When life gives you lemons, make Lemon Lentil Soup

Life gave me lemons this week and I am recovering from the flu. Both Monster and I got sick over the weekend. I will say this, while I may get the flu it is no where as serve as what it use to be when I consume dairy and meat. I still have minor aches in my muscles but I do feel much better. 

Right when we returned from the business trip, I saw a recipe online for Lemon Lentil Soup. Yesterday, in my hot mess I was, I got up from the couch and made a large pot of this. It was so tangy and hit the spot. I based my recipe off this one from Vegangela.com. I didn't take any pictures and I am sorry my beloved readers. Next time!!!

Bunny Pops take on Lemon Lentil Soup

8 cups of veggie broth

the juice of 5 lemons

the juice of 5 limes

1 whole head of garlic, chopped

1 chopped yellow sweet onion

5-7 baby bella mushrooms sliced

1 cup carrots either shredded or chopped

pinch of salt and pepper

several handfuls of dill

1.5 cups of dried red lentils or yellow lentils

First measure out 1.5 cups of lentils. Wash and rise your lentils to remove any debris. Next chop your garlic, onion, and mushrooms while you are warming up your soup pot. After your soup pot is hot, add the mushrooms first, then followed by the onions and garlic. Saute 5-8 minutes and add water if needed to help with the cooking process. Add your lentils, broth, the juice of the limes and lemons, salt, pepper, carrots, and dill. Cook 30-45 minutes until the lentils are done. Enjoy and Happy Eating!! 

**Note, you can use more or less of the the seasonings and lemon/lime juice. I added more because I wanted my soup to taste more like citrus. 

Vegan Veggie Ramen

I loved ramen growing up. Actually, at one point in my life, I would have instant ramen for breakfast. Yup, no joke either. It was a phase!

A few weeks back, the Monster and I went to Yakko-Sans for dinner with our friends and had an awesome Veggie Udon dish. Any who, let's fast forward, I was shopping at one of the Asian Markets by our home a few weeks ago and saw ramen noddles. I had already picked up udon noddles to make that for dinner, but I found ramen noodles-yes the noodles by themselves to cook. Well, needless to say, last week one night, I wanted a quick and easy meal and I whipped it together. When I made this, I didn't have radishs or tofu, but, I were to make it again I would add them to it.  Dinner was a hit to say the least and a request to have again! I present to you my recipe. Feel free to modify to your taste or preference.

Vegan Veggie Ramen

• 2 packets of the ramen noodles
• 1 box of Swanson's Thai Ginger Broth, or Vegetable Broth
• 1 container of mushrooms, either baby Bella or if you live by a Publix grab their gourmet mushroom blend. 
• Dash of ground ginger
• Limes
• Lemongrass stalk 
• Cilantro
• Green Onions, diced
• 2 Carrots, diced
• Radishs, diced
• Tofu, pressed and diced into cubes.
• Sriracha or your choice of chili hot sauce (optional)
• Soy Sauce, Liquid Aminos , or Ponzu (optional)

First, get your pot screaming hot and once it's hot, add your mushrooms and season with the ginger. If they begin to stick add a small amount of the broth. After they begin to reduce and cook, add the box of the broth first, then add diced carrots, lemongrass stalk, tofu, and the noodles. Follow the directions on the package of the noodles but bring this all to a boil. Cook for 5-10 mintues, until noodles are soft. Once done, serve the ramen into bowls. Garnish with cilantro, green onions, lime, and radishs. Tops off with your favorite hot sauce and/or soy sauce.  ~Enjoy and happy eating~