Roasted Onion, Garlic, and White Bean Bisque

More soup!

I have been wanting something creamy and tasty, but not heavy. I watched an episode of Iron Chef recently where they made French Onion soup and that got my mind to working. I have never had traditional French Onion soup, so I am not sure what it is supposed to taste like. I also need to figure out how to make it vegetarian. But I loved the idea of a mild savory soup flavored with onions, as they have an excellent taste and this is what I came up with:

















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Roasted Onion, Garlic, and White Bean Bisque
2 red onions, peeled
2 yellow onions, peeled *
1 bulb garlic, 1/2 inch of the top removed
1 cup white beans, soaked overnight and cooked
2 1/2 cups veggie broth (homemade if possible) *
dash oregano
dash basil
salt
pepper
safflower oil

Preheat oven to 400.

Cover onions and garlic evenly with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning the onions half way through cooking.

In a blender, puree the beans and veggie broth.

Once veggies are roasted, add those to the bean mixture and blend until very smooth.

Transfer to a large soup pot and season to taste.

We ate this with some of the DanJo Farms foccacia cut into breadsticks and toasted in the oven. So flippin' tasty!

'Til next time!

Crockpot Chile Chili

The weather is starting to get chilly here in Mid-Missouri and there is nothing better (at least in my opinion) to eat when it is blustery than a hearty soup, stew, or chili. So I decided to make chili!

I like my chili to be really spicy - well, if I am honest, I like EVERYTHING to be really spicy, but Brett has complained many times that the reason he does not like me to make chili is because it is too hot. I decided to be nice and use chiles for flavor, and just a little bit of heat and we ended up with this super tasty chili that we enjoyed with Fritos!

















Sorry for the horrible picture. Hopefully someday I will figure out how to use my camera.

The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Crockpot Chile Chili
1/4 cup Anasazi beans, rinsed ****
1/4 cup cranberry beans, rinsed ****
1/4 cup pinto beans, rinsed ****
1/4 cup navy beans, rinsed
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed
1 cup kidney beans, rinsed +
2 pasilla chiles, stems removed and rinsed
2 ancho chiles, stems removed and rinsed

4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 habaneros, seeded and minced *
2 gypsy (or other sweet peppers), seeded and minced *
2 yellow onions, chopped *
4 large tomatoes, cored and chopped *

2 red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed *
1/2 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed *

cumin
cilantro
salt
pepper

(Start this chili in the morning.)

Combine beans and dried chiles in a crockpot and let simmer on low all day.

Before you go to bed, add all the vegetables except the sweet and regular potatoes.

In the morning, add the potatoes, and season to taste. Let cook for an additional hour or so or until potatoes are soft.

This chili was super tasty and would also be excellent with tortilla chips or on a baked potato. Mmmmmm.

'Til next time.

Sautéed Mushroom, Spinach and White Bean Puree Stuffed Pitas

What?! This post isn't about a Mexican meal?! It's a little change-up, but I wouldn't get too used to it. Mexican will be on the menu pretty much all next week - Jen's got some ideas......

Anyways, I have been feeling under the weather for the last couple of days, and this is the first time I've felt almost decent enough to cook (basically, I'm tired of frozen pizza, take-out, and have food that I don't want to waste). I hope in a couple of days, I'll be back to 100%.

This meal was pretty easy and quite yummy.

Note: This makes more than enough for a meal for two, so we will be having the leftovers for lunch. We dipped these in Annie's Tuscany Italian dressing.

Idea for a variation: This would probably be good with a little more garlic and/or some kalamata olives pureed with the beans. We both thought this would be really good with plain or garlicky hummus instead of the white bean puree.















Sautéed Mushroom, Spinach and White Bean Puree Stuffed Pitas















Pureed White Beans:
2-3 cups navy beans
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
basil
salt

In a food processor blend all ingredients until smooth.















Mushroom and Spinach Mixture:
4 large white mushrooms, finely diced (or about half of one of those large packages of button mushrooms)
4-5 cups fresh spinach
1/4 onion diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
veggie broth
Italian seasoning
salt

Heat a few tablespoons of veggie broth in a medium sized pan. Add onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms and seasoning (and more veggie broth if needed), and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Add the spinach in batches, covering with a lid if necessary to wilt. Drain any excess liquid before transferring to a bowl.

Putting It All Together:
canned, quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed
whole wheat pita bread

Spread a thin layer of the pureed white beans, a few spoonfuls of the mushroom/spinach mixture, and a few artichoke hearts. Enjoy!

I wanted to end by touting another of Brett's posts. I can't help it, he writes about topics that are of great interest to me, so I feel the need to share. This post is about stupidity. I still find there to be something ironic and a bit funny about an intellectual or scholarly discussion of stupidity. Anyways, if you want to check it out, you can find the newest post here.

'Til next time!

Veggie and Bean Burros

So I was telling Lindsay (the Happy Herbivore) yesterday that I should have named my blog 'What Will I Think To Stuff Into A Tortilla Next.' It's so true. Now, we all have our 'things', for some it's pasta, others bread, for me it is tortillas in pretty much any form except those that contain lard or lots of icky preservatives. I am also passionately addicted to guacamole. Who knew what wonder and beauty would come from mixing avocado, garlic, lime and just a couple of spices, it's amazing.

Anyways, I'm done waxing poetic about guacamole, but you shouldn't be surprised that it is an accompaniment to the dinner that is the subject of this post.

Upon reading the ingredients list of this recipe one might find it a bit odd, but trust me, all these veggies work very well together and with the seasoning combination. I would have never thought to put broccoli or cauliflower in Mexican had I not had fajitas with broccoli and cauliflower at a place in Illinois that were out of this world. I think, more than anything, the spice combination is what is important.

Note: Again, if you don't want to use a tortilla, you could always just serve this over rice, quinoa or millet. I also had some left over navy beans so I threw them in here too, you could use just black beans or just navy beans too if preferred.

Veggie and Bean Burros

(Makes enough filling for 4 burros.)

1/2 cup navy beans, cooked

1 cup black beans, cooked

can chopped green chilies, drained

1 zucchini, roasted and sliced

1 cup cauliflower, cooked

1 cup broccoli, cooked

seasoned roasted yams

cumin

Mexican oregano

ground coriander

chili powder

salt

tortillas
guacamole

salsa

In a medium sized bowl, mix together warmed beans, green chilies, and spices to taste.

In a separate bowl, combine all the veggies except the yams.

Layer bean mixture, veggie mixture, and yams in a warmed tortilla. Roll up and fry if you like.

Top with guacamole and salsa.

I hope everyone enjoys their Friday!

'Til next time.

Squash and Bean Quesadillas

We had another winner last night. These quesadillas were really good. They were filling, spicy, and oddly authentic tasting for a more 'fusion' style meal.

A couple of notes: You could easily eat this without the tortilla. Just serve the roasted veggies and bean mixture over a bed of quinoa, top with guacamole and salsa and you'd be good to go. Also, I roasted my veggies and cooked my beans ahead of time, so this meal only took about 30-35 minutes. I just prepared the guacamole, heated and spiced the beans, and got all the 'fixings' together while the quinoa was cooking.

Before I go to the recipe I want to make one plea - don't fear frying your burritos or quesadillas. Use coconut oil and not very much of it at all. This doesn't add any significant amount of fat to the meal, the coconut oil does not release free radicals when heated, it only takes five minutes and it takes the meal to another level. I highly recommend trying it this way at least once.

















Squash and Bean Quesadillas
Serves 3 (enough for Brett to have the leftovers for lunch)

1 zucchini, roasted and sliced
1 yellow squash, roasted and sliced
hot peppers, roasted and sliced (I used a habanero, jalapeno and serrano)
1/2 red bell pepper, roasted and sliced
1/2 cup black beans, cooked
1/2 cup navy beans, cooked
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
chipotle chili powder
Mexican oregano
ground coriander
cumin
salt
vegan monterey jack cheese (optional)

tortillas
guacamole
salsa

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat some coconut oil on a baking sheet.

Wash and cut zucchini and squash in half. Place on baking sheet and roast in oven for 20-25 minutes or until soft and skin of veggies slightly blistered.

Let cool for a few minutes, then slice.

While veggies are roasting, cook quinoa.

In a small skillet, heat some water and add onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 7-10 minutes.

Heat beans. Toss with spices to taste. Add in hot peppers.

In a large skillet heat a little coconut oil in the pan.

Layer quinoa, roasted squash and bean mixture into a warmed tortilla topping with optional cheese before folding the tortilla in half.

Carefully place quesadilla on hot skillet and fry on each side until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes for each side. Make sure to keep an eye of the tortilla to prevent burnage.

Top quesadilla with guacamole salsa.

'Til next time.

Midwestern Spice Chili

I have been craving chili for awhile, but had avoided making it until I could come up with something creative, as I have, over the years, pretty much ‘chilied’ myself out. You see, chili was one of the first things I learned how to cook back when I was still an omni, so I made it all the time and wore myself out on it (and Brett too!). Then I came across SusanV’s Gold Rush Chili and thought it was a good starting point. I modified it to our tastes, and this is what I came up with!

A little note of warning though, if you don't like spicy food, either cut out or cut down the roasted hot peppers and cayenne.

Midwestern Spice Chili
1 cup kidney beans, cooked
1 cup navy beans, cooked
1 cup black beans, cooked
15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 butternut squash, cubed and roasted
1 sweet potato, peeled, cubed and roasted
jalapenos and other hot peppers, roasted and sliced
1/2 bell pepper, roasted and diced
1/2 cup corn, cooked
1/4 onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
regular chili powder
chipotle chili powder
Mexican oregano
cumin
cayenne (of course)
black pepper
salt

Heat water in a large pot, add onions and cook 5 minutes, add garlic and cook another few minutes or until veggies are soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Spice to your liking and simmer over low heat for a half hour to an hour for the flavors to meld.

This makes quite a bit of chili. We had our fill for dinner, portioned out two servings for lunch and then froze the rest. You could also just cut the recipe in half.

I also thought I’d leave you with the ‘recipe’ for one of my favorite snacks: mixed nuts and dried fruit. I call it a ‘recipe’ because there is no actually preparation really involved other than mixing the ingredients together in a bowl. But I thought I’d share this snack as it’s delicious, healthy, and filling.















J's Yummy Snack Mix

(Note: All my ingredients were organic and purchased from the bulk section. It cost less that $5 to make a HUGE container full of this.)

roasted peanuts*
raw almonds
raw sunflower seeds
raw cashews
dried mango
dried cranberries
raisins
dried cherries

*This is the only nut I bought roasted and salted as I wanted a little salitness in the mix. You could just use raw peanuts too if you wanted.

Mix everything together and chow down.

So yummy!

'Til next time!