Soup!

Despite the cold weather, I haven't had soup in a long time. Until now! The day before yesterday I made a lentil soup recipe from one of my mom's magazines. I would post the recipe, but I can't find it right now! The original recipe called for ham (yuck) and celery, which we didn't have, so I left these two ingredients out. It also had carrots (which I doubled due to lack of celery), onions, garlic, spices, spinach, and a dried chipotle pepper. I thought I was going to be bland, but I was quite tasty.


Last night I made the Chipotle Corn Black Bean soup from Vive Le Vegan. Although the recipe said to blend it with a hand blend, I didn't do that because I like chunky soups. I liked it, and I especially liked the lime wedges squeezed over it. If you make this, don't leave that out!


At around noon today, after my mom gets out of work, my parents and I are going to Rockport. We'll be back Monday afternoon. See you then!

Quinoa and Wild Rice, Black Beans and Rice

A few nights ago, I made Simple Quinoa and Wild Rice Pilaf from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook. However, I made quite a few adjustments. I omitted the bouillion cube, margarine and scallions and instead added a chopped zucchini, a can of pinto beans that needed to be used up, and some cumin(one of my favorite spices), dried rosemary and thyme. Very simple, yet delicious.

Then, I made a Black Beans and Rice recipe I invented. I was great! Here it is topped with some storebought salsa.



And here is the recipe:

Cherry's Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups dry black beans
1 strip kombu
enough water to cook black beans

1 cup long grain brown rice
2 zucchini, chopped
1 ear corn, cut of the cob
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. paprika

Soak the black beans overnight. Then, in the morning, place the water, black beans and kombu in a crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours. Then, turn to low and continue cooking until the beans are done and the kombu has disintegrated. Or, you can cook it on low all day if you're not going to be home to watch it.

Drain the water from the beans into a glass measuring cup and set the beans in a bowl. Add enough water to the drained bean liquid to make 2.5 cups of liquid. Pour this into a pot, add rice, bring to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the zucchini and cut the corn off the cob. After the rice has cooked for 15 minutes, add the corn, zucchini and seasonings and continue cooking until rice is done, about 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When rice is done, add the beans, mix well, and cook for 5 more minutes.

Lentil Vegetable Pasta

For dinner tonight, I made a recipe of my own, making it up as I went along. I was trying to use up a lot of odds and ends in the frig, especially the HUGE zucchinis we bought at the farmer's market. It didn't really come out how I had wanted it to, but it still tasted great. Here is the recipe:

Lentil Vegetable Pasta

Ingredients:

For Lentils:

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 cups water
1 tsp. each: cumin, bragg's, and garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne

For Vegetables:

1/2 a large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 TB tomato paste
1 tsp bragg's
1 tsp each: dried basil, oregano, thyme, ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 cup diced sweet potato
1 very large zucchini, sliced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 handful cherry or pear tomatoes

8 oz. spaghetti or other pasta
water to cook pasta

Mix all ingredients for the lentils in a pot, bring to a boil, them simmer for 30-45 minutes, until lentils are tender. When lentils are done, drain them over a sauce pan so all the excess liquid goes into the pan, and set the lentils aside. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions, and drain when finished.

Add onion, garlic, ginger and celery to the sauce pan that you just filled with liquid and cook on medium-high for a few minutes. Then, add tomato paste, bragg's, and seasonings, mix in the pan for a minute or two, then add the sweet potato, zucchini and corn. Stir to mix together, then put the lid on and cook over medium for 10 minutes, until sweet potato is tender. Then, add tomatoes and cooked lentils, place the lid back on and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add pasta to lentil-vegetable mixture and mix well to combine.

Variation: to make it quicker and less "stew-like," use canned chickpeas instead of lentils, or leave out completely.