Recipes by the Soup Goddess: Minestrone

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This is the second soup in this series, Recipes by the Soup Goddess. The Soup Goddess is my mom, and she's not really a goddess, but she is a pretty gifted woman. And one of her gifts is making soup.

When I think about this soup, I remember a time during the first year I was off of meal plan at college and cooking for myself. My mom came for a visit and brought with her a gallon sized freezer bag full of this soup, complete with a little baggie of grated Parmesan. I don't remember much of what I ate that year, but I had virtually no cooking experience and that soup was a bright spot in a dark culinary period.

This is a great soup to make in late summer or early fall, when vegetables like green beans and zucchini can still be found in your garden or at your farmer's market. 

Beans at Modern Alternative Kitchen!

Today you can find me over at Modern Alternative Kitchen talking about beans. Why you want to eat them, how to prepare them in a healthy way, and an easy, freezable, crock pot recipe!

Here's a snippet:

"When my husband and I first got married, we ate very little meat. We wanted to buy the good stuff (you know, local, grass-fed...) but we were living on part-time minimum wage jobs. So we ate like vegetarians because that was what we could afford. We lived on pasta, cheese, peanut butter, and eggs. And beans. Lots of beans."

 Head on over to Modern Alternative Kitchen to read the rest!

This is part of: Frugal Food Thursday, Full Plate Thursday

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas

If you want to learn more about delicious, nourishing, real food without the guilt trip for everything you're not doing right, hit that "like" button on the right, and subscribe to my posts by e-mail or reader feed so you don't miss anything. Thanks for stopping by!

Mmmm...cheesy goodness...

I love when I can throw a meal into the oven and do the dishes or feed the baby while it bakes. This meal comes together relatively quickly (though it does dirty two pots and a casserole, but it's worth it!) and would be a great thing to prep ahead of time for company.  The spiciness can be adjusted to your liking; we used two jalapenos this time but I think I'd prefer it with just one.

Another reason I like to make this recipe is this: I sometimes buy stewing hens for cheap (this last one cost me $3 from a local farm), which are great for making soup or broth, but the meat tends to be a little dry. Somehow, when you cover it with cheese and sour cream, it doesn't matter so much. :)

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas

Filling ingredients:
1 T. coconut oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 (4 oz.) can diced mild green chiles
1 1/2 c. cooked white beans, such as cannellini or great northern (or one can, if you're in a pinch)
1 1/2 c. cooked, shredded chicken (I made broth with a stewing hen and saved the meat)
2/3 c. chicken broth
1-2 t. cumin
unrefined sea salt and pepper to taste

Sauce ingredients:
1 T. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 T. flour (I use all-purpose, I'm sure sprouted would be a good alternative)
1 c. chicken broth
1 (4 oz.) can diced mild green chiles
1-2 chopped jalapenos (I wear a glove when I chop hot peppers. They burn!)
unrefined sea salt to taste

Other ingredients:
1/2 c. sour cream (I like Daisy Brand - no additives!)
1 c. shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
8-10 corn tortillas (We like Milagro brand, which are traditionally prepared in lime. Sprouted corn would also be a good option.) 
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Sour cream for serving

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Make the filling. Saute onion in oil until almost tender. Add garlic and saute one minute more. Add chiles, beans, broth, cumin, and salt and pepper. Stir, cover, and cook on low fifteen minutes while you prepare the sauce. Add chicken and cook long enough to heat through. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Make the sauce. Cook onion in butter and until tender. Add flour and cook, stirring, one minute. Whisk in the broth and bring to a boil, stirring and cooking until it thickens. Add chiles, jalapeno, and salt, and cook a 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 c. sour cream.

4. Assemble the enchiladas. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Fill tortillas with about 1/3 c. of the filling. Roll them and place them seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until you run out of filling. Pour and spread the sauce over the enchiladas, and top with the grated cheese.

5. Bake them for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

6. Serve, garnished with chopped cilantro and sour cream.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think in the comments!

 This is part of the following carnivals: Foodie Friday, Fight Back Friday, Friday Favorites, Inspire Me Friday, Eat, Make, Grow

Simple Meal: Saucy White Beans with Zucchini

*Update: I've entered this into the seasonal recipe round-up at GNOWFGLINS! Check it out for more great recipes to use zucchini and summer squash!*

As you learned in my last post, our family recently returned from a Fine Arts Camp where we taught middle-schoolers, chased our toddler through the woods, slept on two "twin" beds pushed together, and cooked real food without a kitchen (I know I didn't give you all those details in the last post, but I thought you'd enjoy hearing more about our time there).

Here is one of the very simple meals I made while we were there, using our new one-burner Coleman stove. As always with my recipes, amounts are approximate and can and should be altered according to your own tastes. It was a cinch to whip together with the few ingredients I brought (and yes, I brought fresh basil from the garden!). It would be realllllly good with sausage, I’m sure. J

Saucy White Beans with Zucchini

Ingredients:

2 T. butter

1 onion

1-2 zucchini

2-3 cups cooked white beans (great northern or cannelini)

garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste

1 c. pasta sauce (or as much as you want)

cheese to taste, shredded (I used Swiss and parmesan because that’s what I had)

fresh basil leaves, snipped into strips

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan.

2. Add the onion and cook until tender.

3. Add the zucchini, beans, and seasonings and cook covered over low heat, stirring every couple minutes, until zucchini is tender.

4. Add the sauce and stir to combine.

5. Add the cheese, stir, and cook a couple minutes to melt and heat through.

5. Stir in the basil.

6. Serve with extra parmesan cheese on top.

I’m sure this would be good over pasta (maybe use a little more sauce) or on toast, but I kept things simple and just ate it out of a bowl. It hit the spot and was super easy, even without a kitchen!

If you have a simple meal you've made lately (with or without a kitchen!), share it in the comments!

This is part of Real Food Wednesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

White Bean Dip with Garlic Scapes

Yesterday I cooked the first dish of the season for our CSA share from Eighth Day Farm. I'm acting as "chef" for the season, whipping up dishes for members to try, using the veggies they're receiving each particular week. We're hoping this will help people learn what to do with unfamiliar vegetables, and give them some fresh ideas when they get zucchini for the sixth week in a row. :)

The season has started out a bit light, due to heavy rains rotting out a lot of their crops. I feel so bad for these poor farmers who are having a rough start to the season. But it makes me grateful for Community Supported Agriculture; by paying at the beginning of the season, members are supporting the farmers in good times and in bad. You might think, "Whoa, that's risky!" And, it is. It helps when you know and trust your farmer. I know they are working hard and doing their best, and I want to help them make it. Because in this world of industrial farming and depleted soil, we need farmers who are doing what they are doing!

So, despite a table holding only a basket of garlic scapes, I wanted Eighth Day's members to be able to cook something delicious this week.

Hold up, Garlic WHAT?

Garlic Scapes! They are amazing! These fellers shoot out from the garlic plant during the spring and form a gorgeous curlicue. If you harvest them, they help the garlic grow better. They taste like garlic (big surprise) but a bit milder. You can chop them up and use them as you would garlic, in any recipe. Here is a recipe that showcases their delicious pungency without being overpowering. It's very tasty with homemade crackers, which I'll post a recipe for another time.

Notes: Quantities are totally up to you. Taste as you go, and you will have success! Using three or four garlic scapes yields a comfortably strong garlic taste (in my opinion) on the day you make it, and it gets more garlicky over time. If you're not sure you like a strong garlic taste, use one or two.

White Bean Dip with Garlic Scapes

3-4 Garlic Scapes (or a couple cloves of garlic), roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lemon (to taste)

Salt and Pepper to taste, start with 1/2 t. salt and a several grinds of pepper

2 cups cooked white beans (great northern or cannellini)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (to achieve desired consistency)

In your food processor, combine chopped garlic scapes, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. Process until scapes are finely chopped. Add beans and process to combine. Add a few tablespoons of water if it seems dry, and then add enough olive oil to achieve a dip-like consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more lemon juice, salt, or pepper to taste. Serve with crackers or veggies for dipping.

Have you ever cooked with garlic scapes? What did you think?

This is part of Real Food Wednesday. Check it out for great real food recipes and ideas!

Roasted Garlic Black Bean Dip

We used to eat a lot of hummus. I'd always make a huge batch and we'd eat it for many days in a row. Then we got sick of it.

After a several month hiatus, I thought, hey, how about bean dips made from other beans?! Duh! There are endless possibilities for type of bean (or other legume), seasonings, consistency, and even what you dip in it or spread it on. So here's one of those variations. I was inspired by this recipe, but altered it slightly. I know it seems like a lot of steps, but most of it is hands-off time. It's actually quite simple!

Roasted Garlic Black Bean Dip

ingredients:

1 head of garlic (you won't use the whole thing)

1 1/2 c. dry black beans (or about 4 cups cooked/canned and drained)

apple cider vinegar

1 t. (or so) unrefined sea salt

1 t. (or more) cumin

1 T. nutritional yeast (optional)

a few dashes cayenne pepper

fresh cilantro to taste (optional but tasty)

drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (a few tablespoons)

splash of water to achieve desired consistency

lemon or lime juice to taste

method:

(note: this cooking method for the black beans works for any type of bean.)

1) Soak the beans. The day before you want to make this, soak your beans in about three times the amount of water as beans (so, 4 1/2 cups water for 1 1/2 c beans, or cook extra beans to freeze for a future meal!). You can do this in a crock pot or large saucepan/dutch oven. Add a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and stir. On the stovetop: heat to a simmer, then turn off and let soak 7-24 hours (the longer the better). In the crock pot: heat on high for 1/2 hour or as long as it takes to heat the mixture. Then turn off and let soak 7-24 hours.

2) Cook the beans. After they've had a nice long soak, drain and rinse them, and put back in the pot with about double the amount of water as beans. On stove: bring to boil, skim off the foam with a slotted spoon, and lower heat slightly - you want them to keep boiling, so don't lower it too much. Cover partially (put the lid on the pot slightly askew so it's not sealed tight. Skim the foam whenever you see it. Keep you eye on them to make sure they are not boiling dry, and add more water as needed. If you add more water, bring them back up to a boil. Simmer until tender, 1-2 hours (or longer if the beans are older). In crock pot: cook on high, covered, for one hour, then turn down to low. Skim foam if you see any. Cook until tender, which will take several hours. (sometimes I do this overnight.)

3) Roast your garlic. Sometime during steps 1 and 2, if your oven is on anyway for something else use the opportunity to roast your garlic. Preheat the oven to 400 F, or if it's at a different temperature adjust the time accordingly. Peel away outer layers of the head of garlic, and cut off the top 1/4 inch or so, exposing individual cloves. Place on a square of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly, place in oven, and roast for about 1/2 an hour, until cloves are slightly soft. Let cool enough to handle, and then squeeze them out if their skin. You will only need a few cloves for this recipe, so use the rest however you want to. Spread on toast, or just eat them with a fork. Yum!

4) Make the dip. Now, let your beans cool slightly, drain them, and place in food processor along with salt, cumin, nutritional yeast (if using), cayenne, and cilantro. Add a few of your roasted garlic cloves (start with 2 or 3, add more to taste), a drizzle of olive oil, and a splash of water. Process until pureed but slightly chunky (or longer if you want it extra smooth). Taste, and add more seasonings or garlic or oil or water...depending on what you think it needs. If you want it to have a little more "zing", add some fresh lemon or lime juice. Process again to incorporate.

Now decide how you want to eat it. Spread it on crackers, or use as a dip for fresh vegetables or tortilla chips. Or spread it in half of a tortilla, add cheese, fold in half and cook on a skillet until cheese is melted. Or, do what we did. Toast some bread. Butter it. Spread it with the bean dip, add sliced cheese, and cook under the broiler to melt the cheese. Add sliced avocado, and sprinkle extra cumin on top. Be creative. Enjoy!

This post is part of: Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Simple Meals Friday

a simple candle-lit date and a hummus recipe

friday night was “parents night out” at the seminary. That means that some generous people spend their night watching your kids for free while you go on a date! So we dropped Caedmon off and had a simple and frugal date-at-home: a candle-lit Mediterranean feast.

while we were eating I couldn’t stop thinking about how we should recreate this meal again in the future - over and over and over. it was that good. It was so delicious and EASY. And with everything prepared ahead of time, all we had to do was put it on the table, light the candles, and enjoy each other’s company. Here was our menu:

simple date-at-home for two :
sourdough pocket bread from Wardeh’s e-course
homemade hummus (method follows)
feta cheese and olives from a local deli
sangria (this was a gift - and we were grateful!) with organic apples and oranges
salty-sweet chocolate with walnuts

(sorry there are no pictures of this feast! i'm not in "you've-started-a-blog-take-a-picture-of-anything-that-could-become-a-post"mode yet.)

the sourdough pocket bread was a HUGE success. It did take quite a bit of preparation (it gets THREE rises!), but the flavor and texture are incredible. And most of the prep time is inactive - you just have to be around all day to check on your dough. Steven couldn’t believe that it was 100% whole wheat. If you are interested in capturing wild yeasts in your OWN kitchen to leaven your own bread and help with digestibility of grains, I highly recommend this e-course!

the hummus is simple to prepare and is SO much cheaper than buying it in those little containers from the store. if you prepare it using dry beans instead of canned, this is a seriously frugal food (especially if you buy chickpeas in bulk like we do!)

I have to credit my mother-in-law for teaching me how to make hummus without a recipe (thanks!). what follows is a basic method - I just eyeball it and taste it until I’ve got it right. It’s a little different every time - and I like it that way. Here’s how you do it:

Easy [chick]peas-y Homemade Hummus

yield : about 4 cups

equipment needed : food processor

ingredients :
dried chickpeas (a couple cups or so)
apple cider vinegar
olive oil
tahini (ground sesame seed paste)
a lemon (or two)
minced/pressed garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper
optional seasonings - get creative! this time I used cumin, sumac, paprika, fresh parsley, and fresh dill

instructions :
1. Soak a couple cups of dried (rinsed) chickpeas in water with a splash of apple cider vinegar 8-24 hours. (This helps you digest them better!)
2. Drain the water off, add fresh filtered water, and bring to a boil. Once they are really boiling, skim off the foam (those are indigestible compounds), add some salt, lower the heat, and cook until tender. This will take a few hours - be patient!
3. When they are done, let them cool slightly, and use a slotted spoon to fish them out of the liquid and put them in your food processor. (It is important to save the cooking liquid. If you think it’s easier, you can strain them with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid, but that dirties a colander AND a bowl, instead of just a slotted spoon.)
4. To the food processor add a couple drizzles of olive oil, a few spoonfuls of tahini (don’t overdo it or your hummus will taste bitter), the juice of one lemon, a couple cloves of garlic put through a press or minced, and your seasonings of choice. Process until smooth. Add some cooking liquid if it is too thick. Taste and add more of whatever you think it needs, and process again to incorporate.
5. To serve, pour into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sumac.

Now light some candles, dip your pita in the hummus (don't forget the feta and olives!), and enjoy the fruits of your labor and the company of those you share your meal with.

update: I'm linking this to Simple Lives Thursday.