Lentil-Chickpea Stew with Kale

A few nights ago, I decided to throw together a soup out of bits and pieces of things I had and wanted to use up. I came across a recipe from Vegetarian Times that I used as a guide, and ended up with a tasty and satisfying soup. Note that the rice absorbs some of the broth over time, so if you eat this stew as leftovers, you may need to thin it down with a little water and add salt to taste. I also make some lemon-tahini dressing for the salad I served on the side. The recipe is from American Wholefoods Cuisine and I've included it as a bonus below.

Lentil-Chickpea Stew with Kale 
1cup dried green lentils

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp curry powder
3 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely sliced
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
7 cups broth
2 bay leaves
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
blak pepper
1 15oz can garbanzo beans
1/2 bunch Italian Kale, rinsed, leaves torn from stems and sliced into ribbons

Cover lentils with hot water and let them sit while you get the other ingredients ready.  Warm the oil in a soup pot. Add spices and stir for about one minute. Next add onions and garlic, cooking over medium-low until onions are almost soft. Add celery and carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Now add rice and stir to coat with vegetable mixture. Add broth, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Drain lentils and add them to the pot. Grind in some pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, allowing to cook until lentils and rice are soft (mine took about 40 minutes). Add garbanzo beans and kale and cook until kale is well wilted, about 7 more minutes.  Top with fresh pepper and serve warm with a crisp green salad.

Quick Lemon-Tahini Dressing
from American Wholefoods Cuisine
1/4 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp tamari
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried dill (or 1Tbs fresh)
Using a whisk, mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Curry Chickpea Soup

This afternoon when I was walking home from yoga, I was thinking about what kind of soup to make for lunch. I knew that I had some cooked chickpeas in the refrigerator that I wanted to use up, and I was planning to make something similar to this.  When I got home I discovered that someone (me) had used up the last of the smoked paprika and neglected to replace it. Looking through my spices, I noticed some Vindaloo curry powder and decided to try making a soup with that instead. It turned out pretty well- lightly spicy and very brothy and rich.

Curry Chickpea Soup
olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp Vindaloo curry powder
3 stalks celery, finely sliced
2 large carrots, finely sliced
1 large russet potato, cubed
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes
9 cups lightly salted vegetable broth (I used 4 bouillon cubes disolved in water. If you are using unsalted broth, add salt to taste)
3 cups cooked chickpeas (if you are using canned, this is about a 25oz can)
1 bunched spinach, washed and sliced into ribbons
black pepper

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and garlic, and cook until they begin to brown. Add curry powder and stir well to combine. Add celery and carrots and cook a few minutes more (if the curry powder begins to stick to the pot, add a little water to deglaze). Add potatoes and cook a few minutes more. Add tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add chickpeas and spinach and cook for five more minutes. Add a few grindings of fresh pepper to the pot and serve.

Hearty Bean and Cabbage Soup

Yesterday I made a big pot of soup with some produce that inspired me this week- dried beans from Helsing Junction Farm and Savoy cabbage from Newaukum Valley Farm. Both of these were so beautiful I knew I wanted to make something with them, and preferably together. I looked through a bunch of recipe sites for a soup recipe that would use both, but I didn't see anything I was crazy about, so I decided to just wing it. I used Deborah Madison's  Vegetable Soups cookbook to make sure I got the water to bean ratio and cooking time right. Her cookbooks are pretty fantastic, and getting this one out reminded me that I have lots of great recipes at my disposal without looking online at all. My soup turned out well, but I will say, it's not going to win any beauty contests. Good thing I have the "before" photo!

Hearty Bean and Cabbage Soup
5 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 stalks celery, finely sliced
3 carrots, diced
2 small yellow potatoes, cut into small cubes
3 springs rosemary or other fresh herb of choice (the bean website below recommends sage)
1lb dried beans (I used Calypso beans)
10 cups water
6 cups shredded Savoy cabbage, Italian kale, or a combination of both
2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
lots of fresh ground pepper
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Soak beans overnight. Drain, rinse, and set aside. Heat 4 Tbs of olive oil in your biggest soup pot. Add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until they soften and start to become fragrant. Add the celery,carrots, and potatoes and cook for a few minutes more. Add beans and water. For the rosemary, put springs in a reusable cloth tea bag or a piece of cheesecloth tied into a bundle and float it in the soup while it cooks. This will give the broth a nice herbal flavor. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce heat and cook until the beans are almost soft (mine took about 45 minutes, but time will vary a lot depending on type of beans used). Add salt, cabbage, pepper, and vinegar. Give it a good stir and cook until the cabbage/kale is wilted but still fairly firm. Stir in the remaining Tbs of olive oil. Top with a few grinds of pepper and serve.

Bell Pepper and Kale Curry Soup

Last night I made a new take on the classic kale potato soup that is a winter staple for me. We had some new curry bouillon cubes at the Co-op that I wanted to try out (which were disappointingly uncurry-like). Luckily I had some curry powder on hand that saved the day, and the soup turned out pretty well. I served it with some simple baked tempeh on the side for protein.

Bell Pepper and Kale Curry Soup
3 bouillon cubes dissolved in hot water
2 Tbs oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp vindaloo curry powder (or more to taste)
4 yellow potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 large yam or sweet potato, cut into small cubes
8 cups water
1 can coconut milk
2 large red, orange, or yellow bell peppers, chopped into small pieces
1 bunch kale, leaves washed, torn from stems, and finely sliced into ribbons
juice of one lime
salt and pepper
cilantro and peanuts for garnish (optional)

First, heat up some water in a kettle on the stove. (You can use this for dissolving the bouillon cubes and also for keeping the spices from sticking to the pan if needed).  Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Now add the ginger and curry powder, sauteing for a few minutes more. If the spices begin to stick to the pan, add a little water from the kettle to unstick them. Next add potatoes, sweet potatoes, dissolved bouillon, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking until potatoes and yams are soft enough to pierce easily with a fork (about 20 minutes). Add coconut milk and bell peppers, stirring soup until well combined. Cook for approximately 7 more minutes or until peppers are almost soft. Stir in kale, and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn off heat and add lime juice. Taste. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve topped with chopped cilantro and peanuts if desired.

Spanish Chickpea Soup

As I said in my last post, it's been a soup kind of week. I've been realizing that I love pressure-cooker recipes that don't call for soaking the beans ahead of time- it's rare for me to remember to, and I love the spontaneity of being able to throw a bunch of stuff in the cooker and have it do its thing while I work on other projects. This week I made a very rich and flavorful chickpea soup in the pressure cooker while I got a bunch of chores done and caught up with my dad on the phone.  This is another recipe that calls for meat, so I added some other ingredients to make it flavorful and still vegetarian. If you want to make a meat version, omit the smoked paprika, chipotle chilies, and tomato paste and add 4 ounces of diced spanish chorizo.

Spanish Chickpea Soup

adpated from Cooking Light, September 2010

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

8 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 Tbs tomato paste

6 cups broth

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas

2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, diced

2 bay leaves

6 cups chopped collard greens

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 tbs red wine vinegar

salt and black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Preparation

1. Heat a 6-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika, and tomato paste; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in broth, chickpeas, chipotle chilies, and bay leaves. Close lid securely; bring to high pressure over high heat. Adjust heat to medium or level needed to maintain high pressure; cook 1 hour. Remove from heat; let rest until cooker is depressurized (I waited 15 minutes). Remove lid. Discard bay leaves. Add collard greens and remaining ingredients, cooking uncovered for a few more minutes until the collards are wilted. Serve.

Pressure Cooker Black Beans

It's been a cold, cold week, and I've been making a lot of soup.
Earlier this week I made this recipe, but instead of using canned black beans, I made them in my pressure cooker. I made a double recipe of the soup so I would have enough to take dinner to my friends who've just had a baby. The black bean recipe I used called for 1 pound of dried beans, which cost about $1.40 and made about 7 cups of cooked beans. 7 cups of beans is a little less than 5 standard cans. The canned beans I normally use are about $2.00 each, which would have equaled about $10.00 just for the beans, so using a pressure cooker really is quite a savings. The other awesome thing about cooking beans at home is that you can season the beans any way you like, the texture of the beans is much better, and homemade beans usually have a lot less sodium than canned beans. The recipe I used calls for a ham hock(1 lb. if you are going to use this), which I don't eat. To give this vegetarian version a little more flavor, I added 2 tsp of smoked paprika, a few extra cloves of garlic, and a tsp of porcini mushroom powder (a great gift from my mom).
Easy Pressure Cooker Black Beans
adapted from foodnetwork.com

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp porcini powder

1 bay leaf

2 cups (about 1 pound) dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

6 cups water

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a 6-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat, pour in 3 tablespoons oil. Add the onions and cook until they are golden, about 5 minutes. Throw in the garlic, smoked paprika, porcini powder, and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute more. Add the beans and give a good stir. Pour in the water; add the remaining tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, and a couple of grindings of pepper. Following the manufacturer's instructions, cover, lock the lid, and bring to high pressure. Lower heat to maintain pressure and start timing. Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 15 minutes. Release the steam, again following the manufacturer's directions.Taste and adjust seasoning. Eat beans as they are or add to any recipe that calls for canned black beans.

Easy Three Bean Quinoa Chili with Cornbread

Fall is in the air, and the things I feel like cooking are changing with the changing season. This week I made a big pot of chili. I suddenly got a craving for it one day when I was at work, so I made it convenience style (with canned beans and canned tomatoes). It turned out really well, and it was quick and easy to make. I also made a batch of cornbread to go with it from the recipe book American Wholefoods Cuisine. This was one of my first vegetarian cookbooks, and I still use it sometimes. It's kind of like a Joy of Cooking for vegetarians- most of the recipes are simple, straightforward, and taste good but kind of lack the emphasis on beauty of more contemporary cookbooks. At any rate, this corn bread is interesting as it uses yogurt and liquid sweetener (it calls for honey, but I used agave since that's what I had on hand), and doesn't include any additional flour, just cornmeal. Overall, a pretty quick and easy fall supper that also makes ample leftovers for lunch.

Easy Three Bean Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic finely minced
3 ribs celery, finely sliced
1 carrots, finely chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 large red pepper, chopped into small pieces
1 25 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 25oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 25oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 28oz cans diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
2 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 cup dry quinoa
2 cups broth
Toppings
hot sauce (optional)
cilantro (optional)
grated pepper-jack cheese (optional)

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. When they begin to soften, add the celery and carrots. Cook a few minutes more, and then add both peppers. Cook until peppers are almost soft. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes. Serve with optional toppings as desired.

House Corn Bread
from American Wholefoods Cuisine
1 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
3/4 cup cornbread
1 egg, lightly beaten (or realize you are out of eggs and use egg replacer like I did)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 Tbs. honey or agave syrup

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine butter and oil in a 9 inch cake pan or a shallow 1 quart casserole. Place in oven for five minutes to melt. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour into the hot baking dish. return to the oven for 30 minutes until set.  If you want to make a bigger batch, double the recipe and use a 9x13 inch pan.

Fallstalgia

Today I was so happy because...IT FELT LIKE FALL! Fall is my favorite time of the year, and it was nice to have an  unexpected fall-like day in the middle of the summer. Don't get me wrong, I've been loving the lovely, clear, sunny weather we've been having, but it was such a treat to have a reminder of a few fall things I really love- watching the rain through the windows, making soup, and cuddling with my sweetie under a warm blanket. For dinner, I made us a simple soup. This is a great soup if you're feeling under the weather or don't have a lot of time or energy but want something warm and delicious to eat.
Erin's Simple Rainy Day Soup
olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 potatoes, chopped into small pieces
3 bouillon cubes, dissolved in a little hot water
8 cups water
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 bunch spinach, sliced into ribbons
2 Tbs. fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
fresh black pepper

Pour a little olive oil into a soup pot and heat over medium-high. Add the onions and saute until almost translucent. Next add the garlic. Saute briefly, then add the celery, and saute until celery is nearly soft. Add carrots and saute a few minutes more. Add the potatoes, dissolved bouillon, and the 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until all vegetables are soft enough to pierce with a fork. Add the beans, spinach, and parsley. Cook for 3 more minutes. Serve with lots of fresh-ground black pepper.

Potato, Kale, and Sausage Soup

I made a soup yesterday, that is so transcendently delicious that I can hardly believe I made it.  It's a riff on a recipe that I got from a CSA (farm share) cookbook many years ago that is an old favorite of mine.  I'm a pescatarian (no meat expect fish), so I made this with veggie sausage, but I'm sure it would taste good with regular sausage too if that is more your style. The balsamic vinegar is really what gives this soup sparkle, so be sure to add it even if it sounds like a weird addition!

Potato, Kale, and Sausage Soup
olive oil
2 full-size veggie sausages, chopped into rounds (I used Field Roast Italian Style sausage)
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalk celery, chopped
5 medium yellow potatoes, chopped
4 bouillon cubes
8 cups water
1 large bunch kale, torn into pieces
black pepper
balsamic vinegar

Before you begin, put on a kettle of hot water to heat. Heat a little oil in a soup pot. Add the sausage rounds and cook until done. It's ok if some sticks to the pan- it will help give the soup flavor. When the sausage is done, transfer it to a small bowl and set aside. Heat a bit more oil, and cook the onions until they are almost translucent. Add the carrots and celery and cook until celery is softened. Add potatoes and a little water from your kettle to keep the veggies from sticking. Stir. Using the heated water, dissolve the bouillon cubes in a small bowl. Stir dissolved bouillon into soup pot and add water (approximately 8 cups).  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cook for 15 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.  Add kale pieces and some black pepper. Stir and cook for 5 more minutes. Stir in sausage and a few splashes of balsamic vinegar. Serve.  Tastes even better the second day!

Orange Ginger Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

Tonight for dinner I wanted to make a warming and spicy soup, which I often find helpful for colds and congestion. This recipe is pretty amazing! It has a complex and unusual mixture of flavors- both sweet and savory with a nice texture that is rich and satisfying. I used arugula as the green in my soup since I have a ton of it growing in my garden and wanted to use some up. I don't know if I mentioned this in a post before, but I really love using arugula as a green in soup; you can just stir it in at the end, as it only needs a couple of minutes to cook.
Sorry I didn't get a better picture of the soup, but as you can see, it is quite nice served with a crispy green salad and a little whole grain bread.

Orange Ginger Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

adapted from sproutedkitchen.com who adapted it from The Travelers Lunchbox who adapted it from Once Upon a Tart

1 Tbsp. oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of red pepper flakes to taste

pinch of nutmeg

1 1/2 cup green lentils

6 cups vegetable broth (I used 3 boullion cubes disolved in 6 cups of water)

1 1/2 tsp. muchi curry powder

2 tsp. dried thyme

1 can coconut milk

a few large handfuls of arugula, swiss chard, or spinach, torn or chopped if leaves are large

3 Tbsp. orange juice

Start a kettle of water heating on the stove if you will be disolving boullion cubes for broth.

Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute until softened. Add the ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, pinch of red pepper flakes and pinch of nutmeg and saute another minute. If spices stick to pan, you can add a little water from your kettle to mix them back into the onions. Scrape onion mixture into bowl and set aside.

Add the lentils, broth, thyme and curry powder to the soup pot. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Add the onion mixture to the lentils and stir, keeping the heat on a low simmer.

Add the coconut milk and greens and simmer another few minutes, stirring occasionally until just wilted. Taste for salt and spice and add as you prefer. Finish with the orange juice and serve warm.

Springtime Nettle Soup

Yesterday I made a terrific pot of Nettle Soup. For me, this is a quintessential Spring dish, as I only make it during that short time when the nettles first begin to come up and are tender and fresh. For those of you who have never encountered nettles before, beware! They are covered in prickly little hairs that will sting the heck out of you if you if you don't handle them carefully. Still, they are worth the danger-nettles are very tasty, and they are rich in Vitamins A&C, iron, potassium, managanese, and calcium.
There are lots of places in and around Olympia to harvest nettles, but for those of you that are too lazy or too cowardly, you can buy bags of organic nettles (like the ones pictured here) from Calliope Farm at the Co-op.  If you do harvest your own nettles, be sure to gather them in an area that is free of herbicides or other soil contaminants.
This Nettle Soup is a reworking of this recipe. It is fairly easy to make, and yields a soup that is very flavorful and unique. It looks a little spooky when it's finished- kind of shimmery and bright green, a little like a potion...you'll have to make it yourself to enjoy the creepy (and delicious) end product!

Springtime Nettle Soup

1 pound stinging nettles

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup uncooked brown basmati rice

8 cups salted broth

2 cups hot water (if needed)

juice of one lemon

pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in the stinging nettles, and cook 3 minutes until they soften. This will remove the sting. (This works best if you have tongs or a large wooden spoon to push the nettles down into the boiling water. I just dumped the bags of nettles into the pot and poked at them with tongs, but if you are going to be harvesting/handling them at all, be sure to wear gloves). When they have finished their trip into the pot of boiling water, drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water. Trim off any tough stems, then chop coarsely.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and stir in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion and garlic until they have softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice, broth, and chopped nettles. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. If the soup gets too thick before the rice is fully cooked, you can add more hot water as needed, up to two cups. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender, and season to taste with lemon juice and pepper. 

Cooking Classes

This past Sunday I taught a cooking class through the Co-op's classes program. This one was an introduction to cooking with greens. The class was well attended, and it was a lively group with lots of questions and information sharing. I had a great time teaching and I felt really proud of myself. Speaking in public has always been challenging for me, but when it involves teaching people about something I really believe in-healthy eating- it is totally worth the discomfort. This time I felt less nervous than usual, and for once I was more excited than afraid to stand in front of a group of people for two hours. I made four greens-based dishes as well as two flavors of kale chips. The food was awesome and I felt like a total badass for helping people get excited about eating greens! Teaching classes is so good for me. It pushes me to confront my fears, it increases my self-esteem, and it is a great way for me to make a positive contribution to the health of my community. So this week I make Goal #13: to teach at least four cooking classes a year.

Trying New Recipes

It's time to make a new goal! This week, I've decided to add the goal of trying out one new recipe each week. I love to cook, but I can sometimes get into a rut (especially with breakfast) and just make the same things over and over. Generally, the stuff I cook on a regular basis is healthy and tasty, and while I think it's awesome to have some reliable standards, I also find that over time, I get bored with my own cooking. This makes it harder to stick to a plan of healthy eating, so I'm hoping to keep myself motivated and inspired by trying at least one new recipe a week.
 In addition to all of the awesome recipe sites online (a few of which I've mentioned in previous posts), I also have this lovely collection of cookbooks (many of which were gifts from dear friends) to look through for ideas. If any of you have online recipe sites that you really love, please feel free to share them here as comments, and I'll post any new ones that I find as well. Hooray for healthy, inspired cooking!

Happy Accidents

A few years ago, I was making a pot of lentil soup and realized that I didn't have any potatoes. I did have a large sweet potato, however, and I decided to chop it up, throw it in and hope for the best. I was surprised to find that the sweet potato was such a delicious complement to the lentil soup. Sweet potatoes (which are also called "yams" in the United States) are rich in beta-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, potassium, Vitamin B6, manganese, and fiber. They are also loaded with antioxidants, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. I still love and eat regular potatoes, but sometimes I try to substitute part or all of the potatoes in a recipe with sweet potatoes or yams for an added nutritional boost. Keep in mind that as sweet potatoes cook, they have a tendency to sweeten whatever they are being cooked with, so if you add them to soup, you may need to adjust your usual seasonings a little (for example, when I add them to lentil soup, I add extra lemon juice to balance the overall flavor of the dish).

Sunday Night Dinner

Tonight for dinner I made a variation of the Black Bean Soup recipe that I posted a few weeks ago (I used cubes of yam instead of carrots this time), along with a crispy romaine and arugula salad that I topped with red peppers, avocado, and a garlicky yogurt and cilantro dressing. The salad was really the star of the show here, due to both the freshness of the vegetables and the (may I say) amazing dressing I whipped up in just a few minutes.
The dressing was super easy and is as follows:

Garlicky Yogurt and Cilantro Dressing
1 cup non-fat yogurt
1/2 cup (or more) cilantro leaves
2 large cloves garlic, cut into pieces
drizzle of oil oil
salt to taste

Puree everything except salt in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt at a time, distributing evenly over the top, puree, and taste, adding more salt as desired. Keep in mind that the dressing is very garlicky and will get spicier as it sits.

Additions that would probably be good: 1/2 tsp cumin, lime juice and/or zest, a pinch of chili powder

Beautiful Golden Soup

I made a new lentil soup a few days ago. I wanted to try using just red lentils for a creamier texture. I also wanted to try out some new spices- turmeric, paprika, and cinnamon. Zach described the flavor as "meaty", which I think comes in part from the spiciness of the garlic. At any rate, it turned out really well and made a nice big pot which will give me lots of lunch for my freezer.

Beautiful Golden Soup

3 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
9 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
3 carrots, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3 cups red lentils
9 cups stock or bouillon+water
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch rainbow chard, leaves removed from stems and sliced into ribbons
juice of 1/2 an orange
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Once they are softened, add carrots and celery and saute for a few minutes more. Add the lentils, stock, and spices. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Allow to cook for 5 minutes. Add the chard and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add citrus juices and serve, topped with fresh pepper.

Spicy Black-Eyed Pea and Coconut Soup

It was barely 30 degrees by 10am this morning, and I wanted to make something spicy to warm myself up from the inside. I don't eat spicy foods very often. I usually feel overly warm, and spicy foods tend to exacerbate this. But even I get cold when it's this cold outside, and the recipe below did a great job of warming me up.

This soup is quick and easy to make. It contains coconut milk, which I don't cook with too often because it is high in saturated fat. I used "light" coconut milk (which just means it's been watered down) in my soup. If you want a richer, creamier soup and you don't care about the fat, you could use regular coconut milk. The recipe also has cooked brown rice stirred in at the end. I often have some extra cooked brown rice on hand, so that was an easy addition for me. If you don't have any, just skip the rice, it's still good without it.

Also, since I have a pretty low tolerance for spiciness, I've given some options in the recipe to increase the spiciness. If you don't have Muchi curry powder, use regular curry powder and add something else spicy (more jalapeno, some Sriracha, etc) to give it more heat.

Spicy Black Eyed Pea and Coconut Soup
adapted from the African Curried Coconut Soup recipe on epicurious

3 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional- for people who like extra spicy food )
5 large cloves garlic, chopped
5 cups broth (I used bouillon dissolved in water)
2 15oz cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 15oz can diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers
1 tsp Muchi (spicy) curry powder (or more if you like spicy food)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
black pepper to taste
1 small bunch kale, washed and torn into small pieces
2 cans light coconut milk
1 cup cooked brown rice
5 tbs cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for one minute. Add the broth, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add kale, stir, and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Stir in coconut milk, lime juice, cilantro, and rice, and cook until heated through, about 3 more minutes. Serve.

Vegetable Soup

Today I made a basic vegetable soup, and thought I'd share the recipe. I love tomatoes, so when I make vegetable soup I usually like to add a can of them.  If you're not a fan, you could make this without tomatoes and substitute broth for the water so that the soup still retains a nice, rich flavor. I also had a friend tell me recently that he can't eat garbanzo beans because they give him such bad gas. If you have the same problem, I'd suggest substituting Cannelini beans. Since Cannelini beans are so much softer than garbanzos, I'd recommend adding them when you add the green beans and zucchini. Also, I like the greens beans and zucchini to be a little al dente, so if you like your vegetables more "cooked-down" (as we say where I'm from), add them at the same time as the potatoes.


Erin's Basic Vegetable Soup

2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 carrots, chopped into small pieces
2 medium sized potatoes, chopped
2 cups broth
6 cups water
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes (I used fire-roasted since that's what I had on hand)
2 cans garbanzo beans
2 teaspoons of dried herbs that you like (I used a combination of basil, oregano, and thyme)
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups green beans that have had tough ends removed and are cut into small pieces
1 small zucchini, chopped into small pieces
1 bunch spinach sliced into ribbons
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan (optional)


Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. Saute until the vegetables are soft and fragrant. Add the potatoes, broth, water, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, dried herbs, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer (covered) for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the green beans and zucchini. Cover and simmer for another ten minutes. Add spinach and continue cooking, covered for 7 more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top if you are so inclined.

Freezing Soup

In order to help me stay on track with taking lunch, I thought it would be helpful to start freezing some of the soup I make. That way, I can be sure to have plenty of variety, and have some ready to go when I need it. In the past when I've frozen soup, I used plastic freezer containers with screw-on lids. As I said in a previous post, I'm trying to avoid eating out of plastic when possible, so I want to freeze in glass. I looked at some freezer-safe glass bowls with locking lids recently at a housewares store and they were $9 each! That's a little steep for my budget, so I decided to ask some of my co-workers (many of whom are avid food preservers) for advice. Everyone I talked to said that freezing in glass canning jars usually works fine as long as you observe the following rules:

1. Cool the soup before filling the jars
2. Leave at least an inch of head room at the top
3. Screw the lids on gently and don't over-tighten
4. Don't try to freeze cream-based soups in glass

One co-worker mentioned that she has occasionally had a jar shatter in the freezer, so I think I will store them in some kind of tub to contain the mess if this happens. The jars I'm using are Ball wide-mouth pint jars, and they do say "freezer safe" on the package. At $13 for a case of twelve, glass jars are going to be a much more cost effective solution for me, and I hope they will help me keep up with my goal of taking a healthy lunch.

Another Soup Recipe

I made Split Pea soup for the first time as part of my effort to have soup to take for lunch. Lentil soup has been a standby for me for years, but for some reason, I've always felt intimidated by split peas. Maybe it's because I'm mostly vegetarian, and the majority of split pea recipes call for ham bones or bacon. Anyhow, I found a vegetarian split pea recipe at poorgirleatswell.com, tweaked it a little to suit my own taste, and it's pretty good. It is also incredibly cheap to make.

One of the things that's so cool about the poorgirleatswell blog is that she does a cost analysis of each recipe and tells you how much it costs per serving. In her original recipe, each serving costs only $.33! She has a lot of great, healthy, easy to make recipes on her blog and includes nice step-by-step photos.

This soup takes a little more effort than the lentil soup I usually make since you have to take half of the split peas out and puree them. If you have an immersion blender that would make things easier, but a blender works fine, it just involves some clean-up afterwards. When I make this again, I'm going to add some collards near the end to make it a little more nutritious, so I've included that step in the recipe below.

Smoky Split Pea & Carrot Soup

1 lb dried split peas, picked over & rinsed

8 c water

2 T olive oil

4 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 large yellow onion, diced

2 t sea salt

1 t ground black pepper

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t smoked paprika
3 carrots, diced
1/2 bunch collard greens, stems removed, leaves cut into ribbons

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the garlic & onion. Add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, cumin& smoked paprika and cook over medium heat until fragrant and the onion becomes translucent. Next, add the carrots and cook for about 2 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add the peas and 4 cups of water and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the peas have softened and much of the water has been absorbed.

2. Remove about half the soup and set aside. Add the remaining 2 cups of water to the soup pot along with the collard ribbons and allow the soup to continue cooking. Using a blender, carefully puree the set-aside soup until smooth.

3. Return the pureed soup mixture to the pot and stir until well combined. Taste the soup and add remaining salt and pepper if needed. You may also want to add more smoked paprika if you like a smokier, spicy soup. If the peas aren't quite cooked, you can continue simmering and add more water as needed, adjusting seasonings to taste as needed. Serve with some freshly ground pepper on top.