Blended Green Vegetable Soup

1 very lg. head of cauliflower cut in 1/2" - 1" thick 'steaks.'

garlic salt and pepper

EVOO

Drizzle a baking pan with EVOO and put the cauliflower steaks on. Flip them so both sides are coated with the olive oil and seasoned. Put this in a 375° - 400° oven and roast until lightly browned.

My daughter came up to the lake this morning to cook with me. As we talked and chopped, I forgot to take a photo of the ingredients, so I'm going from memory, but I think I've remembered it all.

In a 6-8 quart soup pot, sauté the following sliced-chopped vegetables just until the onion is translucent, adding some cold, fresh water, as needed. You'll use a total of about 6 cups of water.

1 med. onion

6± stalks celery

5-6 cloves garlic

12-15 medium spears of asparagus

a big handful, or two, of shredded coleslaw mix

When the cauliflower is tender and the other vegetables have simmered 20 minutes or so, chop the cauliflower a bit and add it to the pot. Also add the spinach and onion soup and more water.

8-16 oz. fresh baby spinach

1 pkg. dry onion soup

celery tops

Simmer this on low until everything is soft. Take it off the heat for 20 minutes or so then blend it until smooth. Check the flavors and add whatever is needed. Garnish with a dab of sour cream and some smoky paprika and/or dill. This made 4-5 quarts of soup. . .Lin

A Grain Bowl For Breakfast. . .

I did some research on 'ancient grains' a while ago. Ones that are usually gluten-free, as well as not having had any genetic manipulation. There are many good ones, including sorghum which is not included in this article.

Today I had an idea for a healthy grain-based breakfast, then realized. . .I have millet. . .but hadn't gotten around to trying it yet. Millet it is! This recipe is for 1 serving, but you can surely double or triple it to feed your hungry-breakfast-eaters.

2T single source EVOO

1/3c millet (sorghum, barley, quinoa, or brown rice)

1/4c chopped sun dried tomatoes

3 big cloves of garlic (I really like garlic! 😉)

salt and pepper

Sauté and stir these ingredients together until the millet turns a toasty light brown. Remove from the heat for a minute and add 1c water.

Stir and return back to the heat, cover, and simmer on low 25-30 minutes, adding a bit more water if needed, until the millet is tender.

I next added several ladles of the blended Green Soup I made the other day, covered it and let it come back to a simmer. You could use any blended soup you like, (squash soup, tomato bisque) or even chopped up vegetables with a high water content, like zucchini with a little chicken broth. Next, I cracked in an egg, broke the yolk - because that's how I like them - covered the pot again and let the heat cook the egg slowly, over the hot grain and soup mixture.

I garnished it with some celery heart greens. It's not very pretty, but it was good! . .Lin

Green Soup

Chop and sauté these vegetables in 2T single source EVOO in a 4 quart pot:

10oz. fresh asparagus

8oz. frozen skinny green beans

10oz. turnip greens and chopped turnips

1 celery heart + greens

1 med. onion

Season with whatever you like on green vegetables. Today I used Penzeys black pepper blend and roasted garlic and herb seasoning.

Once everything is sizzling add 6 cups of chicken broth. I used chicken bone broth that I made earlier from a whole roasted chicken.

Heat slowly, bring it to a low simmer then continue at that low bubble heat point about a half hour. Blend as much or little as you like, getting it silky smooth or leave it a bit more textured and rustic.Check the seasonings and make adjustments. I added 1-2T of chicken Better Than Bouillon soup base. Top with some grated pepper jack cheese and almonds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds. . .Lin

Asparagus (Broccoli-Carrot-Spinach) Soup

1 big bunch of fresh asparagus

6oz. fresh mushrooms - sliced

2 big carrots - grated

a bunch of green onions - sliced

10oz. fresh spinach - chopped

12oz. frozen chopped broccoli

½ a bunch of cilantro - chopped

6 lg. cloves garlic - minced

2t-2T powdered chicken soup base

2c water

2-3c half and half

Snap off the bottoms from each spear of asparagus, chop and boil them in a couple cups of water.  If they're tender enough to use in the soup, keep them separate for now, adding them at the end.  If not, mix them with your dog's food.  (S)he'll probably love them as much as my dogs do.

Slice the asparagus very thin into a big pot.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the half and half.  Simmer 30-45 minutes.  Decide if you want to keep the soup as is, or blend it smooth.  Check the flavors.  You might want to add a little nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice to bring out some interesting flavors.  Pepper, red and black or lemon pepper would also be nice.  Blend, or keep it chunky, add the half and half.  Serve with sunflower seeds, croutons and sour cream. . .Lin