Carrot-Ginger Soup

This is another I found online and had to modify. The original uses butter instead of oil, and milk or cream instead of soy milk. I added the tofu at the end for protein. Dad LOVED it, having two bowls, and said it tasted great! The rest of us enjoyed it too and I would definitely make it again just for me.

There is a lot of chopping prep but I threw it all in the food processor.

6 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped

1/4 cup fresh ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 to 4 cups chicken or veggie stock

1/2 cup (soy) milk or cream (optional)

1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon curry powder

Salt and black pepper to taste

Fresh parsley or chives for garnish

Heat oil in soup pot. Add onion, ginger and garlic and sauté for 15 to 20 minutes.

Add stock, milk or cream (if using) and carrots. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered over medium heat until carrots are very tender (about 45 minutes).

Puree soup in a blender or food processor. Add 1/2 package soft tofu at this point if desired. It helps to crumble it first.

Season with lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley or chives. Paprika looks pretty on it, too. Serve hot or cold.

Roasted Nuts

One of Dad's favorite snacks. You can do them in the oven or on the stove.

To Dry Roast just follow the instructions below for Roasting Nuts omitting the oil.

Oven Roasted:

Coat 1 cup of nuts evenly with 1 t. cooking oil (we use organic, extra virgin coconut oil) and sea salt to taste. On a baking pan spread the nuts evenly and place them into a preheated oven at 350° F. Stir occasionally til the nuts are fragrant and lightly browned (5-10 minutes). Be careful because the nuts will continue to cook after removed from the oven. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Stovetop toasting:

Place them in a heavy skillet on top the stove. Heat slowly over low heat, stirring. Cook until slightly browned, about 10-15 minutes.

I personally prefer the oven method because it doesn't require me to stand over it stirring!

I'm going to research some flavorings. I think adding cinnamon/stevia would be good. Or adding a pressed clove of garlic to the oil before tossing. We buy spice grinders at Dollar Tree - read the ingredients, because some contain sugar, but most are just the spice. The chili/sea salt is particularly good, and the Italian seasoning. There are many flavors to choose from and I'm sure they would be great on the nuts.

"Homegrown Salad"

One of our favorite summer salads is just marinated veggies - whatever we have from the garden or the roadside stand. Our first of the year contained halved grape tomatoes, sliced young sweet onions, along with the chopped onion greens, halved snow peas, and chopped basil. The dressing was a bit of fresh lime juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. Stir and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or so. Serve as is, or on a bed of fresh baby spinach. Yummy!!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

It occurred to me as I was cooking today that I don't think I've ever used a recipe for Dad all on its own. I adapt everything! That's why I write them down here.

Dad brought home some asparagus for our Easter dinner - but we had already bought some. "Maybe I should make you some asparagus soup" I said, and his reply was "THAT'S my favorite!" So here we are.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, chopped, reserve the tips
  
• 1 potato, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 cups soy milk
• 1/2 package soft tofu
  
• 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the asparagus, potato, onion and celery and reduce heat to medium low.

Simmer for 25 - 30 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until almost smooth. Return soup to saucepan and add everything else except the asparagus tips. I used an immersion blender rather than a regular one, and used it after I added everything but the asparagus tips.

Add the asparagus tips after blending.

Allow to simmer until thick, approximately another 8-10 minutes.

Roasted Radishes

Another yummy surprise.

1 package radishes
2 tsp Olive oil
Seasonings as desired **

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the 2 tsp. of oil in a baggie with whatever seasonings you want. Shake to coat.

Add coconut oil to a small oven-proof skillet and heat. Add radishes and sate, stirring occasionally, until brown spots form. Put skillet in oven and roast for 15 minutes, stirring at least once.

These were really delicious! Next time I'll try adding radishes to our usual roasted veggies (will have to post that, but basically it's the same thing with baby carrots and whole garlic cloves).

** (why oh why does lemon pepper seem to always have sugar added??)

Black Bean Soup

1 large can black beans, undrained
2 cups vegetable stock or water

Chopped vegetables:
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
4 stalks celery
4 carrots
1 cup cabbage
1 tomatillo

1/2 cup buckwheat groats (kasha)

1 large can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 - 12 oz. can V-8

1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cajun seasoning

Combine all in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water or broth if needed to make it soupy enough.

When veggies are soft, remove from pot in batches and blend (or use a stick blender). Serve hot with sherry if desired.

** any additional veggies you have on hand would just add to the soup.

Dad hasn't been finding too much to be tasty lately but he loved this soup - three bowls worth!

Chickpea Burger

This is my own creation. I tried to write down exact quantities, but didn't measure everything perfectly...the good thing about this recipe is it's easily adaptable and can tolerate some differences in amounts. And it tastes great, too!

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp. coconut or olive oil
Sea salt, pepper, cajun seasoning to taste
1/4 cup vegetable broth or other liquid (I'm using V-8 next time!), more if needed
garbanzo flour - as needed - I used 4 Tbsp.

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

Put first 5 ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until it forms a paste and garlic is incorporated. Add 1/4 cup liquid gradually while processing. Add garbanzo flour gradually as needed until a stiff dough is formed.

Refrigerate dough for 1/2 hour if possible. You can skip this step if you don't have time, but it will be easier to roll if you do.

Roll into balls and form into patties. This recipe made 3 large patties. You could also make "meat"balls or smaller patties.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. of coconut oil in a frying pan. Fry patties over medium heat until golden; flip and do the other side. It took abouut 5 minutes per side. Season as desired.

I served it on a bed of spinach with marinara sauce on the side and a fried onion slice on top.