Eating Vegan in Liverpool: Maray & Our Kitchen

• 1 pint raw oyster mushrooms, cleaned (or whatever mushrooms you have)

For the marinade:

• 1/3C olive oil
• 1/3C water
• 1T balsamic vinegar
• 1t dried basil
• 1t dried oregano
• salt and pepper, probably 1t each
• juice from half a lemon

1. Clean the mushrooms. Everyone says you aren’t supposed to wash mushrooms but instead clean them with a towel. I’ve never followed this advice, but far be it from me to stop you
2. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a flat dish
3. Marinate the mushrooms for 30 minutes
4. Then, transfer mushrooms and some marinade to a saute pan and cook over medium-to-low heat for 3-4 minutes. They should lose a lot of water. Once they have sweated, cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

• 1C dried couscous
• 1 1/2C water
• 1 onion, diced small
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2t paprika
• 1/2t smoked paprika
• 1/2t ground cumin
• 1/2t ground coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2C diced carrots
• 1/2C diced yellow squash
• 1/4C slivered almonds
• 1/4C chopped black olives
• 2T vegan butter
• handful parsley

1. Saute the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes over medium high heat
2. Add the dried spices and bay leaf
3. Add the couscous and water, and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until couscous is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes
4. Meanwhile: in a small saucepan, saute the carrots and squash in a drop of olive oil until slightly browned. Add the almonds and olives about halfway through. I like to burn the almonds a little. 
5. Add the vegan butter and the contents of the small saucepan to the couscous
6. Top the couscous with parsley, and remove the bay leaf
7. Ta daaa!

• 2T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1t salt
• 2T fresh ginger, minced
• lots of black pepper
• 1 large potato, diced (see proper size at right)
• 1 pound carrots (I used a bag of baby carrots, it is so much easier, and the slightly sweeter taste works here)
• 3 cups water or vegetable broth 

Directions:

1. In a large pot, cook the onion in the oil over medium heat for about 6 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, salt, and ginger, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. In any recipe, I always prefer to cook the onion and garlic until they are super brown. It’s just better that way.
3. Add the carrots, potato, pepper, and water or broth and bring to a boil.
4. Let boil for 2-3 minutes, then cover and bring to a simmer (I used medium heat) for 25 minutes. 
5. Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is silky smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, order one from Amazon or Bed Bath and Beyond or something first, then use a regular blender and try not to get hurt. 

Whipped Avocado Cream
Ok…so it’s not really whipped, it’s blended. BUT WHIPPED SOUNDS BETTER DOESN’T IT I MEAN I GOT YOU TO READ IT.

Ingredients:

• 2 small very ripe avocados
• 1/3 C raw cashews
• 1/2 t salt (I used pink Himalayan sea salt and it was awesome but it probably tastes the same with regular salt.)
• 1/4C unsweetened plain almond milk

Directions:

1. Blend everything in a high-speed blender. I think if you don’t have one, second choice would be to use a food processor, rather than having you soak the cashews for a regular blender, because it might be too thin with soaked cashews. Worth a try though! If you use a food processor, try using a tablespoon less milk. Also, last choice would be trying to do it in a Magic Bullet, like I did before finally giving up on that piece of shit (that only works with pure liquids) and transferring the whole mess to the Vitamix. Anyway….
2. Top the soup with a dollop or two of the cream and enjoy!