Vegan Avgolemono: Dill, Garlic & Cream of Celery Soup

I'm just days away from another Vegas vacation! My good friend from Ohio is landing in LA today, and we're headed for Casino Land tomorrow. I may have a slight gambling addiction, but it's not entirely my fault. Allow me to explain: When I was 10, my best friend's mom bought us scratch-off lottery tickets as birthday party favors. Low and behold, I won $50: a fuck-ton of money to a ten-year-old in 1995. I was hooked immediately. I started bugging my mom for lottery scratch-offs every time she went grocery shopping. Two weeks later, I won $115 dollars. As far as my little brain could tell, I was rich enough to move out and buy property on the French Riviera. 

I never really won a huge amount of money scratch-offs, but I was hooked on feeling the rust. As a minor,  this was clearly not my fault. What is my fault? I've been studying the algorithms of slot machines, and gone to two CA casinos to test my new area of study. There is a science to the system, and it works...most of the time. Am I trying to completely legitimize an addiction? Yes. This entire blog is built around my mind's propensity to obsess over certain things. My addictive personality isn't failing me.

Avegolemono is a traditional Greek soup that features eggs and lemon juice. I've veganized the delicious beast, and fused it with cream of celery soup to create this sexy bowl of fusion goodness. Definitely use fresh dill if you can locate some. This soup also freezes incredibly well. If you're a pansy like me, there are few things better than warming up on a cold, 60 degree evening with a steaming bowl of soup that thaws in less than 15 minutes. 

And, of course, what happens in Vegas is going to stay there (maybe...).

Vegan Avgolemono: Dill, Garlic & Cream of Celery Soup

• 8 TBSP Vegan Butter
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 TBSP fresh Chives, minced
• 1 cup Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• About 10 stalks of Celery, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 cup Soy Milk
• 4 cups Vegan Heavy Cream (or 4 cups Soy Milk combined with 4 TBSP White Vinegar)
• 1/4 cup "Egg" Mix,   or Vegan Liquid Egg Products
• 3 cups prepared Better Than Bouillon's No Chicken Broth
• 3 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 cup loosely packed Fresh Dill (leaves only), plus a few sprigs for garnish
• 2 TBSP Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
• Lemon Wedges/Slices, for serving (if desired)

Whisk together the Vegan Heavy Cream, soy milk and vegan egg mix. Set aside. Melt the Vegan Butter in a large soup pot over medium low heat. Once melted, add the minced garlic & chives, and sauté for 30 seconds. 

Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until a paste is formed. Then, slowly pour in the heavy cream/soymilk/vegan egg mixture + the lemon juice, whisking constantly until all the ingredients are completely blended. Let the mixture come to a fast simmer over medium heat while stirring constantly, then turn the heat down to a slow simmer. 

Add the celery and No Chicken Broth, and stir to combine well. Cover, and allow the soup to simmer, whisking occasionally, until the celery is softened to your liking. The more traditional method for finishing the soup would be blending it until smooth with an immersion blender (or carefully in a blender). If you like texture to your soup or lack the equipment, you don't need to blend it.

Add the fresh dill and parsley, and allow the soup to simmer for 5 more minutes. Taste for salt and pepper, then remove from heat, and serve garnished with fresh dill sprigs and lemon wedges.