Maria veganizes Tomato Bisque

Nothing warms us up like a delicious bowl of homemade soup in the winter. I ended up inventing this vegan tomato bisque completely by accident. Let me tell you what happened.

At one of the grocery stores in my neighbourhood, they give you a free product if you spend over a certain amount on your grocery bill. A couple of weeks ago, that free product was a jar of tomato juice.

I don’t usually purchase juices since they tend to be pasteurized (i.e. all live nutrition killed by high heat). As you all know, I enjoy the health and bliss-inducing benefits of juicing my own vegetables and fruits. However, I also avoid wasting anything, rarely do I throw food away and who refuses a free product anyway? I looked at the jar and immediately uttered the words …  “tomato bisque”.

OK, sure, but what is a tomato bisque anyway?

I had heard of a lobster bisque in the past but I don’t eat lobsters since I don’t eat animals.

Let’s talk about lobsters for a minute. Did you know that they can live up to 100 years old? They are highly sophisticated creatures, having evolved throughout centuries since the time of the dinosaurs, like sharks! They have complex social structures, and they mate for life! Ahhh, how could we not love them! Contrary to what some choose to believe, they suffer tremendously in those horrendous tanks at the grocery stores because they cannot stand to be in water containing their own excrement. Their claws are cruelly bound and they are inhumanely crammed. Once thrown into boiling water, again contrary to what some choose to tell themselves, the intensity of their physical pain is said to possibly be higher than our own since their nervous system does not permit them to “pass out” when the pain reaches a certain threshold, like our nervous system does. Lobsters do not have a nervous system and brain set up like humans do, however studies show that they are capable of feeling pain and releasing stress hormones just like us. With this knowledge, how can we continue to victimize and torture them?

I knew no animal remains would be necessary to create a tasty bisque. I decided I would use solely the tomato juice, and I would sweeten up the tomato juice with peas. I also knew this soup would be totally irresistible with a topping of homemade croutons, totally optional of course!

Cozy up with my vegan Tomato Bisque! Enjoy, in joy and in health!

 

Ingredients:

3 cups tomato juice

1 cup unsweetened organic soy milk OR rice milk

1 cup peas, cooked and drained

1 medium white onion, chopped

2 small russet potatoes OR 5 mini russet potatoes, chopped

2 medium tomatoes OR 5 cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons grapeseed oil

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Garnish with homemade croutons. Chopped cilantro OR parsley and green onion, may be added to the garnish if desired.

 

Method:

1. In a pot, heat oil. Add onion, dash of sea salt and sauté for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, dash of sea salt and sauté for 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and peas and sauté for another 5 minutes.
2. Pour in tomato juice and soy milk and lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. Pour into blender. Add nutritional yeast and blend until completely liquefied and creamy.
5. Add more salt if desired. Garnish with homemade croutons (recipe follows).  Add chopped green onion, cilantro or parsley to garnish if desired.

 

Homemade Croutons

 Ingredients:

3 slices of bread, cubed

1 garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon sea salt

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. Cut 3 slices of bread into small cubes.
3. Place bread cubes in a large casserole.
4. In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and oregano. Drizzle over bread.
5. Sprinkle sea salt over bread.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bread is hard and crispy.

 

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“We know, deep down, that we cannot look deeply anywhere, for if we do, we will have to look deeply into the enormous suffering our food choices directly cause. So we learn to stay shallow and be willingly blind to the connections we see. Otherwise, our remorse and guilt would be too painful to bear. The acknowledged truth would also conflict too strongly with our self-image, causing serious cognitive dissonance and emotional disturbance. We choose to ignore, and thus choose to be ignorant and inattentive.” ~Dr. Will Tuttle