Easy Miso Soup

I have loved miso soup ever since I first tried it, and I remember that first.  When I was in high school my mom found a brand of vegetarian instant soups in the supermarket, and I lived on those.  They made all different flavors, and one was miso. I remember how much I loved it, and how happy I was that it was vegetarian.

I started ordering miso soup from Sushi restaurants left and right. They all seemed to taste a little different, so I decided to see what really went into miso. From what I gathered, miso itself is made from fermented soy beans. When miso soup is made it can be made with just miso and water, or it can also have fish stock.  That must have been the culprit of the unusual taste in the different soups.

That meant I sad had to cut miso soup from my diet, since you never know how restaurants make it. I figured that was that. Then Ben found a really easy miso soup recipe. It was completely vegan and looked easy to make. We pick up some miso paste and Ben made his soup...and it was SO GOOD! After stealing a ton of spoonfuls, I knew I had to make it myself.



What you need:



4 tablespoons of miso paste
1 lb of tofu, diced
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
dried seaweed, crumbled
6 cups of water

What to do:
Heat the water in a medium pot, until boiling.
Once water is boiling remove from heat.
Add the onions, crumbled seaweed, and tofu to the boiling water.



Scoop out a tablespoon of miso, and put the spoonful in the water. While the spoon is in the water, using a fork or chopstick, slowly dissolve the miso into the water.
Repeat 3 more times.
Serve with a few dashes of soy sauce.











This miso soup was amazing! It was so authentic with the perfect Asian flavors. The tofu was nice and soft, and added an element of protein. The onions were crunchy, and added depth to the flavor or the soup. The flavor of the seaweed gave this soup that fishy element that in other soups comes from the fish stock. A splash of soy sauce was the perfect finishing touch. It added that last bit of saltiness that was needed to complete the soup.

Do you love miso soup too? Will you try making your own easy miso soup?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Crock Pot Corn and Potato Chowder

There is nothing better than a bowl of warm and creamy soup after a long day at work, and a cold winter day. Of course you could heat up a can of soup, and while I do that on most occasions, I wanted to try my hand at cooking soup myself. Lots of you lovely followers have commented on how easy it is to make a lot of soup at once, and of course it is more affordable (also, potatoes and onions were buy one-get one at the supermarket this week!). I knew I had to work all day on Sunday, so how else could I have a hot bowl of soup waiting for me than making my boyfriend cook it it in my crock pot! I love that with a crock pot you can just put all the ingredients in and it does all the cooking for you. No-fuss hot bowl of soup after a longer winter day - here I come!



Inspired by All Recipes.

What You Need:



5 medium russet potatoes, cubed
2 yellow onions, diced
1 can of corn
2 tablespoons butter
1 12-oz can of evaporated milk
4 cups of vegetable broth (I used 2 cubes of bouillon and 4 cups of water)
celery salt and pepper to taste

What To Do:
Put all of the ingredients, except for the milk, into the crock pot.



Cook on the low setting for 5-6 hours, or until potatoes can split easily with a fork.
Pour in the evaporated milk, and cook for 30 more minutes. Serve hot.









I ate my soup with a side salad and a small panini.



This soup was so flavorful with just a bit of creaminess. I might have overdone it just a tad with a pepper, but it really gave this chowder a nice kick of spice! There was some added sweetness and crunch from the corn. The onions were nice and soft while the potatoes turned this soup into a hardy dish.  It was great coming home to this comfort food waiting for me!

Do you like making soup in the crock pot? What is your favorite kind to make?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Memphis Taproom

Hello everyone! I just want to start off by saying sorry for missing my last few posts. Things got pretty stressful around here and I felt that blogging needed to take a little break while I got things in order.  I still have a lot of things going on right now, but I was really missing blogging and I knew I needed to come back!

Today's post is really exciting for me. I'll start with a little story...

Three years ago, Ben and I took a weekend trip to Baltimore. While seeing some of the touristy things (like the zoo) and some me things (like the dental museum), we also ate at a few different places. One night, it was getting late, and we still couldn't decide where to eat. We looked online and saw a near-by diner and decided that was good enough. When we got there, we saw photos of Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives all over the place. Apparently the place we had chosen to eat at out of pure desperation, was actually a really popular and amazing place.

I had never seen the show before, but after that experience, I would watch it on TV when I saw it was on, just in case it was the episode about that diner in Baltimore. Along the way came an episode about this little place in Philly, called the Memphis Taproom.  Now, while Guy usually talks about BBQ and burgers, at the Taproom, he showed us a smoked coconut and tofu sandwich. With Ben still living in the Philly area, I had instantly decided that I needed to try this place.

After 3 years of begging for Ben to take me to the Taproom while I visited him in Philly once a month, we ended up moving in together, to Virginia, without ever getting to go to the Memphis Taproom.



We did plan a trip to Philly last weekend, for Ben's birthday, and he told me that if I still wanted to go, we could hit the Taproom on our way home. I had never said "yes" so fast in my life!



I had been dreaming of the Smoked Coconut Club for years, but once I saw the extensive vegetarian, and vegan menu, it was hard to not stray from the whole reason we came! But in the end I knew that's what I had to order.





While I have to say this sandwich was worth the wait, I am sad that this was not in my life sooner. The lettuce and tomato were so fresh and the sauce was perfectly tangy. The smoked coconut was incredibly amazing! It was so smoky and had a great bite to it. Moist and with a bit of crunch, all I kept thinking of was its resemblance to bacon. Ben actually said it was the most accurate fake bacon he has ever had. I even caught him stealing pieces off my plate!



The tofu itself was a bit on the bland side, with a bit of an eggy taste and texture. The bread was a crunchy and toasty wheat bread that was vegan. Actually the entire sandwich was vegan! As you can see, the sandwich came with a large mountain of french fries, which were crunchy and perfectly spiced.

We decided to split an order of onion rings too.



These O-rings were super spicy and had a nice crunch. The sauce was cool and creamy, which paired perfectly with the spicy fried onions.

This place definitely lived up to my expectations. Even Ben couldn't stop talking about the Memphis Taproom for days.  I think he might have enjoyed it more than I did, which is funny since I was the once begging him to take me and he kept putting it off! I wish we could have gone more while he still lived in the area, but I know we will be back. I still need to try the rest of the items on the vegetarian/vegan menu!

Have you ever been to the Memphis Taproom?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Plats Du Chef French Onion Soup

Its almost the end of August, which means the end of summer, and fall is quickly sneaking up on us. That means its time for soup, soup, and more soup! Ehh, what am I saying, I could eat soup any time of year. Its always so wonderful and flavorful and filled with anything you could imagine. From veggies, to cheeses, or even pasta, rice or tofu.

I have known about french onion soup for ages, and knew that it had beef broth in it right from the beginning. I just pushed it into the back of my mind as a food I'd never eat and didn't give it a second thought. But one day going food shopping with my vegetarian brother, he pointed out a vegetarian french onion soup. I knew it was time to try it.

Each box has two frozen soups. They look kind of weird right out of the package. Each soup is layered with cheese and croutons on top.



Excuse the ugly photo. As the soup heats up in the microwave, you need to stir it up, so instead of that pretty melted cheese all on top, everything gets mixed together. It doesn't make it any less delicious though!



This soup is definitely oniony, but not overpowering. Its salty, and the cheese is mild and chewy. I love the melted cheese, there is so much in each bite. The croutons get soft and absorb the soup, and when you bite down they explode with flavor. I have never had real french onion soup, so its hard for me to compare them, but I know that this is one delicious, comforting vegetarian soup.

Have you tried this vegetarian french onion soup?

Bye from the veggie side!

The Veggie Burger Chronicles: Nifty Fifties

Hey everyone! Today I have another installment of the veggie burger chronicles. This one is about a local 1950's diner in Pennsylvania. This one doesn't have many vegetarian options, but it does have a great veggie burger!



This burger is so full of spices and flavor! It doesn't really fall in the vegetable flavor, or the meaty flavor category  but falls somewhere in the delicious middle.  I also loved that this was served just like a regular meat burger at Nifty Fifties, in a basket with red checkered paper-so classic!



I got my burger with a side of spicy onion rings! These are so good, super crunchy and with a touch of heat, yum!



One of the coolest things about Nifty Fifties is the crazy soda menu! They have like 50 different flavors, and you can even mix them if you'd like. The mint flavor is seriously amazing! So cool and refreshing, and I love that bright green.

If you ever find yourself in the 'burbs of Philly, go ahead and stop into Nifty Fifties.  Go ahead and enjoy one of these awesome veggie burgers, and try to decide on a soda flavor!

Do you like fifties diners?

Bye from the Veggie Side!