Minestrone Soup

This flexible recipe is a lovely meal all on its own. It’s specially exciting if you have some pesto and croutons to top it.

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 or 4 carrots, sliced

2 celery sticks (optional, but add lots of good flavor)

4 to 6 cloves garlic

1/2 cup tomato paste, or 1 cup of tomato sauce, or 3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

2 potatoes and/or 1 or 2 zucchini or other summer squash and/or green beans, or other seasonal veggies, chopped

2 cups spinach and/or kale and/or turnip greens and/or beet greens or other seasonal greens

1 tbs fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano

1 tbs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme

2 or 3 bay leaves

8 to 10 cups water and 3 cubes vegetable bouillon or 8 cups liquid vegetable broth

1 tsp salt or more as desired

1 tsp pepper (optional, but cooks in to add wonderful flavor)

1 cup pasta (elbow, rotini or shell pasta works well)

2 to 3 cups cooked white beans (black eyed peas work well, too!)

Optional Toppings—

lemon juice

parmesan or nutritional yeast

parsley

basil

microgreens

INSTRUCTIONS

In a pan, saute onions with olive oil for a few minutes, when starting to become translucent, add chopped garlic, carrots and celery and saute for 3 more minutes. Add a splash of water if it’s looking too dry

In a pot, add the water and bouillon or vegetable broth, cooked beans, sauteed onion, carrots, celery and garlic, chopped potatoes/zucchini, summer squash/green beans, herbs and spices, cover and bring to a medium boil for 10 or 15 minutes, until the potato is cooked through

Add pasta and greens and boil for a few more minutes until the pasta is cooked.

Serve hot and serve with any or all of the optional toppings for your steamy enjoyment!

Vegetarian Menudo Recipe

I know, I know, it’s a stretch, for anyone acquainted with authentic menudo, to believe it can be made vegetarian. For those of you standing in disbelief—disregard the title of this post and let’s just call this a caldo de verduras. For those of you, like me, that have been witness to the wonders of menudo the morning after a long night of New Year’s Eve partying…but just happen to have made the choice to stick to a vegetarian diet, try this nourishing soup and call it what you want! A special thank you to my Tia Carolina and her audacious friend that invented a recipe and called it veggie menudo. Prior to her sharing it, I, too, thought it impossible. I’d always just stuck to veggie pozole. They aren’t that different, given the absence of meats that differentiate the traditional versions. To fulfill my own crazy need for categories, I’m reserving the cabbage and radish toppings for my veggie pozole. So, here is my version of veggie menudo, using this week’s in-season veggies. If you’d rather make the “real thing”, here’s a recipe for you.

Ingredients:

For the soup—

1 large onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, chopped

1 handful celery tops

2 big handfuls dried shitake mushrooms (we buy these at our local Vietnamese grocery store)

2 tbs dried oregano

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tsp dried chile flakes (optional)

6 small carrots or 3 large ones, sliced

1/2 head of Napa cabbage, sliced

1 cup spinach, sliced

6 cups hominy OR 1 large yucca root, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch slices (yes, I know this isn’t traditional but it saved me a trip to the grocery store and it did the trick!)

radish microgreens

lemon

tortillas de maíz

For the sauce— (mind you, this step is optional, if you’re ok with less work and a lighter broth or just spicing it up with chile flakes. Yes, I used chiltepin! On the other hand, if you want to go for it, you can make lots and then use the leftover sauce to make enchiladas another day)

6 guajillo (dried) peppers

1 tsp cumin

1 cup broth (from your menudo pot)

3 cloves garlic

Instructions:

Set aside a little bit of onion for garnish and sauté the rest of the onion in a pan with a little olive oil until translucent and a tiny bit browned.

Add the garlic and celery leaves and dried mushrooms with a little more olive oil and sauté for another minute

In a pot, add about 10 cups water along with the sautéed onions, garlic and celery leaves, 4 cubes veggie broth (this time, I used two “Not Beef” cubes, one “Not Chicken” and one “Garden Veggie” cube from Edward & Sons), oregano, lemon pepper and optional chile.

Once it’s boiling, add your veggies and the cooked hominy or yucca root.

If you’re going for the sauce, too, here’s what to do:

Toast the guajillo peppers in a pan

Break or slice the peppers and soak them in a bowl with broth from the soup until soft (maybe 10 minutes). Press them down into the broth so they soak thoroughly and put a lid on the bowl to keep the heat in and speed up the process.

Then blend them in the blender along with the broth, cumin and garlic.

Serve your menudo topped with radish microgreens, a squeeze of lemon, sauce to taste and a warm tortilla on the side.

Chard Carrot and Potato Dal

Chard is a powerful, nutrient dense green—standing out for its vitamin K content, lots of vitamins A C and E, iron and calcium. It’s known as anti-inflammatory to promote heart health and regulate blood sugar.

Thanks to Kelli Mcgrane for the recipe that informed this post. I have tweaked it a bit, doubling her original recipe, simplifying the steps a bit and changing the order so the greens don’t cook as long. Finally, this version has more liquid because any kind of dal makes me crave the first course served at Taste of the Himalayas, which is simply soupy and delicious. What better way to eat lots of chard?

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 tbs oil (try 1 tbs sesame and 1 tbs olive or coconut oil)

6 cloves garlic , peeled and chopped

3 inch piece of ginger, chopped or grated

2 tbs ground cumin

1 tbs paprika

1 tbs ground turmeric

1 tbs salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large or 2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 to 6 carrots, sliced

1 bunch swiss chard, chopped

4 small or 2 large potatoes (try gold or red potatoes!), chopped into large cubes

1 cup red lentils

6 cups water

1 cube veggie bouillon

pea shoots or microgreens

Instructions:

Heat oil in a pan. Add spices and cook for 30 seconds.

Add onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent.

Add carrots and cook until they start to crisp (maybe 6 minutes)

Add potatoes, water and veggie bouillon and bring to a boil. Then simmer for about 20 minutes until lentils and potatoes are cooked. Add chard and cook for a couple more minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy. Goes well with a side of rice and topped with microgreens or pea shoots!

Daikon Carrot Salad

If you’re looking to an introduction to this awesome root, check out this article.

Daikon, just like any other radish, was something I just didn’t know what to do with beyond using it as a topping for pozole. When we committed to our first CSA with Solidarity Farm, all of a sudden we had radish diversity and I was determined to figure out how to use them. To my delight, I learned about daikon carrot salad and have loved it ever since! Plus, it’s perfect during the cold season, especially this year, because of its strong anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties. My next challenge is figuring out a second dish to make with it. But for now, I will share this one! It’s addictive. (C:)

INGREDIENTS

1 or 2 daikon radish roots, grated into long ribbons (I use a potato peeler), or a box or two of daikon microgreens!

4 to 6 carrots, grated into long ribbons (again, a potato peeler does the trick)

juice of ½ lemon

juice of 1 tangerine or orange

2 tsp brown sugar (optional, try leaving this out and doubling the orange juice!) 

6 tbs rice vinegar

2 tbs sesame oil

salt

pepper

toasted sesame seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all ingredients (except microgreens and roasted sesame seeds, if using) in a large bowl and let soak (a.k.a. quick pickle) for 10 to 30 minutes. You can skip this step if you’re really hungry (I’ve done it) and it’s still yummy—it just gets better if you have the patience to wait!

 If using daikon microgreens instead of daikon root, toss microgreens in just before serving. Then sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the top.

Final note: I like to make this a meal by serving it over a bed of vermicelli rice noodles (cooked according to package instructions) and topped with 2 boxes tofu, sliced and placed in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, drizzled with sesame oil and sprinkled with garlic powder, cumin, paprika and salt.

Cashew Green Bean Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

toasted sesame oil

1 small to medium sized onion, diced

2 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbs ginger, grated or chopped

1 lb protein of choice (I use tofu or tempeh), diced

green beans, diced

carrots diced

cashews, chopped or slightly crushed

lettuce

microgreens (we’ve got broccoli this week!)

Hoisin Sauce (Try this flexible recipe if you want to make it at home)

Instructions:

Stir fry onion in a large pan with sesame oil until translucent. Add garlic, ginger and your choice of protein

Add green beans, carrots and cashews to the pan and drizzle generously with hoisin sauce.

Stir fry for a few minutes (up to you how well-cooked you like your veggies!)

Serve over lettuce leaf and top with microgreens or, better yet, put everything out (maybe with some rice or quinoa on the side) so people can make their own. This DIY “lettuce tacos” dish gets my little ones to put down the lettuce!

Cabbage--Making It Last: Curtido and Kraut Recipe Ideas

Check out this infographic—amongst the many benefits, I was surprised to see that cabbage is high in omega 3 (with a good omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, at that!).

It’s cabbage season and I love it in so many ways: atakilt wat (ethiopian cabbage carrot potato dish), stir fried like my tias in Mexico do with chile, tomato, onion salt and coriander, in soups, baked as a cabbage steak with tofu, carrots, pineapple and peanut butter…the list goes on. But, even though it’s totally possible for our four person household to go through a cabbage in a week, there’s also good arguments for taking the time to preserve it so it lasts months maybe, or at least more than a week or two. What are these good arguments? The probiotic health benefits of fermented foods for one. And, the therapeutic benefits of knowing you have food in your fridge that you can eat in the next month or two. I’m no expert on pickling or fermentation, but I hear you don’t have to be…even novices like me could get good results. So, that’s my project for the week. If you want to try it out, too, here’s a few recipes to try:

(and please share any tips or comments—I have a lot to learn!)

Curtido Salvadoreño with True Fermentation (eat after 3 days, could last weeks!)

Curtido Salvadoreño Shortcut (uses vinegar instead of just salt to preserve, eat same day or within a week)

Red Sauerkraut (cabbage, beet, carrot, turmeric, ginger and garlic)

Traditional Sauerkraut (with caraway, optional though)

Brainstorming Kale--A Summary for Many Moods

Check out this Types of Kale art print by Marcella Kriebel.

Not counting, but it’s been many days of staying in and as much as I enjoy my home life and the freedom to create daily rhythms with my two kids as I see fit—I might be feeling a little stir crazy. I am confident this is the worst of it since the cold weather is on its way out and today’s sunshine, alone, has done wonders for my spirit. Anyway, this is the backdrop to my approach to this week’s recipe. I feel disconnected from the outside world and, as such, I’m not sure what type of recipe to share with all of you, given you may be going through any assortment of situations and feelings amidst this moment in history. So, I’ve decided to share my brainstorm and a summary of my findings rather than a single recipe. Here goes:

COMFORT Sweet Tooth and Chocolate-Fixes-Everything KALE

If you’re also feeling in a pit when it comes time to approach your kale of the week, maybe it’s time to make Kale Brownies. Based on my research, I think you can pretty much add 1 to 3 cups kale to your favorite brownie recipe. Raw and finely chopped is the way I’d go, but a more refined approach could also be to steam the kale until bright green and just wilted, then blend it up before adding it to your brownie batter. If you’ve got any floppy carrots that you didn’t get around to eating last week, you can steam one or two and mash it in, as well.

GREEN JUICE Keeps the Blues Away KALE

If you’re feeling good and want to eat light and clean (no added sugar, please), then maybe juice is the way to go. Slow juicers are fancy and nice, but you can also just use a blender and add kale, lettuce, any other veggies you want to consume—last week’s chard, and/or a stick or two of celery which gives it a yummy saltiness, a dash of lemon or orange juice. After a glass of green juice, I always feel more grounded and ready to make the best of my day.

BED OF KALE—A Foundation for Balance

If you’re wanting to keep a balance in your life through healthy, hearty and complete foods, you might feel good starting with a bed of kale as the foundation for your meal. What to put on your kale bed? Root veggies (try roasting the radish along with sweet potato with olive oil, salt & pepper), your protein (roasted garbanzos! eggs…or glazed walnuts or any other nut or seed, think pecans or pepitas), pasta or quinoa…Just chop and steam the kale, salt and season to taste, and top your bed of kale with whatever you like. Here’s a simple recipe for tilapia on a bed of kale you might want to try.

KALE SALAD—Keeping it Fresh for the Sunny Days Ahead

Some of us love salads. I must confess, this isn’t always me! But, with the promise of sunshine ahead (my kids were so excited about today’s sunshine, they took to running around the backyard naked for the better part of the afternoon) does make me feel better about eating cold food. A kale salad is quick, nutrient-dense, long-lasting and oh so flexible. My favorite version involves, at its simplest, chopped kale, orange and/or lemon juice, salt and a splash of balsamic or apple cider vinegar. Other ingredients might include nuts, seeds, avocado, carrots, apple, radish, and any kind of microgreens you’ve got around. Here’s a more specific Kale Salad recipe that runs along these lines.

I Need Food Now! KALE QUESADILLAS

This keeps happening, especially on days the kids and I get lost in the backyard working on projects. We hit a wall and need food NOW. Corn tortillas, cheese that melts and chopped kale (very finely chopped for the picky little ones, fat strips for me). Somehow, the kale helps me see this quick dish as more of a complete and healthy meal versus a hold-you-over junky snack. Sometimes, it’s cilantro, chard, or other leafy green instead of kale, but kale is my go-to favorite for this meal. Cholula hot sauce is my in-a-pinch salsa. I’ve switched to that over other hot sauce brands because it’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t have a bunch of weird preservatives.

Radish, Bok Choy and Carrot Salad

Quick and raw, this is a new way for me to eat bok choy (I’ve always cooked it). And it’s exciting because I’m always looking for new and easy ways to consume radish (it’s not my soul food, but I know it’s good for me!). If you’re looking for something more complex—here’s another article with radish recipe ideas.

Ingredients: (This is a simple combination—adjust amount and proportions of each to your taste!)

radish

carrots

bok choy

red onion

microgreens

lemon

olive oil

salt

pepper

Instructions:

1. Using a potato peeler or mandolin slicer, thinly slice carrots and radish.

2. Thinly chop bok choy and onion.

3. Toss radish, carrots, bok choy and onion with microgreens.

4. Drizzle with olive oil and add lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Tacos

Ingredients:

mushrooms (white button mushrooms work just fine; portobello and shiitake are pricier, but also delicious!)

salt

pepper

tortillas (La Fe tortillas are non-gmo and affordable, which is hard to find!)

carrots (shredded)

cilantro (chopped)

microgreens

lettuce (in place of tortilla if you’re going light with the meal, or chopped as a topping)

lemon

chile, fresh and chopped (try chiltepin if you want real heat!) or hot sauce, if you like. (I’ve switched to Cholula as my hot sauce of choice in a pinch because it’s the only I’ve found that doesn’t have any added preservatives. )

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Slice mushrooms in fourths (fat slices) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 10 minutes, or until sizzling and just a bit crispy.

3. Warm tortillas. Set out mushrooms and rest of the ingredients as toppings and enjoy!

Green Barley Soup with Roasted Root Veggies

This simple barley soup is nourishing and filling—it leaves me feeling warm inside. Barley is known for boosting milk production in breastfeeding mothers, but it’s good for you in so many more ways. Together with the root veggies and greens, this is a stay-healthy-and-strong meal for all.

Ingredients

2 cups barley

3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

8 cups water

bouillon (I used 1 cube Edward & Sons Garden Veggie, 1 Not-Chick’n and two tbs mushroom seasoning)

1 tbs pepper

4 cups root veggies (carrots, turnips, radish and/or beets) thinly sliced (to about a 1/4 inch)

salt

pepper

olive oil

1 box tofu (optional for a protein boost), in 1/2 inch slices. Try it sprinkled with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

1 or 2 bunches of greens, sliced (try turnip greens and/or spinach)

3 cups water (or enough to cover the immersion blender blades)

microgreens (we have pea shoots this week!)

lemon or lime

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a pot, add barley, garlic, bouillon, 1 tbs pepper and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil then simmer over medium heat for about an hour until barley is cooked. Hulled barley may take 20 minutes or so longer to cook than pearl barley. If you presoak your barley overnight, or at least a few hours, it will cook in 40 minutes or so.

3. On a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up), spread a layer of root veggies (I used carrots for first layer). Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with olive oil. Then add second layer (I used radish and turnips this time, but beets also make a delicious addition to this combination). Salt, pepper and drizzle again. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until they are tender and a bit crispy.

If you’re adding the tofu to this meal, spread it on a second baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with oil. Try roasted sesame oil for extra flavor. Bake along with the root veggies.

4. In another pot, add three cups water and the sliced greens. Cover and cook over medium heat until just wilted. Then blend using an immersion blender, if you’ve got it. Otherwise, you can let cool a bit, then transfer into a regular blender. Add the blended greens to the barley pot.

5. Serve a bowl of green barley soup and top with roasted veggies and fresh microgreens and a dash of lemon or lime.