This is for my mother, who taught me to love who I am and what I do,

Reading is my favourite thing to do beyond cooking, writing or photographing since books have been a wondrous habit of mine since I was young. My mom, a real champ about my book addiction, would stop at garage sales to look for new books for me, would fill out my order card for the book fair at school every year with at least three new books and we were frequent card users at our local library. She was a single parent for the majority of my life, worked two jobs to feed and clothe my sister and I but she never complained or questioned my need for books. Whenever we were at a family gathering and my social anxiety was at an all time high, she never pushed me to “go play with the other kids” since she knew I was most comfortable under a tree in the backyard reading a book. I had a bad habit of hiding in odd places to avoid my younger sister or cousins so I could read in peace. One of my favourite places to do this was the linen closet in the hallway. I would climb up the shelves, tuck myself in between the sheets or towels, turn on a battery-operated push light that my mom taped to the wall and read my book in a little space all to myself. It really freaked my mom out to see a small child’s head amongst the linen whenever she opened the closet. Her reactions were always very funny to me.

When I was eleven, I started reading the Harry Potter series and absolutely fell in love with the magical world, as I am sure all of us who read it did. Money was very tight during this time of my life but my mom, bless her heart, still bought me the newest Harry Potter books when they came out. She told me that there were worse things to spend money on than her daughter’s books and kept encouraging me to read. She hugged me when I sobbed over a character’s death and never once suggested that, “it wasn’t real,” even though I was sixteen when the seventh book came out. She knew that I was emotionally invested in the story and my feelings about it were very real to me. I will always appreciate her compassion. The Harry Potter series is still on my bookshelf, 17 years later, and I have refused to lend them out since they are my most special collection, thanks to my mom.

My sister and I played dress up quite often since we grew up with tinfoil covered rabbit-ear antennas and a VHS player that occasionally ate our beloved Disney tapes, we were left to entertain ourselves for the most part. For Halloween one year, I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast and I loved that bright golden dress with the matching gloves. I definitely pretended I was Belle and would hang out in the yard wearing that dress and reading a book. My mom never said anything about me wearing a Halloween costume in July but simply reminded me to bring out a blanket so I wouldn’t mess up my dress. 

My mother has helped me become a life-long reader and introduced me to my ultimate passion in life. She encouraged me to be myself, that odd book-reading kid who hides in the linen closest to catch up on her R.L. Stine and stood up for me whenever a family member questioned my desire of isolation. Sure, I was a weird kid that got really excited when I saw my mother carrying old dusty books in a grocery bag but she was more than happy to feed my addiction.

A special thanks to my mom for encouraging me to do the things that make me the happiest and allowing me to be myself, despite what others might think. Happy Mother’s Day to you.

Love, Jessica

This recipe is adapted from At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen: Celebrating the Art of Eating Well

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a *teeny* commission if you make a purchase using this link.

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The weather has been kind of a jerk to me since it always seems to be a glorious beautiful sunny day boasting 20 degrees temperature while I am in school and working all day and yet on my day off it rains and freezing. Mother Nature be kind to me please! Thankfully, this soup tastes great hot or cold. If it is beautiful out, take it bowlful outside and enjoy the bright day or if it is miserable, curl up with a mugful of this soup and a good book. There are a lot of recipes for minty pea soups and for good reasons: it is refreshing and melts all those winter stresses away with a single spoonful. Unlike most of the other pea-mint soup combinations the mint is in the magical creamy cashew sauce. Who knew soaking raw cashews could be so wonderful? When I was transitioning into veganism cashew creams saved me from craving dairy and now I am just so in love with them I find any excuse to use them. The cream isn’t overly minty since I really wanted the peas to shine through so add more mint to the cream if you like.

Mark and I are on Day 16 of the Forks Over Knives Challenge and it does get easier. Your body balances itself out and you really start to experience the true taste of your food and what better to recharge those taste buds with some fresh Spring green peas.

Congratulations to the Forks Over Knives Prize Pack Giveaway Winner: Wendi J from Minnesota. You will be receiving your prizes in the mail in the near future! Congratulations again! The giveaway may be over but the challenge continues here at S&C.

Thank you for all who entered! I hope this is the first of many Sprouts and Chocolate Giveaways and I love being able to spread some plant-based love and support to my readers. Thank you so much again for your support!

Notes:

• Make the cashew cream first and then the soup so you don’t have to wash out your blender twice and it makes the soup that much creamier (plus I just hate doing dishes)
• Can’t find fresh peas in the pod? Frozen peas are an excellent substitute since they cook so quickly and you don’t have to shuck them, which is a time consuming effort.
• This soup is super quick and easy to make. To prep for the cream, add some cashews to water before heading out to work and by the time you get home they will be all soaked and creamy for you to make dinner.

Minty Cashew Cream

Makes ½ cup

• ½ raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours (if you have a high power blender there is no need to soak them)
• 10 tablespoons water
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 10-12 fresh mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Transfer to another container until ready to use.

Sweet Pea Soup

Makes 7 cups

•  2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, quartered and sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable stock
• 5 springs fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups fresh or frozen petite peas
• 4 cups packed baby spinach
• ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

Soak the leeks in a bowl of cold water to remove any grit. In a large pot over medium high heat add the rinsed leeks and salt and sauté for 8 minutes, adding vegetable stock 1-2 tablespoons at a time so the leeks don’t stick to the pot. The leeks will be softened but not as browned as when you use oil but surprisingly sweet and delicious.

Add the stock, parsley and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. When the stock mixture is simmering add the peas and spinach and cook for 5 minutes until peas are fully cooked and spinach is wilted. Add the pepper and transfer soup to a blender, leaving room at the top of the blender for steam to escape. Blend until completely smooth.

Drizzle the Minty Cashew Cream on top and serve (hot or cold).

P.S. If you get bored of the leftovers since this recipe makes 7 cups, add a pinch or more of hot curry powder when you reheat it on the stovetop. Serve with chopped cilantro or parsley.

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 Fried Leeks

•  1 medium leek, white and light green part only
• 1 ½-2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and cracked pepper

Cut the leek in half but leaving the root in tact. This will keep it together and easier to cut in pieces.

Slice leeks in very thin half moons. Throw away the root. Place the sliced leek in a medium sized bowl and fill with water. Rinse the leeks thoroughly and drain over a fine mesh strainer.

Dry with paper towels.

Line a plate with new paper towels. In a small bowl, toss the leeks in the flour.

Heat half the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Working in batches, add half of the leeks shaking off excess flour. Fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. If they are browning too quickly, turn down the heat. Transfer fried leeks to lined plate. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Repeat with the other half, adding more oil if necessary. Set leek aside. Clean out the pan and use for the green beans.

Green Beans

•  1-teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance Traditional Butter
• 1-teaspoon fresh minced thyme
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• Cracked black pepper to taste

Heat oil in the non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimming. Add beans, salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring occasionally, until brown fleck appear on the beans, about 5 minutes. If browning too quickly turn down the heat.

Add 1/3 cup of water to pan, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and increase the heat to medium high. Cook until water evaporates (it should only take 40 seconds). Add the butter, thyme and lemon juice and continue to cook until beans are slightly wrinkled. Add fried leeks to pan and mix until combined. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

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