Mom’s Club Recipe: Tomato-Bean Soup with Pasta
February 23rd, 2011 § 2 Comments
This week’s recipe is from Sarah. Thanks, Sarah!
Tomato-Bean Soup with Pasta
From the Chicago Tribune|Serves 6
Ingredients
1 cup any small soup pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cans veggie broth (I assume 30 oz. – pwa)
2 cans cannellini or black beans
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
2 tsp Italian herb blend
1 bay leaf, optional
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 kale or Swiss chard leaves, coarsely chopped
grated Parmesan
Directions
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add broth, beans with their liquid, tomatoes with their liquid, wine, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.
Add chard leaves, cook until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls, add pasta. Pass Parmesan at table.
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(The only thing I question about this recipe is not rinsing off the beans. I assume the bean liquid thickens the broth, but still, when I make this I may stick to my habit of rinsing and deal with having a thinner broth. That beany, slimy, salty liquid kind of turns my stomach! That’s only my opinion! – pwa)
The Wonderfulness of Mix-ins
April 21st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I had planned to write about the dinner I made last night, but, well, it just didn’t turn out too good. I mean, it was edible, but it wasn’t anything to rave about. It sounded so promising, too: it called for artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, saffron, red peppers–all stuff I love–but together it was just blah, blah, blah. I had the leftovers for lunch today and they were blah, too. I thought maybe sitting overnight would improve the flavors. I done thought wrong.
Anyway, this morning’s breakfast was a success at least. If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know I’m a fan of mix-ins (taking a healthy base, like eggs or oatmeal, and mixing in other healthy stuff to create a nutritious and delicious meal).
This morning I sautéed a bunch of Swiss chard in olive oil and minced garlic:
Swiss Chard before cooking
Swiss Chard after cooking
There’s proof of how much a whole bunch of chard wilts during cooking.
I then added scrambled eggs and freshly grated parmesan cheese (it’s not that hard to grate cheese– and it tastes so much better than that processed sawdust in a jar.)
Chard with eggs and cheese
I put my eggs on sprouted grain toast:
My breakfast
Put Peter’s on a plate:
Peter digging in
And it was ultimately Peter approved:
Peter-approved breakfast
(And, yes, we’re sitting on the living room floor eating off the coffee table. Don’t judge me. “Super Why” was on.)
So, anyway, this may not be the quickest breakfast for a weekday morning (although if you washed and chopped the greens the night before, throwing the eggs together in the morning wouldn’t take too much time. Once it’s all in the pan, it takes maybe 10 minutes to cook.) But, you could easily make it for a quick weeknight dinner or a weekend breakfast/brunch.
If you’re not digging the Swiss chard, you could always use spinach or broccoli. Or even peas.
The point is: you can take a tasty and nutritious egg breakfast and make it even tastier and more nutritious by adding , you know, stuff to it. Try it. I’d love to hear some other mix-in ideas.
Here’s a question: when you make scrambled eggs, do you use water or milk? My mom used milk, so I use milk. But, my husband’s parents use water, claiming it makes the eggs fluffier. I don’t know if I can tell the difference. Can you? What’s the consensus? Scrambled eggs made with milk or water?
Greens and Quinoa Pie
April 16th, 2010 § 3 Comments
Well, the March 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times (VT) has not let me down this week. I made another great dinner tonight. However, just to warn you, it’s not a 30-minute meal. Especially if one has to keep bringing a certain two-year-old upstairs for time-out. (He was in rare form today, fo sho).
But anyyywaayyy, the recipe, Greens and Quinoa Pie, is actually included in an article entitled “Super Seder.” During Passover “most grains and, in some Jewish cultures, all beans and legumes” cannot be eaten. In addition, “the symbolic meal features meat (a roasted lamb shank bone is traditional on the seder plate),” which is obviously not ideal for a vegetarian. Hence, Myra Kornfeld put together a vegetarian seder menu that “highlights the bounty of spring.” This pie is the centerpiece of her menu. Check out pages 50-53 of VT for the accompanying dishes.
[Ok, so my husband just came home, made himself a dish, and is now saying "mmmm" and "this is amazing." He's now asking me to report that Berkshire Brewing Co.'s Coffeehouse Porter is a great complement to the dish. And now he just said that the pie "may be his new favorite." And now he's going back for seconds. This is riveting stuff right here. I bet it's almost as exciting as the blog updates he posted during my 30-hour labor.]
If you’re part of CSA or are growing your own greens, this recipe is a great way to use them.
Greens and Quinoa Pie*
Serves 6. Gluten free
Technically, quinoa is not a grain (it’s related to spinach and chard), so it’s perfect for Passover. Here, spring greens are wilted then mixed with quinoa and cheese for a golden-crusted savory pie.
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 large bunch chicory (1 to 1 1/4 lb.), cut into bite-sized pieces (bottom 1 1/2 inches of hard stems removed) (Note: I used 2 bunches of Swiss chard instead)
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
3 Tbs. olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 green onions, thinly sliced (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably Greek (1 oz.)
1/4 cup grated aged goat cheese or Swiss cheese (1 oz.) (Note: I used Swiss)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1. Place quinoa in small saucepan, and toast over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until almost dry. Add 1 cup water and season with salt, if desired. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer to large bowl.
2. Heat large pot over medium heat. Add chicory, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until wilted, stirring frequently or tossing with tongs. Add romaine, and wilt 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer greens to strainer, and squeeze out excess moisture. Transfer to cutting board, and chop into small pieces. Stir greens into quinoa.
3. Preheat oven to 350F. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, and saute 10 minutes, or until browned. Add cooked onions, green onions, dill, feta cheese, and goat cheese to quinoa mixture. Stir in eggs; season with salt and pepper, if desired.
4. Pour 1 Tbs. oil into 9-inch pie pan, and place in oven. Heat 5 minutes, or until oil is hot. Swirl oil to coat bottom of pan, then spread quinoa mixture in pan with spatula. Bake 20 minutes. Drizzle pie with remaining 1 Tbs. oil, and bake 20 to 30 minutes more, or until golden brown.
Per slice: 233 cal.; 10 g prot.; 13 g total fat (4 g sat fat); 20 g carb; 115 mg chol.; 149 mg sod.; 7 g fiber; 4 g sugars
Greens & Quinoa Pie
*Again, I copied the recipe verbatim from the March 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 51.
I would say that this recipe gets 5 out of 5 “mmms.”
Comforting Cabbage
April 12th, 2010 § 3 Comments
For me, comfort food usually contains hot, melted cheese: home-made macaroni and cheese, lasagna, pizza, cheddar melted on Triscuits (oooh, I haven’t had that in a while, mmmm). But last night I made my first-ever cheeseless comfort-food dish, and nobody was more shocked than me. It was a hearty mash-up of cabbage, swiss chard and egg noodles, appropriately named “Egg Noodles with Cabbage and Chard” in the March 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times. And it’s crave-worthy. I can’t wait to have left-overs for lunch. If you like the flavor of caraway seeds (the seeds in rye bread), then I think you should try this dish:
Egg Noodles with Cabbage and Chard*:
Serves 6. 30 minutes or fewer
Combining green cabbage with Swiss chard adds sweetness and color to this homey recipe. Season with salt at the end of cooking to keep the cabbage from turning soggy.
1 8 oz. pkg. egg noodles
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups) (Note: don’t skimp on the onions. Use a full two cups.)
3 cloves garlic, minced (3 tsp.)
1 head green or savoy cabbage, quartered, cored and sliced into 1-inch-wide pieces (8 cups) (Note: I used green cabbage)
1 bunch Swiss chard, large stems removed, leaves sliced into 1-inch-wide pieces (8 cups) (Note: wash chard by filling a large bowl with clean water and swish the leaves around. Dirt will settle to the bottom of the bowl. Change water and swish until there’s no residue in bowl)
3/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
1/8 tsp. cracked black peppercorns (Note: I misread this last night. I thought it said 1/2 tsp. No wonder it was so peppery. It was good, but peppery.)
1. Cook noodles in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbs. oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 7 minutes, or until beginning to brown. Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds. Add cabbage and Swiss chard. Stir to coat with onion and garlic mixture. Add broth and vinegar, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, or until cabbage has softened. Stir in noodles and remaining 1 Tbs. oil, and cook 3 minutes more. Stir in caraway seeds and cracked peppercorns; season with salt, if desired. (Note: If I were you, I’d season with some salt. All the cool kids are doing it.)
As usual, it took me longer than 30 minutes to make, but I am the slowweesstt cookkk iiinnn ttthhheee wwooorrrllldd.
Despite its lack of deep, bright color, green cabbage is very nutritious. A member of the crucifer family (joining kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, et al), it’s rich in vitamin K ,vitamin C, and cancer-fighting antioxidants. It goes without saying that Swiss chard is good for you. Big, leafy greens? It’s a no brainer. You should eat it any way you can. In fact, you may want to add a bunch and a half, or even two bunches, to this dish since the leaves wilt considerably when cooked. I considered substituting whole-grain noodles for the plain egg noodles, but I decided against it and I think it was the right decision. Plain old egg noodles are good and I think they’re definitely the comfort factor in this dish. I used to love eating egg noodles with butter and (of course) a lot of grated parmesan when I was young.
So, my husband ate two bowls of it last night AND brought leftovers to work today. My son ate a whole bowl of it, and as I mentioned, I can’t wait to have it again.
Therefore, I bestow on this recipe 5 out of 5 cabbage heads.
(Oh, and you didn’t hear this from me, but I imagine meat eaters may like some kielbasa in this…)
(*Note: I copied this recipe verbatim from page 75 of the March 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times since it’s not available online yet. Please don’t sue me for copyright infringement. Thanks.)
