spicy kale and white bean soup

Soup is one of the easiest genres of food to throw together - maybe that's not really true (salads, anyone?). Sometimes I use another recipe as a guide, but once you pick up the concepts, it's pretty easy to rummage around the fridge and pantry and come up with a soup.

This was a bit of a rummage - kale, carrots, and squash? I always have garlic and onions in the pantry and broth in the freezer .. I was out of white beans so when I went to the store I picked up a couple of pounds. When I was at the store I picked up a loaf of fresh organic bread - always a great accompaniment to soup.

Kale and white bean soup:

olive oil

1 onion, sliced

garlic - lots, whole or large chop

1 c. chopped carrots

1 lb. white beans, soaked and cooked

6-8 c. vegetable stock

1 bunch kale, washed and chopped

1 med yellow squash, sliced

salt & pepper, to taste

1+ T. chili powder

Heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion. Cooked until translucent and add carrots and garlic. Cover and sweat the carrots for 10 minutes. Add white beans and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add kale. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until it is tender. Add the squash and spices (as desired). Add more stock/water as needed.

Serve with red pepper flakes or jalapeno cheese. Enjoy!

salad lunch

beet green pasta

As a kid, if anyone asked me what I wanted for dinner I had one answer: spaghetti. We always made it with red sauce, usually with hamburger, always with copious amounts of dried oregano and scoops of dried parmesan. Once I got a bit older my palette matured and I realized pasta could be served with something other than marinara (thanks Gabby!) and I was introduced to real, fresh parmesan.

Every two weeks when I get my CSA box (or the weekend before when I get the contents list) I make a quick assessment about what I must eat in the next couple of days and what can wait. On the top of the eat soon list are a variety of greens. Not usually lettuce, that keeps for a bit, but things like chard, kale, carrot tops and beet greens. My box this week contains kale, carrot tops, and beets. First on the eat list are the beet greens - they have the shortest shelf life. The beets keep uncooked for a while but the tops will wilt immediately. I usually go ahead and roast the beat (I prefer to eat them cold, so they are ready in the fridge for eating). I also remove the carrot tops and prep them by washing and either immediately make pesto (which is my fail-safe) or keep them in the spinner in the fridge for a day until I have time to use them.

Beet Green Pasta

onion, sliced

garlic, peeled

basil, fresh

olive oil

beet greens, tops of 3 small beats washed, dried and chopped

salt & pepper, to taste

whole wheat pasta

parmesan

Slowly saute the onion with olive oil over med-low heat until they are well browned. Add the cloves of garlic and the beet greens. Add salt, pepper, and more olive oil as desired/needed. Cover than cook slowly until greens are limp. Add basil. Meanwhile cook pasta in boiling water to al dente. When pasta is done, drain and add to sauce pan. Stir. Cook for another minute. Serve with parmesan. Yield: 2 large portions

pumpkin bread

This week it's quite a bit cooler and reminiscent of fall. I'm not ready for a northwest fall, but I've enjoyed vegetable soup almost everyday and thought it's time to pull out some cooler weather favorites (looks summer-y next week!). Upon searching for something in the freezer I came across about 1 c.* of roasted pumpkin puree leftover from a white pumpkin I bought last October. My solution was to make pumpkin bread! In the process I finished the molasses and dried cranberries. I feel such satisfaction and accomplishment when I use up infrequently used items, such as molasses and pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Molasses Bread

1 c. oil

2 c. brown sugar

1 c. blackstrap molasses

2 eggs

2 c. pumpkin

1 c. dates/nuts/raisins

3 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. nutmeg

1 t. cloves

2 t. soda

3 1/2 t. cinnamon

oats (optional)

3 T. dark rum (optional)

Mix all ingredients together (except the oats) and pour into pans. Sprinkle oats over tops. Bake at 350 deg. F for 1 hour in greased pans. Yield 3 small loaves or 2 medium loaves or 8 tiny loaves (like above) or lots of muffins.

*I made 1/2 this recipe and baked in 3 tiny loaf pans, that's why it overflowed - start checking at 50 min for doneness.

air guitar

Jack Ziegler (The New Yorker, August 10, 2009 issue)

organic dinner

My dinner last night was delicious and couldn't help but share it with you. Also it was all organic - with the exception of the cilantro, wine, and salt n' pepper (can salt qualify as organic?). I had scrambled eggs with cilantro and sauteed onions, steamed green beans, and steamed fingerling potatoes. The veggies were dressed with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt and pepper. I drank a red wine left at my birthday party (2007 Chariot Gypsy, $5 at Trader Joe's) and some water. Yum!

Gidget burped her praises for her dinner as she had her 2nd raw meal (we're trying to see if she likes - yes - and if it will help some of her skin issues - tbd).

is it organic? is it genetically modified?

Doing a little light nutritional reading yesterday I discovered a fascinating tidbit. Every wonder what those annoying produce stickers really mean? Aside from giving the code when you're checking out at the grocer's they also tell you how the produce was grown. You can identify conventional, organic, and genetically modified produce.

All codes start with 4-digits. For example, #4046 means avocado the world over. It is an internationally recognized code. If it is just those 4 numbers then you know it was conventionally grown (what conventional is might vary by country, of course). If this 4-digit number is preceded by a '9', such as #94046, then it is organic. If it is preceded by an '8', such as #84046 then it is genetically modified (GMO or GE).

I prefer to eat organic (not always possible on my budget) but now I can definitely steer clear of GMO crops. Also use the code to confirm that what the bin label says is actually what is in the bin.