A soup and bread pairing to chase away the winter blues

A soup and bread pairing to chase away the winter blues

Vegetable soup and flaxseed bread

By Heidi Sutton

Homemade soup and home-baked bread are the most basic cold-weather comfort foods. Life doesn’t get any better and lunch/dinner doesn’t get any easier with the following delicious tried and true healthy vegan and gluten-free recipes to start the New Year on the right foot.

Vegetable Soup

YIELD: Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

2  stalks celery,

2 carrots, sliced.

1medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup farro

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1 15-ounce can chili beans , undrained

1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil in a 5-quart pot. Add celery, carrots, onions and salt. Saute for 10 minutes. Add garlic. Combine vegetable broth, tomatoes and enough water to make 6 to 7 cups. Add liquid to pot. Stir in farro and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add mixed vegetables and beans, and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes. Serve with flaxseed bread.

Note: This soup freezes well.

Flaxseed Bread

YIELD: Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:

1 package rapid rise yeast

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseeds

1/3 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup toasted sunflower seed kernels ( to toast, put on cookie sheet and bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup lukewarm water, about 110 degrees

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons honey

DIRECTIONS: 

Let yeast bloom in warm water in a small bowl. Combine dry ingredients in stand mixer bowl. Add all liquids. Mix with dough hook to make soft, slightly sticky dough. Do NOT add more flour.

Put dough in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled.

Punch dough down. Roll into a 9” by 14” rectangle. Roll up tightly from 9” end. Put roll into a greased 9” by 5” loaf pan, smooth side up. Cover with towel or plastic wrap. Let rise until dough is 3/4” above the pan.

Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake bread for 33 minutes. Turn out unto a rack immediately. If desired, rub a pat of vegan butter over the hot bread to make crust shiny.

Note: Flax seed is high in Omega-3 and-6, and is know to reduce risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.

These recipes were originally published in TBR News Media’s Prime Times supplement on Jan. 26.