Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Even in the summer, I can’t help but crave piping hot soup. I love soup. In fact, it’s my favorite food. Yes, it really is. I think it’s because it’s really the one dish that can be made so many different ways out of so many different ingredients — isn’t that the idea behind “stone soup”? But seriously, soup is comforting every time. And when you’re lucky enough to be sitting in an air conditioned home, then it really doesn’t matter if it’s 90 degrees outside. When I was younger I used to have these “episodes” (I guess one could call them that) where I needed to have soup, like, on our way up to the White Mountains to go hiking, I’d suddenly need soup — mid-drive. My mom is the same way, it’s very much like, “Pull the car over at the next restaurant! I need soup!” It got to the point once when we would bring thermoses of soup if we were going on long weekend or day trips. My mom calls these episodes “soup attacks.” They seem to be less frequent these days, I don’t know why, but neither of us is ever far from the urge to make or eat soup, regardless.

That being said, it’d been a while, but this little concoction came about when I was having a soup attack. I didn’t even know it until after I was done eating, of course, when I’d successfully licked the bowl clean. This soup is thick and smooth in flavor, thanks to the addition of cashew cream. The use of whole tomatoes makes it just a bit chunky and hearty, the way I like tomato soup to be. The beauty of this soup is that you can make it as chunky or smooth as you’d like, it’s just a matter of blending less or more. I used only half a cup of basil, but you can use more if you want a stronger basil flavor.

The beautiful grilled cheese is the usual salty, cheesy goodness that compliments any tomato soup well. Is there anything Daiya can’t do? I doubt it.

Sun-dried Tomato & Lemon Mayo-free Potato Salad

Normally, I would make potato salad with Vegenaise or Mindful Mayo, but I decided to make this one mayo-free for two reasons: first, I have a friend who really hates mayo (vegan and not) and for whom I wanted to provide a simple, delicious, light, mayo-free recipe and secondly, I didn’t want to rely on a processed product to make a great vegan dish. The result is a really savory, beautiful, summery potato salad that can be eaten as a stand alone meal or served as a side dish at your next vegan barbecue.

It so happens that the friend for whom this was intended hates potato salad — even the mayo-free kind. Shucks. Sorry, Jessie! Well, I guess this doesn’t change anything except that she won’t be eating it. That doesn’t stop anyone else, though!

I love this recipe for it’s freshness and ease. By the time I was done chopping the veggies, the potatoes were done. And I love how much all the flavors stood out, but especially the lemon and tomato. I enjoyed this for lunch for several days and it was very filling. Next time, I will remember to share it with others around me and not just eat it all myself!

Spicy Basil Black Bean Burgers

I love bean burgers — and not just because I’m vegan. I honestly think they just taste better. I could eat one every day, especially these. And yes, because they’re not made with tempeh, soy, seitan, or TVP, they tend to be “mushier,” “crumblier,” or whatever other adjective you want to use to deprecate these fabulous edible entities. But who cares? The fact remains that bean burgers rule. And black bean burgers are king and queen. This should come as no surprise.

I had my first ever, true bean burger at a vegan restaurant just last year. What made it so true? Well, it wasn’t a pre-made-frozen-boxed-grocery store-bought disappointment. It was homemade, just like a good bean burger should be. And that “not-so-meat-like consistency” was actually what I liked most about the bean burger besides how good it tasted. So, here I am, a year later, deciding to take the bean burger into my own hands, because honestly, I’ve gotten to the point where I just want to be able to eat one whenever I want without having to go out.

This burger is fabulous and very easy to make. Don’t be deterred by the size of the ingredients list — it’s mostly made up of spices. This recipe is really, very simple. And once you have your veggies chopped, it’s very quickly made too! These were just the right amount of spicy for me, but if you want to kick it up a notch, add more cayenne or better yet, more chipotle chile pepper. It goes without saying, but the smoked paprika gives it a really nice smoky flavor, you’d be sad to go without it.

If you don’t have access to an oven (like if you’re camping or in a dorm with just a stove top), no worries! You can still enjoy these, just omit the oven step. They will just be a bit less firm. Since it’s summer and everyone’s firing up the barb-y, you’ll be happy to know that you can also grill these. Now, I haven’t tried this myself, but I’m sure if you wrap ’em up tightly in aluminum foil and toss ’em a bit on the grill, they’ll be just fine!

Wherever you are, however you cook them — I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Mint Basil Pesto

I love summer. I mostly love non-humid summers, but I’ll take this New England heat, if I must, for now. My favorite thing about summer is the extended daylight, but coming in at a close second is the near daily opportunity to go to a farmer’s market. I absolutely adore farmer’s markets. Big ones, little ones — anywhere where there are farmers with fresh fruits, vegetables, or vegan baked goods — that’s where I want to be.

My first visit to a farmer’s market was last year in Portland, Oregon. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better initiation to farmer’s markets than the lively and vibrant Portland Farmer’s Market at Portland State University (Saturdays 8:30 to 2!). It was like being in an amusement park. Ok, not really, but I was overwhelmed with excitement and I hadn’t even started cooking for myself yet. I think this is where the revolution began. To be fair, it truly began in California where, as a new vegan and Animal Care Intern at Farm Sanctuary, I had to learn how to feed myself. But the farmer’s market was like a different sort of Eden to me. So many colors, so many smells, so many authentic “Portlanders” (if you know what I mean)! In any case, I could have spent hours there just looking at the plethora of colorful earthly goods, but I gathered my necessities, a bottle of pear cider, and went home.

Well, let me tell you, the farmer’s market I went to last week was no PSU, but it was still — a farmer’s market. And like a kid in a candy store, I couldn’t help myself. I had to have a little of everything. This recipe is something that came of it. As soon as I smelled that fresh basil and mint, I knew something had to be done. Something had to be done and it had to be simple, fresh, delicious, and versatile. Besides, I’ve been wanting to get into canning and preserving for quite some time. I didn’t properly “can” this recipe because I knew I’d be using it all fairly quickly, but if you want to preserve a little bit of the gifts of the summer sun for later on this year, I suggest that you do. It’ll probably last longer than your tan.

Tomato, Tofu & Basil Finger Sandwiches

I started looking through my fridge for little things to use up before they spoiled. This is what I found: half a tomato, leftover raw tofu, and Vegenaise. I only had just enough to make something small so, I decided to make some cute open faced sandwiches. I didn’t measure out the amounts — this is just too simple a recipe for that. Besides, you can make as few as 2 or as many as you want depending on your need. I used a biscuit cutter to cut the bread into rounds, but if you want, you can create fun shapes with a cookie cutter or a knife or even by pressing hard with a cup. If your tomato is bigger than the bread, you can also use the biscuit cutter to cut the tomato to just the right size or dice it into small pieces and place it on top for a different look. These little guys resemble fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil antipasto and are pretty “fresh” tasting and light — perfect for an appetizer to that summer dinner party on the patio or just as a light snack in the middle of your day.