‘Vegetarian’
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Serves: 8
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4 cups dry white navy beans
Water
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Boil and soak method for prepping the beans: Wash the beans and discard any floaters or debris. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2” of water. Bring the pot to a gentle boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature 6-20 hours.
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Fresh water
Optional:
2 cans (15 oz) Swansons chicken broth
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Drain the beans, rinse with fresh water and drain again. Add chicken broth or water to cover the beans with 1” of water. Bring just to a boil and cook on med-low for 2-3 hours until the beans are tender. Add additional water if the level falls below the top of the beans.
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1 medium sweet yellow onion
5 celery stalks with leaves
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Chop the onion and celery. Process in a food processor or blender until very fine.
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2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Italian or Provence herb mix
2 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
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Place the onion, celery, oil, butter and spices in a small skillet. Stir and sauté over medium heat for 15 minutes.
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2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
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Drain off and reserve some of the broth from the beans if the level is above the top of the beans. Add the onion mixture and the tomatoes to the bean pot. Mix well. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add back the broth or additional water to the desired consistency.
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I have found that the boil and soak method eliminates the digestive problems and gas which many people have with beans. Make sure the beans are done before adding tomatoes to the soup. The acid in tomatoes increases the cooking time of beans.
Posted in Soup, Vegetarian | No Comments »
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Serves 8
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1 large sweet onion
6 stalks celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Provence or Italian Herb mix
¼ cup olive oil
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Chop the onion and celery into ½” bits. Add to a large pot with the herbs and oil. Sauté over medium heat for 3 minutes.
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2 cans (14 oz) Swansons chicken broth or vegetable broth
2 cans (12 oz) V-8 juice
2 cups chopped carrots
4 medium potatoes
½ cup dry lentils
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Any fresh or frozen veggies such as chopped green beans, broccoli, corn, peas, edamamme, asparagus, sweet potatoes
Barley option:
Cook separately one cup of pearl barley and three cups of water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to low and cook uncovered for 30-40 minutes until tender. Add to the soup just before serving.
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Peel and chop the carrots and potatoes. Add everything. Bring to a boil on med-high heat. Turn down to low heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes just until the potatoes & veggies are tender. Don’t overcook.
Serve the soup as is, or over noodles or pasta. Don’t add pasta to the pot because it does not hold up well for left-overs.
Use the left-overs to make Three Day Soup!
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Posted in Soup, Vegetarian | No Comments »
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Serves: 8
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4 cups dry beans
Water
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Boil and soak method for prepping the beans: Wash the beans and discard any floaters or debris. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2” (thumb-length) of water. Bring the pot to a gentle boil for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Cover tightly and let stand at room temperature 6-20 hours.
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Fresh water
Spice it up!
For chili beans, add:
2 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
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Drain the beans, rinse with fresh water and drain again. Cover the beans with 1” of fresh water.
Add spices if desired, but don’t add salt until the beans are cooked.
Bring just to a boil and cook on med-low for 2-3 hours until the beans are tender. Add additional water if the level falls below the top of the beans.
If you are making chili, drain the bean broth and save it. Use it to thin out your chili if needed. Otherwise, freeze it to start your next soup pot.
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Tips for cooking beans:
1) Don’t add salt to the beans before they are cooked, it makes them tough.
2) Make sure the beans are done before adding tomatoes to the soup. The acid in tomatoes increases the cooking time of beans.
3) Increase the cooking time at higher altitudes.
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I have found that the boil and soak method eliminates the digestive problems and gas which many people have with beans.
Posted in Ingredients, Vegetarian | No Comments »
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Serves 4
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2 ripe avocados
1 lime
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
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Cut the avocado in half lengthwise, leaving the pit intact. Twist apart and squeeze out the avocado. Leave the pit in the bowl, it will keep the avocado from turning brown. Cut the lime in half and squeeze half of the juice over the avocado. Salt. Chop to desired smoothness with a spoon. Taste and add additional lime juice if desired.
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Tortilla chips
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For a special treat, warm the tortilla chips: place the chips on a cookie sheet and heat for 5 minutes in the oven at 300 F.
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Finding a perfectly ripe avocado in the supermarket can be difficult. The avocado is ripe when slightly soft; squeeze it gently to test- it feels like squeezing a greenish banana. I prefer to buy the hard avocados 3-4 days before I need them and store at room temperature to ripen. To speed up the process, place them in a brown paper bag. Once the avocado is ripe, store in the refrigerator up to a week.
Posted in Appetizers, Mexican Style, Vegetarian | No Comments »
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Oven 350 F
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2 (15 oz) cans black beans
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
½ cup Salsa
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
If desired, spice it up with:
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (canned)
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Drain the black beans and chop them a bit, leaving most of the beans whole. Mix all ingredients.
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2 Tbsp olive oil
Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
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Pour olive oil into a small flat casserole dish or pie plate. Add Bean mixture. Top with grated cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.
Serve with tortilla chips as a dip appetizer or spoon into warm soft corn tortillas.
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Posted in Appetizers, Mexican Style, Vegetarian | No Comments »
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Serves 8
Oven 400 F
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1 (6 oz) pkg Uncle Bens Original Long Grain & Wild Rice
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Prepare as directed. Start the rice first and it will be ready when you need it.
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4 large red bell peppers
3 Tbsp olive oil
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Cut the peppers in half, cut through the stem, leaving the stem intact. Remove the seeds and membrane. Wash and drain on paper towels. Arrange the halves in a 9×13 baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Roll the peppers over in the oil to coat. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes at 425 F. Cool slightly.
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12 fresh mushrooms
1 large onion
4 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
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Wash and slice the mushrooms. Dice the onion and celery fine to ¼” bits. Mince or chop the garlic. Set aside.
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½ cup pine nuts
Olive oil
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Pour olive oil to cover a large sauté pan. Heat to medium high. Quickly fry the pine nuts, stirring constantly until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Set aside.
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1 Tbsp dried herbs – Provence mix or Italian mix
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Return the pan with oil to the stove. Add herbs, onions and celery. Cook until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms and garlic. Cook 2 minutes.
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2 cups fresh chopped spinach or 1 small box frozen spinach, thawed
1 tsp Frank’s Red Hot sauce
Salt & pepper
If desired:
I-2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
or
1-2 cups raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined
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Add additional oil if needed. Add spinach, cooked rice, hot sauce, salt & pepper. Stir and add more hot sauce to taste. Mix in meat or shrimp or both if desired. (This is a great way to use left-over turkey!)
Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture. Cover loosely with foil. Return to the oven and bake 30 minutes at 400 F. When they come out of the oven, sprinkle the stuffed red peppers with the pine nuts.
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I created (or I should say imitated) this dish after many samplings of the signature stuffed peppers at the Red Peppers Café in Esher, England.
Posted in Chicken, Main Dishes, Mediterranean Style, Turkey, Vegetarian | No Comments »