Sequestration Meal #676

 

Continuing on in my mild efforts to use things up, here we have a "beefy" pastina soup, which I veganized from a recipe I found for something similar. I started by making my usual ground beef-style TVP, which I set aside to marinate while I cooked onions, celery, and carrots in some olive oil. I then added the seasonings recommended by the recipe--salt, garlic powder, oregano, red pepper flakes, and thyme--and let everything get to know each other before adding some vegan "beef" broth made from Better than Bouillon "No Beef," a bay leaf, the TVP, the end of a can of tomatoes, and some frozen spinach. Toward the end of the cooking time, I threw in a bit of pastina.

I had this with a homemade corn muffin. All in all, this was delicious, and I'd happily have it again! The one thing I'd change, and will change before I give you a proper recipe, is that it wasn't enough broth. TVP sucks up liquid, so I should have added more. But I loved the red pepper flakes in this, which I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Truly so, so good!

My efforts are, as I said, mild. In this case, I used things I virtually always have on hand, so I am not sure how much that might have helped matters, except that I did have half a can of tomatoes to use. But I still think this is a useful exercise, because if I'm not being too adventurous, I'm not buying other things, at least.

It's a theory.