Two Tomato Soups

Typically, I would make the Martha Stewart version of tomato soup (below), but my sister sent me one that’s a little easier (for the days when you need things to be easy…)

Melissa’s Easy Tomato Soup

1 - 28 oz can San Marzano peeled tomatoes

1 - 14 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes

1/2 onion roughly chopped

4 tbsp butter (or olive oil)

1/2 - 2 cup vegetable broth, cream or vegan half and half

Salt to taste

Put into a cast iron pot on medium for an hour. Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender in batches) until smooth. Add salt to taste. Finish with the vegetable broth or cream - add just enough to bring it to the consistency you like (if you like a less acidic soup, add cream).

So easy and delicious!

Another great tomato soup adapted from Martha Stewart’s Tomato Soup

Martha got it right with this soup recipe. Once you make this simple soup yourself, you’ll agree that buying tomato soup in a can is a shame. Plus you get the added benefit of adding as much (or little!) salt as you like, but if you’re making it for nostalgic reasons, you might as well add all two teaspoons. Let’s face it – some of us were raised on the canned stuff (and we love it!)

If you want to feel good about your salt, try Celtic Sea Salt or this amazing Norwegian Sea Salt from Salty Provisions - Double the magnesium, nearly triple the potassium over other brands. Hand harvested from the crisp, clean Norwegian Sea. 

Try this soup with a delightfully simple gluten-free grilled “cheese”! Seen here with bread from Wheat’s End and vegan “cheese” from The Dill Pickle Food Co-Op.

New Development!

If you chill on the reheating of this soup, it makes a fantastic gazpacho. Top with some fresh basil and you're ready to go on a hot summer day!

Makes 6 cups

• 5 - 6 T coconut oil

• 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)

• 2 cloves garlic (chopped)

• 24 ounces jarred or canned plum tomatoes

• 3 cups veggie broth

• 1 - 2 t sea salt to taste

• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

• 1 t nutritional yeast (optional)

• dash turmeric (optional)

Melt oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic and turmeric, and cook (stirring) until onions have softened (about 15 minutes). Add tomatoes, veggie broth, salt, pepper and yeast, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until tomatoes, onions, and garlic are soft (10 to 20 minutes).

Working in batches, transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until soup is heated through. If soup seems too thick, stir in some extra broth to thin. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

A Simple Salad

One of the deterrents for me in making a salad at home is that it takes too long! All the chopping and rinsing… leave that to the restaurants.

But having a salad with meals (or as a meal) helps aid our digestion, giving us the enzymes to break down other foods. Plus the nutrients and polyphenols in fresh fruits and vegetables help to lower inflammation in the body, even if they are accompanied by meats, breads, and processed foods.

So my solution has been to keep it simple. The salads I make at home usually only have three to five ingredients, and the dressing included in this recipe can usually be made with things we have on hand.

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls baby spinach or lettuces of choice

• 1 carrot (sliced)

• 1/8 Cup sliced tomatoes or dried fruit

• 3 green olives or avocado (sliced)

• 2 Tablespoons toasted pumpkin or sesame seeds

Hummus Dressing

• 2 Tablespoon prepared hummus

• Squeeze of half a lemon

• 1 tsp olive brine

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 1 tsp flax or hemp oil

Wisk hummus, lemon juice, olive brine, and oils in a small mixing bowl and set aside to rest. Assemble spinach/lettuce, sliced carrot, tomatoes or dried fruit, olives or avocado and toasted seeds in salad bowl. Toss with 1-2 Tablespoons hummus dressing or dressing of your choice. Enjoy!

Delicious Mushroom Soup

Mushrooms are a powerhouse of nutrients that support your immune system. They can even produce their own vitamin D when left in the sunshine before cooking.

Soups are a great way to use herbs and vegetables. Making a broth from your veggie scraps is also a great way to reduce kitchen waste.

Makes: 5 cups; serves: 4 to 6

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• ¼ cup diced onions

• 3 cups sliced white, portobello, or shiitake mushrooms (really any mushroom you like)

• 2 tablespoons chickpea flour

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder or fresh minced garlic

• a pinch dried thyme or poultry seasoning

• 1/3 cup vegan creamer (unsweetened) (I like to use Nutpods brand creamer)

In a 3-quart saucepan; heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook onions with garlic until translucent. Add flour and stir. Add 1 cup broth ¼ cup at a time and stir until broth is thickened. Add the mushrooms and cook (stirring) until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in remaining broth, pepper, and thyme/seasonings. Cook, stirring constantly, until soup comes to a boil. Add the creamer and remove from heat, stirring until the cream is warmed. Enjoy!

Vegan Pesto

This recipe is based on How to Make Pesto like an Italian Grandmother from 101 Cookbooks. It's been approved by my Dad, who makes a mean non-vegan pesto.

Italian grandmothers might be horrified that I use a food processor, but it works for us and tastes delicious.

• 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried

• roughly 3/4 cup cashews or pumpkin seeds (ground) 

• 2 medium cloves of garlic

• one small handful of raw pine nuts (for garnish)

• a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• Squeeze of ½ lemon

• *optional 1 -6 green onions

• *optional 1/2 teaspoon dulse (red seaweed)

• *optional 2 tablespoons hemp seeds

Grind your cashews or pumpkin seeds into a powder in the food processor. Add remaining ingredients except for the pine nuts and pulse until blended. Remove from food processor and drizzle with olive oil. Add pine nuts. Excellent with chips, crackers or over pasta. Enjoy!

Turmeric Rice

Many traditions have a form of rice that includes turmeric. Here is a really easy one to make that can be made with or without oil or butter.

Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory food. Including it in your diet will help you to recover from illness, minimize chronic diseases and counter the effects of aging.

From: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/super-easy-yellow-rice/

 Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients 

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1 cup long-grain white rice

• 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic or onion

• 1 teaspoon onion powder or dried minced onion

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 2 cups veggie broth

• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt or to taste

• ground black pepper to taste

• Herbs for topping

Instructions

1.                Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2.                Add the rice and gently stir until rice begins to lightly brown.

3.                Add garlic or onions, onion powder, and turmeric and stir until well mixed in.

4.                Slowly stir in broth and raise heat to medium-high. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5.                Bring the mix to a boil then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid.

6.                Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and add herbs, and fluff with a fork.

Sesame Kale Macro Bowl

Inspired by the Macro bowls at Native Foods and the Green Owl Café.

This symphony of flavors is so nourishing, it will soon become one of your comfort food dishes. This dish uses traditional sauerkraut that’s been lacto-fermented because it contains a plethora of wonderful bacteria and enzymes that will make your gut happy. If you’re new to fermentation, lacto, in this case, has nothing to do with cow’s milk. The process is named after lactobacillus bacteria, a salt-tolerant micro-organism found in most probiotic supplements. After the salt has destroyed potentially harmful bacteria, lactobacillus and other “good” bacteria start to convert sugars and lactose in the cabbage to lactic acid, which preserves the food and gives it the tang of sauerkraut.

• 1 C dry black beans (soaked and cooked)

• 2 Portobella caps (sliced)

• 1 head curly kale (or any kale you prefer)

• 1 C lacto-fermented sauerkraut

• 1 C tahini sauce (recipe below)

• 1 T coconut oil

• Sea Salt to taste

• Sesame seeds for garnish

Soak your black beans for >18 hours, starting with hot water. Simmer for 1 hour while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. When soft, add a dash of salt and let rest. Cut the mushrooms and slice the kale in 2 inch strips (I leave the stem in). Salt the mushrooms and sauté in the coconut oil on a skillet until juicy and browned. Steam the kale in a separate pot. Make the tahini dressing (below) while all this is cooking. Once the mushrooms are done, make some room in the skillet to warm the sauerkraut. Drain the beans and gather the greens, beans, mushrooms and ‘kraut in a bowl and drizzle with your prepared tahini sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and enjoy with friends! Makes about 4 servings.

Tahini Sauce

Inspired by About.com’s Tahini Sauce

• 1/2 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

• 1 glove garlic {crushed or chopped}

• 1/2 t sea salt

• 2 T olive oil

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1/4 C – 1/2 C water

Blend all ingredients except water in a blender. Add water to desired consistency. Enjoy drizzled on just about anything!

Baked Patatas Bravas

Inspired by Saveur’s Patatas Bravas http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/patatas-bravas

One of my favorite Spanish dishes from Café Iberico in Chicago is the Patatas Bravas. This spicy dish is usually made with deep fried potatoes, but since giving up fried foods, I tried making it baked. It worked well; and gave us an amazing rendition with a spicy or mild bravas sauce and all the flavor I savored from the restaurant.

You can also make this with the potatoes fried or cooked in an air fryer.

 ·        3 tablespoon olive, coconut oil, or butter (vegan or otherwise)

·        2 1⁄2 pounds fingerling or small waxy potatoes (peeled or skins-on & quartered)

·        1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes

·        ¼ to 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (depending on your spice tolerance)

·        ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

·        A dash of crushed red peppers

·        1 teaspoon dulse (optional)

·        1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

·        1 tablespoon date syrup or sweetener like sugar

·        2 teaspoons Balsamic crème (optional)

·        2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)

·        1⁄2 small yellow onion (diced)

·        Sea salt and freshly ground white or black pepper to taste

·        ¼ cup mayonnaise for topping (vegan works well)

·        Fresh parsley or scallions for garnish (optional)

Baking:

Preheat convection oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small saucepan, sauté the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons oil. Add the paprika, turmeric, crushed red peppers, Balsamic crème, and salt and pepper. Sauté until fragrant and mix in the dulse and nutritional yeast. Add tomatoes and simmer while you start the potatoes.

In a large bowl, swirl remaining 1 T oil with potatoes, salt and black pepper and place in a casserole dish with a lid. Bake for 20 minutes.

Cover the potatoes with the tomato sauce and bake {covered} for another 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for 10 minutes more on the top rack to thicken the sauce.

Remove from oven and add mayonnaise. Mix together and garnish with parsley and/or scallions. Let this dish rest for a few minutes and enjoy :)

 Heat oil or butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add paprika, sugar or date syrup, Balsamic crème (of using), tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper. Simmer tomato mixture, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes; set bravas sauce aside.

Frying:

Heat 2″ frying oil in a 6-qt. saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 220°. Add potatoes all at once to oil; cook until tender and pale golden, 35–40 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to paper towels to drain; chill 30 minutes. Remove oil from heat.

Return pan of oil to heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Working in batches, fry potatoes until golden brown and crisp, 4–5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer potatoes to paper towels to drain; season with salt.

If using an air-fryer, swirl cut potatoes in a large bowl with oil, dulse, salt, pepper, and turmeric. preheat for 3 minutes, and then cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a spray of oil if needed.

Drizzle potatoes with the reserved Bravas sauce and mayonnaise; garnish with parsley and/or scallions if you like. :)