Crunchy Spinach and Artichoke Pesto Pasta

As usual, I made waaay too much pasta for the previous pasta salad. 

There was 2c leftover, which I almost pitched, then decided I'd add play around with ingredients and ended up with yet another pasta salad. This could also be a quick Mac & Cheese or added to soup or chili.

2c al denté cooked pasta - cooled

1c shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/2 small jar, 3-4oz., of basil pesto

1/4 red bell pepper

1/4 med sweet onion

1/4c ± Lemon-EVOO Dressing

garlic salt and black pepper

This happened in no time and was a nice surprise! Good for the meatless people in your life. For additional crunch and protein, add some roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds — AND — it would also be good served warm, or hot. . .Lin

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Scrub then cut all the vegetables into 1" to 1-1/2" chunks. Put in a gallon size plastic bag, add oil and seasonings. Shake then pour everything onto a parchment paper lined baking pan.

1 lg. cauliflower
2-3 med. carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 med.-lg. purple onion
2-3T single source EVOO
fresh ground black pepper
garlic chipolte seasoning
parsley garlic salt

Bake in preheated 400° oven 30-40 minutes, moving or tossing once while baking. Roast until just barely soft and fork tender. Transfer to a 4 quart pot, add 3-4c water and 2T Better Than Bouillon - vegetable or chicken flavor and a couple bay leaves. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaves, then blend with an immersion blender. Check flavors, making any adjustments you'd like.

If you're using coconut milk, add it now. I decided to omit that this time. Serve with a drizzle of seasoned sour cream and a sprinkle of dry dill. . .Lin

Vegetable Soup with a Roasted Tomato-Cream Base

I have some incredibly beautiful vegetables right now. With all that's going on in the world, I think the ability to buy and cook gorgeous, healthy food makes me Very Affluent by the current world standards. I feel Truly Blessed!

I pondered over the technique I wanted to use with these ingredients and decided something different.

Scrub all the vegetables. Combine the following rough chopped vegetables and ingredients in a 6 quart pot, then pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or when lightly browned, sizzling and roasted. In a deep bowl, combine the vegetables and pan drippings with ???c cold filtered water. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth.

1 lg. red bell pepper

1/4 purple onion

3 med. carrots

1/2-1t garlic parsley salt

1/2-1t fresh ground black pepper

3T single source EVOO

While the first group of vegetables are doing their thing in the oven, prep, sauté then simmer the following vegetables cut into bite sized pieces into the 6 quart pot:

10oz. asparagus

3/4 purple onion

9oz. Brussels sprouts

7oz baby portabella mushrooms

3T single source EVOO

When everything begins to sizzle, before there is too much browning, add the following to the pot. Stir, cover and simmer about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat until the roasted vegetable cream base is ready.

3-4 bay leaves

3c fresh cold water

3T red wine vinegar

2-3T Better Than Bouillon - vegetable

Blend the red and orange roasted vegetables with 2oz sun dried tomatoes. When well blended and slightly cool, stir in 1c sour cream, then pour this soup base over the vegetables and broth in the pot. Stir, reheat to just a light bubble, before serving. To me this is sort of the best of soups. Roasted, blended cream base combined with chunky healthy vegetables. 

Mmmm...Soup's Ready! . .Lin

Peanut-Craisin Vegetable Curry

3 stalks celery (save tops for later)

2 big carrots

1 medium 'winter' onion

2T coconut oil

Chop the 'mirepoix' and sauté over medium heat, in a 5 quart pan for a few minutes.

Chop and add the rest of the vegetables shown in the second photo except the tomatoes. Note that I opted for fresh Campari tomatoes instead of the canned shown in the first photo →

Colorful mini bell peppers, 4 med. red potatoes, 5 lg. cloves garlic, 2 big purple shallots, 1½# green cabbage, 1 lg. brown radish

Seasonings: 3±T mild curry paste, ¼t cayenne pepper, 1t fresh ground black pepper, 1t salt, 1t sugar, 1-2T ground cumin.

Add 2c cold fresh water and simmer on low heat until the carrots are tender. Meanwhile, put a covered steamer basket over the pot once it begins to simmer.

Add tomatoes and steam for 3 minutes. Plunge them immediately in a big bowl of ice water. The skins will now peel off easily. Core and peel them, then dice and add to the pot along with the celery greens. 

You can also add 1c roasted-salted peanuts and 1c chopped dried fruit: craisins, apricots, prunes, or golden raisins, or even chopped apple if you'd like. Today it was craisins.

Continue simmering for a total of an hour or so. Stir in 1 can of coconut milk, or coconut cream. Stir, then bring back to a low simmer for just a few minutes before serving. Perfect for a crisp fall day. . .Lin

Peppery Pear-Pecan Sour Cream Muffins

Yes, Peppery!
Pepper and pears (and apples) go together nicely!

I bought a big bag of ripe pears. The only yellow ones there - and they were perfect - right then. It's two days later, and I see why buying the green ones might have been smarter. I really love pears, so tonight I'll have some with cottage cheese, cinnamon, pepper and grated parmesan cheese. Mmmm!

But for now, I need to use a few of these.

Pears, pecans and sour cream sounded like a good idea -and- in muffins it would be delicious! This is a variation of a recipe I've used before, but the main ingredients always vary.

In a big bowl, whisk the following together:

3c unbleached all purpose flour

3T ground chia and flax seed

1T pumplin pie spice

1t baking powder

1t baking soda

1t Himalayan pink salt

1t finely ground black pepper

In another bowl, combine the following:

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

1T Mexican vanilla

1/2c coconut sugar

1c brown sugar

2/3c sour cream

2/3c melted coconut oil

2c finely chopped unpeeled pears

Preheat your oven to 350°F. When thoroughly mixed, with a big wooden spoon, add half at a time to the flour mixture. Stir to combine then use a big serving spoon to fill lined muffin cups. I sprinkled them with a mix of turbinado sugar, coconut sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.

These baked for 15 minutes, sharing the oven with a tiny coffee cake made from the extra batter. Total 24 muffins + the little coffee cake, or 30 muffins. The coffee cake needed to bake an additional 8 minutes. 

Mmmm, the house smells good! . . Lin

Roasted Vegetable and Kabocha Squash Soup

• 1 Kabocha Squash - a.k.a. Japanese Pumpkin
• 5 sm. Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 med. sweet potato
• a few garlic cloves
• 2 ribs of celery
• Little's Chili Lime Seasoning Blend
• Moroccan extra virgin olive oil

Scrub the squash, cut it in half and scrape out the seeds, rub with EVOO. Rough cut - chunk the vegetables, toss in EVOO, arrange on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle everything with Little's Chili Lime and roast in a 400° oven for one hour.

Like Old Mother Hubbard, my 'fridge, pantry and cupboard are currently bare!  I only had 2 cloves of garlic and no onion at all today, but wanted to make this soup. Last fall, I had an abundance of vegetables so I simmered and blended some for a red sauce. I also made 2c packages of chopped, fresh vegetables and froze the sauce and vegetables, for such a time as this. When you have extra vegetables from the grocery store, Farmer's Market or your garden, decide the best way to preserve them for a future time, when your stash is low. Freezing works well for me.

• 2c frozen red sauce
• 1/3c Moroccan EVOO
• 2c fresh, chopped, frozen vegetables
• tomato, onion, pepper, celery, garlic, carrot

While the squash and other vegetables are roasting, slowly simmer-thaw the ingredients above, in a 4-6 quart pot.  Cook at a low bubble, for 10  minutes, then cover and turn off the heat. Cooking isn't really necessary, but I recommend it since raising the temperature develops the lycopene in the tomatoes, which is a powerful antioxidant. However, it's good to include them in your diet in their fresh-raw state as well, since they're an excellent source of vitamin C when eaten right off the vine.

When everything in the pot has cooled a little, add the following.

• 1 can coconut milk
• 2t turbinado sugar
• 2-3t Little's Chili Lime
• 2-3t curry powder
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/2t nutmeg
• 1-2T dark balsamic vinegar

Sweet Bowl

After the vegetables are roasted and are cool enough to touch, scoop out the squash, cut the vegetables a little more then add everything to the big pot. Add a little water or vegetable broth to get a good balance of solids and liquid. Blend with an immersion blender, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Check the flavor and thickness, adding more seasoning or liquid if needed.

Savory Bowl

Serve, garnished with sour cream, croutons, cilantro, fresh lime or lemon zest and juice.

The Sweet Bowl was topped with a dab of plain Greek yogurt, sunflower seeds, parsley, cayenne pepper, and some thin sliced crystalized ginger.

The Savory Bowl had small chunks of cooked roast beef, walnuts, cashews, cayenne and coarse salt. Pick a flavor profile then run with it!

Remember - Be Bold - Be Creative!  Cook Up Some Good Food. . .Lin

Zuppa Verde Con Orzo — (green soup w/ barley)

Somehow, this soup reminds me of Italy 😃 so I gave it an Italian name. Zucchini, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach. It's all red, green and white - Italy's national colors. 

Simmer the barley for about half an hour until still chewy, but plumped up. Drain, rinse in cool water, to get rid of the excess starch off, then set it aside in the strainer.

• 2/3c pearled barley
• 1-1/2c± water

In a 5-6 quart pot, combine the following rough-chopped vegetables with the EVOO and simmer-saute, stirring often, for about a half hour. 

• 2-3T good quality EVOO
• 5 cloves sliced garlic
• 2 med. zucchini
• 1 sm. onion
  
• 2-3T sliced poblano pepper
• 1/3 lg. head of green cabbage
• 10-12oz. fresh sliced mushrooms
• celery heart (keep the greens for later)
• 1t fresh ground pepper
• 1T dried herbs and garlic
• 2T BTB chicken or vegetable soup base
• 6c fresh cold water - a little at a time

• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 3 green onions
• celery greens
• 6oz. frozen chopped spinach

At the end of the half hour, add the cooked-rinsed-drained barley, chopped tomatoes with juice, and the rest of the chopped-sliced ingredients. Bring again to a simmer, cover and remove from the heat.  Let the flavors blend 15 minutes before serving. This is so good! Perfect with some crusty, whole-grain Italian sourdough bread or Norwegian crispbread.

Mmmm!

It's Cold Outside ❄️ Perfect Soup Weather! . . Lin

Asparagus And Friends - Vegetable Soup

"Hi...My name is Lin and I'm a Soup-O-Holic!" I won't bore you once again with yet another rendition of 'how much I love soup!'  I will remind you though, how versatile, healthy, quick, easy, and generally - just wonderful it is - to have a pot or two in your 'fridge, all year 'round!!  It's the best thing ever when friends or family drop over, or to share with a sick friend or neighbor. . .So, here's my most recent soup creation.

3 sm.-med. yellow onions

3 med. scrubbed carrots

3 stalks celery + tops

2T good quality EVOO

1-2T Penzeys California Pepper

~ it may sound like a lot, but this is a very mild blend of tellicherry black peppercorns, dried red and green bell pepper, onion and garlic.  Use your favorite seasoned pepper in the amount you like.

Chop the first group of vegetables, or as these three are known in France - the mirepoix.  Sauté only a little of the onion at this time, with the carrot and celery, saving the majority of it for later.  Simmer 7 minutes, covered.

1 lg. bunch asparagus

3 med. Yukon Gold potatoes

sliced-chopped celery greens

5c cold fresh water - add gradually

remaining onions - rough chopped

1 14.5 can stewed tomatoes and juice

2-3T Better Than Bouillon - mushroom or vegetable flavor

2c cooked small red or black beans - optional

Wash the asparagus well then snap off the very bottom part of the stalk.  It will naturally break where the tender part starts.  I didn't do it this way today and ended up with a few very tough, fibers sections, lesson learned!

Separate the tops for later.  Add the stalks, cut in ¾" pieces, and the potatoes cut in cubes to the pot, along with a cup or two of the water.  Simmer this all together for another 5 minutes then add the onion, chopped tomatoes and soup base.  Simmer low and slow another 10-30 minutes.  I cooked some tiny red beans earlier so I added those to the pot.  That's always a good idea for the great protein beans contain.

Serve with some Norwegian grain-seed crisp bread.  Mmmm. . .Soup! . .Lin

Whole Grains, Lentils and Greens

¾c basmati brown rice

⅓ yellow pepper-chopped

5 cloves of garlic-minced

2T black truffle EVOO

¾-1t Penzeys California Seasoned Pepper

3c fresh cold filtered water

½c quinoa, millet, buckwheat mix

½c brown or green whole lentils

2t Better Than Bouillon soup base

1 bunch of dinosaur kale

Sometimes I revert back to my vegetarian-vegan ideals and all I want is some really good grains and greens! Today is one of those days. Sauté the first group of ingredients, adding just a little water at the end, when everything starts browning, to prevent it from sticking. Next add the quinoa mix, the rest of the water, lentils and the BTB soup base - I always have several flavors, but for this, mushroom sounded good.

Wash the kale first in warm soapy water, then in cold water until the water is clear. De-vein the leaves by pulling or cutting them away from the center stalk and throw that away or out for your bunnies and squirrels. Bundle the leaves together, slice them and cross-cut the slices if they're too big. Add them to the pot. Stir this, cover and let it simmer slowly until the water absorbs, the grains are tender and the kale is nicely cooked.

Add the sliced cilantro leaves and stems, cover to keep everything warm. Fluff it up and check the seasonings just before serving.

Mmmmm, Grains and Greens! 😊 Lin

~ ~ SPROUTS ~ ~

I've already started Sprouting! 😃 WooHoo!!

I usually wait until a warm spring day, but, since we're still practically knee deep in snow here in Duluth, Minnesota, I have to conclude that Spring Fever has hit me early this year.  I keep looking at my snow-covered deck, overlooking the frozen creek, wishing I could be out there reading a book with a big mug of tea. . .

I'm so grateful to my sweet, hippie sister-in-law, Carole, who introduced me to avocados, macrame', sun tea, and especially sprouting.  She's no longer with us, but at least daily, I'll see or do something that brings her right back to me, in memory.  RIP Sweetie. . .Until We Meet Again!

My favorite seed, bean, grain to sprout would, hands down, be lentils!  This time I used fancy, $$ French lentils, but the green or brown whole lentils you can buy for under $1.00 a bag in the grocery store are wonderful!  I started these on Friday and they're ready today.  The smaller the seed or bean, the quicker they're ready for a salad, sandwich, or to top a big bowl of soup.

You've probably heard of Ezekiel Bread * The inspiration for this sprouted grain bread goes all the way back to the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament of the Bible!!  It's in the freezer section of co-op's, health food stores and even most supermarkets.  It's not gluten-free, and also not cheap, but the slices are thin and it's a very heavy bread, so a little goes a long way.  It's made from sprouted grains that are ground into powder, not regular flour.  I love a slice of it toasted, with crunchy peanut butter, drizzled with honey - or as a crispy-healthy base for avocado toast.

This link ** tells you what you need to know to sprout lentils.  If you dig a little deeper, she also has other great tips, ideas and recipes.

Today I added vegetables (cauliflower, purple shallot, cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds) to a big handful of lentils and called it Lunch! Have fun with this! Even if you're not into plants or gardening, this is a simple, gratifying way to grow something really healthy, right in your own kitchen. . .Lin

Spiralized Zucchini Stir-Fry

Spiralize:

1 sm. - med. green zucchini

1 sm. - med. yellow zucchini

2 sm. peeled kohlrabi

5 lg. garlic cloves - sliced thin

Set these aside for now.

2T toasted (dark) sesame oil

6 oz. sliced mushrooms

⅛-¼ red pepper - sliced

Heat up your wok and add the oil.  After a couple minutes, add a couple pieces of mushrooms and peppers. The oil in the wok should sizzle when you add these.  If so the temperature is right - add the rest of them.  If not, wait until the pieces in the oil begin to sizzle then add the rest.  Stir, then cover with a small domed cover to steam-sauté for a couple minutes.

Now Add:
1 lg. purple shallot - sliced

½c salt and pepper cashews

After a few minutes, cut the spiralized vegetables into smaller strands with scissors.  Toss those into the wok along with the sliced garlic.  Stir, add any Asian sauce you like, stir and cover again.  Let steam-sauté' a couple minutes, uncover, stir until everything's done the way you like it.  Makes 2 servings. . .Lin

Grilled Cheese and Vegetable Sandwich

1 Sandwich Skinny

1 slice American Cheese

finely chopped:

pickle, carrot, onion

1T butter

mayonnise

Fix the sandwich as shown in the first photo, spreading one half with mayonnaise and pressing the cut vegetables into it.  The other side with the cheese.  Put the halves together, butter the top and place the bottom into a heated non-stick pan with melted butter.  Flip when it's sizzling, cover, remove from heat and let the other side 'cook' this way for a couple minutes.  Slice and serve.

What's better than this sandwich made with chopped spicy dill pickles?

MORE pickles to eat with it!!  Sweet and Dill. . .Mmmm. . .Lin

Mashed Potato - Leek Vegetable Soup

5 sm.-med. red potatoes - small cubes 

1 sm. yellow onion - finely chopped

5" green leek top - sliced-chopped

a little salt, red and black pepper

1T butter

8 cloves of garlic

yellow-green celery tops

5 oz. fresh spinach or a spinach blend

Combine the first group in a large pot, sautés and sizzle until the scents are released, maybe 5 minutes.  Add 3c water, cover and simmer 10 minutes.  Mash, then add the next 3 ingredients, simmer another 5 minute, then set aside.

In another pot, combine the chopped vegetables below, and saute' for 5-15 minutes until slightly translucent and your kitchen smells great.

1T butter

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

⅓ lg. orange pepper

5" white leek bottom

1 med. Anaheim pepper

1-2T Sicilian blend seasoning

1-2T mushroom Better Than Bouillon

Toward the end of the saute' time, begin adding another 3c of water as needed. After another 10 minutes simmering time, taste the soup and add whatever is needed. This is when I stirred in the mushroom soup base. Add the vegetables to the mashed potato and greens and again stir and check the flavors. This is a good and quick soup. Low in fat because the texture comes from the mashed potatoes rather than dairy of any type.

Be Creative! Cooking Is Art - Food Is Your Medium.  Happy Cooking! . .Lin

Asparagus-Mushroom Vegetable Soup

The Melody

1-2 lg. onions - quarter and slice

1-2T ghee or regular butter

1-2T extra virgin olive oil

1t sea salt, pepper, seasoning blend

Caramelize the onions with the oil, butter and seasoning, until they're golden to medium brown.  Stir in the kale, sizzle and stir a minute or so, then cover and set these aside.  In a 5-6 quart pot, combine:

The Harmony

1T ghee or regular butter

1# asparagus cut in cross-sections

2t sea salt, pepper, seasoning blend

2T Better Than Bouillon...mushroom

8oz. sliced mushrooms

1 big carrot - chopped

2 stalks celery - chopped

3 cloves of garlic - sliced

1 jalapeño - seeded and sliced

Before the Alfredo and sour cream

Simmer the first 5 above together for 5-10 minutes, until the mushrooms start to shrink and brown, add the rest of the vegetables, then start adding 5c of water, as needed and:

½c mild Ajvar*

4 cubed potatoes
chopped celery tops

1½" x 5" cabbage circle - cubed

1t chili lime seasoning--optional

2t ground cumin--optional

Simmer all this, covered, for 45 minutes.  Stop now, serve with buttered crusty bread, or bring in another dimension by stirring in:

~ ~ ~ ~ 4oz. sour cream ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ 4oz. Alfredo sauce ~ ~ ~ ~

This turned out so well, warming and interesting. This made about 5 quarts.  Lots for me and to share with family and friends. After several bowls, I think I'll try blending what's left. . .Lin

*Macedonian roasted red pepper & eggplant sauce