Leek and Potato Soup

Some days I just feel like soup.  Today there is a chill in the air...the windows are wide open.  The day just screams SOUP!.  After looking around the kitchen pantry...and finding no cans of soup...I figured we were out of luck.  But then I remembered a soup I had a few months back...leek soup.  And I just picked up some leeks from the local farm down the street. 
After a few minutes looking through recipes and digging through the pantry and fridge to figure out how to make my soup dream become a reality...I came up with the following recipe. 

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 pieces of bacon - chopped (you can leave this out if you want to make a vegetarian soup)
2 Leeks, white and light green parts, washed and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 small yellow onion - chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 cloves garlic - minced
1 bay leaf
1 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, wash and cubed
4 cups vegetable stock (or you can use chicken stock)
2 tsp rosemary leaves

directions:
Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add oil
Add bacon.  Cook until soft and most of the fat is rendered (do not cook til crispy)
Add the leeks, onions and sea salt.    Saute for 5 minutes, stirring often.  Until the onions soften and turn translucent.
Add the garlic and bay leaf.  Stir well.  Cook for 1 more minute
Add the potatoes and vegetable stock.  Stir together.  Cover and bring to a boil
Reduce heat to med-low to simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes
Remove the soup from the heat.
Ladle about 1/2 of the soup into a food processor. 
Add rosemary.
Blend until smooth.
Add the smooth soup back into the chunky soup. 
Warm over low heat until heated through.
Serve hot.

Now you can continue to blend all of the soup, until it is all creamy...but I like some of the chunkiness of the potatoes and leeks.

Hope you enjoy this fall soup.

My kitchen

Before

After

We changed the color of the cabinets to espresso.  Added a much-needed island and pantry.  Then dressed them all up with new handles.  We almost doubled the storage space.  I can't wait to get cooking.

Watermelon Salad

This salad is quite simple but surprising in taste.  I found this recipe in the "Vegetarian Times" magagine.  And it was too good not to share. 

A little side note...my kids did not like the lime juice, so I had plan watermelon for them.

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
zest from 1 lime
2 cups seedless watermelon - cut into 1/2 inch cubes or balled
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/4 cup basil - chopped
1 tsp black sesame seeds (white will work also)
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
Whisk together lime juice, oil and zest. 
Add jalapenos, basil, sesame seeds and salt
Set aside
Place watermelon into large serving bowl.
Pour lime juice mixture over the watermelon and gently toss to combine.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

It has been a busy summer for me...which means very little time was spent here.  But, there was a lot of cooking done.  Here is my summer lemon raspberry cheesecake.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients:

Crust:

10 graham crackers - crushed

4 Tbsp butter - melted

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake:

2 cups (12-oz package) Nestle Toll House Premier White Morsels

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese - softened

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1/4 tsp salt

3 large egg white

1 large egg

Directions:

Preheat over to 350.  Lightly grease 9-inch pie or spring form pan

Mix together crust items in a medium bowl. 

Press crust into pan to form the crust.

In a microwave safe dish, combine white morsels and cream.  Microwave for 1 minute.  Stir. 

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt until smooth. 

Gradually beat in melted morsels.

Beat in egg white and egg.

Pour into crust

Bake 35-40 minutes or until edge is lightly browned.

Cook completely on wire rack

Refrigerate for several hours or overnight

When serving, garnish with raspberries.

10 on 10...July 10, 2010

10 on 10 is a great way to capture what happen during your day.  Every tenth of the month, take 10 photos.

Here is what happened with us today:

My lavender is in full bloom and the bees love it

The kids love their leapfrog abc and farm animal set.  The pieces are usually all over the floor, I was able to get a photo of them before the twins started their day.

The delicious sandwich my hubby made for me...hummus, avacado, cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. YUM! 

Eggs we picked up at the farmers market this morning

Yummy Whoopie Pies (or gooey gobs) I made for a birthday party

Fresh cantaloupe and raspberries we got from our C.S.A

My fish and flower from Ethan (both are fake)

A little bit of a Lego day

We went to Mount Washington and looked out on beautiful Pittsburgh

We are heading out to a wedding.

I hope your 10th was fun!

Greens-n-Beans Burger

I am always looking for vegetarian options for the summer cook-outs.  These vegetarian burgers hit the spot.  The combination of garbanzo beans, greens and herbs is awesome and they are super easy to make. 

I found this delightful recipe in the National Geographic True Food book.  Thanks Mitch for the book.  It gives you 8 simple steps to a healthier you.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp ground flaxseeds

12 Tbsp hot water (or hot vegetable stock)

2 1/2 cups canned garbanzo beans (look for organic beans)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, dill, etc) or 2 Tbsp dried herbs

1 onion, chopped

1 small orange, grated zest only

1 cup greens, finely chopped (spinach, dandelion, arugula, etc)

1 cup whole-grain toasted bread crumbs

1 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

*Mix the flaxseeds with hot water/stock.  Soak for 10 minutes until texture is gelatinous, like rice pudding

*Combine garbanzo beans, flaxseed mix, salt and pepper in a food processor. 

*Process until mixture is thick and creamy, but still a little chunky

*Pour into a bowl and stir in herbs, onion, zest and greens.

*Gently stir in the bread crumbs.

*Let sit for a few minutes, until it is easy to handle.  (note if it is too dry, add a little water, if too moist, add bread crumbs)

*Form into 1 inch thick patties

*Rub both sides of patties with olive oil and grill for 4 minutes per side

*Serve on hamburger bun, with a bit of mustard if you prefer

Enjoy!

Slow-Cooker Chickpea-Lentil Stew with Rice

Here is a simple meal to make.  A little bit of prep then your slow cooker does the rest...8-10 hours later it is finished.  It has a great spicy sweet taste to it.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp grapeseed oil

1 medium yellow onion - chopped

3 medium chile peppers - chopped

4 cloves garlic - chopped

2 tsp garam masala

2-15oz garbanzo beans - drained and rinsed (or you can use dried beans, just be sure to soak them overnight)

1/2 cup dried lentils

1-28oz can diced tomatoes

2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 cup pitted black olives (we didn't have any olives in the pantry this week...bummer)

1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions:

*Heat oil

*Saute onions about 8 minutes until tender

*add peppers, garlic, spice.  Cook until soften, about 2-3 more minutes

*add everything to the slow cooker (EXCEPT the coconut milk)

*Cook on low for 8-10 hours

*Add Coconut milk 15 minutes before serving

*Serve over Rice (we used long grain brown rice)

Enjoy!