Two exciting announcements!

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You may have noticed that things have been quiet around here. Maybe record-setting quiet? Either way, I think I have some ‘splanin to do!

In my last post I mentioned that we’ve been busy as bees behind the scenes building something really special. If you subscribe to our newsletter, you were the first to find out that we’re getting ready to launch the gorgeous Oh She Glows recipe app! The dream we’ve had in the works for years and years is finally happening and I can’t wait to share it with you guys. Keep your eyes peeled for our official launch in the very near future!

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What I haven’t shared yet is that I’ve been creating something else, too. As grueling as the app work has been, this work has been even more exciting, exhausting, and life-changing. I’ve been lying awake for hours at night thinking about it. During the day, my thoughts are filled with vinegar-soaked cucumbers (seriously), these fruit chews, and 8:30 pm bedtimes.

Any guesses?

You got it: we’re expecting our second baby this September! That’s right…a second cookbook and a second baby will be dropping (well, hopefully not literally!) in September 2016. Our timing is impeccable, I know. But, joking aside, we always hoped to have our children close in age so we’re very grateful about the spacing; my due date is roughly two years since we brought Adriana home from the hospital. We can’t wait to meet this lil guy or gal!

My main worry right now, aside from the well-being of our little ones and state of this world, is how we’re going to take care of a two-year-old and a newborn. I’m expecting a loss of sanity for the first several months…or decades?! There will be an adjustment period for sure (especially when you add these lovely toddler temper tantrums into the mix), but if Adriana treats her sibling anything like she treats her favourite “baby” doll (lots of doting and kisses), I think it will all work out in the end! We just need to teach her that eye poking and head dropping probably aren’t the best approaches with an actual newborn. Baby steps, people.

I spent the first few months of 2016 revamping and shooting a ton of fan-favourite recipes and photos for our new recipe app. It was an intense few months when I didn’t want to be anywhere near food, but I also enjoyed being distracted with a totally new project! It kept me going. When I wasn’t immersed in the app project (and cookbook editing), I was collapsed on the couch and often feeling down and out (the first trimester blues hit me with both pregnancies, unfortunately). So while things have been quiet on the blog, they certainly haven’t been behind the scenes. Plus, I didn’t think you needed a recipe for salt and vinegar chips, popcorn, dill pickles, mustard-covered veggies (ew), cereal, nut butter and jam toast, or how to convince your husband to pick up a container of vegan caramel chocolate chunk ice cream during a cold snap. (…Or do you?!) Because that’s basically what I lived off of for a month or two. Oh, there was also that day when I decided to drink all the juice from my Bubbies Sauerkraut jar. I didn’t want to eat the actual sauerkraut, just drink the juice. I’m pretty sure Eric was ready to commit me!!! I haven’t touched sauerkraut since. Actually, I think I’ve been banned from buying it in North America.

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Now that I’m in the second trimester, I’m slowly getting my mojo back (case in point: I changed out of my sweats for the photo above). Workouts have returned to my life on a regular basis which feels like a damn miracle, and the nausea is starting to fade a bit. The good news is that the app is almost finished, my second cookbook will be heading to the printers shortly, and I’m ready to get back into the swing of things—well, maybe after a much-needed break first.

Of course, I also have some delicious food to share with you soon. Eric strongly discouraged the dill pickle soup recipe I was dreaming up, so with some serious restraint, I moved on to Plan B. This post is already much too wordy, so I’m going to have to share the recipe in a separate post. Stay tuned for the recipe!!! It’s a great one, and I promise it’s worth the wait.

Oh She Glows

Mushroom Soup & Avocado Toast

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Congratulations! If you are reading this you must have managed to enter our site without running into any database errors. Our site has been pending between offline and hair-tearingly slow this past week, which is why this recipe is somewhat delayed. Our server is apparently tired of us and we are immensely tired of it, so we are planning some construction work to finally speed up this place (a new design is on its way as well!). Please be patient with weird error messages that might pop-up or slow loading times. Things will (hopefully) run much smoother in a very near future. Okay, enough complaining. Let’s talk shrooms!

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I think our original plan was to share something bright and spring inspired. But faith intervened with a few cold days, a bag of portobello mushrooms showing up in our CSA box and a sudden calling for soup. So this happened. A warm and comforting vegan mushroom soup with tones of white wine, forest, rosemary and thyme. It’s an ideal dinner soup, especially when served with wholegrain rice and a few pieces roasted sourdough rye slathered with mashed avocado and chili flakes. Think of it like one final winter hug before spring is taking over the kitchen.

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Mushroom Soup with Red Rice & Avo Toast
Serves 4

Rice
1 cup uncooked red rice
2 cups water 
sea salt 

Mushroom Soup
2 tbsp coconut oil, olive oil butter or ghee

2 garlic cloves
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
4 (250 g) portobello mushroom, cleaned
8 (250 g) brown button mushroom or champignon, cleaned
a large glug of white wine, optional
4 cups / 1 liter water
1 tbsp (or 1 cube) vegetable bouillon
sea salt and black pepper

fresh parsley, for serving
plain yogurt, for serving (optional)

Cooking the rice: Rinse the rice well in water and drain. Place in a saucepan with the 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, immediately lower the heat to a bare simmer, let simmer for 45 minutes or until tender. Add salt towards the end of the cooking time. Drain any excess water. Meanwhile make the soup.

Making the soup: Finely chop garlic cloves and slice the mushrooms. Heat oil in a large saucepan and add garlic and cook until fragrant but not browned. Add mushrooms and herbs and cook for about 5-8 minutes until soft and slightly browned, stirring occasionally. Reserve some of the cooked mushroom slices for serving. Add a glug of wine to the saucepan and cook for a few minutes. Now add water, bouillon, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and bring to a simmer. Use an immersion (hand) blender to mix the soup until completely smooth (or a stand-blender). Season to taste. Serve in bowls with a spoonful of cooked rice, some mushroom slices, fresh parsley, olive oil, a dollop of yogurt if using, and an avocado toast.

Avocado Toast
Makes 4 half-slices

2 slices sourdough rye
1 ripe avocado
1 tsp cold-pressed olive oil
chili flakes
flaky sea salt

Toast the bread in a toaster, a frying pan or in the oven on high heat for a few minutes until golden and crispy. Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh. Use a fork to mash the avocado and then slather it on top of the toast. Drizzle oil on top and sprinkle with chili flakes and salt. Cut in half and serve with the soup.

Green Kitchen Stories

Asparagus Stir-Fry with Sesame-Miso Sauce

Asparagus Stir-Fry with Sesame-Miso Sauce

When spring and spring produce start to show up, I find myself wanting to cook less. I want simple meals with minimal ingredients. This asparagus stir-fry fits the bill. Ready in about 20 minutes, the asparagus is the star of this recipe with the miso sauce a close second. I picked up miso for this veggie ramen bowl and it’s found a home in quite a few sauces. Read more and see the recipe.

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