Three Lentil Soup (Corner Bakery Style)

I love lentil soup - it is rich, hearty, and plant based! I loved the version they make at the local Corner Bakery but If I am correct - Gasp- it looks like it has been replaced by a Tuscan bean soup. With this in mind I set off to make my own quick and easy version and I was very pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

2 boxes of Trader Joe's Hearty Vegetable broth (4 cups each)
1 container of Trader Joe's Mirepoix (or 1 cup each onion, celery, and carrot diced)
2 garlic cloves grated on a microplane
2 cups of button mushrooms diced
6 oz bag of Trader Joe's baby spinach
2 cups of pureed tomato
1/4 cup green lentils
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup brown lentils (I found these dry in the bulk section at Whole Foods) but you can also find them steamed in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe's)
1 tsp cumin
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 bay leaf
1 good shake of Goya Adobo w/ pepper seasoning. Taste and add more if you need more salt.
1 TBS of olive oil and a little more for later. 
Cayenne to taste. I leave mine out of the pot to avoid the inevitable kiddo complaint "It is too spicy".  I just add a dash to my bowl before eating.

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot sautee Mirepoix and garlic in a tablespoon of oil. 
2. Add the chopped mushrooms to the mirepoix. 
3. Roughly chop spinach and add it to the veggies once the mushrooms reduce a little.
4. Add both containers of veggie broth
5. Add the rest of the ingredients except Cayenne. 
6. Let simmer until lentils are cooked and broth loses it's raw tomato taste. I let it come to a very brief boil and then put it on the lowest heat setting until the flavors meld.  I often add an extra drizzle of olive oil to the pot at the end just before serving. 
7. Sprinkle cayenne to taste for those of you who want spice. It really does make it taste fabulous but kids are not always keen on the extra heat. 

Enjoy!

Marinated Mushrooms

I love marinated mushrooms. They are great for snacking on and for adding to salads. At Whole Foods, these bad boys are 7.99 a pound. You can make your own for much less with very few ingredients and just a short amount of time.

Ingredients:

2 16oz packages of whole white mushrooms (1 Quart)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 cubes of Dorot Garlic  or 2 cloves of fresh
1 cube of Dorot Parsley
1 cube of Dorot Basil
1 TBS Penzey's Greek or Italian Seasoning
1-2 TBS of olive oil.

Clean and pull off stems from mushrooms.
Add a little oil and the garlic to a deep round high edge skillet ( I use a wok)
Add the mushrooms and the vinegar.
Let simmer until the mushrooms give off their juices 
Remove from heat and pour the mushrooms and the liquid into a class container
Let cool and then refrigerate. Use them as needed. They won't last long :)

Enjoy!

Party Size Vegetarian Antipasto Pasta Salad

The summer months include many chances to get together with friends and family. If you are looking for a monster size vegetarian pasta salad recipe that has everything but the kitchen sink thrown in - here is the recipe for you.

Ingredients:

2 boxes of Cellentani pasta cooked, drained, and cooled. 
1 7.5 oz jar of Reese Brand Grilled Artichoke Hearts chopped (do not drain)
12 oz Dell'Alpe Marinated Roasted Red Peppers (do not drain)
1 cup Bella San Luci julienned sun dried tomatoes
8 oz Bel Gioioso pearl size fresh mozzarella (drained)
8 oz of smoked mozzarella cubed. 
1 cup of marinated mushrooms
2 cups of sliced Israeli cucumbers
2 cups of diced fresh tomato
1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup black olives 
1 large fresh green pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
2 Tbs Penzey's Italian Seasoning Base
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh parsley
6 medium size basil leaves julienned
1 TBS oregano
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Once your pasta is cooked and cooled - set it aside. Start chopping and mixing remaining ingredients and add everything together in a large bowl. The liquid from the artichokes and peppers will help to make the "sauce".  I used a 32 cup Tupperware plastic bowl. Once veggies are all in and seasoned to taste - mix in your pasta and serve.

 

Amaretto Sours with Homemade Sour Mix & Sour Cherry Upside Down Cake

Last summer I scored a huge mess of sour cherries at the farmer's market and went crazy making all things cherry. I was also in the midst of reading  Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen by Donia Bijan and fell in love with her recipe for sour cherry upside down cake.  Sour cherries are late this year due to the Chiberian deep freeze we suffered through this winter. I had to make my batch this year from bottled but when they arrive at the market, you can bet I will be at it again with round two. Below you will find my drink recipe and Donia Bijan's cake recipe which she kindly granted me permission to reprint :) Enjoy!

Amaretto Sours with Homemade Sour Mix:

Ingredients:

Sour cherries ( if you cannot find fresh used the kind that are jarred in sugar water) 24 oz bottle or approx 2 cups of pitted cherries. There is no need to be exact.
1 bottle of Amaretto
clean and remove stones from cherries. If using jarred - dump out the liquid and rinse the fruit. 
Place the cherries in a glass jar and add the amaretto. Place a lid on the mix and place in fridge.

Sour Mix:

1 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 cup of fresh lime juice
1 cup of sugar - mix well and keep in fridge.

When you are ready for a tasty drink:
Mix about 1/4 cup of the amaretto mix and 1/8 cup of sour mix. Top with Sprite or 7-up. Of course - adjust the measurements to taste. You can either go light or boozy. The cherries pack a yummy amaretto kick.

  Sour Cherry Upside Down Cake (reprinted by permission from Donia Bijan)

   Cherry Compote

   5 tablespoons unsalted butter
   1 cup packed brown sugar
   2 cups pitted sour cherries (drained if bottled)
  
   Cardamom Cake
   4 tablespoons unsalted butter
   1 cup brown sugar
   1 1/2 cups flour
   2 tsp baking powder
   1/2 tsp ground cardamom
   1/2 tsp salt
   1/2 cup of half-and-half
   1 teaspoon vanilla extract
   2 large eggs

  1. Butter and flour a 9 inch round cake pan.  I have also used a cast iron skillet.
  2. To make the compote: melt the butter in a sauce pan with brown sugar. Fold in
      cherries and then poor in the bottom of your cake pan or skillet. Set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 350
  4. To make the cake: cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer until fluffy.
  5. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Add to the creamed
      butter alternately with the half-and-half and mix until smooth.
  6. Add the vanilla extract and eggs one by one.  Mix until combined.
  7. Pour the batter over the cherry compote. Place the cake in the center of the oven and bake
      for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes. Run a  knife along the edge of the
      pan and invert onto a platter. Scoop any remaining cherries onto the top. Serve with pistachio
      ice-cream!

Highwood Italian Beef Pizza

I often travel up to Highwood, Illinois to my old stomping grounds to get some of the Italian goodies you can't find at the local supermarket. There are several wonderful Italian businesses to visit up in Highwood but if you are in need of some sausage or Italian beef the only place to go is Poeta's.  Brothers Dominick and Luca Poeta serve up some of the best spicy fennel sausage for miles around. If you are making sauce and need a little of this or a little of that - chop chop goes the cleaver and there ya go! I asked if I could mention Poeta's in my blog and they replied - only if the recipe is good. So, here it goes, hope you like it. 

Ingredients:

1 heaping cup of Poeta's Italian Beef 
2 1/2 TBS of minced Giardiniera I used the minced mild from http://www.thatpickleguy.com/
1 1/2 cups of Italian cheese (mozzarella, asiago, and provolone blend)
1/4 of a large red pepper - sliced
sesame seeds
olive oil
1 lb fresh pizza dough
parsley 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Rub a little olive oil on your pizza stone or pan
3. Stretch out your pizza dough to make a large circle. I make mine the size of my pizza stone.
4. I dab a bit of olive oil all along the crust and then sprinkle on sesame seeds
5. Spread out Giardiniera onto the dough. It may look scant but the taste will power through. 
6. Next, spread the cheese onto the dough.
7. Top with Italian beef and Peppers
8. Sprinkle pizza with dry parsley
9. Bake at 375  for 20-25 minutes.  

If you live in the area you can pick up your Italian Beef and all of the fixin's at 
Poetas Market 

520 Green Bay Road in Highwood, IL

Mon - Sat:	8:00 am	-	6:00 pm
Sun:	9:00 am	-	2:00 pm

Antipasto on a stick

I whipped this up mostly from found items at the Northbrook, Illinois Whole Foods. The only thing that needs cooking are the mushrooms!

Ingredients:

• Pitted Green Olives of your choice from the Olive Bar or Bottled
• Abruzzo Dry Salami or any kind of Dry Salami- one stick sold in the lunch meat section. The width should be about an inch or so. 
• Marinated Gigante Beans from the Olive Bar 
• Roasted Red Peppers w/ Garlic - bottled
• Fresh basil
• Marinated ciliegine (cherry sized) buffalo mozzarella. - one container
• One package of white or baby bella mushrooms or marinated mushrooms from the salad bar.
• Marinated artichoke hearts - one bottle or from the Olive Bar
• Olive oil
• Bamboo Skewers - use small size or cut in half.
• Italian Seasoning.

Directions:

1. Clean mushrooms and toss in a table spoon or so of olive oil. Add Italian spices if you wish and salt and pepper. Skip this step and #2 if you purchased marinated mushrooms from the deli.
2. Put in a glass 8x8 baker and cook at 350 until soft and cooked down. Let cool.
3. Once the mushrooms are cool, start threading your skewers in any pattern you wish.  I like to leave some meatless for people who don't want the salami.

Enjoy.

Black Bean Burrito Filling

This is something we cook up almost every week at our house.  Here is a quick and easy recipe that can be made in no time at all.

Ingredients:

2  cans of black beans drained, rinsed.
1  4 oz can of chopped green chiles
1/4 cup of loosely packed cilantro (finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves
4 oz of salsa - fill the empty chili can to measure
1 tsp of smoked paprika
oil of choice

Directions:

1. Divide the beans and loosely mash half of them. Leave the other half whole.
2. Saute the garlic in a little oil and then add salsa, cilantro, and smoked paprika.
3. Mix in  beans (whole and mashed).
4. Saute on low until well blended and creamy.  Taste and salt as needed. Don't let them dry out.

Enjoy in salads, wraps, tacos, or on their own. :)