White Bean and Kale Soup (Vegan)

The rain has finally arrived, albeit a bit late in the year. This has been the driest year in California history, and while I can't say I've been hating all the sunshine, the drought is a real concern. And I really do love the rain. It's the perfect time to stay all day in jammies, eat soup, make tea and listen to the earth be renewed.

We also spent the week celebrating my middle son's 10th birthday and I'm feeling a little sick of party food, pizza and cupcakes. This was a nice dinner to bring my family back to their senses.My kids enjoyed this one, the 12 year old had 3 servings!

This bean and kale soup is very simple and quick to make. The bell pepper added towards the end adds a bright and peppery flavor to the soup.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp Better than Boullion (veggie flavor)
6 cups of water
1 onion, diced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bag of frozen peas and carrots
1 cup of cooked white beans
2 cups of kale


Saute the onion and celery in a large saucepan until translucent. Add in the garlic and bay leaf and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add in the boullion, rosemary and water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then add in the rest of the ingredients, bring back to a boil. Simmer until peas and carrots are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the rosemary stem and bay leaf prior to serving. Enjoy with a crusty loaf of bread, for dipping.

Chickpea Wraps with Tahini (Vegan)

I picked up a jar of dukkah the other day at Trader Joe's because I've never tried it before. That's pretty much how I discover new things; when something looks interesting, I buy it. Then I have to figure out what to do with it.

This was kind of an impromptu lunch I threw together that is sure to become a regular favorite. Most of my meal planning is centered around dinner, which can leave me high and dry for lunch, when I hit the house just after yoga, ready to devour anything in sight. But this recipe so screamingly easy and you can make it the day before for extra ease.

Ingredients:

Filling:
1.5 cups of cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 cup of chopped celery
1/4 of a red onion, minced
1 green onion, sliced thinly
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of pre-made Dukkah (or feel free to substitue another spice blend)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (you can substitue lemon juice if you prefer)

Sandwich:
flat bread of your choice, 1 per wrap
spinach and tomato for garnish
tahini

Combine all of the ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl and toss to combine.

Layer onto your flatbread some spinach, the filling, and top with tomatoes. Drizzle tahini all over and enjoy!

Chickpea and Rice Soup (Vegan).

This flu season has hit my family hard, ya'll. It seems like one of us has been sick since December. This week, we have yet another bug that is taking its time to make its rounds through our house.

I haven't left the house in five days except to teach a yoga class. I think I may have forgotten what actual human interaction  really feels like.

No one has been eating anything substantial, despite my best efforts. There's been lots of crying, more coughing, and a ton of sleeping going on, except not, you know, at night.

 And all hail the wrath of an angry, sick 4 year old. There's nothing quite like it.

When I was little, I remember eating chicken and rice soup when I was sick. Comforting, hearty, it was always the perfect just-getting-over sickness soup.

This is my best version of it to date. I've made it in the past, but like  yoga , cooking is a practice. And I think I finally perfected this baby. Every one ate, sickness or not, and loved it. Finally, some good nutrition into these sicky little bodies.

Cole, my soup-lovin' middle son, actually gave it two thumbs up and told me "It's awesome! Write that!" (So there you go).


Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sprig of fresh rosemary (or about 1/2 tsp dried)
1 sprig of fresh thyme (or about 1/4 tsp dried)
3/4 cup of rice
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced into half moons
3 carrots, diced
4-5 cups of vegetable broth (chik'n flavored veggie broth would be best if you can find it)
2 14 oz. cans of garbanzo beans, drained
2 cups of de-veined and chopped rainbow chard
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion, garlic and celery until soft. Add in the rosemary and thyme, cook 1 minute. Add in the broth, rice, carrots, zucchini and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes. Add in the chard, garbanzo beans, salt and pepper to taste, and cook another 5 minutes.

Serve warm with a fresh baguette.

Veggie Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

I'm not a huge fan of veggie sausages but I recently found that Trader Joe's makes a mean italian version that is pretty darn tasty. If you don't prefer to use veggie sausages, you can always substitute zucchini instead.

You will need:

2 acorn squash, halved

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

2 sausages, sliced into half moons

1 large apple, chopped

butter or alternative

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ingredients (except the acorn squash) in a bit of olive oil, until the onion is soft. Brush the tops and insides of the acorn squash with olive oil and then fill them with the apple/veggie mix. Top each with a small pat of butter.

Bake at 375 for an 75 minutes, or until the squash is soft.

Chik'n and Rice Soup

This is a very simple and savory soup that is easy to make and so nourishing. My husband, the resident meat eater, whipped this up tonight and it was a big hit for vegetarians and meaties alike.

Chik'n and Rice Soup

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 32 oz. box vegetable broth

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic

2 carrots, chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme

3 bay leaves

1 package extra firm tofu, drained and chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, celery, garlic and carrot in a few tbsp olive oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the broth, thyme, bay, salt and pepper and simmer for about 20 minutes. Just before serving, add in cubed tofu and cooked rice. To serve: place 1/4 cup of roughly chopped fresh spinach into each bowl and top with soup.