Potato Leek Soup

Some days I am a machine, I will wake up at 2:30 in the morn' bike 15 miles to work and bake my little heart out, only to bike 15 miles home to clean the house or bake for another event in my evening hours. Then there are days when I sleep in until 6am (yes that IS sleeping in) I will pour a bowl of cereal and read, then eventually fall back asleep and wake up again at 9am or so and just lallygag all day until Timmy comes home to occupy my bored and weary brain. Yesterday was one of those days I spent loitering around the house doing the bare minimum so I wouldn't feel like such a sloucher. I washed a dish or three, did a load of laundry and then made a soup so delicious Timmy barely noticed how I destroyed the the kitchen in the soup making process.

Now, I haven't had potato soup in years, in fact the last time I think I had it was as a child and it was always served with bacon. My grandmother made the best soup ever, always from scratch and always the perfect flavor. She even put an ice cube or two in it for me so it wouldn't burn my little tongue.

I hope as these cooler months sweep in this soup recipe will be utilized the warm up all of my favorite people who pass by this blog. It is easy to make and so very tasty. Also the ingredients are easy to come by, so no confusing market searches.



Potato Leek Soup

20-25 small red potatoes (wash really well and leave the skins on)
1 T. olive oil
1 large leek, washed and chopped
6 cloves of garlic, cut into small chunks
1 cup chopped celery
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 cups water or vegetable broth
1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos
1/3 cup white wine
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

Fill a large pot 3/4 way full with water and boil potatoes until soft, about 45 minutes. Strain the potatoes and let cool until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile start chopping and peeling all of your vegetables. In a large pot place 1 T. of olive oil and turn heat to medium. Toss in your leeks and saute for about five minutes, then add the garlic and saute for another three minutes. Add pepper, salt, rosemary and thyme and stir around.

At this point your kitchen is going to smell heavenly. Pour white wine and Liquid Aminos in the pot with leeks and such and turn heat down to a medium low. At this point add in the celery and carrots and cut up potatoes into chunks and add in as well. Lastly pour in your water or vegetable broth and cook the soup on low for about an hour.

Using a food processor or a reliable mixer remove about 1/2 of your soup and blend until you get a smooth creamy mixture. Pour the mixture back in with the rest of the soup and cook for another hour or so on low. I like to have my soup cook all day, but really it is not necessary. I served our soup with grilled cheese and pepper sandwiches.



If you try this recipe let me know what you think of it. This amount made 6 hearty bowls of soup and is great for a family on a budget, because all of the ingredients are fairly inexpensive.

Taking On The V-Con Pt. 9

Number nine, number nine....

The next four recipes (that includes today's recipe) was picked by yours truly. I wanted to pick recipes that had a South Western flair and that also reflected the many great things that come along with summer, like strawberries, bbqs, and stuff that was muy caliente! like the desert in which I live. The forcast reads, hot, hot and with a chance of scorching!! The last two weeks saw cooler weather with a few thunderstorms but the forecasters have predicted this week to heat up, with highs up to 117 degrees. With that being said, what is better than Mexican food and an ice cold cerveza to help beat the summertime blues? Today's recipe is...wait for it...wait for it...

Grilled Yuca Tortillas!


After picking this recipe I became a little scared, having never tried Yuca (or cassava) before, but then I realized, wait, I HAD tried cassava before and numerous times in the form of Daiya cheese. Daiya is made from the cassava root and tapioca, which is closely related to cassava. I will say that I do not normally top everything with fake cheese, there are times when I will eat a pizza with Daiya and it is just heavenly. The grilled yuca tortillas were incredibly easy to make, and just as easy to devour. The recipe called for fresh yuca which I could not find but I did, however, find frozen yuca at Lee Lee an Asian grocer in Mesa. Lee Lee has all kinds of amazing frozen vegan food, and if you live in the valley, I suggest you check it out!


yuca up close

On with the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb. yuca
3 T. olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 small yellow bell pepper (I used red grilled pepper)
1 jalapeno
2 tsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper

then I added a sauteed red onion and black beans to the mix for good times and fun to be had by all.

As I stated earlier this recipe is very easy to make. You pretty much just boil the yuca, and mash it up like a cooked potato.


Saute garlic, bell pepper and jalapeno in olive oil,


add to smushed yuca


shove into a folded tortilla and fry up on the stove top.


I baked my tortilla to cut back on fat, but I definitely did not cut back on flavor.


Yum!! I would make this recipe again and again and again!

Kale Chips

I am a snacker, a big snacker; impulsive and often out of control. Usually when I get home from work (mid-afternoon) I have a little snack, which turns into a meal. I try to curb my eating but after working 8 1/2 hours and biking home I am ravenous. My tummy takes over my brain and I become a food zombie roaming the kitchen looking for food and fast! I try to eat things like popcorn, trail mix or granola. I love fruit and veggies but when I am in a snacking craze those are the furthest things from my mind. I have found a way to trick my noggin' into thinking it is getting a salty, greasy snack when indeed I will be eating a healthful snack of kale chips. Kale is full of calcium and considered an anti-inflammatory. While very similar to collard greens it is in fact related to cabbage, another one of my faves.


dinosaur kale

The first time I tried kale, it was raw in a salad and I thought it was a gross chewy mess that I shall avoid for the rest of my days. Then one day for my birthday my friends Ty and Julia brought over bag after bag of kale chips. I was appalled they would bring such a tasteless food to my party, but then was completely surprised when I tried one. These things were better than potato chips! I ignored my guests and wolfed down kale chips all night. Since that day (almost 2 years ago) I have been perfecting my own kale chips. Trying different flavor combinations, the appropriate cook time and what have yous have all lead me to this my, famous "Pizza" kale chips.


tiny chihuahua VS. dino kale

You will need:
I head of kale (any kind, green, red or dinosaur)
2 T. olive oil
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried basil
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper


oven ready

To Prepare pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry your kale then cut the leaves away from the thick rib center. Place kale chips on a well greased cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle on seasonings and bake for 10-15 minutes. Let cool then enjoy!


yum!

Yummy Quinoa and Spicy Tofu Salad

Normally I am not a fan of salads. To me they equal lack of creativity and they are what a vegan or vegetarian eats when there are no other options available. My grandma has always invited me over for dinner with the promise of there being salad for Tim and I to eat and though I appreciate her offer salad is just so darn unappealing. This is why I was taken by complete surprise when my little baby belly started craving the green stuff on a daily basis. I did not think I would ever wake up in the middle of the night desperately seeking arugula or biking around town with the thought of spinach following closely behind.

The other day as I worked the produce section in my grocery store I realized I was drooling. I kept eyeing the carrots and hugging the broccoli and whispering sweet nothings in the direction of the celery and cucumbers. This was enough! I was starting to go loony from lack of salads! That day I went home and pulled all the veggies out of the fridge and got straight to work, but wait, what about the pantry? There must be goodies in there too, no? This is when I found the quinoa hiding behind the wild rice and a light went on or a bell chimed or the proclamation of Eureka was shouted. Which one happened, I am not sure because I was already preparing the quinoa on my stove top before I fully understood the golden delicious salad I was going to be shoveling into my tum tum later.

With the addition of quinoa to my veggies I was ready to start building my dream dinner. Spinach, Romaine, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, pine nuts, dried cranberries, quinoa and something else, I needed something else. This is when my genius self (OK moderately smart self) grabbed a red onion, a few cloves of garlic and got to chopping. I sliced up some extra firm tofu and added it to the onions and garlic in my frying pan then for fun tossed on Sriracha and Bragg's Liquid Aminos and the end result was fantastic! A spicy delicious salad with the sweet/tart dried cranberries made my heart skip a beat. I am going to make this again, I am going to make it tonight, and eat left overs for lunch, it is that good!

Roasted Sweet and Red Potatoes

Sometimes while at work I will walk the aisles of my fine grocery store and make lists. Lists of things to purchase that week, lists of new cupcake flavors, lists of my favorite mythological creatures and often lists of foods I do not eat enough of or at all. Just this last Sunday I eyed some fantastic organic sweet potatoes and tried to remember all of the things I have made with sweet potatoes and I came up with one dish, sweet potato pie. Now, this is my favorite pie in all of the land so I was not completely disappointed with my lack of s.p. culinary prowess. I was, however, upset that since I do love this root vegetable with an intense fiery passion that I do not eat it more often and more as an entree instead of dessert.

The sweet little potatoes are packed with beta carotene, vitamin A, fiber, B6, vitamin C, are beneficial for those with diabetes and are raved about by one of my fave Vegan chefs Bryant Terry (Vegan Soul Kitchen); that it really boggles my teeny brain as to why I have not been eating these by the bucketful.

I decided on roasting these babies with red potatoes because I really did not know what else to do with them, next week I am thinking pizza with them. As for Monday, they were a side dish to Bryant Terry's delicious black-eyed pea fritters and an arugula and spinach salad with oranges and blackberries. Sounds yummy, huh? Everything was so tasty I ate it twice (saved some for lunch the next day)! I make my co-workers jealous with my leftovers. :)

Roasted Sweet and Red Potatoes

3 red potatoes
5 medium sweet potatoes
1 red onion
5 cloves garlic
2 T. olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Peal and cube sweet potatoes, cube red potatoes leaving skins on (that is where the fiber is!) chop onion and mince garlic. Combine all in pan and coat with olive oil and sprinkle on sea salt and pepper. Bake for 35-45 minutes.


Ready for oven!

Black-eyed Pea Fritters

Arugula and Spinach salad with Blackberries and Oranges

All together now...