Sheila’s Tomato Soup Minestrone

Yesterday, I met with the wife of a Medical Device manager I know. He suggested we get together because she is starting a corporate wellness consulting company.  I met with her and we had a nice conversation.

She is getting certified by an organization called Integrative Medicine. They support the idea of eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and non Genetically Modified foods.

I had planned to stop at Central Market for some vegetables to make a Minestrone soup.  I was even more motivated after our discussion.  I made the soup and I really like it.

The recipe was a combination of a recipe for tomato soup I have been making for years. It came from The Frugal Gourmet cookbook by Jeff Smith.

The Frugal Gourmet is no longer on TV. Jeff Smith died many years ago and his reputation died as well. He had been accused of being a pedophile!

Still I love the soup. It is simple and uses fresh tomatoes. I never liked canned tomato soup but I love this one.  I decided to use that as a base for my minestrone. To it I added fresh veggies and beans.  I threw in sprigs of oregano, thyme and rosemary from my patio garden. This one is  a keeper!

The stock base I used is from a company called “Better Than Bouillon”.  I can find it in most groceries. The one I used is called “No Chicken Base”.  When I am looking for a more beefy stock, I use their “Mushroom base”.

 Since these can add a lot of sodium, I only use enough to flavor the stock to my taste. The label says to use ½ tablespoon per quart or 1 teaspoon per 8 oz. If you can use less, great because there is 670mg of sodium per teaspoon. If you want less sodium there are low sodium stocks you can buy or make your own!

I used roasted garlic and some of the oil from roasting it but fresh minced garlic is just as good. I hope you try this and enjoy getting your veggies!

Sheila’s Tomato Soup Minestrone

6 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped (skin, seeds and all!)

11/2 tbl olive oil and 1 tsp butter plus just enough olive oil to sauté the vegetables

3 cups chicken or chicken like stock or vegetable stock

I use 3 cups water and 2 tsp “no chicken” “Better than Bouillon” to make the stock 

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium zucchini chopped into cubes

1 medium carrot chopped into cubes

1 handful of green beans cleaned, tips removed and cut in half

5 large leaves of red Swiss chard, cleaned and red stalks cut off (greens only) chopped coarsely

½ potato chopped into cubes

½ can red kidney beans drained and rinsed

Sprigs of rosemary, thyme and fresh oregano

Salt and Fresh Ground pepper to taste

Saute the tomatoes in oil/butter mixture until they are tender. Add the soup stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. In the meantime, saute the garlic in a little olive oil (I used roasted garlic and the oil I roasted it in). Add carrot, zucchini, green beans and cook until zucchini starts to get soft.

Blend the tomato mixture (a hand blender is fantastic for this) in batches being careful not to overfill and burn yourself. Return to the pan and to the heat. Add the sautéed vegetables, the potato, the herbs and the chard. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add beans and cook covered 5 more minutes.  Season, remove herb sprigs and serve.

A fresh fruit and vegetable focused dinner

Happy Independence Day, everyone! Hope you are enjoying a fun weekend with family and friends. Today I decided to chill out and relax by going to the beach. Of course, just because of that it looks like it will rain. We need the rain so I can’t really complain about it.

Tonight I plan to watch the fireworks in Wellington. It has been a busy few days, starting with Ladies night out on Thursday, then driving to Miami on Friday to help my aunt celebrate her 89^th birthday. I had my Independence Day BBQ yesterday at my mother’s house. I invited a date to join us so it was more than just family.

I decided to make a fruit and vegetable focused meal.  In that, I made a new salsa that I really liked for an appetizer. It was an Avocado Kiwi salsa served with Plantain chips from a recipe I found on Epicurious.com.

Kiwi is one of the super fruits. It seems like such a small unassuming fruit but in fact it has the highest density for any fruit of vitamin C and is higher in potassium than a banana or other citrus fruits. It is also rich in Vitamin A and E and the black seeds when crushed produce kiwi fruit oil which is rich in Alpha-linoleic acid, an Omega 3 essential fatty acid. They are also high in fiber.

I served the salsa with store bought plantain chips. I fudged some on this. Fresh plantain chips are the best, but due to time and my dislike of frying, I bought the healthiest store brand (which isn’t all that healthy!)

Dinner consisted of Shrimp, Pineapple and Vegetable Kabobs and a Brown rice and Wheat berry blend. I have mentioned both in previous blogs.

I wanted to do a red, white and blue dessert that was fruit based. In ice cream parfait glasses, I layered blueberries, low fat whipped cream (is that possible?) a little bit of shortcake (1 ½ shortcakes divided among 4 parfait glasses) raspberries layered with the other ingredients then topped with strawberries, a dollop of whipped cream and coconut on top. It was a nice, not too heavy ending to dinner.

After dinner my date and I went for a walk which ended up t be a 2 mile walk. Not planning to do that, I had sandals on. The soles of my feet now feel like someone took sandpaper to them! Still, it was a beautiful clear night and we enjoyed it.

Below is the salsa recipe. I have included the Fried Plantain recipe. In some areas it might be easier to find plantains fresh rather than the chips. You could use good old baked tortilla chips or less than healthy mixed veggie chips (yes, they have more fat than other chips!).

With all the fresh fruits available, I hope you will follow my lead and make a fruit and veggie focused meal this month.

Fried Plantain Chips
Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lime zest
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
6 cups vegetable oil
4 very green plantains (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine zest, salt and cayenne. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels and set near stovetop.
Heat oil in a 5-quart pot set over medium to medium-high heat until a thermometer reaches 375º. While oil is heating, cut ends off plantains and use a sharp knife to score each plantain lengthwise 5 times. Place into a bowl of hot water and soak for 5 minutes before peeling. Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, slice the plantains into very thin (about 1/8-inch) strips. Fry strips 6 at a time, turning frequently, for 30 to 45 seconds or until golden. Remove using tongs or a spider and sprinkle immediately with salt mixture.
Plantain chips can be made several hours in advance. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to serve.
Adapted from Epicurious
Avocado Kiwi Salsa
Ingredients:
2 kiwis, peeled and roughly chopped
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Gently toss together all ingredients, adding salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately.
Note: Since I was making this for a party, I tossed together everything except for the avocado and added it a few minutes before guests arrived.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Pre-Rapture Dining- Ricotta stuffed squash

It is Saturday May 21 at 11:00 am.  This may be my last blog post since I expect to be part of “The Rapture” at 6.  I suspect some of you may already be busy with “The Rapture” if you are in a different time zone, so I will make this post brief.

People have asked me what my pre-rapture meal would be. Well I hate to say it but I have been too busy asking forgiveness for my sins to really plan the meal.  I did have some zucchini I bought at the local farm store. Since I walk every morning, I decided to walk to Publix and pick up some things for a nice, down home, pre-rapture meal.  I would make Ricotta Stuffed Squash. That sounded suitable.

The interesting thing about the recipe is how long I have had it.  The title on the index card is hand written by me. The rest of the recipe is….are you ready for this?....I almost hate to say it….

It is typed. Yes, typed, like on a “typewriter”! I apparently wasn’t the best typist in those days as there are several typing errors. No spell checks or cut and paste and I guess I was out of “white out”.

In any case, I love this meal. It is simple to make but it did take several pans/bowls.  I just popped them in the dishwasher and didn’t worry too much about it.  I serve this with Roasted Garlic and Parsley Linguine that I picked up at Marshall’s on discount.  Ragu is my store bought Italian spaghetti sauce of choice (I like the one with mushrooms, gourmet that I am!)

The meal wouldn’t be complete without a nice glass of Red wine, but not too much or I might miss “The Rapture” My choice was a nice Cabernet but a Zinfandel would be good too.

Genesis 19:30-38 - Lot was so drunk he did not know what he was doing; this led to immorality.

I will just have one glass.

Proverbs 23:32 - Alcoholic drinks bite like a serpent, sting like an adder.

Ok maybe I should stick with grape juice.

41) Jeremiah 35:2-14 – The Rechabites drank no grape juice or intoxicating wine and were blessed.

Shoot, no grape juice either? Who are the Rechabites anyway? Does this pertain to me?

Isaiah 19:14 - Drunken men stagger in their vomit.

 I am a woman, so no worries here.

Luke 21:34 - Drunkenness will cause a person not to be ready for the Lord’s return.

Water it is. I will put the wine down until after “The Rapture”

I hope you will have a chance to try this before “The Rapture”. If not, I am sure we can make it in heaven.

Ricotta Stuffed Squash

8  zucchini (6in long) squash ( crookneck or large pattypan work too)

1 tbl butter

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 clove garlic, minced

1 10 oz package spinach, thawed, squeezed dry and chopped (or 10 oz fresh spinach, steamed, chopped and squeezed dry)

2 eggs

1 lb part skim ricotta (2 cups)

¼ cup good quality parmesan

1 tbl chopped fresh parsley

½ tsp each salt, oregano and dry basil( I use chopped fresh basil)

Italian tomato sauce

Trim ends of squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and part of the pulp, leaving the shells about ½ inch thick. Steam them until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes (alternatively you could steam them briefly in the microwave). Plunge in cold water to stop the cooking, drain and reserve.

Heat the butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is limp. Add the chopped, squeezed spinach to the onion mixture and cook one more minute. Let cool.

In a bowl, combine the eggs with the ricotta, stirring until blended. Stir in the parmesan, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, pepper and spinach mixture. Mix it all together then mound filling inside the zucchini (about 3 tbl per squash).

Arrange filled zucchini in a shallow baking dish.  You could brush a little melted butter on each but I didn’t. I sprinkled a little fresh parmesan on top instead. If made ahead, cover and refrigerate. 

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes (If previously refrigerated, bake them for 30 minutes) until they are piping hot.

While they are cooking warm the Italian spaghetti sauce and cook the linguine. Serve the shells topped with some sauce. Mix sauce into the Linguine and serve on the side.  A nice piece of garlic bread would be good too.  You can have a nice glass of wine at risk of missing “The Rapture”.

8  servings.