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Dressing Dumpling Soup

I made this using the left-over cornbread dressing from Thanksgiving.  It was delicious.  Of course this soup can be modified depending on what ingredients you have handy.  You can add shredded left-over turkey to the soup toward the end of cooking (when you add the zucchini) if you eat turkey.  My friend, Donna made my soup and used dandelion greens instead of kale.  She said it was wonderful.  This soup is an excuse to make dressing more often. 

Dressing Dumpling Soup

1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup kale, finely chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
1 zucchini, chopped
salt and pepper
2 T. cilantro, chopped
left-over(cornbread)dressing/stuffing

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat.  Add onions, garlic, and carrot and cook until softened. Add kale and broth and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add zucchini and simmer another 10 minutes.  Season soup with salt and pepper.  Right before serving, throw in cilantro (or parsley if you don't like cilantro).

To serve, heat a scoop of dressing in the soup bowl in the microwave.  Ladle the soup over the dressing and serve.

posted by: artichoke72 at 14:55 | link | comments |
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Spicy Southwest Collard Greens Soup

I created this soup the other day to use some collards I had.  I'm convinced I'm a genius....this soup is amazing.  I used a hot salsa verde (and a serrano chile) and my soup was really spicy (just the way I like it), but you can use a mild salsa verde and omit the chile if you don't like things that hot.  I'm sure black beans instead of pinto beans would work well.  Chopped zucchini would be good in this too, just add it at the same time with the beans and hominy.

Spicy Southwest Collard Greens Soup

2 T. olive oil
medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups vegetable broth
small bunch of collard greens, washed, ribbed, and chopped
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5 oz.) can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 (7 oz.) can salsa verde
1 jalapeno or serrano, seeded and minced (optional)
1/2 cup corn
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook until tender.  Add vegetable broth and collards, bring to a boil and cook 15 minutes.  Add beans, hominy, salsa verde, chile pepper, corn, and cumin.  Let the soup simmer until the collards are tender and the rest of the ingredients are heated through, about 10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

posted by: artichoke72 at 21:11 | link | comments (4) |
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Chocolate Waffle Cookies

I made these yummy cookies tonight.  They are kind of like little brownies.  It was fun using the waffle iron instead of the oven to bake them.  It took about 2 minutes to bake the cookies (i could do 4 at a time) on my waffle iron instead of the 1 minute the recipe suggests.

Chocolate Waffle Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate - melted
1 cup all purpose flour
Confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Blend in melted chocolate. Add flour and mix well.

Drop by large teaspoonfuls one inch apart on a pre-heated waffle iron. Bake for one minute (sometimes less baking time is needed, adjust the timing after
the first batch). Lift out cookie carefully by easing it loose with a fork, then gently lifting it up and off the iron. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Finish off with a light dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies

posted by: artichoke72 at 17:00 | link | comments (1) |
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Granola

This is an excellent recipe for granola.  We have really enjoyed it.   In fact, the hubby can't stop eating it.  I loved it over brown cow whole milk plain yogurt.   I don't like raisins, so I added chocolate chips instead...yummm.  Really, any dried fruit would work.

Granola

1/2 cup  unsweetened coconut meat -- shredded
4 cups  old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup  chopped almonds
1/4 cup  wheat germ -- toasted
1/4 cup  unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup  flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon  nutmeg -- freshly grated
1/3 cup  canola oil
1/2 cup  honey
1/2 cup  golden raisins

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread shredded coconut onto a baking pan, and bake until toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Lightly spray two baking pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a
large bowl, combine oats, almonds, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, canola
oil, and honey. Stir together until well combined.  Spread mixture onto prepared baking sheets; bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.   Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.

Break up cooled granola; sprinkle with raisins and toasted coconut.  Stir to combine. Store in an
airtight container for up to a month.

posted by: artichoke72 at 19:06 | link | comments |
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Lentil Loaf

This recipe is a favorite of many members of The Feral Vegetarian group.  It was posted by a vegan named Veronica.  After reading so many positive comments about this recipe, i finally got around to trying it.....not bad at all.  Two hints:  1.  Make sure to cook the lentils until they are tender (this may take longer than the recipe states).  I didn't (I only cooked them 20 minutes) and they were a tad bit on the crunchy side in the final product.  2.  Once baked and out of the oven, let the Lentil Loaf sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing...this helps it set up better and not fall part when sliced.  I didn't do this and my slice broke into pieces....tasted fine, didn't make for a good picture.  Leftovers make good sandwiches.

I made mashed potatoes and a mushroom gravy to go with the Lentil Loaf.  The gravy was easy.....I sauteed sliced white button mushrooms in about 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and then added  2 tablespoons of flour once the mushrooms were cooked.  Then I whisked in 2 cups of hot vegetable broth, stirring until thickened.  Ta-da.

Lentil Loaf

1 cup lentils
3 cup vegetable broth
2 cup oats
1 cup ketchup
2 heaping tablespoon nayonaise (regular mayonnaise works fine)
1 tablespoon vegetarian worchestershire sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Bring the broth to a boil and add lentils. Simmer 20 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in oats, 3/4 cup ketchup, nayonaise, worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic, almonds, and 1/2 cup water. Stir well and place in a greased loaf pan. Top with remaining ketchup and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy,and a green vegetable.

posted by: artichoke72 at 00:12 | link | comments (3) |
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Veggie Pasta Salad

this is an easy pasta salad that is open to interpretation....great for parties.  play around with the pasta shapes and the types of veggies added.  i don't usually use the Salad Supreme, but add a few shakes of Mrs. Dash for a little zing.

Veggie Pasta Salad

1 16 oz. pkg. small shell (or fusilli or rotini) pasta - cooked, rinsed and drained
8 oz. Wishbone Italian dressing (or your favorite italian dressing)
4 T. McCormick's Salad Supreme (this has cheese in it...so you could leave it out or use something else)
5 cups of assorted raw vegetables, cut into bite sized pieces
some veggies you can use:
cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and chopped
broccoli florets
carrots, peeled and sliced
grape tomatoes, halved
red onion , chopped
bell peppers (any color), chopped
black olives, sliced

Combine all ingredients and marinate overnight or for at least 4 hours.

posted by: artichoke72 at 23:44 | link | comments |
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Hoisin Eggplant Balls

I made these last night and they were fabulous.  Great appetizers for Thanksgiving and all the parties that are coming up.  I squirted a bit more hoisin sauce decoratively on the serving plate for fun.

I added an additional step when preparing this recipe....I chopped the eggplant pulp after squeezing out the excess liquid because it was kind of stringy (perhaps I didn't bake the eggplant long enough).  Don't forget to scrape the garlic in with the egglant pulp. :)

Hoisin Eggplant Balls

1 large eggplant
3 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup ground peanuts
1/4 cup tahini
2 T. fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs (or more as needed)
3 T. hoisin sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut 6 slits into the eggplant and place a piece of garlic in each slit.  Place eggplant on lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until soft, about 45 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees if you plan on baking the eggplant balls.

Halve the cooked eggplant and scrape out the pulp.  Squeeze the pulp between the palms of your hands to remove excess liquid.  Place pulp in a bowl.  Add the ground peanuts, tahini, parsley, salt, and pepper.  Blend well.  Add just enough bread crumbs to hold mixture together when shaped into balls.  Roll the mixture into 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls and coat with bread crumbs.

Bake eggplant balls on lightly oiled baking sheet until browned and firm, about 20 minutes.  OR  Fry eggplant balls in batches in 1/4 inch hot oil over medium-high until browned on all sides, about 2 - 4 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.

Place eggplant balls in a bowl with hoisin sauce and stir gently to coat. Skewer with toothpicks and serve at once.

Recipe source:  The Meat and Potatoes Vegetarian Cookbook by Robin Robertson (Harvard Common Press, 2002).

posted by: artichoke72 at 13:10 | link | comments |
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Vegetarian Gumbo

I had a bag of frozen okra that needed to be used and so I created this vegetarian gumbo in order to use it.  It turned out beyond expectations....really good.  Serve this gumbo with some crusty bread and laissez les bon temps roulez!

Vegetarian Gumbo

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1 large onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices
6 cups vegetable stock
1 pound fresh or frozen sliced okra
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped or 1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 medium zucchini, diced
hot cooked rice

In a Dutch oven, heat flour and oil over medium-low heat.  Cook, stirring almost constantly, until flour browns to a copper color, about 20 to 30 minutes. (Hint:  I have a penny next to the stove to compare colors).  Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to the roux and cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and their juices, vegetable stock, thyme, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add zucchini and simmer 20 to 30 more minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.
To serve, place about 1/2 cup hot cooked rice in a bowl and ladle hot gumbo over the top.  Pass the Tabasco and enjoy.

posted by: artichoke72 at 17:31 | link | comments (2) |
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Cream of Cauliflower Soup with

Croutons and Edam Cheese

 

I'm the only one in our house that absolutely loves this soup, but  I love cauliflower and my hubby and son do not.  Just leaves more of this soup for me!   I don't always make the croutons to go with this soup and often use cheddar cheese instead of edam or gouda.  I never go to the trouble to broil the cheese on top of the soup in oven-proof bowls (although this would be a nice presentation).  I just sprinkle the cheese on top and eat. 

Cream of  Cauliflower Soup with Croutons and Edam Cheese

  2 T. vegetable oil
  1/2 cup carrots, chopped
  1/2 cup onions, chopped
  1/2 cup celery, chopped
  3 cups cauliflowerettes (1 head)
  4 cups vegetable stock
  3/4 c. milk 
  Dash cayenne pepper
  Salt
  Wheat, rye or pumpernickel bread, toasted and cut into croutons
  3/4 c. Edam or Gouda cheese, shredded 

Heat oil on medium high and saute carrots, onion and celery for 5 minutes.  Add cauliflowerettes and stock.  Bring to simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender, but not too mushy.  Stir in milk and cayenne pepper.  Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls,
sprinkle with croutons and cheese, and broil until cheese melts.  
Serves 4.

posted by: artichoke72 at 10:51 | link | comments |
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