Healing Vegetable Comfort Soup

Sauté the first group of chopped vegetables in a couple tablespoons of EVOO:

2 big carrots
1/2 lg. green pepper
1/2 head of green cabbage

1 qt. chicken bone broth

6 med. tomatoes or 28oz. can diced tomatoes

9 big cloves of garlic

1t salt free seasoning blend

1/2t black and cayenne pepper

1 dark green Romaine

1 drained can of corn

zest of a whole lemon

2-3T lemon juice

Let the first vegetables cook on low-medium heat a little while. Once they start to sizzle, stir in a little of the bone broth. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or so.

Today I used frozen tomatoes. As they thawed, they peeled and chopped easily at the popsicle stage.

Add the tomatoes, chopped garlic and seasonings. Stir in a couple tablespoons of chicken Better Than Bouillon, then simmer another 15 minutes. 

Slice then chop the Romaine. Add that and the corn, stir and bring back to a simmer. Cover, turn off the heat and just leave it on the burner 15 minutes before serving up nice steamy bowls, with some crusty garlic bread. 

This went together quickly and is a great comfort soup.

After a day or so, if you tire of the chunkiness, you could blend it. This almost turns it into a whole different soup! . .Lin

Sausage-and-Bean Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This began several days ago, and then, just stalled.

Ugh. . .the sauce didn't taste at all as I had hoped.

I tried it again this morning and realized the beans absorbed all the good flavors, leaving it SO bland, that I almost trashed it.

Then I analyzed a bit, and realized it needed flavorful fat: -butter-, texture: -mushrooms-, acid: -tomato paste and lemon-, and for a pinch of sweetness: -coconut sugar-, smokiness: -cumin and paprika-. . .Voilà! . .Now here we are, at the end of the second try!!

NOTE: I did NOT use sour cream (shown) in the first photo. . .

Finely chop the vegetables shown, then sauté, in 2T EVOO with 4 oz. mild Italian sausage, removed from its casing:

2 big celery stalks

2/3 bell pepper

1 med. onion

3 big cloves garlic

Then stir in a can of rinsed, drained garbanzo beans that have also been finely chopped.

.~.           .~.           .~.           .~.           .~. 

Today, I sautéed these ingredients together, in the order given, with enough time to brown the mushrooms well before adding the acids.

3T butter

2T dark thick Balsamic vinegar

12oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

sprinkled with pepper, garlic salt and smokey ground cumin

1-2T tomato paste

1 lemon - zest + juice

I partially cooked the spaghetti squash by first washing and drying it well. Then in one area, I made several cuts (stabs if you will) to allow steam to escape, then wrapped the it in paper towels, and put it, with the cut side up, in the microwave. I don't remember now how long I cooked it, but I know I cooked it at 60% power, checking it every so often until it was starting to soften. When I squeezed it, it would 'give' a little.

At this point, let it cool a bit on the counter. Later, cut it in half, lengthwise. Scoop out and throw away the seeds and dark strings, leaving the lighter colored 'spaghetti.' With a sharp knife, cut through the spaghetti, down to the outer shell, so you don't have big long strings. Scoop this into a glass baking pan and cover with the sauce.

It's shown here, ready to be chilled, then baked tomorrow in a 350° preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes. Sprinkle some shredded, hard-flavorful cheese on top before baking if you'd like. . .Lin

Shrimp-Pasta Stirfry

This makes one big serving:

1 carrot - sliced

1.5oz. dry corn-rice (gluten-free) pasta

Simmer these until al denté, then drain in a strainer.

Marinate the following in a big splash of Lemon-EVOO Dressing then sauté:

7 med. shrimp, cut in half

3 smashed-minced garlic cloves

As soon as the dressing begins to sizzle, add the drained carrot and pasta. Let everything sizzle a minute or two, stir, then let it sizzle again. Continue this until the shrimp and garlic are just barely done. Flip this around in the pan, then serve. This is great as a quick, healthy lunch or dinner. Shown with a side of coleslaw. . .Lin

An Interesting Hummus Adventure. . .

I bought this can of hummus on a whim. Garbanzos grown, processed and packaged in Jordan, that I found on a Foodie Trip, with my daughter, to an International Market in the Twin Cities. 

Canned hummus, hmmm. Could be good, or not, who knew. A trip like that, for me, becomes the proverbial kid-in-a-candy-store adventure. I go in, 'needing' very little, but always come home with some amazing new things to try, never-to-be-seen in a conventional American grocery store.

The texture of this, right out of the can, reminds me of Chicago cheesecake or a heavy custard. It tasted mild and nutty, very whipped and smooth. 

I added some finely chopped sun dried tomatoes, jarred in olive oil, a couple tablespoons of extra oil from the jar, 1 BIG clove of minced garlic, a sprinkle of garlic salt and some fresh ground black pepper. 

I had it first with crackers and Kalamata olives. Next with cucumber sticks and it was just okay. The beans had somehow absorbed all the heat, spice and flavor of everything I added to it.

After that, I added a couple chopped green onions and more garlic for texture and flavor. It was much better. I had that with tiny stalks of a celery heart but woofed it down before think to take a photo.

There's still some left and it would be great spread on bread or a wrap for a sandwich! 

Hummus truly is the food equivalent of a 'blank canvas.' 

When we go back, I'll definitely buy this again. . .Lin

Dandelion Greens and Spicy Sautéed Shrimp

a big bunch of well washed dandelion greens

bacon grease

6 big garlic cloves

3 green onions

3T real bacon crumbles

ground red and black pepper

4-6oz. frozen Argentinian Red Shrimp

*3/4c sour cream - optional

Steam the greens in a little water for 5 minutes. Add bacon grease, sliced garlic sauté a few minutes, then add green onions, fresh ground black pepper and some cayenne pepper. Cover and steam-sauté another 5 minutes or until the greens are almost cooked. Add the next group of ingredients, heating and stirring while it sizzles a little, adding *(sour cream) at the very end. Cover again, remove from heat to finish cooking for another few minutes. Serve like this or over angel hair pasta. . .Lin