Watermelon tomato cold soup (vegan)

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    We've been facing a heat wave lately in Paris and other parts of France - from 25°c/80°f at night to close to 35°c/95°f during the day as felt temperatures. But it seems that it's been very hot too in North America. And I guess, a lot of you are like me, when it's hot like that, I'm not hungry, all I want to to eat fresh drinks, water, fruits or salads and I alternate with mixed salad - with quinoa, raw veggies and my favorite smoked tofu, almond sesame from Taifun and cold soups. I wanted to try watermelon in a salad or cold soup for a long time because I like to use as fruit in savory dishes as veggies in desserts. 

Vegan pumpkin mac n' cheese

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    Today, still no detox on the blog, it's been cold, it's been raining so here is some comfort food! If you're living in the US, you're most than familiar with mac n' cheese but in France and other countries, this is not something common. As its name says, it's made of macaroni, bechamel sauce and melting cheese such as cheddar, diet oriented as you can see. 😁 I only tasted it once while I was an exchange student in the US and as most homes enjoy it, it was canned and not good at all to me!


   When home made, it's still not a light dish but it's simple to make and it tastes better. Here, it's a different version I wanted to share to enjoy squashes. I kept the pasta - changed the macaroni for other pasta for sauce - that are full of carbs if made out of wheat but there again, good pasta from time to time , in a reasonable quantity, it feels good.

   As we say, it's the garnish that counts, here, not giant quantity of melting cheese, the sauce is made of a seasonal vegetable: pumpkin. Then, add some milk (soy for me), nutritional yeast to give this cheesy flavor, starch to thicken he sauce and spices to season. With some parmesan (vegan or not), it makes a delicious dish that you can enjoy with some other seasonal veggies. 

Carrot, sweet potato, red lentil and coconut milk express soup

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🌟 Happy New year 2018 everyone! 🎉

    We start the new year with a new soup recipe. An express recipe for a comforting but balanced quick meal. No detox planned here - don't feel like it when you don't eat excess food during the Xmas and NYE celebrations. But don't worry if you're looking for a healthy but yummy dish, this is it!

   I improvised this soup a few weeks ago, it was already around 4PM and I had not had lunch yet so I made this soup in no time with what I got in the kitchen and added some toasts, it was the ideal slunch! I made it again for the blog writing and adjusting the ingredients and quantities this time. You may want to add the coconut milk into the saucepan or serve the soup with a coconut whipped cream for a more cocooning visual aspect.

Avocado cucumber apple cold soup

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   If you've been following the blog for quite some time, you may have noticed that I love soup, I repeat it each time I publish a soup recipe. Whether warm and comfy in Winter or fresh and light in Summer, it's a good way to stay hydrated and eat veggies, legumes or even cereals in a simple manner.

   Lately, we've been brainstorming about what to do with our huge numerous cucumbers we have at work with my colleagues apart from tzatziki and salads and we talked about cold soups. One of them made a cold cream with cucumber and some "kid cheese" as I like to call it, I don't know if it exists outside of France but to me and cheese amateurs, it's not really cheese, it's something chewy wrapped into individuals packs. Anyway,  thought about what to use instead and I thought about avocado to bring some creamy texture.  

Raw Spring pointed cabbage, fennel, carrot and apple salad, almond butter and soy sauce seasoning

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    A few days ago, I stumbled on a type of cabbage I didn't even know about called "chou pointu" which means "pointed cabbage" in French because of the shape its leaves give it. It's a Spring cabbage, sweeter and more easily digestible. Its leaves are tender and slick. It had been a while since I wanted to make a raw cabbage salad so I gave it a try.

   Lately, the weather has ben very ugly in France and I kind of only crave for comforting and warm dishes but I thought a good salad would be nice to celebrate May. 

   I had a fennel and a carrot to use in the fridge and I thought that an apple would bring some sharpness. If you don't like fennel just skip it and put more cabbage.  

Zoodles (zucchini noodles), avocado pesto and cherry tomatoes

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    Today, just the once will not hurt, this is a trendy recipe I'm going to talk to you about. You may have seen those zoodles on the Web the past months. They are "noodles" of zucchinis/courgettes that are barely cooked and that you enjoy with a sauce or other vegetables like wheat pasta.

Cream of chestnut mushrooms soup

    I love soups whatever the season, most of all cold in Summer and warm in Autumn and Winter. This is for me a nice way of eating vegetables and stay hydrated but also enjoy a nice meal that will get me full.