Soup Season

This is the year of soup! Until recently, I never really got too excited about soups or stews. I don't know what changed, but all of a sudden I'm crazy about the comforting ease of making and eating soup. I've been eying a recipe for pasta & bean soup from Maxine Clark's cookbook, Italian Kitchen that was printed in October's issue of Woman's Day magazine and finally decided to give it a try. Once again, my co-worker's abundant magazine subscriptions and my employer's frugality inspired my dinner. Who knew?

(Please forgive the poor picture quality. Soup tends to be a little camera shy and photographing steaming-hot food is a bit of a challenge.)

The original recipe calls for dried beans, but I used canned and adjusted things accordingly. I also used a Not Chicken veggie bouillon instead of the broth called for in the recipe. The bouillon added more salt and oil, I believe, so I adjusted the oil and did not add any additional salt. The soup turned out really well! We'll happily be eating leftovers for lunch the next two days. Another great thing about soups - leftovers!

You'll Need:

2 cans cannellini or Great Northern beans, drained
2 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 C vegetable broth or equivalent prepared veggie bouillon
1 C short pasta (I used Ancient Harvest quinoa elbows)
4 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped (thanks, Keena!)
1/4 C Italian parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Add broth (or prepared bouillon), reserving 1 cup, to a large soup pot with garlic and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta. While pasta cooks, puree 1 1/2 cans of the beans with reserved liquid and olive oil in a blender or food processor. Stir bean puree and remaining whole beans into pasta and broth, simmer until pasta is tender. Remove pot from heat and stir in tomatoes and parsley. Ladle into individual warmed bowls and garnish with fresh cracked black pepper. Bellissimo!

Hot Quinoa Breakfast Cereal

Here it is again, my favorite grain, quinoa (keen-wa). With eight grams of protein per one cup serving, this is a great way to start the day!

You will need:

1 C uncooked quinoa
1/4 C crystalized ginger, chopped
1/4 C dried currants
nutmeg, to taste
cinnamon, to taste
non dairy milk, to taste (I used rice milk, but soy creamer works well and adds an extra richness)
agave nectar, to taste (optional)
fresh berries (optional)

Method:

Combine quinoa with two cups water and bring to boil. Add ginger and currants, stir to combine, cover with lid and turn off heat. Quinoa is done when all liquid is absorbed and the germ has separated from the grain. Fluff quinoa and transfer to individual serving bowls. Add non-dairy milk to taste and finish with cinnamon, nutmeg and agave nectar. I had some beautiful red raspberries hanging out in the fridge, so I added those as a garnish.

Curried Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

We visited my friend and her boyfriend in Richland a few weeks ago and my friend's boyfriend made us stuffed peppers for dinner. I don't know that I'd ever had a stuffed pepper before and if I did, I probably didn't like it. But my taste buds have developed a lot over the years and I really enjoyed the classic stuffed peppers with rice, tomato sauce and veggie sausage. I enjoyed it so much that my mind started racing with variations on this humble classic. So here is my take on the stuffed pepper, with some of my favorite flavors such as coconut milk, cashews, curry and cilantro. (Sorry about the poor picture quality - I really need a new camera.)

You will need:

4 green bell peppers, cored and seeded
1 C quinoa
1/3 C currants
1/3 C cashews, roasted, unsalted
1/2 C mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C cilantro, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/2 t cumin
1 t ginger powder
1 T curry powder
1 C coconut milk
salt to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°. Add quinoa to 2 cups water and bring to boil. Cook covered at a simmer until all water is absorbed and the germ has separated from the grain. Stir coconut milk, spices and garlic into quinoa and combine thoroughly. Toss in mushrooms, cashews, currants and cilantro. Fill peppers with quinoa mixture and place in a deep baking dish filled with 1/2 inch of water. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until peppers have softened but are still firm. Let sit for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Quinoa Crusted Quiche

Growing up, quiche was one of my favorite breakfast dishes. So I was very excited to come across this recipe from the FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I made a few substitutions to the recipe based on what I had at hand. Instead of brown rice for the crust, I used my favorite grain, quinoa. I subbed broccoli for the asparagus, added some Italian seasoning and topped it off with tomatoes. It turned out pretty good. I think the tofu mixture needed a little more seasoning and the crust would be better with a quick pre-bake, but I will definitely make this again. I took left-overs to work for lunch and got compliments on the smell. That's unusual. Most days my food just gets suspicious looks from my tofu-fearing coworkers.

Autumnal Inspiration

Fall is my favorite time of year. The leaves change, the skies are overrun by cotton ball clouds, we pull sweaters from our closets and we eat warm rich foods. One of my favorite foods to eat when the mercury drops are potatoes; any kind will do. I love the warm and exciting color of yams and the sweet rich flavor is a real treat. This dish was inspired by the earthiness of fall's colors and flavors. Although it's perhaps a tired denomination for foods of a certain taste, I like to call it harvest quinoa. The nutty flavor of the quinoa really shines here and compliments the sweetness of the raisins and yams.

You will need:

4 small yams, peeled and cubed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Italian seasoning
1 C quinoa
1/3 C raisins
1/4 C dry roasted pumpkin seeds
2 t olive oil
salt to taste

Method

Quinoa:
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add quinoa, cover and bring water back to boil. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes. Add raisins and pumpkin seeds and stir. Return lid and let sit until all water is absorbed.

Yams:
Boil yams for 3-5 minutes, until just soft. Heat olive oil in large pan or wok. Sauté garlic for minute. Add onion and sauté 3 minutes. When yams are just soft, drain and add to pan with Italian seasoning and cook until yams start to brown. Combine quinoa and yams in pan and salt to taste. Serve warm.

Variations on a theme: Add 1 cup mushrooms with yams, substitute cranberries for the raisins and/or use walnuts in place of pumpkin seeds. Add 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro before serving.