Caramelized Onion and Garlic Soup with Miso and Kale

This soup takes awhile to cook because the onions caramelize slowly in the oven, but it doesn't require too much hands-on labor.

The Ingredients:
3 large yellow onions, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced (6-7 cups)
3 heads garlic, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
3 T olive oil
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1/2 cup hot water 
1/4 c miso
2 t cornstarch
3 loosely-packed cups sliced kale
3 c water
2 c low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 c white wine

1 T nutritional yeast
1/8 t cayenne
a pinch black pepper

The Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with a dutch oven or heavy, lidded casserole dish in the oven.
2. When oven is hot, toss together onions, garlic, oil, sugar, and salt in the pre-heated dutch oven. Cover and bake for 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes and adding a splash of water if the onions start to stick to the pan.
3. When the 2 hours are up, whisk miso and cornstarch with 1/2 cup hot water until dissolved.
4. Stir miso mixture and all remaining ingredients into the caramelized onion/garlic mixture. Cover, return to the oven, and bake 30-40 minutes.
5. Serve hot with a side of crusty bread.

Spicy Black Pepper Veggies

This black pepper sauce has a serious kick, so it's best served with plenty of rice to mellow out the flavor.

The Ingredients:
8 cups chopped vegetables (I used mushrooms and broccoli)

Sauce:
4 T roughly-chopped ginger
12 cloves garlic
1/2 stalk celery
2 T fermented black beans
2 T vegan oyster sauce
1 T sambal oelek (or other spicy chili paste)
2 t roughly-ground black pepper
2 T margarine
2 t cornstarch
1/4 c hot water
1 t soy sauce or liquid aminos
2/3 c low-sodium vegetable broth

The Process:

1. To make sauce, combine ginger, garlic, celery, black beans, oyster sauce, sambal oelek, and black pepper in a food processor and process until a course paste forms.
2. Heat margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add ginger mixture and cook, stirring, about 7 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into hot water.
4. Add soy sauce, broth, and cornstarch to ginger mixture and continue to cook about 5 minutes over medium-low heat.  Set aside.
5. Steam or stir-fry the vegetables, then toss with sauce and serve over rice or noodles.