Sunday, March 1, 2009

Tortilla soup, trail mix and my conflict regarding Eggs!

That's a lot in the title. I made the trail mix cookies that Em blogged about - it turned out really good. I added chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, almonds, walnuts, chopped dates, craisins and raisins. I would have liked it with more nuts and fruits - my portion sizes may have been too small.


Tortilla Soup


3 T olive oil - divided
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery
(is the plural celeries?)
1/2 green pepper
1 tomato
6 cups vegetable broth

2 cups pinto beans - I soaked and pre-cooked dried beans. You can use black beans too.
2 cloves garlic, chopped
cumin (to taste)
1 bay leaf
dried red chilli flakes (to taste)
2 chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce
- my favorite :)
sprinkle of cilantro
2 T lime juice
2 green onions, chopped
2 whole wheat tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. Brush tortillas with Olive Oil and cut into strips. Bake for 12-15 minutes or till brown and crispy.

Heat remaining oil. Add garlic and onions. Saute till transparent.
Add carrots, celery and pepper. Cook for a few minutes. Add broth, tomato, bay leaf, cumin, red pepper flakes, chipotle peppers, salt (to taste), beans.
Bring to boil.

Add lemon juice, green onions, cilantro.
Serve with tortilla chips.





Our soup was a little spicy - reduce the heat in yours if you would like. V is starting to feel a litlte sick, so he really liked this. I won't lie - I wish there was a little sprinkled cheese on top or sour cream, but I still liked it.

So here is my egg dilemma. Part of being vegan is 'no eggs'. One of the secretaries in our office has a lot of chickens that lay eggs. When I talked with her about her chickens , she said that they all have names, eats only grains, and are raised in open areas etc. So, as close to organic as can be without getting certified. Also, I don't think they sell their eggs in a market or anything, just people in the department buy it from her. In reading 'animal, vegetable miracle', the point was about eating local. If I ONLY eat eggs that we buy from her, is that still being responsible? Is that enough? I still will probably not eat it too much, but do you have any thoughts?

Have a great week and be safe in the snow...





5 comments:

  1. Did you use molasses? That seemed to make mine turn too dark and, well, molasses tasting. I think I will try maple syrup or brown rice syrup or even corn syrup next time.

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  2. My problem with eggs is for the following reasons:
    http://www.goveg.com/factoryFarming_chickens_egg.asp
    I admit, I am not yet completely done with eating them. I no longer buy them for my house or family because I am conflicted about where they come from. I do feel that supporting farmers who are taking care of their chickens and not participating in these practices is actually giving a big F-you to the big business farmers. If I could get some eggs that I could actually trace to the source then I might buy them. I do wonder, though, what happens to the male chicks. Is it as is described on the link? How can you EVER be sure? I don't know. Any thoughts?
    I will get you a copy of the African Stew so you can try the one I love so much. Your tortilla soup looks great. I think we would add rice (even though Tortilla soup doesn't have rice). Sounds like you are having fun cooking!

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  3. I used molasses, but I used only 1/4 cup of molasses instead of the 1/2 cup the recipe called for and upped the amount of agave nectar. So it was fine.
    I don't know what happens to the male chickens.. I can ask Jane. If I know where the eggs are coming from, it adds to her small farming side-business and helps out, is it 'wrong' for me not to support her? This is all a moot point right now, because she has not gone through her list and gotten to me - but, when she does, I will buy it for Velu... my question is - can I eat it too!!
    I do enjoy cooking - so this is fun!! Being able to share it with you makes it more fun. I thought about adding rice but decided that I did not need more carbs!!

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  4. from where you get this "2 chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce"

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