Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

I love this soup because I always have the ingredients on hand during the summer. Plus, as a bonus, it's a huge favorite with my kids (because I used to put "ABC" noodles in when they were younger!).

I guess it's basically a type of minestrone but I've never called it that because I don't like minestrone. Kidney beans and I do not get along. However there are no kidney beans here. So maybe it's not really 'minestrone'. I digress. Call it what you want.

At any rate, this is great when you have a garden full of greens and tomatoes to use up, and even with the chick-peas and pasta, it's nice and light, perfect for a summer supper.

Experiment with the beans and vegetable amounts and types, I've even used zucchini in it with great results.

Mediterranean Summer Vegetable Soup

• 1 sweet onion, chopped small or left in thin sliced rings
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups cooked chick-peas/garbanzos or white beans (or 1 can)
• 2 cups tomato juice or V-8 (OR 1 cup sauce + 1 cup water, OR your own homemade equivalent)
• 2 cups finely chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 cups vegetarian broth (I use the broth from home-cooked chick-peas - Don't use the broth from canned ones though, it's salty and yuck)
• 3 Tablespoons minced fresh basil
• 2 Tablespoons finely minced fresh sage (or 1 tsp dry)
• 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely minced
• 1/2 cup uncooked whole wheat pasta (macaroni, "A-B-C's" or orzo all work well here)
• 2 cups finely chopped greens; I use the quicker-cooking varieties here - chard, spinach, beet greens, tatsoi, dandelion, etc.
• several drops hot sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic over medium low heat until onion is transparent. Add juice, wine and tomatoes and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or so, until tomatoes start to break down.
Add broth, chick-peas and herbs.

Increase heat to medium high to bring broth to a boil.
Add pasta then REDUCE HEAT to simmer 7 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
Add greens and simmer 5 more minutes, until greens are soft/lightly cooked and pasta is done to your taste.
Season with a drop or two hot sauce, (for flavor, not heat), salt and pepper to taste.

Serves about 4 people.

Summer Orzo and Vegetable Salad

This salad was inspired by one I saw Giada De Laurentiis do on Food Network. She, of course, used large shavings of Parmesan and some fancy-schmancy vinegar I'd never heard of.

That's OK, I've made this so many times now, I'm sure it doesn't resemble her recipe any more, I still like to say I got it from Giada though, sorta sounds impressive... At any rate, it's a refreshing summer lunch salad and a great way to use up tomatoes and zucchini; feel free to add whatever sounds good, it's so easy to throw together!!

Summer Orzo and Vegetable Salad

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup Sherry (or White Wine) Vinegar
• 1 Shallot, chopped (or 2 Tbsp. white onion, chopped)
• 1 clove Garlic, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Italian Parsley
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh Mint
  
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• Lots of fresh ground black pepper to taste

Puree the ingredients together in a small processor or blender. Set aside.

Salad:

• 2 (or three or four!!) medium zucchini (or yellow summer squash), diced into small (1/4-inch) pieces
• 1 cup drained, rinsed chick-peas/garbanzos, canned or cooked from dry
• 1 1/2 cups dry orzo, cooked as directed and drained well
• 1 container (or 1 1/2 cups) tiny grape tomatoes, halved or quartered (if you have the time and patience)
  
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced, rinsed (or diced small, the rings just look really pretty)
  
• (optional, but yummy!) 1/4 cup coarsely chopped (pitted, obviously) kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup finely minced FRESH Italian flat-leaf parsley, or parsley and basil or whatever you have...
  
• (optional) toasted pine nuts
  
  

Directions

For the Vinaigrette: Puree ingredients and set aside.

For the Salad: Place the orzo, garbanzo beans, zucchini, tomato, red onion, olives and parsley in a large salad bowl.

Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss well. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and more chopped parsley if desired. Chill and serve.

This keeps well for several days in the fridge, if you can manage to stay out of it!

Vegan Munchies!!

Vegans don't eat tofu and sprouts all the time. (OK, you know I just had to say that).

Seriously, these last couple days we've been busy with back-to-school shopping and appointments and as a result, have had rather unstructured mealtimes.
So, we've done a lot of shameless snacking. But hey - I figure snacking is worth blogging about too.

First up, we have Indian spiced, crunchy roasted chickpeas. You know they're the same as garbanzos, right?

(Yes, there are 565767 versions of these in every veggie cookbook and blog out there, I have no idea where I got the original recipe, but it's morphed so much from the original I think it's fine to post...).

Crunchy-Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

-- 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained well and blotted dry (Note: I have always cooked my own chickpeas/garbanzos from dry beans, so I have no idea how this would work with canned, but I assume very much the same..)
-- 2 tsp. olive oil
-- 1/2 tsp. Indian Black Salt (which adds a rich smoky, sulphuric Indian taste, or just use regular salt if that's all you have...)
-- 1/2 tsp. cumin
-- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
-- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
-- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
-- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less if you don't like things too spicy)
*Pretty much, just use 2 - 3 teaspoons of whatever spices you like. These just happen to be my favorites.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the chickpeas with olive oil in a bowl, until coated. Then sprinkle on seasonings and spread chickpeas on a nonstick bakingsheet.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and crisp, stirring several times.

And next we have a summer-garden inspired Italian twist on a Mexican-ish snack. Pesto may sound totally bizarre in a tortilla but it's a huge favorite in this house. Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.

Pesto Quesadillas

-- 3 Tbsp. your favorite pesto (here's my Pesto Recipe)
-- 1 smallish portbella mushroom, sliced thin (optional)
OR 1 garden-ripe tomato, sliced very thin
-- 6 large flour tortillas
-- 6 slices vegan cheese, your choice (I used Galaxy vegan Rice Slices 'cause they melt pretty well)

Spread pesto thinly on 3 tortillas - aprox 1 Tbsp. each.
If using mushrooms, sautee portabella slices briefly over high heat in a lightly greased skillet until lightly cooked. Lay mushroom (or tomato) slices on top of pesto.

Tear or cut cheese slices into strips and distribute over mushrooms/tomatoes. Place additional tortillas on top of the three "filled" ones.

Wipe skillet out after browning mushrooms. Heat to medium-high. Carefully (carefully!!) place filled tortilla in pan and cook several minutes until browning. (Or do these in a "George Forman" type grill, I don't have one but friends do and they are GREAT that way!!)

Turn and cook on the other side until cheese is melty and tortilla is crispy and browned, lowering heat if necessary. Repeat with other two tortillas.

Cut into wedges and serve with whatever dipping sauce. We opted for marinara tonight.

Hummus!

I've been so insanely busy the last few weeks, I'll try and post the pictures/adventures that I have saved up!!

Today for lunch I went super-simple: hummus and veggie sandwiches.

The hummus is from an idea I got last time I was visiting in New Mexico. Green Chile Hummus. :DROOL! SLURP!:
I promise it's NOT spicy though, the chiles are very mild.

The sprouts are daikon radish sprouts from the Asian market and one of my FAVORITE sprouts! (Except for the sprouts also known as my kids - of course :) Also known as Kaiwarena, they have silky crisp white stems, crisp green leaves, and a peppery bite; they're a good source of Vitamins A, B, C, E, and K and minerals: calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc and copper. Who knew?

Here's my hummus recipe, for those who are interested. I never seem to have tahini around so always use peanut butter instead, and no one seems to mind - I also use freshly -cooked garbanzos but I think this turns out fairly well with canned, too.

HUMMUS

4 cloves garlic
2 cups home cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas are the same thing) with some of the cooking liquid OR 1 - 15 ounce can, drain and reserve liquid
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 tsp. ground oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika (if you have it)
2 tablespoons plain soy yogurt or Tofutti Soy sour "cream"

3 Tb. frozen or canned roasted green chiles

Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor or run thru a garlic press.
Put garlic, along with 2 tbsp. reserved liquid from garbanzos, and remaining ingredients, except green chiles, in the blender - (a food processor works, but will not produce as creamy a finished product).
Process until smooth, adding additional reserved liquid as needed to reach desired consistency.

Chop green chile coarsely in the food processor. Add to hummus.

Mix well, add more lemon, salt or pepper to taste and chill for a couple hours.

Ratatouille

Tonight's supper. Plain ol' easy comfort food.

I know, I know, people get freaked by eggplant sometimes, I think. In this recipe I 'salted' and drained the eggplant cubes (see recipe) so they aren't supposed to be as bitter.

I add garbanzos/chickpeas for a little protein and usually serve over couscous or quinoa.

Oh - and the blue bowl? I made it in a pottery class in college. It's my favorite "comfort food" bowl, wide, deep and easy to hold.

Ratatouille

1 eggplant, cubed
1 Tb. salt (for eggplant!)
1 can (or 2 cups) garbanzos
2 small onions, cut in quarters
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 red bell peppers, de-seeded and cut in bite sized pieces
4 tomatoes, cut in large pieces
1 zucchini, cut in bite sized pieces
1-3 tbs. olive oil
2-3 teaspoons herbs de Provence
(OR: whatever blend works for you - rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme etc...)
salt to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup stewed tomatoes

Directions:
Cube the eggplant, toss with the 1 Tbsp. salt and put in a colander for 20 min.
In a large frying pan, place the olive oil and saute the onion.
Add the bell pepper and zucchini.
When they begin to soften, add the garlic and raw tomatoes.
Rinse eggplant cubes and drain/blot well on a paper towel.
Add eggplant to frying pan.
Add the seasonings, garbanzos/chickpeas and enough stewed tomatoes so the vegetables don’t stick to the pan, but not so much that they are swimming in liquid.
Cook until vegetables are done to your preference.

Serve over couscous or rice.

Falafel!

Falafel Rocks Our Friday!

I've got a huge tub of dried garbanzos/chickpeas in my pantry, mostly we cook them and use them for soups or hummus, but today I soaked too many for the crock pot; and since I tend to love all things fried (obviously!) and spicy, I decided to use the extra chickpeas to make falafel.

It's been ages since I'd made these wondermous little goodies, my kids couldn't even remember if they liked them! (How sad!)

Of course, there was much discussion with my older girls as to whether the online "Falafel Game" really had anything to do with the actual falafel. Yeah, um, I don't know. But the game is a hoot.

While you're waiting for the things to cook, I recommend playing a couple rounds to get you in a falafel-ish mood. (The games developers describe it as: "...a fun and humorous game, which appeals to both adults and children, English and Hebrew versions of the game are available. Enjoy and Bon Appetit!". This is just hysterical to me for some reason, I'm just strange that way and I haven't had my coffee yet, so...).
But I digress.

ANYWAY! In all seriousness - In searching for a recipe using the raw (well, soaked) beans, I ran across this one for Spicy Falafels from fellow blogger Verdant San Francisco. I've always loved the recipes from Tommy that I've tried, and these were no exception. PERFECT blend of spices and all, we LOVED it!!

So, no recipe for me to type out today, just a link (above) and a really fun game which you know you're dying to try, and a picture of our crunchy, spicy, fried falafel goodness (and a picture that continues to elude me and remain itty-bitty for some freakish reason known only to the Blogspot gods).

Yummy perfect falafels today.

That is all.