tomato-artichoke bisque

is it a bisque? I have no idea, but it sounds good. I made this with the ingredients I had around, so there’s lots of room for improvisation.

Serves 16!

1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 bunch green onions, whites only, sliced
10 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup sliced almonds
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 28-oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 28-oz sliced stewed tomatoes
1 cup bulk sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in liquid)
12 cups H2O
3 cups cooked white beans
1 bunch beet greens, finely chopped (I used a food processor)
1/2 a 65 oz jar (or equivalent) of marinated artichoke hearts, drained and loosely chopped in a food processor
paprika, pepper and balsalmic vinegar to taste
sliced almonds for garnish

Saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add green onions, garlic and almonds and saute until you can smell the almonds. Add the tomato products, water and beans. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add the beet greens and simmer for an additional ten minutes. Stir in the artichoke hearts for an additional minute. Season to taste.

apple granola bake

A very easy, satisfying, kid pleasing, moderately healthy recipe. The apple portion can be easily halved, but you will still need the same amount of granola/margarine for the topping…

Apple “filling”:
4 medium apples, sliced thin
1/2 cup dried cranberries
(1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans)
1/2 cup granola
2 cups apple juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp cinnamon or apple pie spice
(2 Tbsp cornstarch for a more cohesive bake)
(1/2 c brown sugar for added sweetness OR sub 1/3 c agave/maple syrup for 1/3 c of the apple juice)

Topping:
1 cup granola
1/4 cup margarine (1/2 stick), in pats

Preheat oven to 350. In a greased 8×8 baking pan, toss the apple slices, cranberries, granola & nuts. Whisk together the remaining “filling” ingredients and pour over the top. Sprinkle the 1 cup of granola over the top, and then top with pats of margarine. Bake for about 1 hour, until the apples are tender.

Serve with plain or vanilla soy/coconut yogurt, or other creamy concoction if desired.

tofu scrambler

There are millions of recipes for scrambler out there, but this is how I do it:

chopped onion
chopped garlic
oil
1 block firm/extra firm NOT silken tofu
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp Goya Adobo (or salt or garlic salt)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
soy sauce to taste
pepper to taste
additions – spinach, other veggies, tortillas, etc.

saute onions and garlic in oil. Drain the water from the tofu and gently squeeze out some of the water. Crumble the tofu into the pan. Add the yeast, spices, soy sauce and additions, and saute until heated through and veggies are cooked. Adjust seasonings to your liking.

01-27-11: Lately I’ve also been messing around with either adding chickpea flour, cubing the tofu really small instead of smashing it, or just frying cubed tofu up with chickpea flour, paprika, chili powder, nutritional yeast and soy sauce. But that’s not really a scrambler recipe, now is it?