Golden Summer Squash & Corn Soup

Today I was going to post about one of the great restaurants I have discovered, but I keep making these delicious recipes that need to be shared immediately. This recipe came from the August 2009 issue of Eating Well. It is a tragedy that it has taken me two years to make it.

The other good news about this soup is that if you left off the feta cheese, it would be totally cleanse appropriate. However, unless you have a serious problem with lactose, I would not recommend it. It is too delicious.

ingredients

1 tb olive oil

1 medium shallot, chopped

about 1 pound of medium summer squash diced, (maybe 2?)

3 ts fresh herbs, chopped (thyme or oregano recommended - I used oregano)

14 oz. chicken or veggie broth (I did not have enough broth so I substituted 7 oz of heavy whipping cream... maybe another reason I loved this soup so much)

1/4 ts salt

1 cup fresh corn kernels cut from the cob

1 ts lemon juice

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (or as much as you want)

directions

Heat oil in large saucepan. Cook shallot in oil over medium heat, stirring about 1 minute. Add squash and 1 ts herbs and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash starts to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add broth and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the squash is soft, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to a blender, or use one of those fantastic hand blenders and blend until smooth. Return to pan and stir in corn. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Serve garnished with the remaining 2 ts herbs and feta.

This recipe made barely enough for two decently sized servings.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/golden_summer_squash_corn_soup.html

Winter Grain Bowl w/Ginger Miso Lime Sauce

First, do not let this picture of the leftovers I am eating for lunch today turn you away from making this recipe. I forgot to take a picture when I first made the recipe a couple nights ago and it's all I've got.

So, I tried to do The Cleanse earlier this year and it didn't really work out. It is very hard to do on a consistent basis because of all the cooking. As my friend Becca put it last night, "Doing The Cleanse is social suicide" because you have to decline so many eating invitations. Although, it is much more liberal than the P90X diet everyone is doing now. Anyway, I digress. Since I have such a hard time going 100% with the cleanse, I try and incorporate cleanse recipes into my regular diet as much as possible.

One of the many things I love to eat while on the cleanse are the "grain bowls". There are four suggested grain bowls in the recipe book, but by the time I'm done mixing and matching my grain bowl doesn't really resemble the original recipe. This week I made a grain bowl and the closest recipe it resembled was the Winter Grain Bowl.

Original Winter Grain Bowl Recipe

Barley

Roasted Squash & Root Vegetables

Sauteed Kale

Adzuki Beans

Ginger Miso Lime Sauce

I changed the vegetable into summer squash, sunflower seeds instead of kale, and black beans instead of adzuki. Mostly I just wanted the sauce:

Ginger Miso Lime Sauce

3 TB light miso

1/4 c. water

3 TB olive oil

1 TB grated fresh ginger

1 tsp maple syrup

1 clove garlic crushed or minced

1/4 c fresh lime juice (I was quite liberal with this.)

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

Dissolve miso in water, add other ingredients and blend until smooth.

Another important point is that these grain bowls taste the best when the grain and the beans are made fresh. I usually soak the beans overnight and then cook them in the crock pot while I am at work.

Barley is cooked best with a 3 to 1 (water to barley) ratio. I usually add a little salt as well. Also, The Cleanse guy recommends you always add one inch of kombu seaweed anytime you are cooking beans or grains to make them more digestible. It doesn't change the flavor. Barley only takes about 20-30 minutes depending on how much you are making. It should be done by the time you have prepared everything else.

Creamy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp & Vegetables

This was amazing.... and easy. I've actually never cooked shrimp before, but I decided to try it and was rewarded with this delicious dinner. If you are allergic or don't like shrimp, you can substitute chicken, or just more vegetables. You could actually make this with any combination of meat and vegetables and it would still be delicious because of the sauce. Garlic. Lemon Juice. Salt. That says it all. I got this recipe from the June 2010 Eating Well magazine.

ingredients

6 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti

12 ounces peeled and deveined raw shrimp, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen peas

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 cups yogurt (I recommend greek yogurt)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts*

directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook 2 minutes less than package directions. Add shrimp, asparagus, bell pepper and peas and cook until the pasta is tender and the shrimp are cooked, 2 to 4 minutes more. Drain well.

Mash garlic and salt in a large bowl until a paste forms. Whisk in yogurt, parsley, lemon juice, oil and pepper. Add the pasta mixture and toss to coat. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.

* If you don't know how to toast pine nuts, it's really easy. Just put them in a pan over medium heat and push them around until they are fragrant. Usually not more than 4 minutes.

Chile-Spiced Fruit Salad with Queso Fresco

Yesterday I made this salad for the office Cinqo de Mayo party. I tried to find something that was healthy, but also on theme. Unfortunately, I forgot to read the recipe before I showed up at work and I had to make the dressing in the microwave. Luckily, it turned out fine. Also, since the fruits it calls for are not in season, I substituted strawberries and kiwi for the peaches and blueberries. My only suggestion would be to add more lime juice. At least twice, maybe three times as much. I got this recipe from the July 2008 Cooking Light magazine.

ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 large jalapeno pepper, sliced in half length wise

(I also seeded the jalapeno so it wouldn't be as spicy)

2 cups cubed seedless watermelon

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 large peach, peeled & sliced

(or whatever fruit you want)

2 TB fresh lime juice

for serving

crumbled queso fresco

directions

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add jalapeno to sugar mixture. Cover and let stand 1 hour or until cooled to room temperature. Strain sugar mixture through a mesh sieve over a bowl and discard solids.

(office version: Add the sugar to 1/4 cup of hot water and stir until it dissolves. Add jalapeno and microwave everything for about 30 seconds or until the mixture bubbles. Add ice cube to cool it down and take out the jalapeno.)

Combine fruit, sugar mixture and lime juice. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Black Bean Vegetable Soup

I got this recipe from Jenny Corry who got it from a friend of hers who specialized in vegan recipes. It is definitely one of our favorites, although there is always a debate whether to seed or not to seed the jalapeno.

Also, I've included a delicious black bean recipe. The soup is still good with canned beans, but what makes it great is using beans you cooked on your own.

Black Beans

1 lb. dried black beans, rinsed

6 cups water

2 bay leaves

Pinch of baking soda

I also add a bunch of spices, usually cumin, salt, pepper and anything else I feel like adding.

Another tip is to include about an inch of kombu seaweed. I know it sounds weird, but it helps with the digestibility of the beans. Same idea as the baking soda.

I cook these in a crock-pot for 6-8 hours. You could do the same with a large pot on the stove…cook on low-medium heat. Cook until the beans have soaked up all the water.

ingredients

1 recipe of Black Beans

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 small onions or 1 large onion, diced finely

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced finely

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (or not seeded depending on your spice preference)

1 stalk celery, diced finely

1 carrot, peeled and diced finely

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

2 tsp salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

3-4 cups vegetable stock

for serving

lime wedges

chopped avocado

fresh cilantro

tortilla chips

Greek yogurt

directions

Place black beans in very large stockpot.

To prepare vegetables:

Preheat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic in the oil until the garlic begins to sizzle, stir for 30 seconds, and add the onions and bell pepper. Stir and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until the onions and peppers are very soft, then add the jalapeno, celery, and carrot. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the carrot has begun to soften, then remove from the heat.

Add the vegetables to your cooked beans in the large stockpot. Stir in any remaining oil, plus the cumin, oregano, thyme, and vegetable stock. Cover the pot, raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and simmer for 35-40 minutes, until the carrots and celery are tender.

Remove from the heat, allow to cool 10 minutes, add the vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Like most soups, this soup will be richer and more flavorful the next day.

Garnish each serving of soup with chopped cilantro and chopped avocados. Serve with lime wedges.

-Recipe from Veganomicon by Moskowitz & Romero

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Tacos

This is a recipe I got from my dear friend Jen Smith. I'm not sure where she got it. Also, I forgot to take a picture of my tacos, so I got this picture off the internet by googling "pictures of butternut squash." I think I am supposed to say that.

I love this recipe because it is simple, but has a really great flavor. Make sure to cut up the butternut squash into very small bite size pieces so it fits nicely in a taco. Tips for peeling & cutting the butternut squash: Poke it with a fork and microwave for about a minute before peeling. Then use a really sharp knife.

Also, I made my own refried black beans by first, soaking the beans overnight. Second, cooking them in the crock pot while I was at work. Third, adding the beans, enough of their juice to keep them the right consistency and some coconut oil to a pot and stirring them around with a little bit of cumin, salt & black pepper. Delicious.

ingredients

1½ cup refried black beans

1 small butternut squash

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

soft corn tortillas

for serving

Salsa Verde

Cilantro sprigs

Creme fraiche or sour cream or I like to use greek yogurt

directions

Warm the refried beans gently over low heat. Cut the butternut squash into very small bite size piece, about 1/2 inch. Heat large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add olive oil or coconut oil. When it smokes, add squash cubes and toss well. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, cumin and black pepper. Saute over high heat, tossing frequently, until tender but not mushy inside, about 10 minutes. To serve, heat tortillas quickly one by one in a very hot dry skillet, about 10 seconds per side. Assemble tacos by spooning in black beans, topping with sauteed squash, cilantro sprigs, and cream or yogurt.