooking job- grilling things- to shift it back to me. Because I am the roast master of the house. But I’m gonna let it slide.

Too much of a good thing?

Yes, there is such a thing. And I will tell you what I mean.

Recently, it all started when the other half of the Hamptons Vegan, (Alecia), surprised us with an ear of corn each from Pike’s Farm Stand, a very good farm stand on the east end of Long Island. We were thrilled with this gift as any good food-obsessed family would be. Oh, those kernels of gold!

But then we each secretly looked at the amount of corn in relation to our mega-sized corn-craving capacity and unbeknownst to the other, set about bringing more corn home to go with our perceived meager ration (greedy corn-mongers that we are).

Then the fateful day came. I returned home from the grocery store with 6 more ears of beauty to add to our 4 cobs in waiting, Soon after, Don walked in the door with 6 MORE ears from a farm stand on his way home from East Hampton. Next, Alecia walked into the kitchen with 5 MORE EARS from another farm stand along the way. Our sufficient amount of one corn on the cob per person had now turned into a stockpile. What to do, what to do…

The corn chowder necessity

Well, who says you must eat corn only as corn on the cob? Or that you must eat the corn off the cob typewriter-style? Well, we do! But you could eat it round and around if that’s your thing. And hey, we could try something different.

That’s when I remembered a recipe I made a year ago that was really very good. I dug it up and made the corn chowder for dinner with vegan BLT sandwiches. It was a winner!

Our champion corn chowder was born. And it will live long and prosper in our family. Everyone loved it and we will take stock in the corn company (is that a thing) with the amount of corn I see in our future now that we have two uses for corn on the cob. It’s great to have a variety of corn recipes!

thehamptonsvegan