Pea Soup with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This is a Taste of Home recipe. I know a lot of people will be turned off by the green-ness of it, but it's brilliant spring hue is exactly what drew me to it in the first place. I love fresh green things to eat, and we've been waiting so long, and will wait still longer thanks to a sluggish season, for that baby green. So I created it for the dinner table. It was good, but I don't care how many times they tout it as a main course, I think it got a little monotonous that way and would be better as a beautiful, and yummy, side dish. Additionally, I don't think it had enough protein as written so I added about the cannellini beans.

Pea Soup with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 25 min
Cooking Time: 15 min

Ingredients:
  ● 1/2 lb. sliced baby portobello mushrooms, divided
  ● 1 tbsp. butter
  ● 1/4 cup chopped onion
  ● 1 garlic clove, minced
  ● 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
  ● 3 tbsp. sherry or reduced-sodium chicken broth
  ● 1 tbsp. minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  ● 3/4 tsp. salt, divided
  ● 5 cups fresh or frozen peas, divided
  ● 2 cups cannellini beans (or one can)
  ● 3-1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  ● 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  ● 4-1/2 tsp. minced fresh basil or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil

Directions:
Set aside 3 tablespoons mushrooms for garnish. In a large skillet, sauté remaining mushrooms in butter until tender.

Add onion and garlic to skillet; sauté until tender. Stir in the cream, sherry, thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer to a bowl and cream with stick blender.

In a large pot, combine 4-1/2 cups peas, cannellini beans, chicken broth and remaining salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until peas are tender (about 5 minutes). Stir in lemon juice and basil and heat through. Use stick blender to soupify.

Serve hot and topped with mushroom and cream sauce (we mixed our cream sauce in). Garnish with reserved mushrooms and remaining peas.

Nutrition Facts (from Taste of Home, not including cannellini beans): 3/4 cup soup with 2 tablespoons sauce equals 169 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 15 mg cholesterol, 612 mg sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, 7 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch, 1 fat.

Butternut squash soup

I thought Jon, the resident pumpkin lover, would scream travesty when I made soup out of butternut squash instead of its orange relative, but actually I think he liked this one better. I know I did. It's just enough sweet and just enough spicy. Of course you can make it sweeter by using more cream or spicier by using more ginger (and I've heard of people adding curry, too).

Butternut Squash Soup

Origin: Alton Brown
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Time: 40 min
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
  ● 6 cups (about 2 large squash) seeded 2-inch wide chunks butternut squash
  ● Melted butter, for brushing
  ● 1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon
  ● 1 tsp. freshly ground white pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon
  ● 3 cups vegetable stock
  ● 4 tbsp. honey
  ● 1 tsp. minced ginger
  ● 4 oz. heavy cream
  ● 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the flesh of the squash with a little butter and season with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper. On a sheet pan lay the squash flesh side up. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.

Scoop the flesh from the skin into a pot and add the stock, honey, and ginger. Bring to a simmer and puree using a stick blender. Stir in the heavy cream and return to a low simmer. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. I failed to actually measure the heavy cream and ginger but I'm pretty sure I added more of both, particularly of the ginger, than is called for. In any case, this soup was delicious.

Margherita Pizza

We had a pizza party last weekend—the kind of pizza party that had me making four doughs and everyone lending their artistry to topping them. Before the party Calvin and I spent about 10 minutes with the cheese specialist at Whole Foods discussing the different kinds of cheesses used for topping pizzas and we came home with three different kinds of mozzarella in addition to a myriad of other toppings, so we had plenty of materials from which to work. They were all good, but this one seemed to be the favorite across the board and I know we'll be making this one again soon.

Margherita pizza (my own take)
Ingredients (dough):
  ● 3-3/4 cups bread flour
  ● 1 pkg rapid-rise yeast
  ● 1/2 tsp salt
  ● 1-1/2 cups warm water (~100-120F)
  ● 1 tbsp honey
  ● 1 tbsp olive oil
(toppings):
  ● olive oil
  ● 2 lbs fresh mozzarella (1 inch sized balls, sliced)
  ● 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
  ● fresh basil leaves, torn
  ● prosciutto (optional—we used prosciutto wrapped in mozzarella)

Directions:
Fresh mozzarella balls should be drained for several hours to eliminate extra moisture. I started mine draining six hours before we made our pizzas by pouring the whole balls into a colunder lined with a clean towel and placing it over a plate in the refrigerator.

Combine 3 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water, honey, and olive oil, stirring until mixture begins to leave the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface knead for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic, adding enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from sticking.

Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and turn it to coat evenly. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm and free from drafts (I warm my oven just a tad ahead of time then set it in there with the oven off). Let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and knead, on a lightly floured surface, about ten times to release the air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes, then roll or pat each ball into a 12 inch round. Place rounds on pizza stones or other baking sheet. Use a brush to coat lightly and evenly with olive oil, then top with tomato slices, cheese slices, prosciutto (if using), and torn fresh basil leaves. Bake at 450 for 10-13 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is beginning to brown.

Sesame tofu stir fry

This is one of those intuitive dishes that really doesn't require much of a recipe—take what you have, throw it together with some tofu and some appropriate seasonings, and stir "fry" it. Here's the original recipe I have been working from (along with my original alterations). I tend to stick with the same general seasonings, and I always include the peanuts, the tofu, the sesame seeds, the sauce, and at least three vegetables. Sometimes I serve this over brown rice, other times over rice noodles. It's easy, it's quick (except for the chopping which, if you use bags of frozen veggies is nonexistent), it's vegetarian, and it's healthy.

Sesame Tofu Stir Fry

Ingredients:
  ● 1/4  cup finely chopped peanuts
  ● 1  tbsp. sesame seeds
  ● 1  tsp. grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  ● 1  12- ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  ● 1  tbsp. sesame or peanut oil
  ● 1  16- oz. bag frozen stir-fry vegetables, thawed, or fresh veggies chopped (I often use fresh broccoli, carrots, peas, or whatever I have on hand)
  ● 2/3  cup bottled stir-fry sauce or something similar (or your own concoction)
  ● 2  green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
  ● 1 cup forest or shitake mushrooms

Directions:
1. In a bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the peanuts, the sesame seeds, and ginger. Add tofu; toss gently to coat.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu mixture to skillet. Cook, stirring gently, for 3 to 4 minutes until sesame seeds are toasted and tofu begins to brown.

3. Remove tofu mixture to a bowl (I usually just push it up to the sides of the wok). Add vegetables to skillet; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through. Add stir-fry sauce; cook and stir gently until mixture is bubbly. Stir in tofu; heat through. Serve over rice. Sprinkle each serving with some of the remaining 3 tablespoons peanuts and the green onions.

Nutrition Facts (makes 4 servings)
    * Calories 386,
    * Total Fat (g) 14,
    * Saturated Fat (g) 2,
    * Fiber (g) 6,
    * Protein (g) 19

 

Great Northern Garlic Soup

This recipe came from thecreatives.org, and this is one I don't think I changed at all, but my own directions are the ones listed here. I was skeptical at first—14 garlic cloves? Are you kidding?—but it is a really, really great meal. I tend to serve this warming soup on chilly nights with freshly baked whole wheat bread and sauteed greens on the side. Yum.

Grea Northern Garlic Soup

Ingredients:
  ● 2 c chopped onion
  ● 1 cup sliced carrots
  ● 1/2 c sliced celery
  ● 14 garlic cloves, minced
  ● 2 T olive oil
  ● 4 c vegetable broth
  ● 3 c cooked great northern beans , (white beans)
  ● 1 c OVERcooked garbanzo beans
  ● salt and pepper

Directions:
1. in large pot, saute onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil for 4-5 minutes or so.  add broth and beans, bring to a boil.  reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes until vegetables are very tender. *remove from heat and allow to cool 5-10 minutes.  Puree or blend until almost smooth— a submersion blender is perfect for this.

That's a lot of garlic, and it's oh so good.