Meals Made Easy #4 - Carrot Ginger Soup

Being it is autumn, and I love food, I am consistently thinking of soup. Carrot Ginger Soup keeps popping up so I figured - let's do it. Perusing a few different recipes everything called for oranges but being fresh out I improvised (my favorite!) with frozen pineapple.

Inspiration: Autumn!

Food Obtained From: Tremont Farmers Market, West Side Market

List of Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots
1-2 inches fresh ginger
2 medium onion
2 tblsp butter
4 cups of broth or water with spices
1 cup pineapple
2 handfuls of spinach
1 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper.

Prep: Chop carrots, onion and ginger. In a pan over medium-high heat melt the butter and sautee the carrots, onion and ginger until soft. About 7 minutes. Add two cups of broth/water and simmer covered until tender. Roughly another 10 minutes. Combine the sauteed mixture with the spinach, pineapple and goat cheese either in a blender or using an immersion blender (I use a Vitamix). Combine until pureed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

All in all this takes under 30 minutes to make, the majority of the time being spent sauteing the veggie mixture. To make it vegan take out the goat cheese.

While the soup is a dull yellow and not the most pretty thing to look at it tastes fantastic.

Meals Made Easy #2 – Soba noodles with Veggies and Tahini Sauce

Meals Made Easy #2 – Soba noodles with veggies and tahini sauce

Inspiration: a remembered meal and a lost recipe

Food obtained from: Basketeria at the Westside Market and Blue Pike Farm

Location: Cleveland, OH

List of Ingredients (all sizes approx): srvg. soba noodles, 5 baby bella mushrooms, .5 red pepper, .5 head broccoli, 3 clove garlic, 2 tblsp tahini, .5 hot pepper, 2 tsp mustard, 1 tblsp flax seed oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp marmalade, 1 tblsp rice vinegar, 1 tblsp butter, salt & pepper

Prep: cut mushrooms, red pepper and broccoli. Bring water to a boil for soba noodles.

In a small bowl add about 2 tblsps of tahini, one clove of garlic, half a hot pepper, 2 tsp of mustard, 1 tblsp flax seed oil, a tsp or two of both honey and marmalade, half a tblsp of rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk together and set aside.

Melt 1 tblsp of butter over medium heat, add garlic. Add veggies and sautee. Meanwhile, cook soba noodles. Both should cook for 4-5 minutes.

Drain noodles; add to plate, top with veggies and sauce. Mix together and enjoy.

Result: Takes about 10 minutes max to cook, is nutrient dense, easy to prep, light and delicious.

Meals made Easy #1 - Tofu with fingerling potatoes, heirloom tomatoes and hummus

Meal #1 – Tofu with fingerling potatoes, heirloom tomatoes and hummus

August 25, 2011

Inspiration: No menu in mind, seek and find mission

Food obtained from: Farmstand – Downtown Chicago

Location: Downtown Chicago; small kitchen

List of ingredients: fresh tofu, fingerling potatoes, heirloom tomatoes, corn, pita, artichoke spread, hummus, mushrooms, goat cheese, Franks Red Hot

Prep: heat grill. Put fingerlings in tinfoil with oil, salt and petter. Cook for 20 minutes or so. Add corn to grill, cook for 15 minutes. In the meantime, dice tofu, season to taste and sautee for 10-12 minutes in oil on the stove over medium-high heat.

Slice tomato and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill pita bread for five minutes, cut into eight pieces.

Plate presentation: dollop of both hummus and artichoke dip. 

Crumble goat cheese on top of the hummus, add Franks Red Hot (if desired). 

Add a serving of tofu, potatoes, tomato, ½ ear of corn and you’re all set.

The result is a light, fresh and filling meal.

sustenance

Food. Such a simple thing but has so many implications. Jack LaLanne passed away yesterday at 96, the champion and inventor of modern day fitness talked a lot about food...particularly how it can affect your life. NPR outlined one of his challenges yesterday, asking his listeners to give up sugars for just five days. Stop drinking soda, stop adding sugar to your coffee, stop will all the candy, processed food and added sugar.

This challenge sounds simple but for many is so hard. Many people survive on those additives. They eat processed bars for breakfast, lunch out of a microwavable cardboard box, dinner from a box, never stopping to think about or understand what they are truly consuming.

Of course I go out to eat, it gives me pleasure and joy. Outside of that, however, I cook for myself. I start with staples and cook. Some of it is extremely time consuming, others are done in 20 minutes or less. It isn't difficult, but you have to be willing to want to change. To understand that only when you control what you consume can you control how you feel.

The following dish was quick and easy. I gathered the idea from a food network recipe and then went off on my own based on items I had in my house. It is low-cal and body healthy.

Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Mushrooms over Mixed Greens

1 c. of Israeli couscous
1 tbsp vegan butter
2 c. vegetable broth
dash of white wine
0.5 c. dried cranberries
1 c. sliced mushrooms
0.5 c. chopped carrots
1 tbsp. champagne dill mustard
0.5 c. mixed greens
dried herbs - basil & lemon balm
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat melt the butter. Add the dry couscous and toast for 3-5 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid burning the grain. Add the broth, bringing to a boil and simmering for 10-15 minutes until all the broth is absorbed.
Put the couscous into a bowl and set aside. In the same pan, add the mushrooms and simmer in white wine and a bit of salt and pepper. Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the mustard, herbs, cranberries, mushrooms and carrots to to the couscous and mix well.

Place a half cup of couscous over the mixed greens and enjoy.