Tag Archives: garlic

Everything in the pot vegetable soup

I’m Karen, and I’m just back from the Farmer’s Market and am making a big pot of soup for the week. So nutritious plus a real weight loss aid for me. I’ll make a large amount and vacuum seal in Ball jars to keep it fresh longer.

Here’s the final product. We’ll add rice or noodles or Farro to our bowl if we want when we serve to individualize.

Follow along as I add ingredients to my pressure cooker pot.

Bottom layer has 1 ear of corn cut off cob, 3 stalks celery chopped, 2 carrots thick chopped, 1 cup wax beans cut, and 1 sliced zucchini.

Next is a bunch of Swiss Chard, picked today! Wash and remove the thick center stem, then chop and add to soup.

Add 1-2 leaks! First chopped, soaked to clean to remove dirt.

Add herbs (thyme, Herbs de Provence, salt, pepper). And minced garlic. I didn’t measure these, just throw in what seems right.

Next I added a can rinsed Canelli beans, and a can fire roasted tomatoes.

In goes my quart of home made stock that’s been waiting for this soup vacuum-sealed in my fridge.

But look, not enough liquid.

Adding water and 3 tbs tomato paste to increase volume of liquid. Also added two bay leaves (remember to remove those later).

Now the wait begins, 10 minutes at high pressure in my Fagor LUX LCD Multipot. I can set it and walk away and when it beeps done let it come down from high pressure on its own, or very carefully open and release pressure using a long tong so steam escapes but no where near my hand.

Yum! Time to eat.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower

My husband is not the biggest cauliflower fan but he loves this recipe so we never have any leftovers. Try it, you won’t be sorry but take your serving fast before it disappears!

Recipe is inspired by Shellery’s recipe but adapted to be lower fat and a faster cook time.

Ingredients
1 head fresh raw cauliflower, florets
1-3 garlic cloves, minced (~2tbsp)
1-3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: chopped fresh herbs for topping

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and cut cauliflower into evenly sized florets, smaller will cook faster. Mince garlic. Toss garlic, oil, and cauliflower florets to coat and add to greased baking tray. Salt and pepper as desired.

Bake at 450 degrees for 13 minutes, then remove and stir. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs (or in our case some leftover whole wheat matzo meal).

Bake for an additional 5-6 minutes until topping is golden brown.

If your cauliflower florets are larger, then you might want to stir cauliflower at 13 minutes, return to oven for an additional five minutes and then proceed to cheese and crumb topping step.

Broccoli Packets with Garlic Lemon and Cheese

Easiest summer cooking method IMO is packet cooking, so why not fresh broccoli with garlic and lemon cooked on your grill or in your oven.

Recipe inspired by Pillsbury which would work also nicely for several vegetables such as cauliflower, asparagus, zucchini and squash.

Recipe
1 head broccoli (fresh, cut into large florets, and slice stem and include)
1/2-1 lemon, juiced over broccoli (roll the lemon to release the juices before cutting/squeezing)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (shreaded or grated)
1-2 tsp garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)
Oil spray (or 1 tsp olive oil, drizzled)
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
This is easy-peazy to do. Wash broccoli, cut into large florets and be sure to slice the stems and include. Place broccoli on a large piece of oil-sprayed aluminum foil. Squeeze lemon over broccoli, sprinkle with garlic, pepper, Parmesan cheese and for extra heat sprinkle some red pepper flakes.

Close foil packet by folding top and slides together, leaving some space for expansion as it cooks. Place in indirect heat on the grill for 15 to 25 minutes depending on heat of grill and how crispy or soft you like the broccoli.

Serve immediately but any leftovers are delicious cold, so cook a double batch if you can.

 

 

 

Powerhouse Rainbow Chard Sauté

Photo 6
Powerhouse your diet – add green leafy, yellow/orange, citrus and cruciferous items to our diet.

Why? Reduced risk of chronic disease, plus they are packed with nutrition to fuel our bodies and minds.  But the most important reason is they are easy to use, quick to cook, and oh so tasty.

Also, this is a great prep ahead and cook last minute dish.

You can switch these ingredients for so many variations, whatever is fresh and strikes your fancy at the farmers market or CSA basket. Try substituting chard for beet greens, spinach, chicory, leaf lettuce, watercress, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, kale, or arugula and you’ll still get that same great powerhouse punch.

Check out these other powerhouse foods studied for their nutrient density by the CDC.

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:
Rainbow chard, 1 bunch, chopped (~5 cups)
Onion, ½ large, chopped
Green garlic, 2 stalks, sliced in rounds
Baby Bella mushrooms, 2 cups
Salt and Pepper to taste (or ¼ teaspoon each)
Coconut oil, 1 teaspoon
Optional: Orange peel (can be added during sautéing for brightness)

Step 1: Prepare the chard by washing, spinning damp dry, and roughly chopping. Discard the toughest part of the stem; the rest softens a bit in cooking, but some prefer to remove the stem entirely.

Photo 3

Step 2: Chop onion half, slice mushrooms, and slice green garlic stalks into rounds. (We include the green tops of the stalks – yummy.) If you are preparing more items, you could hold ingredients at this step until a few minutes before eating for best flavor.

Photo 1

Step 3: Sauté onion, garlic, and mushroom in oil for 5 minutes to soften.

Photo 2

Step 4: Pile on the chopped chard and sauté, watching and turning the chard periodically and cooking until just wilted down and tender – you want to give this a quick cook so that you retain as much nutrition and flavor as possible.

Photo 4

Step 5: Salt and pepper to taste, toss thoroughly. Eat and enjoy.

Photo 5

Serving suggestion – this makes a great breakfast or brunch dish with a poached or fried egg on top.

Nutrition Analysis
Recipe yields 3 servings. Per serving, using ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper: 51 calories, 8 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, 2 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 3 grams protein, 503 milligrams potassium, 329 milligrams sodium, 189 micrograms vitamin A.