Soup's On! My favorite Recipe of the week....

A photo of Thai Coconut Soup, from which I took my inspiration

Thai cuisine has certain distinct flavours and tastes, such as lemongrass and coconut.  I love Thai cuisine so much, but I recognize that I'm not the best Thai cook so instead of making  subpar authentic Thai dishes, I opt instead to incorporate random Thai flavours into easy dishes that I already know how to make.

Allow me to introduce my favorite Thai-inspired soup: a vegetable soup that is made creamy by the addition of coconut milk.  Who would've known it would taste so darn good?

1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium yam, cubed
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
1 tbsp dried parsley (or 1/4 cup fresh)

In a medium soup pot, saute the onions in the oil until translucent.  Add the celery and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add the yams, cabbage, stock, lentils and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the coconut oil.  At this point, you can leave the soup as is or blend with an immersion blender.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

Have an exotically delicious day!

This post is dedicated to my colleague, C.

C came to visit my blog the other day and had all sorts of wonderfully flattering things to say about it, but she also expressed a desire for more gluten-free recipes.  The story behind this is that I showed up to J's Birthday Brunch last year with this amazing vegan, gluten-free pancake batter and C (being sensitive to gluten) was finally able to enjoy fresh pancakes for the first time in many years.  I could quite literally see her childhood come flooding back to her and I think she wants me to share that joy with other gluten-intolerant people, who I know love finding good recipes.  The added bonus is that this recipe can be made the night before and be ready and waiting when you wake up for Sunday brunch :)

So, although this is not 'raw' it is still very tasty and, as always, quite healthful.

C's Banana Coconut Pancakes

1 cup brown or white rice flour
1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill coconut flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp potato starch
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 medium very ripe banana, mashed up
1 and 1/2 cup  vegan 'buttermilk' (same amount of almond milk mixed with 1 and 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar, stir and let sit for 5 min)

The night before: Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, then add banana, oil and buttermilk, mixing with a whisk until just blended.  Cover and put in fridge until the next morning (I usually put it into a glass container with a plastic lid).  Take it out the next morning and let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes, while you warm up the griddle.  You may have to add some more almond milk to thin out the batter a bit (about 1/4 cup).  Fry on a griddle at medium heat and enjoy!