Cream of Mushroom Soup

When I first was vegan what I really missed was the creamy soups, gravy, sauces that I had learned how to make from my mom. Now when I want something creamy and rich I go for something even better… cream made from nuts. So many nuts make really delicious cream, but my favorites are: hemp, cashews, walnuts, and sunflower seeds. Here is a recipe that I whipped up the other night made from sunflower seeds, but I am sure you could interchange those for any of the mentioned nuts. Make sure they are raw and if you don’t have a high-speed blender it helps to soak them for at least 4-6 hours before hand.

Cream of Mushroom Soup (serves 2)

Marinate

• 4-6 mushrooms chopped up finely (crimini or shiitake)
• 1-2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS liquid aminos (they can be soy or coconut aminos)
• 1 garlic clove (minced)

Put the chopped mushrooms into the marinade and mix up… they will start releasing their juice and shrink as if they have been cooked in 5-10 minutes

Soup Base

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 small green onion (save the green top for garnish)
• 2 TBS wine (can be red or white, but just not sweet)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 celery stalk OR sprinkle of celery seed
• black pepper to taste

Blend all these ingredients until uniform and smooth in consistency. Can blend for a few minutes in a high speed blender to heat it up to just over body temperature, or heat on the stove slightly. Remember if it is above 104 F than it is not considered raw anymore, but if you like hot soup than you can heat it up even more. Keeping it at a lower temperature will preserve the naturally occurring enzymes to make it easier to digest.

After you have blended up the soup base just mix in the mushrooms + marinade and then add some chopped green onion for garnish = delicious!!!

mushrooms before marinating

mushrooms after marinating