Tomato Curry Lentil Stew

Every week I try to make a soup. It's a nice quick lunch when we're busy, it's something Kevin can take to work if we don't have leftovers from the night before, and they're filling and generally inexpensive. I actually made this recipe when I made the masoor dal, in case it wasn't filling enough. No one else ate it but me that night, and in the days since I can say that this is definitely a make ahead dish. It has gotten MUCH better while hanging out in my fridge!

Here is the recipe.

1-1/2 cups dry lentils
3 cups water
15 ounces stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped onion
6 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
9 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Combine lentils and water, bring to a boil.
Lower heat to simmer, add tomatoes, onion, and celery. Cover and let simmer 45 minutes. Check every 15 minutes to stir, and add water if necessary. Add spices last 15 minutes to taste. Taste and re-spice if necessary before serving.

I like allrecipes.com because they have the option of changing the number of servings and they give you an altered recipe. It really takes the guess work out of it, which is fantastic. I made this recipe with 6 servings, so that I could buy a 15 oz can of stewed tomatoes (I hate recipes that only call for 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste when the smallest can you can buy is 4 or 6 ounces!) Anyway, I probably wouldn't use stewed tomatoes again, they're basically whole tomatoes that have been stewed, so you have some really big unwieldy blobs of tomato hanging out in your soup. I'm not a fan of needing to cut your soup (unless it's matzo ball soup!) so I'd probably substitute a can of diced tomatoes. I added about a cup of water at the 15 and 30 minute mark as well.



This is a tasty soup, and with the few changes I've mentioned, I think it's a real winner for a make ahead soup. The recipe was really cheap to make, and for those on WIC, this is a great way to use the dried beans you get (and the beauty of lentils are that they don't need to be soaked overnight!)

Masoor Dal

A friend of mine was telling me that incorporating a vegetarian meal at least once a week into her menu has helped cut her grocery costs. I think that's awesome, and I'd heard of "Meatless Monday" in the past. I love Indian food, and it's hard to get the family on board when we're looking for somewhere to go out to eat (they NEVER want to go!) so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some at home. My husband likes lentil soup, so I figured this would be a fantastic recipe to try because there's nothing in it that he doesn't like (except for ginger, but tumeric is a heavy spice, so I figured it would blend in.)

I went to Sprouts and got the tumeric and cumin seeds by the ounce. I think it cost me like 30 cents for the spices, and I had much more than I needed.

Here is the recipe.

1 cup red lentils
1 slice ginger, 1 inch piece, peeled
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Rinse lentils thoroughly and place in a medium saucepan along with ginger, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. Cover with about 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on top of the lentils. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and soupy.

Meanwhile, in a microwave safe dish combine oil, dried onion and cumin seeds. Microwave on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute; be sure to brown, but not burn, onions. Stir into lentil mixture.


Again, I did a variation on the recipe. Looking at the reviews, someone said it's better to use fresh onion (I wasn't about to buy dried onion just for this, even though I could get it by the ounce) and I'd NEVER heard of anything browning properly in the microwave, so I browned the onion and garlic in the oil on the stove while the lentils were doing their thing. The recipe had great flavor and only my 2 year old refused to eat it (she just wanted to eat rice.) My 5 year old LOVED it, and my husband liked it, so I call it a win. The lentils can be bought by the ounce as well, and I think it was only $2 for the lentils I needed for the recipe (note, the recipe yields only 4 small servings, but can be altered on the page, they do all the work for you, yay! I highly recommend making more, it was very tasty.)



Obviously I served it over rice. It doesn't look like much, but it packs a lot of flavor. The great thing about lentils is that they're one of the highest vegetarian forms of iron, and when paired with rice, they make a complete protein dish. In short, this dish is tasty, easy on the wallet, AND good for you!

Tomatillo Avocado Salsa

I'm planning on having a jewelry party sometime in November and like a total food minded person, I'm already scanning my magazines for tasty noms for the party! Last time I had Wheat Thins Tuscan Herb flatbread crackers (OH MY GOSH! So tasty and NO HFCS or hydrogenated oils, only problem is the commissary stopped carrying them!), some alouette brand spinach and artichoke cheese spread, sliced cucumber and carrots, homemade mango salsa (don't ask for the recipe, my friend made it and she's not sharing it unfortunately) and tortilla chips and salsa from the local Mexican market. The spread cost less than $20, and everyone loved everything. This time I wanted to make more of it myself since we won't have guests this time around and I can devote a little more time to cooking or preparing food.

Anyway, I got this recipe from Diet & Nutrition magazine, which is a pretty amazing magazine if you've never heard of it. I made a half batch of this recipe and gobbled it down all by myself. I didn't use the cilantro or the cumin seeds, though next time I make it I'll have to give it a shot!

8 oz tomatillos, papery husks removed, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 scallions, white and light green parts only, minced
1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded if you wish (a must if you don't like it too spicy), and minced
3 tbsp minced cilantro leaves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground toasted cumin seeds (optional)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil

To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients except the vinegar and oil in a bowl. Mix well but gently, taking care not to mash the avocado. Whisk together the vinegar and oil until emulsified, and add just enough of this to the salsa to moisten it. Reserve any leftover vinaigrette to use in other salad dressings.

Here is a picture of the finished product:


Now, on to the menu. I'm thinking of getting tortilla chips from the Mexican market, serving this, mango quesadillas, and chicken tortilla soup. Any thoughts on the menu?

Vegetarian week

After buying tons of meat at Basha's (they were doing some mega sale, and we ended up getting it basically half off) I decided to do a vegetarian week. For the girls and hubby it was just for dinner, but for myself it would have been all week long. I started by making my own vegetable bouillon. Before you start writing me off as some crazy homemaker, it's easy! You toss veggies and some salt into a food processor (or in our case the vitamix blender) and just pulverize it! Mine ended up a lot less grainy than the ones I saw pictures of, but it was tasty. Next time I think I'm going to leave the cilantro out. Here's the recipe:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/homemade-bouillon-recipe.html

5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed
7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped
7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped
3.5 ounces / 100 g celery
3.5 ounces / 100g celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped
1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes
3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled
3 medium garlic cloves
9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt
1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped
2 ounces / 60g cilantro (coriander), loosely chopped

Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.

You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access in the coming days, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use in the next month. Because of all the salt it barely solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer into the pot before boiling.

Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.
Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.


I used the veggie bouillon to make Asian Vegetable Soup. Here's the recipe:
http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2008/04/weight-watchers-asian-zero-points-soup.html

6 cups vegetable broth (I used 6 cups water and 6 tsp of the veggie bouillon)

2 cups bok choy, chopped
2 cups Chinese/Napa cabbage, chopped
4 oyster mushrooms, sliced thin (I used regular old button mushrooms)
2 cups scallions / green onions
8 ounce can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (I probably did way more than 3, it's just not enough!)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I added these right before I would eat a bowl)

2 cups snow peas (I used frozen like the recipe maker suggested, and they were NOT stringed. Color me upset!)
1 cup fresh bean sprouts

2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used reduced sodium soy sauce)

OPTIONAL BUT TIME-SAVING TIP Bring the vegetable broth (or water for bouillon) to a boil in an electric tea kettle or in the microwave while prepping the vegetables.

Collect all the vegetables except the snow peas and bean sprouts in a cold large pot or Dutch oven. When those vegetables are prepped, add the hot water, cover and bring to a boil on MEDIUM HIGH. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the bean sprouts and snow peas, cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the soy sauce and cilantro.

(And I just want to say that this soup is so tasty, I can barely contain myself to just one bowl!)



Monday night we had "chicken" and broccoli stir-fry. The "chicken" was Morningstar Farms meal starters "chicken" strips. I used PETA's recipe for "beef" and broccoli stir-fry when I couldn't find the "steak" strips. The "chicken" is an interesting flavor, it's not bad. The texture is what did it in though, it's somewhere between chicken fat and chicken meat, and your mouth (and brain) are going, "WTF is this? Spit it out stupid, you shouldn't be eating it!) Served over brown rice, I didn't think it was too bad, but the hubby and kids hated it. Hubby flat out asked me to never make it again (and he usually plays nice when he doesn't care for something.) I liked the vegetables, so I think I might make a smaller batch for myself, and use tofu instead of the "chicken". Here's the recipe:
http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=1367

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb. veggie beef strips (try Morningstar Farms Steak Strips)
1 small bunch broccoli
2 tsp. vegetable oil, divided
2 carrots, sliced diagonally 1/8-inch thick
1 bunch green onions
3/4 cup vegetable broth

• In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, cornstarch, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Whisk until combined.
• Toss in the veggie beef and let stand for 10 to 20 minutes.
• Cut the broccoli florets from the stem and slice the stems into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.
• Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tsp. of the oil. When almost smoking, add the “beef” mixture and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove from the wok. Add the remaining oil and the vegetables, stir-frying for 1 minute. Add the broth and cook, scraping the bottom, until the vegetables are tender.
• Return the “beef” to the wok and heat through.

Tuesday night we had veggie tacos. Using Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles, they were fantastic! I used the leftover brown rice from the night before, added a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes and a can of drained and rinsed black beans as a side. Everyone was happy.

Wednesday night we had curried rice and lentils. Now, nutritionally, it's fantastic, but it looked like slop, and had texture issues. For the most part, I love when something is supposed to be soft, that it's soft. I don't really care for brownies with chocolate chips in them, I'm a brownie purist, but this recipe really could have done with some textural differences! The flavor was good (left out the onions), but it was too mushy. I think next time we'll cook it for a shorter time. Everyone liked the flavor, just not how mushy it was (and the fact that when it got cold, you could hold your fork up and it wouldn't slide down.) Here's the recipe:
http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=1533

1 cup long-grained rice
1 Tbsp. curry powder
3 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup lentils
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced

• Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Makes 4 servings

Thursday we had black bean chili. When cooked, it looked like cat food, which wasn't very appetizing. The girls loved it though, Emily asked if I could make it every day. Kevin said the mushrooms really threw off the texture, and asked that I leave them out next time (which is better than Monday's, "Please don't ever make this again!") I used a red bell pepper instead of green, no jalapenos, and no onions. Here's the recipe:
http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=284

1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
450g mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper, chopped
1 green chilli pepper or jalapeño, chopped
450g can black beans
450g can crushed tomatoes
50g textured vegetable protein (TVP)
Chilli powder and salt, to taste

• In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until the onions become soft.
• Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add the peppers and sauté for a few more minutes.
• Add the black beans, tomatoes, TVP, chilli powder and salt and simmer for 30 minutes.

Makes 6 Servings

On Friday I made sloppy lentils, a recipe that was shared with me by my friend Dedi. Everyone liked it, Kevin said it would probably be great for homemade pinto beans (which we have a TON of!) Here's the recipe:
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/10/sloppy-lentils-in-the-crockpot.html

2 cups water (the original recipe uses 3 cups, so notice the change for crockpot preparation!)
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
salt to taste (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
15 oz can diced tomatoes (drained), tomato sauce or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste, optional (as needed to thicken – especially if using tomato sauce)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 tablespoons rapadura, molasses, or honey
1 Tbsp white vinegar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 hamburger buns, split
cheddar cheese, grated (to top your lentils when serving)

Combine all your ingredients in the crockpot (besides the buns and cheese!). Turn on low and cook for approximately 5 hours, until lentils are tender and the mixture has thickened and absorbed most of the liquids. Serve on open faced hamburger buns and top with melted cheese, as desired.

Saturday we just ordered cheese pizza. Of course everyone loved that ;) I know it wasn't technically a whole week, but that's what we had for dinner. I ate mostly oatmeal for breakfast and the Asian soup for lunch.

Tasty vegan pasta dish

Last Friday I took out some tuna steaks to make for dinner, but they didn't thaw in time, so instead I made some egg drop soup, vegan pad thai that wasn't bad, but it wasn't as stellar as I thought it would be (it was a package sauce, served it over rice noodles with tofu), and had TONS of rice noodles leftover. As I tried to find ways to use the rice noodles, I went through my recipes and found this oldie, but goodie. I found it in a book called The Way it All Vegan.

Spicy Garlic Toss
4-6 garlic cloves, crushed (I mince them too)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c water
2 tsp soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried pepper
1/4 tsp salt
dash cayenne pepper

In a small saucepan, saute garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil on medium-low heat until garlic is translucent, be careful not to burn. Add water, remaining oil, soy sauce, paprika, basil, thyme, pepper, salt, and cayenne and bring to a boil. Simmer for 8-15 minutes.

I tossed some noodles in the sauce, served it with some marinaded tofu I'd made (I only put half the block in with the pad thai), kimchee for Lana and myself (Lana LOVES the stuff!), peas, and grilled tuna steaks. No one else wanted the tofu, so it was all mine, muah ha ha ha! Kevin had drill and wasn't going to be home for dinner. If not for the tuna and the egg in the soup, it would have been completely vegan! (I know that sounds silly.) Here are some pictures of the dishes:



Egg drop soup. I made this with organic low sodium vegetable stock. It wasn't that good to me, but the girls loved it. Next time I'll probably go with organic low sodium chicken stock, it'll probably be more flavorful.



Vegan pad thai. The girls weren't that into it.



My plate, not enough room for peas, though I had them later. The tofu is the tofu I mentioned in my love of sesame oil post. We use salad plates for meals, so that's why the tuna looks so huge, it's actually only a 4 oz tuna steak.

And the verdict from Lana:





She likes it! Emily and Kevin liked it too. Score one for me against the picky eaters in the family! Woot!

(Btw, yes, that's a vacuum attachment in the pic next to her. We've never used it, and for some reason she loves to carry it with her a lot. She knows it's for the vacuum, but she likes it anyway!)

Kale chips

I, like most moms I'm sure, have a hard time getting my kids to eat their veggies. I puree them and add them to recipes, allow them to be dipped in organic ketchup (shudder!), ranch, whatever, just eat them. I found this recipe for kale chips and was intrigued. It's a simple recipe, oil, kale, vinegar, and the oven, but it had me wondering how good they could be. I bought some kale, and divided one bunch into 3 batches. 1 batch was olive oil and salt; 1 batch was olive oil, salt and apple cider vinegar; and the last batch was olive oil, salt, and garlic mustard aioli spread from Trader Joe's. They all came out pretty good, the girls went gaga for them, and I watched as they munched on kale with a little evil giggle going on inside. Emily asked what they were, I asked what she thought they were, and she said garlic chips. I said, ok, that's what they are. Do I regret it? Not really, I'm not sure if she would have decided against eating more if she had known it was kale (which she doesn't know what it is) but I wasn't taking the chance, this kid loves garlic! Today I'm making more, I'm going to try an Asian twist on it with garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and red pepper flakes. I'll let you know how they turn out. In the meantime, here's the recipe:


Fresh kale - at my grocery, 3 bunches weigh a pound
Olive oil - allow about 1 tablespoon per pound of kale
Apple cider vinegar or mustard - allow about 1 tablespoon per pound
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375F, 400F, up to about 450F. The higher the temperature, the faster the roasting. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Under running water, wash each kale leaf carefully, splaying the leaves to get into the crevasses. Arrange in a single layer on a double layer of paper towels. When the paper towels are completely covered, put another paper towel on top and press gently to remove as much water as possible. (See TIPS.)

In a bowl, mix the oil and vinegar or mustard. Add the kale and loosely swirl the leaves around to distribute the oil mixture. With your hands, rub the leaves together, the objective is to cover every bit of leaf with the oil and mustard/vinegar, working the oil into the leaves. Arrange the leaves in a single layer on the baking sheet. "Rain" with salt -- be generous!

Bake for 5 minutes to start, then stir around and bake for another 5 or 10 minutes. We like the kale best when it's still quite green but with some salty crispiness versus completely crispy. Tastes may vary so taste as you go along! Serve hot! Savor!


NUTRITION ESTIMATE
(How many calories in Kale Chips? How many Weight Watchers points in Kale Chips?) Assumes that 1 pound serves 8, Per serving: 44 Calories; 2g Protein; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 6g Carb; 1g Fiber; 337mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2010/03/crispy-salty-kale-chips.html

Odd smells abound

So, tonight I decided to make zucchini bread because the attempt at getting the girls to eat zucchini didn't go so well. I gave them grated raw, a slice of raw, and a quarter slice of steamed with garlic. They tried it, but didn't opt for more, so I guess that's a good start! I also am on a soup making kick, and really digging my Whole Foods for the Whole Family cookbook, so I'm making Overnight Onion Soup in the crockpot for Friday. The house smells like cinnamon and onions, which is oddly good. The smells are coming from different parts of the kitchen, so they don't blend too much, and now that the bread is cooling, the cinnamon is making way to slow cooked onion smell.

Here's the recipe for zucchini bread:

Zucchini or carrot bread

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c oil
1/2 c honey
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c grated zucchini (or carrot)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (I omitted these because I didn't have any walnuts on hand, I'm also not a big fan of nuts in baked goods)

Optional:
1/2 c raisins
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat oil and honey in large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, and zucchini. Stir in sifted dry ingredients; fold in walnuts. Pour into greased 5x9-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes or until loaf tests done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes; invert onto wire rack to cool completely. Wrap and chill or freeze. May substitute melted butter for oil, brown sugar or molasses for honey and 1 1/2 c grated carrots for zucchini, or use half of each. Yield: 12 servings.

Approx per serving: Cal 224; Prot 4g; Carbo 25g; Fiber 3g; T Fat 13g; 51% Calories from Fat; Chol 35mg; Sod 150mg.

Carrot-Walnut Bread: Use 1 1/2 c ground walnuts in place of 1/2 c chopped walnuts.

I think to get the fat down you could use apple sauce instead of oil as well, but it's a tasty delicious treat the kids couldn't wait to eat (unfortunately they were getting cranky and sent to bed before it cooled fully. They'll have some in the morning!) I don't have a loaf pan, so I used my 8x8 pan and it was done in 45 minutes. It might have benefited from a little less time, but it wasn't burned.

Here's a picture

Fresh from the oven. The edges are a little browner than they should be, but that's ok!


Cooling, I can't wait to taste it!


You might not be able to see the green in it, but it's there! Hopefully the kids won't notice.

It was tasty!

Here's the recipe for overnight onion soup, it's super easy!

4 large onions, thinly sliced
8 c chicken stock
1 small bay leaf (optional)
8 thick slices whole grain bread
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Place onions, stock, and bay leaf in slow-cooker. Cook, covered, on Low for 24 hours. Ladle into individual ovenproof soup bowls. Top each slice of bread with cheese. Broil until cheese melts. Float a slice of cheese toast in each bowl. May substitute beef stock for chicken stock or Parmesan cheese for Swiss cheese. Yield: 8 servings.

Approx Per Serving: Cal 196; Prot 13g; Carbo 22g; Fiber 3g; T Fat 7g; 30% calories from fat; Chol 12 mg; Sod 997 mg.

I used organic vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, I cut the onions in varying sizes, first small, but as my eyes began to water and it became increasingly hard to see, the chunks got bigger. I'm sure the sodium is so high simply because it calls for using canned stock, I think if you made your own you could get it down MUCH lower. We're going to be having vegetarian French onion soup on Friday for lunch! (Most French onion soup starts with a beef stock or broth, so if you're thinking of going veg, don't get this in cafes!)

Will post on Friday to let y'all know how it went!

Yummy Lenten meal

I grew up Catholic, and while I don't go to church at the moment, old habits die hard. I find myself very focused on no meat on Fridays. If you go out to eat, especially in the Midwest, it's very common to see fish fries as the Friday special, most are all you can eat. I love a good grilled salmon fillet, or nice piece of rare-ish tuna (if it's of good quality) most of the time, but I found myself looking for inspiration this Friday for something that didn't cost too much to make. I had a bag of shrimp in my freezer, so I thawed that and tossed it with elbow macaroni in a parsley pesto recipe that I got from 30 Minute Meals' "Pop-sta Bar" episode. Having used this recipe before, I was pretty sure it was going to be good.

For the most part, parsley is very inexpensive, certainly much less expensive than basil (unless you grow your own.) Leaving out the pine nuts makes it even less expensive, and more allergen friendly. You can drizzle this sauce over chicken, fish, it's a great way to make a different kind of garlic bread (spread on the bread and bake until crispy), it's very versatile. It also whips up in a snap, so if you're pressed for time and want to wow someone with something a little more difficult than opening up a can or ordering take out, this is just the thing! Here's the recipe:

Parsley Pesto

2 cups parsley
3 oz jar or 1/4 c pignoli nuts (again, I leave these out)
1 clove garlic, cracked away from skin (I generally use 2, we love garlic in our house!)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Combine parsley, pignoli nuts, and garlic in food processor or blender. Process and stream in about 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Remove paste to a large serving bowl, stir in pepper and grated cheese. Add the rest of the olive oil, stir to combine.


Super easy! Now, there have been times that I've just dumped everything into the blender and it's turned out great, so don't worry so much about the steps, this is really a fuss free dish. It's done in the time it takes to boil the water for the noodles (unless you have a fancy induction cook top, in which case, it's done before the noodles are al dente!)



That's a shrimp there on the left. If you have a restaurant nearby called Noodles & Company, they have a dish called Pesto Cavatappi that can be easily replicated with this recipe, adding a little cream, some mushrooms, and tomato with cavatappi noodles. Personally, I'd leave out the cream, and any addition of veggies can only make it healthier.

Sorry for the unglamorous photo, it was a rushed dinner prep and I didn't get the chance to photo it before we ate, these are the leftovers. I'm surprised that little shrimpy made it for the leftovers ;)

Lovely tomato soup

I, like so many children of the 80's, grew up with Campbell's tomato soup and Kraft American grilled cheese sandwiches. Well, since then a lot has come out about high fructose corn syrup (present in Campbell's tomato soup, at least the last time I checked), and processed cheese just skeeves me out now (possibly because when my oldest was 3 she got sick after having a "grilled cheese sandwich" at her preschool, aka saltines and a slice of American cheese, in my car on the way home. The smell still haunts me.) I've been on a quest for a really good tomato soup, and found some, but the sodium content is always through the roof! I was looking through my Whole Foods for the Whole Family cookbook from the La Leche League (freecycle score!) and found an interesting recipe. Here it is:

Tomato Soup

4 large tomatoes
2 slices onion
1/4 small green pepper
1 carrot
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
2 c thin white sauce

Seasonings:
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves or allspice
Basil, parsley, thyme, marjoram, garlic or oregano to taste

Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for 20 to 60 seconds. Cool slightly. Peel and chop. Combine with vegetables and seasonings in large saucepan. Simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. May puree or straing through food mill for finer consistency. Prepare white sauce with milk, stock, or water. Stir mixture into white sauce slowly to prevent curdling. Cook until heated through. May omit green pepper and carrot. Yield: 5 servings.

Approx per serving: Cal 135; Prot 5g; Carbo 12g; Fiber 2g; Total Fat 8 g; 53% Calories from Fat; Chol 26 mg; Sod 530 mg

Tomato Rice Soup: Add 1/2 to 3/4 C cooked brown rice. Some of the rice may be processed with tomato mixture.

Tomato Vegetable Soup: After pureeing vegetables, add 1 to 2 c other vegetables and/or cooked dried beans. Simmer until tender. Or add leftover cooked vegetables and heat until warmed through.

Thin White Sauce

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 c milk
1/4 tsp or less salt
dash of pepper

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat; remove from heat. Blend in flour until smooth. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. This same method may be used to thicken stock or any other liquid. The method avoids lumps but may burn if made in a thin saucepan. May substitute cornstarch for flour, adding 1 1/2 tsp for thin sauce. Yields 1 cup.

This is what we ended up having for lunch:



I made the grilled cheese sandwich with sourdough bread, butter, swiss, colby jack, and cheddar cheese. I spread the insides with garlic and herb laughing cow cheese, and on mine I had some Trader Joe's garlic aioli mustard. It was very tasty, but I'm thinking the laughing cow wasn't really necessary, and thinking of focusing on one cheese instead of 4 that were in that one sandwich.

I left out the green pepper in the soup, didn't have cloves or allspice, but I did add some garlic, a bay leaf, and basil. I did try it with the cinnamon simply because I was intrigued. I liked it a lot, but next time I'm going to leave out the cinnamon and add more garlic and basil. The great thing about this recipe (or any recipe for that matter) is you can truly make the soup your own, just run with it!

The girls really seemed to enjoy the soup. My oldest remarked that it wasn't red like all the other tomato soups she's had, and I said that's because it has other things in it. She accepted the orange-y hue to the tomato soup and ate it with gusto. I'm wondering if I could sneak some spinach into it and get a good whopper of some iron and a leafy green in on her.