Vegetable Soup

You can really clean house with this soup. Almost anything goes. As with the other vegetable only soups, onions are the most important ingredient. I staggered the ingredients so they would all have the desired consistency. A lot depends on how big you cut the vegetables. And don’t worry about having all the ingredients–you can mix and match. Use what you have, use what you like. Kale and Chard should cook between 20 – 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 4 Med-Lg Onions diced (4 cups)
- 2-4 teaspoons chopped Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 5 large Carrots large diced (2 Cups)
- 3-4 Celery Stalks – Cut small (2 Cups)
- 4 Medium Potatoes large pieces (~10 oz)
- 1/2 Head Cauliflower (3 Cups)
- 1/2 Small Bunch Kale – 1″ sq cut (2 Cups)
- 1/2 Small Bunch Chard – 1″ sq cut (2 Cups)
- 1 small head Broccoli (2 Cups)
- Mushrooms (1 Cup)
- 6 – 8 Cups Water (Enough to cover)
Directions:
- In a large pot add onions, garlic and oil
- Cook with medium heat stirring occasionally. Be careful to not let the onions stick and burn.
- Cook until the onions are translucent.
- Add Mushrooms, Carrots, Celery and 1/2 the water. (4 cups)
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer aprox 20 minutes.
- Add Potatoes, make sure there is enough water to cover and simmer another 15 minutes
- Add Chard, Kale and Cauliflower, check the water and simmer another 15 minutes (2 cups)
- Finally add the broccoli and simmer 5-10 more minutes (I add water until it makes the pot full to get a bigger pot)
- Season with salt and/or soy sauce to taste.
- Note If you want to do it more simply, you can add the potatoes, chard, kale and cauliflower all together. Try and wait with the broccoli as it cooks the fastest and is best served with a little bite.

Vegetable-Wild Rice Soup

This recipe is inspired by Common Roots Café in Minneapolis, MN. Common Roots Café uses locally sourced and organic ingredients to create a monthly-changing menu designed to keep customers on their toes.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Makes 6 servings (10 oz servings)


1 Tbps olive oil
2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
1 medium leek, rinsed, cut in half lengthwise and chopped, light part only (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled carrots
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
3 cups cooked wild rice
5 cups reduced-sodium vegetable stock or broth
2 cups water
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

In 5-quart stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook onions, leek, celery, carrots and garlic in oil until soft but not brown. Add remaining ingredients except vinegar. Heat to simmering.
Simmer 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar just before serving.

Veggie Chili

Serves 4 to 6 (10.5 ounce servings)
Cauliflower makes a surprise appearance in this chunky, veggie-packed chili.

Ingredients
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1/2 small head cauliflower, stemmed and cut into small florets (about 3 cups)
1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, chopped
Method
Heat a large Dutch oven or pot over high heat. When the pot is very hot, add onion and carrot, and cook, until both begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water to deglaze the pan, scraping brown bits from the bottom of the pan as the water evaporates.
Add cauliflower, bell pepper and garlic and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, vinegar, tomatoes and beans along with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are fork tender, about 45 minutes.
Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Soup

yield: 6 to 8 servings (14 ounce serving)
•1 large head cauliflower
•3 large sized peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1″ pieces
•1 medium onion, diced
•2 cloves garlic
•7 cups filtered water

First, preheat your oven to 400 °F and cut up your cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Place cauliflower onto greased cookie sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven and let roast until golden brown on the tops and tender, but not mushy, about 20-30 minutes. There’s no need to flip ‘em. Just remove from oven and let cool while you cook the rest of the soup.

In large stockpot, bring sweet potato, onion, garlic and water to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to remain at a constant simmer until sweet potatoes are tender. Add in cooked cauliflower and divide soup into 2 parts.
Let soup cool and then blend one part soup in blender until very smooth. Combine with second part soup and stir.

Minestrone Soup for Crock Pot

2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups chicken broth or beef broth
28 ounces diced tomatoes
2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 large celery ribs, sliced
1 large chopped onion
3/4 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
grate parmesan cheese

*  In a 6 quart slow cooker, mix together the chicken or beef broth, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, celery, onion, potatoes, dried basil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper

*  Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the poatoes are tender

*  Stir in fresh basil and olive oil

Makes 4 pint size freezer containers & 1 medium container for the fridge
15.5 ounce servings

Favorite cucumber recipes

Refrigerator Pickles (Unique Cafe, Boscobel) These pickles are more sweet - I was getting to the end of the gardening season and didn't want to make a trip to the store to try the dill pickle recipes.  Maybe next year :)

When the Unique's regulars bring in mounds of surplus cucumbers to share, these sweet refrigerator pickles are the result.  "These go on the salad bar," says cook Annette Wagner.  "We use both the small pickling cucumbers and the regular ones.  The store-bought ones don't keep too well."

Although these could hardly be easier to make, Annette does specify that canning salt should be used.  Regular table salt typically has anticaking additives that don't dissolve as easily as canning salt and can cloud the brine.  If you like your pickles tangy, use less sugar.  Keep cold, the pickles will keep up to a year.  "But of course they don't last that long!"

7 cups sliced,  unpeeled cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced onion rings
2 tablespoons canning salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspon celery seed

Mix cucumbers, onion rings, and canning salt well.  Let stand two hours.  Drain well (don't rinse, just drain).  Divide into 2 or 3 pint glass jars, if desired (avoid containers that are metal, as they can react with vinegar - - I actually used plastic containers)  Meanwhile combine sugar, white vinegar, and celery seed in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Pour this over the pickles.  Refrigerate the pickles.  Makes 2-3 pints.

Cucumber Mix

1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery seed

Cucumber & Tomato Salad
One of my favorites of the summer - and honestly I really don't even love cucumbers

Peeled and cut cucumbers into smaller pieces
Grape tomatoes - cut into half
Italian dressing - I used fat free
Feta cheese - I used tomato and basil flavor
Green olives cut into pieces

Easter bunny cake

I usually buy Devil's Food cake. I use 2-8" cake pans and follow the instructions on the box. You can also make a homemade cake. To cut the cake, just follow the instructions below.  I also use any kind of white frosting to frost the cake. For the ears, I use coconut and mix it with red food coloring. For the eyes, nose and also around the bow-tie I use jelly beans. And licorice for the whiskers and mouth. 

My favorite is using green food coloring and coconut around the entire cake for green grass and then sprinkling jelly beans on top of it.  However, I try and keep the whole center of the cake coconut free since there are coconut haters out there.  For this cake I just sprinkled a bag of jelly beans and some milk chocolate eggs around the entire cake.

Homemade Dog Biscuits

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup powdered milk
1 tsp. brown sugar (optional)
1 Tb. wheat germ
1 tsp. beef bouillon (granules)
6 Tb. bacon grease or meat drippings
1 egg
1/2 cup ice water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all dry ingredients.  Cut in drippings.  Mix in egg.  Add enough ice water for mixture to form a ball.  Pat out to 1/2" thick.  Cut out with a cookie cutter (I have one that is in the shape of a dog biscuit).  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheets and cook on wire racks.

Zuppa Toscana Recipe (like Olive Garden)

Okay - so I haven't done much with my blog :) However, I am thinking I am going to start using it to share random thoughts and things I have tried with everyone. I was talking to a friend who said they go to Olive Garden all the time and love their Zuppa. Amazing! Anyway - once she said her husband has been making it at home because he likes it so much, I had to do the same thing. Never thought of it myself... So of course since I had the craving for Zuppa now, I am also going to start making it at home. It was awesome! I didn't use the kale and I put the crushed red peppers in after, because half of us doesn't like hot stuff :) I love hot stuff! Yeah - it was amazing!!

Copy Cat Recipe: Olive Garden's - Zuppa Toscana

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale

Directions:
Sautee Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients
In the same pan, sautee bacon, onions and garlic for approxiamtly 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic.
Cook until boiling.
Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
Add heavy cream and cook until thoughouly heated.
Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving.