Wilted Greens Soup

Summer isn’t really hot soup season but it is cold soup season – gazpacho any one?

My intent was to make this soup tasty chilled or warm, but it was my first go at this style and I preferred it warm. Not such a bad thing, as it turns out, because while summer is certainly hot outside, it is all too often FREEZING inside thanks to the A/C.

Inspired by this recipe, I put my sad, somewhat soggy, Spring Mix to good use. Upon further inspection, I found several other veggies who had seen better days. Throwing caution to the wind, everything on it’s last leg was added to the soup.

Being dairy free has expanded my culinary skills and creativity. How to make a soup rich and creamy without cheese or milk? Cashews, of course. And in this case, cashews and a few Brazil nuts. Cashew cream (soaked then pureed cashews) are often used to replace cheese and cream in vegan recipes. I’ve used it in several dishes and love the rich, creamy nuttiness it adds. I’m beginning to experiment with other nuts to see how they compare.

An emulsion blender or high-speed blender is required for this recipe. I made the soup super creamy, but if you prefer more texture you can always blend half and leave the other portion unblended.

 

The type of greens and veggies you use will affect the color of your soup. My spring mix was full of dark greens and deep purples, that in combination with the other vegetables gave my soup a rather unappealing brownish color. However, once the cashew cream was added, it became a light mossy color. Perhaps not the prettiest, but it was flavorful and kept me from throwing away food. Win, win in my book.

{Wilted Greens Soup}

[Ingredients]

• ~2 cups wilted greens
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 summer squash
• 1 fire roasted red pepper or bell pepper
• 1/3 cup cashews + 2-3 Brazil nuts
• 2-3 stalks celery
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 can chickpeas, undrained
• 1 carton vegetable stock
• 1 TBSP fresh basil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• ~1/2 TBSP herbes de provence
• 1-2 TBSP olive oil
• 2 TBSP tahini

[Directions]

1. Add cashews + brazil nuts to a deep bowl. Cover with water, soak for at least one hour.
2. Rinse and coarsely chop veggies.
3. Add olive oil to pan, heat over a medium flame then saute onion until tender and translucent.
4. Add summer squash, bell pepper, and carrots. Salt & pepper to taste. Cook for 5-10 minutes.
5. Add greens, chickpeas along with the fluid from the can, garlic, and stock.
6. Stir in basil and herbes de provence. Cover and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes.
7. Once nuts have soaked for at least an hour, drain most of the water from the dish then add the nuts and remaining water along with the tahini to a food processor. Blend until smooth.
8. Using an emulsion blender or regular blender, blend soup until smooth. Add cashew cream and stir until well incorporated.

Note: my husband added a dash of Sriracha to his to give it some spice.

Cheers,

Danielle

Summer Salad Series: Strawberry Chickpea Salad

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  This might be one of those roads.  My goal is to post a new salad recipe once a week for the duration of the summer.  I’m even going to set a reminder in my phone and put it in my planner. Fingers crossed, I will be breaking out of a boring salad routine and inspire all of you to do the same.

I’m starting off strong so get excited!  I had some strawberries in the fridge that were on the downward spiral from fresh to squirrel food.  I used this as my starting point then built the rest of my salad.  Not only did it look great, it was also filling and refreshing. You can throw this salad together in the morning, like I did and still left on time(!), or the night before.

{Strawberry Chickpea Salad}

[Ingredients]

• 6 strawberries, thinly sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup chickpeas
• 1 mini Babybell cheese circle, pulled apart into small chunks
• 2 TBSP dried cranberries
• 8-13 raw almonds, slivered
• 1 1/2 cups spring mix lettuce
• 2 TBSP Dressing of choice, I used Kraft Poppyseed

[Directions]

1. Add lettuce to a resealable bowl.
2. Wash and thinly slice strawberries, arrange over lettuce.
3. Pull cheese into small chunks and add to bowl. Add chickpeas.
4. Using a knife, slice almond or using a rolling pin and gently break apart almonds in a plastic bag then add to salad.
5. Top it all off with dried cranberries.  When ready to eat, add salad dressing then gently toss or mix to combine.

Cheers,

Danielle

Sesame Ginger Eggplant

Why am I just now discovering the wonderful versatility of the eggplant?

You can make it into mini pizzas, marinate then grill, throw it in a stir fry, make Napoleon, or order Szechuan eggplant at your favorite Chinese place. Well, at least I can at mine….

Inspired by my last order of chinese take-out, I decided create my own version.

I added more veggies and used a lighter sauce for a “guilt-free” dinner.

{Eggplant Stir Fry}

[Ingredients]

• 1 Eggplant, quartered
• 1 cup roughly chopped mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 large handfuls spinach leaves OR 1 head baby bok choy
• 1 can water chestnuts
• 1 zucchini, quartered
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup broccoli florets
• 3 TBSP Ken’s Lite Sesame Ginger Dressing
• 1 tsp fresh ginger paste
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 1 TBSP coconut oil

[Directions]

1. In a large skillet or Wok, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Add to skillet onion, eggplant, and mushrooms.  Season with salt, pepper, and curry powder.
2. Saute for about 5 minutes before adding in the remaining vegetables.
3. Add dressing and ginger paste to skillet.
4. Stirring often, cook for until veggies are tender – about 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy solo or serve over fried rice or quinoa.

Cheers,

Danielle

Super Salads

The first section of the grocery store I push my cart to is the Produce section. I figure a cart FULL of bright reds, yellows, purples, and greens leaves less room and desire for all the other stuff perched on the shelves. As a budget minded shopper, knowing I’m paying a pretty penny for the fresh produce also deters me from tossing unnecessary items into my cart.

Since becoming a member at Costco and discovering their rain forest of fresh, and often organic, produce, this habit has reached a whole new level. Last weekend, my sister, hubby, and I went grocery shopping and by the time we left fruits and veggies, the cart was half full. #sorrynotsorry

The creativity it took to fit all those colors into my fridge was quite impressive.

As a vegetarian, I eat a lot of salads. To keep from getting boring, I like to add a variety of textures and flavors. Below I’ve listed my favorite mix ins and if you keep scrolling, you’ll find a recipe for a deliciously crunchy salad.

{Salad Success Mix-ins}

• Red, Yellow, or Orange Bell peppers
• Celery
• Black beans
• Chickpeas
• Quinoa
• Slivered almonds or walnuts
• Cranberries
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Mushrooms
• Avocado
• Butternut squash

{Super Salad with Asian Chicken}

[Ingredients]

• 1 1/2 cup mixed greens
• 1 1/2 cup spinach
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 orange pepper
• 1 avocado
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 zucchini
• 1 summer squash
• 2 chicken breasts or 1/2 block tofu
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 clove garlic
• Sweet Red Chili Sauce

[Directions]

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Set aside.
2. On a separate cutting board, with a clean knife, dice onion and 1/2 of an orange pepper. Dice garlic & set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, spray with PAM then add onion and bell pepper to pan. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often, then add chicken.
4. Saute until chicken is cooked, reduce heat to low then stir in 2-3 TBSP of sweet red chili sauce.
5. While the chicken is cooking, rinse greens, peppers, zucchini/squash, and beans.
6. Using a clean cutting board and knife, chop peppers, zucchini, squash, and avocado.
7. In a large bowl, layer greens with chopped toppings. Top with chicken & serve with dressing of choice.

Cheers,

Danielle