Creamy Wild Rice Soup (Vegan)

This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found on www.veggiessavetheday.com.
I used the instant pot for this soup recipe but it can also easily be adapted for the stove top.

My husband's response to tasting this soup was "It's so hearty! Definitely one of my top favorite soups!" 

What you'll need:
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry chickpeas, soaked overnight 
1 cup wild rice
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or for a few hours
1/2 cup water

Rinse the soaked chickpeas and then add them to a medium size pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil on high heat and then reduce heat to medium and let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Using the saute function on your instant pot, heat olive oil and then add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for approximately 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add minced garlic, saute an additional 30-60 seconds. Turn off instant pot. Add the chickpeas, rice, broth, bay leaves, and thyme stirring to combine. Seal lid in place with release valve turned to "sealing." Select "manual" on the instant pot and adjust the time to 30 minutes. Allow to natural release (this is very important as the chickpeas will continue to cook!)
While soup is cooking, place cashews and water in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Once soup is finished cooking, add cream to the soup, stir, and enjoy!
*Remove bay leaves from soup before serving*

Hot Spiced Tea

Ingredients:
1 (12) oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
1 (12) oz can frozen pineapple juice concentrate
1 (12) oz can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 1/2 cups liquid agave sweetener
2 tbs whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
8 tea bags, black tea

In a large pot (needs to be able to hold approximately 1 1/2 - 2 gallons), combine the juice concentrates and agave. Fill each empty can of juice with water 3 times and pour into pot. On high heat, bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
In a smaller pot, place 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags, cloves, and cinnamon. Let steep for 10 minutes. Using a fine mesh colander, strain tea into the juice.
Stir and enjoy!

Apple Raisin Muffins

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 medium apple, finely minced
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
2/3 cup raisins (you can also substitute with finely chopped dried figs)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In large bowl, combine all ingredients.
Spray a muffin tin with coconut oil. Spoon batter evenly into muffin tin. Using the back of a spoon, press batter firmly into muffin tin.
Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing muffins from pan.
Enjoy!