Long Life Veggie Soup

By Pam Hadder

I have enjoyed making minestrone soup for many years. This vegan recipe is adapted from a recipe found in  Woman's World magazine, and it originates in Sardinia, the Italian island which is known to have the most centenarians in the world!  Apparently the locals of Sardinia attribute their long life to this wholesome vegetable soup.   The flavour is amazing -even better when I have my own fresh herbs (parsley, basil and oregano) from the garden.  But in the winter, I have to be content with dried herbs.  Serve it over fresh pasta and grate your favourite vegan cheese over top.  I hope you will try and enjoy this simple, delicious recipe - I think the deal maker with this recipe is the fennel, so don't leave it out xox

Long Life Veggie Soup

Ingredients:
1 can (approx. 19 ounces) white beans
1 can (approx. 19 ounces) chick peas
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium cooking onions (yellow onions), chopped finely
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 large potatoes, peeled and diced in 1/2" chunks
4 large carrots, peeled, quartered and chopped in 1/2" pieces
4 ribs celery, chopped finely
1/2 large fennel bulb plus 3 stalks fennel, chopped in 1/2" pieces
2- 28 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped fresh herbs - Italian parsley, basil and oregano
(or 3 Tbsp. dried herbs - 1 Tbsp each of the above herbs)
2 tsp. sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
4-6 cups water, depending on desired consistency

Other: fresh cooked pasta (oiled and or buttered - vegan butter); grated cheese

Method:
Add the oil to a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add in the chopped onion, salt and black pepper, stirring occasionally, loosely cover and cook onions until soft and translucent (about 7 minutes).  Add in the garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, fennel and stir occasionally; cooking loosely covered for another 20 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and enough water to ensure all veggies are covered.  Reduce heat to medium-low or low, and cover tightly to simmer for 15 minutes.  Add in the herbs and canned beans, including the liquid from the beans - no need to rinse. Simmer another 10 minutes to heat through. Serve over a large scoop of hot, buttered pasta and garnish with grated cheese.

NOTE: this soup freezes very well; just reheat, make some fresh pasta to accompany it, and you are set. Also delicious on its own, but the pasta is a great addition.  I have substituted dill for the oregano and basil for a change - when I have had some awesome fresh dill on hand; it is also really wonderful. When using the dill, try cooking some basmati rice instead of the pasta as an accompaniment.

Vegan Coconut Curry

By Pam Hadder

I love anything tofu, anything curry, and anything with coconut and/or coconut milk - these things spell comfort for me!  The beauty of this recipe is that it combines all of these flavourful and satisfying ingredients in one delightful synthesis for your taste buds (and tum)!

The recipe is easily halved, but I find the full batch disappears quite readily - it's great to pack up for a healthy lunch or dinner.

xox!

Vegan Coconut Curry

Ingredients:
1-350 g package of firm or extra firm tofu, sliced in bite-size strips or cubes
2-3 Tbsp. of Asian Sriracha sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp. olive or canola oil, for frying
1 large onion, cut in strips
1 large red bell pepper, cut in bite-size pieces
1 large ripe tomato, diced
1/2 cup golden raisins, finely chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. green curry powder
1 tsp. dry ginger, ground
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups frozen green peas
1 can full fat coconut milk

Method:
Mix together the soy and Sriracha sauce and combine with tofu cubes in a small container.  If time allows, marinate a few hours in the fridge - one day ahead is ideal. When ready to prepare the dish, reheat large skillet over medium high heat.  Add in the oil, and cook the onions until tender (about 5 minutes).  When onions are clear and tender, stir in the tomato, bell peppers, raisins, garlic and seasonings - cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, and turning down heat if necessary (you must take care not to scorch the garlic and onions).  Add in the peas, reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Finally, stir in the coconut milk, cover once more and cook 3-5 minutes to heat through.  Serve over rice - absolutely delicious!

Note: I use about 1/2 tsp. of sea salt in this recipe, and 1 tsp. of ground black pepper - these can be adjusted to taste; the black pepper can be omitted.  Try substituting the tofu with cauliflower - so very yummy!

Autumn Beckons!

Brrrrr...ing on the HEAT!
Oh we prairie dogs who love the hot summer are cowering in our burrows today! Don't be fooled by the celestial blue skies and cotton ball clouds outside your office window, the wind is brisk and smells like harvest time. Where did our summer go?

Bake-A-Thon
Over the weekend I was caught in this crazy pattern of baking to warm the home (emotionally and physically) -- heating my small kitchen and filling the place with aromas of toasty oats, cinnamon and such! On the roster were oat and flax scones (part of my cool-the-hot-flash-dragon nutritional remedy!), flourless peanut butter cookies and (drum roll, the ole family staple) banana nut bread with chocolate chips.

Herbal or Horrible
Given the choice, I chose herbal -- I ventured to my small, rain-sodden herb garden and gathered fistfuls of basil and oregano to fashion an Italian-inspired salad to take to friends on Sunday evening. Mesclan greens, fresh mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, garden market bell peppers, home-made (ultra garlicky) croutons and a vinaigrette of balsamic vinegar and olive oil! All devoured within seconds at the "receiving end" of its short life journey. And then, as we prepared to go home and rest for the next work week, the delinquent sun made a "neener neener" appearance!

August 31, 2009

Monday Musings
We were all moving pretty slow today at work - surprisingly, though in a Tai Chi dream sequence of sorts, we got a lot accomplished! Tonight I am puttering - payed bills online and I am now doing laundry that I thought I had finished on the weekend (where does this stuff come from?).

What's your vibe?
If I had to assign a colour to my experience today it would be dove grey. I wore red shoes, a red enamel bracelet and a red sweater with a rhinestone encrusted zipper to offset the mellow vibe, but even sitting in full sun on a patio at lunch hour I felt the ole brain fuzz trying to set my mood on STUN!

Ode to the garden tomato!
We are enjoying lemon yellow tomatoes from our garden and splendid basil these days - I can't seem to get enough of a simple salad I once ate in a local eatery called Pelegrino. The owner's girlfriend was an art model for me in my university days and I had given her some quick ink and charcoal studies as gifts. Years later, these were lovingly framed and hung in their small restaurant.

As I write this I am sipping a late night coffee with cream as a last ditch antidote... before I doze off, here is the simple recipe for the former Pelegrino's Tomato Salad with Basil - I urge you to get your hands on some late summer tomatoes and try this! Simple and so addicting...

TOMATO SALAD WITH BASIL
Four medium tomatoes, picked at the peak of ripeness and sliced 1/4" thick
3 ounces thinly shaved mozzarella cheese
Eight leaves of basil, chopped
Sea salt and coarse grind pepper to taste
Olive oil to taste

On a medium size plate arrange the tomato slices, tuck in the slivers of cheese between the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Toss the chopped basil over all and drizzle with olive oil. Wonderful as an antipasto, with fresh bread - if your diet allows - sadly mine does not.