Magenta Dream Salad

A delicious kale salad, plus an orange segmenting tutorial!

This is one of my all-time favourite salads (although I love all salads with fruit, avocado and nuts). It's sweet, slightly creamy, fresh, crunchy, contains jicama, and is an absolutely gorgeous shade of pink!

This also contains kale, which we should all know by know is a powerhouse of vegetable nutrition, and also tastes great in salads after a good massage.

This is my first dinner in my month-long raw food experiment, and it was delicious! I did have to eat about half of it before I was full, but I didn't mind one bit! I know tahini isn't raw (unless you specifically buy raw tahini), but I'm going to allow myself a few small cheats, as long as they're only condiments and I don't have them too often, or too much of them at once.

First of all, if you don't know how to segment an orange, here's how:

first, slice off the top an bottom

then cut off the rind with a knife, cutting in a bit of a curve to
get all the pith

your orange should know look like this

cut the orange out from between the membrane

 I usually like to cut the orange segments in half so more bites have orange in them, but this is optional.

Magenta Dream Salad

Ingredients

2 bunches kale, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 medium-smallish beets, grated
1/2 small jicama, cut however you want (I can never figure out the best way to cut jicama for salad, so just do whatever you think is best. I cut it into flat squares)

use about this much ginger, or more

3 oranges, 1 zested
1 tsp grated ginger
1 avocado, thinly sliced, slices cut into quarters, the riper it is the creamier the salad will be
2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
pepper, to taste
1 tsp honey, optional
2 Tbsp tahini
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (toast them if you're not eating raw)

Directions

1. Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, tahnini, salt, pepper, honey (if using), ginger, and orange zest.

2. Put the kale in a bowl or on a large cutting board. Pour the dressing over it.

3. Cut the segments out of the oranges over the kale, so the juice falls on it. Once all the segments are cut, squeeze the remaining pulpy stuff so the juice falls on the kale, then discard.

4. Using your hands, squeeze the kale and mix it up with dressing; "massage" it.

5. Toss the kale with the fennel, beets, jicama, orange segments, and walnuts.

6. Eat it right away, or allow to marinate for stronger flavours and softer kale. Kale salads keep well without turning limp and soggy like lettuce salads.

7. Enjoy!

before tossing

after tossing

This post has been shared with Healthy Vegan Fridays.

Guacamole Zucchini Noodles

The main reason I bought a mandoline was to make zucchini noodles. And I have to say, they are amazing! They taste great, and they have that noodle-y feel, and they're healthy! What's not to love? Spiralizers and julienne peelers also work, but I wanted a multi-purpose tool. Too bad it's extremely dull and can't cut much. Oh well. I guess that's what I get for buying the cheapest mandoline available. Makes great zoodles, though.

I wanted to keep these raw for the health benefits. I also thought a creamy sauce would taste much better than a tomato-based one, and wouldn't be as watery. I've eaten spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, and trust me, it isn't good. So I just tossed the noodles with some leftover guacamole and served it with tomatoes and leftover pork for a delicious and super-quick dinner. The creaminess of the guacamole, the fresh, sweet, and acidic flavour of the tomatoes, and the rich, crispy, salty meatiness of the pork went wonderfully together to create this delicious dish!

If you want to make this dish raw and/or vegan, just leave out the pork, it'll still be good!

Zucchini Noodles with Guacamole

makes 1 serving

Ingredients

3 very small zucchini, cut into noodles

1/2 avocado

lime juice, to taste

salt, to taste

1 tomato, cut into thin wedges

cooked pork meat, preferably fatty and crispy, chopped and heated

Directions

1. Mash the avocado with a fork or puree in a food processor, for a creamier sauce.

2. Add lime juice and salt to taste. Mix it all together.

3. Toss the zucchini noodles with the guacamole.

4. Garnish with the tomato and top with the pork.

5. Enjoy!

Spinach, "Rice", and Egg Soup

This is a very simple, yummy soup. The inspiration comes from a recipe in the De Luca's cookbook. Enjoy!

Spinach, "Rice", and Egg Soup

Ingredients

9 cups stock (chicken is best)

1 cauliflower, riced (chopped in a food processor until it's the texture of rice)

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups spinach, coarsely chopped

4 eggs

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

fresh grated nutmeg, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a large soup pot.

2. Add the cauliflower and simmer until tender.

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and cook the spinach until wilted. Set aside to cool.

4. Whisk the eggs with the nutritional yeast, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

5. Mix in the spinach.

6. Stir the egg mixture into the stock. Let the soup heat up for a few minutes.

7. Taste and adjust seasonings. 

8. Serve with a sprinkle of extra nutritional yeast, if desired.

Moroccan Veggie Burger

My first attempt with spinach and fresh tomato. Not bad, but
I much preferred the toppings included in the recipe.

While this recipe was delicious, I just keep imagining how amazing it would be to have some slices of juicy, tender lamb in addition to the veggie burger... Oh my goodness, that would be amazing. If you have lamb, add that. Luckily, it's still great without the lamb. I mean, there are roasted vegetables, dried apricots, peanut butter, spices, and caramelized onions. Come on. If there are caramelized onions, you know it has to be good.

The head chef at the cafe where I volunteer (and have lots of fun experimenting with whacky brownie flavours, including almond apricot with a tahini-lemon-honey swirl) would say that this burger has too much going on. Maybe she's right. But I don't really care. I just know that it tastes good, and that's all that really matters. On second thought, maybe the lamb would be a bit over the top. Maybe just stick with this.

One last note: these are huge, as in piled-high huge. You may need to use a fork and knife to fit it into your mouth. You could also leave the bun off, since you're probably not going to need it to pick up the burger anyway, and I don't think it really added much. I actually preferred mine without it.

Moroccan Veggie Burger

A complicated but delicious recipe

Burger

1 large sweet potato, cooked and mashed (about 2 cups)
2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cups cooked black eyed peas
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raw cauliflower rice (cauliflower pulsed in a food processor until it's the texture of rice)
1/4 dock flour (or other flour of choice, it can be any kind)
2 Tbsp ras el hanout (or more, if you like things with really bold flavours, I usually end up adding more)
salt, to taste

Sauce

1 cup canned tomatoes
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp ras el hanout
chicken stock, to thin (although, if you happen to have any lamb stock lying around, that would be amazing)

Toppings

1 eggplant, sliced into rounds
3 bell peppers, thickly sliced (or just quartered)
olive oil
salt and pepper

3 onions, sliced (you can use less, I just like to smother everything I eat with caramelized onions, so I like having leftovers. Just decrease the amount of apricots accordingly)
3/4 cup dried turkish apricots, chopped
oil or fat, to fry the onions
salt, to taste

optional: sprouts, cooked kale (kale would be amazing)

Bun

cauliflower bun (optional)

I suggest having the buns made in advance if you're using them. In fact, it would be much easier if you made most of the components in advance, since there are a lot of them. The burgers, caramelized onions and sauce can all be made in advance.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400*F.

2. Coat the eggplant and peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper.

3. Put the eggplant in the oven. It will take about 1-1 1/2 hours to roast. Flip somewhere around halfway.

4. Meanwhile, make the burger, just mash everything up and combine. If you want it really smooth, put everything in a food processor, but I think it's better left a bit chunky. Taste a bit, and add more salt or spices if necessary. If it's not thick enough, add more flour.

5. You can either fry the burgers or bake them, which I find is both easier and they stay together better. Just put them on a baking sheet in circular burger shapes and pop them in the oven on a different oven rack from the eggplant. Bake until they start to brown, for me that's about an hour, but my oven takes long, so just check on them. Add the peppers to the eggplant now.

6. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.

7. Add the onions (for the topping) and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1/2 hour or until caramelized.

8. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Saute the onions and garlic in a bit of oil in a pot until browned.

9. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and simmer while everything else is cooking.

10. When the onions are almost done, sprinkle with just a little salt and add the apricots. Stir together and add water or stock if it gets dry (and it probably will). Cook for another 5 minutes or so.

11. If you're using the buns and made them in advance, pop them in the toaster or a toaster oven to heat them up.

12. Assemble the burger. Put down a layer of sprouts on the bun, if using (if you're not using the bun, just put them on top of the burger), add the caramelized onions, place a burger on top, drizzle with sauce, add the roasted eggplant and peppers, and finally top with another bun (if using).

13. Attempt to eat with hands, then give up and just enjoy with a fork and knife. 

14. Take a nap, that was very filling and took a lot of work!

If this looks like too much for you, just make the burger and
bun a smaller size.

Wonderful Pork Hocks

I love pork hocks. The first time I bought some, I only bought them because they were one of the cheapest cuts of meat available. Since then, I've learned how wonderful these neglected little bits of meat are.They have many uses, and the meat is rich and fatty and full of porky goodness. Honestly, is there any better meat than pork? Especially if they're heritage Mule Foot and Berkshire Pigs, which have really flavourful, rich, and fatty meat.

Pork hocks are kind of like pig ankles, they're the cut right above the feet (which are also really great). The stuff I get includes meat, bone, skin, and fat. This is great, because I can use them for so many things!

The skin

Soup is the best thing to make with pork hocks, and I'm going to share a recipe for a soup/stew with pork hocks. Soup is best because not only do you get an amazingly delicious pot of soup, but you also get skin for cracklings, fat for cooking with, and if you don't use the meat in the soup, you can use it for other things. Maybe carnitas, cooked in the fat? Mmmm, that would be yummy. But I'm using the meat in the soup... hmm... Nope, I'll stick with the soup. It tastes just as great and it'll last longer.

To make the soup, first I cooked the hocks overnight in the slow cooker on low with some water and apple cider vinegar after letting it sit in the vinegar water for a few hours (pork needs to be marinated in an acidic medium). In the morning, I separated the meat, bones, skin, and fat. The meat gets chopped up and is later tossed into the soup, the bones remain in the soup, the fat can later be rendered and used for cooking, and the skin can be fried for cracklings. Mmmm, those cracklings were just stinkin' DELICIOUS! Crispy, fatty, salty, chewy, yummy, porky goodness. I don't even know how to "properly" make cracklings. I just sprinkled the softened skin with salt and pepper, cut it into chunks, and stuck it in a frying pan. You don't even need any oil because the fat that sticks to the skin is more than enough. Yeah, as delicious as the meat is, I think the skin is definitely the best part. Bonus: the skin spent some hours in the broth, giving it enough time to infuse the soup with lots of that wonderful, healing substance known as gelatin.

Mmmmm... cracklings

Black-Eyed Pea and Pork Hock Soup/Stew

Just a warning, this does take a long time (as in, make it the day before you want it), but most of that time is just waiting. Also, this makes a lot, so you'll have leftovers for later in the week or to freeze. And this is definitely worth the wait!

Ingredients

2 large pork hocks

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 huge onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

optional: 2 bell peppers, chopped

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 tsp each: thyme, oregano, rosemary, smoked paprika

2 bay leaves

8 cups soaked black-eyed peas (more or less, depending on whether you want a soup or stew)

28 oz can of whole tomatoes, chopped, or can of chopped tomatoes

2 bunches kale, thinly sliced or chopped (if you can get collard greens, definitely use them! Superstore has a very limited greens section, so I chose kale) cabbage could be nice, if you want to try something different

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. The day before you want some soup/stew, put the pork hocks in a slow cooker with the apple cider vinegar and cover with water. Refrigerate for a few hours, it doesn't really make a huge difference how many; do this either in the morning or afternoon.

2. Turn the slow cooker on to low and let the hocks cook overnight.

3. Separate the skin form the fat, the fat from the meat, and the meat from the bones. Throw the bones back into the broth. Chop the meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Keep the fat, render it, and use it for other dishes. Fry the skin with salt and pepper to make cracklings (have it with your breakfast instead of bacon!)

4. Add the black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, sweet potatoes, spices, bay leaves, tomatoes, and optional bell peppers to the broth with the bones. Cook on low. (You don't really need the amount of time, do you? I just say it's finished when I want dinner. Or, just cook until everything's tender. Most things take about 8 hours on low.) You can add some water if you want it soupier.

5. About 30 minutes before the soup/stew is done, add the kale and meat and cook until the kale's wilted.

6. Add salt and pepper, then taste to adjust for seasonings.

7. Serve with some paleo cornbread muffins, and enjoy!

Ginger-Lemon Salmon Veggie Salad

This is a delicious, fresh tasting salad. It can be made all raw if you use raw (sushi-grade) salmon, or leave it out altogether. It's crunchy, yummy and healthy!

This was originally meant to be a seaweed salad, since I'm trying to get more seaweed into my diet, but I kept adding so many other ingredients that the seaweed went from being the star of the dish to just another vegetable in the salad. Personally, I think it's much better this way, because you're still consuming super healthy seaweed, but the taste (which many find disagreeable) is mostly covered up. Feel free to add more seaweed if you actually like the taste, and be grateful that you do. Not all of us are so lucky.

Seaweed Salmon and Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

213g can of wild salmon

1/2 up to 2 cups seaweed, any kind, soaked (soaking time will vary with seaweed variety)

1/2 cucumber, cut into thin matchsticks

1 bell pepper, yellow or red or a combination, sliced very thinly

1 carrot, cut into strips with a vegetable peeler (or cut into very fine julienne)

1 avocado, half of it cut into small chunks, other half reserved

3-5 leaves romaine, very thinly sliced

1-inch knob of ginger

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Drain the seaweed, flake the salmon with a fork. Combine salmon, seaweed, cucumber, bell pepper, carrot, the cut half of the avocado, and the romaine in a large bowl.

2. Combine the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.

3. Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Enjoy!

Optional: top with toasted sesame or sunflower seeds

Roasted Vegetables on Raw "Rice"

I'm not really into completely raw meals, but I do see the benefits of eating raw foods. So I compromise. This dish is one of those compromises, and I think it actually tastes better since it's half raw! The light freshness of the "rice" is a great contrast to the warm and heavy roasted vegetables. The roasted vegetables complement the rice in every way; taste, texture, weight, flavour, and colour! The rice is has fresh, springtime flavours and the roasted vegetables are salty and savory, warm and filling!

This seriously might be one of the best things I've ever made. Plus it's super healthy! What more could you want?

Roasted Vegetables on Raw "Rice"

Ingredients

2 parsnips, coarsely chopped

4 large radishes, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup (packed) fennel fronds

2 Tbsp (packed, or more, to taste) parsley

2 green onions, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup tahini

juice of 1/2 a lemon

tiny pinch of salt

2 eggplant, sliced into rounds

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed

1/2 to 1 pound new potatoes (I used purple ones, but any colour will work)
3 bell peppers, cut into sixths, optional
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
lactofermented rutabaga, optional, to garnish

Directions

1. Turn oven to 425*F.

2. If you want, you can salt your eggplant by sprinkling salt on the slices and letting them sit for about 30 minutes, then draining them. This is supposed to draw the bitterness out, I don't really find that it makes a difference, so this step is optional. 

3. Coat the eggplant, potatoes, optional red pepper and asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper. Coat vegetables separately, except for the pepper and potatoes, which can be combined. Eggplant is very absorbent  it will require a lot of olive oil. 

4. Place the eggplant on a wire cooling rack and place the cooling rack on a baking tray. Place this in the oven. Roast for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the eggplant is starting to brown, flipping once halfway through.

It's best to have only one layer of eggplant,
but I only have one cookie sheet

5. The potatoes and peppers only need to be roasted for an hour, the asparagus only need about 15 minutes. 

6. Meanwhile, put the parsnips, radishes, fennel, parsley, and green onions in a food processor. Process until the vegetables are just slightly larger than grains of rice.

7. Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice and pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add to the parsnip mixture. Pulse just until everything is combined.

8. Plate the rice and top with the roasted vegetables. Garnish with the lactofermented rutabaga, if desired.

Beautiful as well as delicious!

Elk Roast

This recipe is based off of Dana Carpender's spiced pot roast, from her cookbook 500 Paleo Recipes. I did make a few changes, most notably I used elk instead of beef. The spices aren't very strong, they just add a nice hint of background flavour. What I've learned from making this is: marinate your elk roast, cook it in liquid, and cook it in a slow cooker. Every single time I've tried to cook elk it turned out dry and gamey, but this recipe is delicious! My family polished off the entire roast in one night when I made this! (Granted, it was a small roast, and my brother is a hungry 17-year-old, but still. It was an entire roast!) If you're new to cooking elk meat, NEVER cook it in a moderate oven for less than an hour with just a bit of water. The roast will taste bad. Don't waste that precious, wild meat, slow cook it! This is how it should be done. (Note: this might also work with venison, although I haven't tried it. It will definitely work with beef)

Spiced Tomato Elk Roast

Ingredients

1 elk blade roast

salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (freshly grated is best)

1 can whole tomatoes (size of the can depends on the size on roast. For larger roasts, use a larger can)

1 Tbsp onion powder (or 1 onion, chopped)

2 tsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp olive oil

5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 ice cubes of concentrated stock (I used pork, beef would probably be better, normal stock could also be used, just increase the amount to a little over 1/2 cup and don't use any water)

1/2 cup water

2 bay leaves

2-3 Tbsp beef tallow or lard, optional

Directions

1. Sprinkle your roast all over with salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg, rub into the meat. Stab the roast all over with a fork.

2. Puree the can of tomatoes, along with the onion if using fresh. Add the onion and garlic powder if using, along with the olive oil and vinegar. Mix well.

3. Put the roast in a ziploc bag and pour the marinade over. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

4. Put the roast in a slow cooker and pour the marinade over it. Add the stock cubes, water, and bay leaves. Cook on low for at least 8 hours, longer is fine. I cooked mine for almost 9 1/2.

5. A few hours (or earlier) before the roast is finished, put a chunk of tallow on top of the roast. When the fat melts, it'll enter the meat through the fork holes and make it moist.

6. Move the finished roast to a plate and cover, and pour the leftover juices into a small pot.

7. Simmer the juices until they cook down and are thickened. Alternately, you could add some arrowroot to thicken the gravy. Make a slurry of arrowroot powder and cold water and add it to the simmering liquid, while constantly whisking. Simmer but do not boil. The arrowroot will clump if overheated or exposed to a prolonged heat source. You do not need as much arrowroot as you would cornstarch.

8. Either cut the roast into slices or pull it apart with a fork, it should be tender enough.

9. Savour your moist, succulent, tender, juicy, flavourful, delicious elk roast!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

A yummy, delicious, and filling veggie-based meal (this can be vegan, just use vegetable instead of pork stock and choose a vegan cooking fat. Chicken or beef stock could also be subbed for the pork).

Cabbage-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients

1 small or 1/2 large cabbage, thinly sliced
1 box of mushrooms, sliced
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp sage
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste
cooking fat of choice (bacon/pork fat reccomended)
1/4 cup concentrated pork stock, optional (this is just regular stock boiled until most of the water has evaporated)
2 acorn squash, cut in half and seeds removed
the squash seeds, cleaned and toasted
salad with tomatoes and ACV dressing, optional, to serve

Directions

1. Roast the squash cut-side down at 375*F until tender, about 45 min-1 hour.

2. Heat the fat in a large dutch oven or heavy pot on the stove.

3. Add the onions, and cook over medium heat until brown.

4. Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and cook until brown.

5. Lower the heat to medium-low, then add the garlic, cabbage and pork stock. Stir, then add the seasonings.

6. Cover and cook until the cabbage is tender, adding extra water if needed, about 30 min.

7. When the cabbage mixture is done, check the seasonings and spoon it into the bowls formed by the acorn squash. Return to the oven and cook for about ten minutes. 

8. Sprinkle with toasted squash seeds, or any crunchy topping of your choice, such as toasted nuts or other seeds. Alternately, top with cheese and broil until melted.

 9. Serve on a bed of salad with tomatoes and an apple cider vinegar dressing.

This looks especially nice if you arrange the tomatoes in a
circle around the squash.

St. Patrick's Day Very Green Veggie Saute

It's not St. Patrick's Day anymore, but I'll share the recipe anyway! It's not even much of a recipe really; the great thing about sautes is that you can throw just about anything in them and it'll taste great! Vegetable sautes are quick, healthy, yummy, versatile and very flexible. Any kind of green vegetable will work, but these are the ones I used:

Green Veggie Saute

Ingredients

1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
1 small head of broccoli, chopped
1 bunch kale, sliced
herbs, fresh and dried, to taste (I used green onions, parsley, and dried sage, thyme and marjoram)
salt and pepper, to taste
fat to saute in

Directions

1. Heat the fat in a saute pan to medium heat.

2. Add the onions. Saute until just light brown.

3. Add the garlic and celery, cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the zucchini and broccoli. Cover and cook until almost tender. Add some water or broth if the vegetables are in danger of burning.

5. Add the kale, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir everything until the kale is wilted and the rest of the vegetables are tender.

6. Serve, either as a light main course (probably for lunch), a side dish, or as a more filling main course topped with meat of fish.

Who needs neon green cupcakes when you can have something so delicious and healthy for St. Patrick's Day? Load up on the greens, any day of the year!

Dairy-Free Cream of Spinach Soup

This soup is fast and easy, and it tastes really great, although I found that it tasted a bit more like cauliflower cheddar soup than spinach soup. It's weird, because I didn't add anything cheesy, and the only thing that was creamy was the coconut milk (I know, coconut milk in spinach soup sounds weird, but it actually tastes really good!), but I guess as long as it tastes good that's all that matters. And it definitely tastes good! Maybe if you add more spinach it'll taste more like cream of spinach soup? Whatever, here's the recipe:

Cream of Spinach Soup

Ingredients

-1 or 2 Tbls coconut oil or other cooking fat

-1 large onion, chopped

-3 cloves of garlic, chopped

-1 head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped

-about 10 cups of stock (I used turkey but chicken or vegetable would work too)

-about 3 pounds spinach or other leafy greens, coarsely chopped (I just used a giant costco bag of spinach and a bunch of swiss chard)

-1 can full-fat coconut milk

-fresh nutmeg

-salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large soup pot. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute on medium-low until lightly browned. 

2. Add the garlic, saute for about a minute.

3. Add the cauliflower and pour the stock over everything. Turn the heat up, cover, and simmer until the cauliflower is tender. 

4. Add the spinach and cook until it wilts.

5. With a stick blender, blend the soup until smooth.

6. Add the coconut milk, grate some nutmeg into the soup and add salt and pepper. Give the soup another few seconds of blending.

7. Taste and adjust seasonings, then serve.

serves about 10

Tastes great with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast too!

Chinese Vegetable Soup

My first recipe! It's a soup, which I thought would be fitting. One thing that I want to mention about my recipes: I make these up as I go along, so feel free to make substitutions where you see fit. Also, I never measure anything, some add things to taste as the measurements might not be completely accurate. Anyway, onto the recipe! I made it with pork stock, since I had half a frozen pig's skull (from a previously roasted pig's head) and some frozen pork feet, and there's not much else to do with those things other than make a delicious, extremely gelatinous stock! But you can use whichever kind of stock you want.

Look at all that wonderful, healthy gelatin!

  

The Ingredients

Chinese Pork and Vegetable Soup

  -a few tablespoons of sesame oil, or other fat (I used a combination of sesame oil and self-rendered lard)

  -2 large onions, chopped

  -5 cloves of garlic, minced

  -2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and minced

  -3 stalks celery, thinly sliced on a bias

  -4 carrots, chopped (you can also slice these on a   bias, if you prefer)

  -1 head of bok choy, thinly sliced

                 

 

Celery sliced on a bias

  -1 bell pepper, chopped

  -1 large box of mushrooms, any kind (I used    about twice as much as are pictured)

-stock, as much as required to achieve desired liquidy-ness

-1 cooked spaghetti squash, separated into strands

-a large pinch of red pepper flakes

-salt and pepper, to taste

-organic tamari, to taste (I didn't use any because soy isn't allowed on the whole30, but obviously it would make this soup taste much more Chinese) all soy that isn't organic is genetically modified!

 

Directions
 1. Heat the sesame oil/fat in a large soup pot (make sure it's REALLY large, or do what I had to do, and use 2 pots. This recipe makes a lot of soup). When the sesame oil is hot, add the onions and saute on medium heat until lightly browned.
2. Add garlic and ginger, and cook for a few minutes.
3. Add the celery, carrots, and bok choy stalks (reserve the leaves for later use). Cook for a few minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate pot/pan, heat some more sesame oil/fat and saute the mushrooms on high heat until browned. (You could skip this step, and just add the mushrooms in with the peppers, but I think sauteing them separately gives them a nicer taste and texture.) When the mushroom are done, add them to the pot with the other vegetables.
5. Add the bell pepper. 
6. Pour in enough stock to cover the vegetables, or more if you want your soup more soupy. 
7. Add the bok choy leaves and the spaghetti squash. Cook until all the vegetables are tender.
8. Season to taste with red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and tamari. Add some powdered ginger if the soup if you want the soup to taste more gingery. A splash of rice wine vinegar might be nice too, but I didn't try it.

Makes about 12 servings.

Enjoy!