Zucchini-spinach soup etc.

Buffy in her traveling crate

On Aug. 15 we set out for a four-day car trip from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest and we've been trying to get settled into our rental house since we arrived. I don't think this was what Buffy had in mind when I asked her if she'd like to go for a ride in the car. It's been a long time since I've written a blog post, and I've got so much to say I could write at least ten. I don't want to bore those who come to this blog for cooking ideas, so I'll try to condense and leave out as much as possible. Scenically, the most surprising part of the trip was through eastern Washington which looked just like New Mexico. When the cascade mountains formed, they cut off the moist air from this half of the state and it became much drier and sunnier than the western part. I've been told if the winter gray is really getting me down in Seattle, a two-hour trip to the eastern part of the state will provide some relief.





Being here still feels more like a vacation to me than "real life" since I no longer have a job, and my husband hasn't started his new one yet, giving us lots of free time. And our whole family is together again which means we see each other often for dinner, parties, etc., and that usually only happens during holidays.

We live near Green Lake, which is surrounded by possibly the most popular walking/running path in Seattle, and have taken advantage of that. Unfortunately I bashed my big toe on a piece of raised sidewalk the other day, and walking for pleasure and exercise has temporarily lost some of its appeal. We're also within walking distance of various shops and restaurants and have sampled some of the local offerings. Restaurant food prices are surprisingly reasonable here considering the high cost of everything else. At the local farmers market last week I saw green beans for $9/pound! I also saw them for $3 and $4 which seems like a lot compared to back home. And the regressive sales tax is a whopping 9 percent, 9.3 in restaurants.

This week we're taking care of our granddaughter full time until her new day care center opens next week. She's napping now and I thought this would be a good time to catch up with the blog. My husband took her to the zoo this morning (I didn't want to do the walk with my wrecked toe) and I used that opportunity to make a soup that I've been wanting to experiment with since before we left Madison.

Before I get to the soup I have to mention some of the food-related places we've visited recently starting with the Theo chocolate factory. We didn't plan enough ahead to get a spot on the factory tour, but we visited the storefront, and holy cacao! All you chocoholics would have been in bliss consciousness. There are displays of all the different chocolates they sell with heaps of samples in front of each one. I bought two bars and a lip balm but I think I may have eaten my weight in chocolate samples. Sorry Theo...


Ginger-sesame bowl


Thai peanut bowl

We ate at Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe twice. The menu is half raw and all vegan, and I ate raw on both visits. The first time I had a ginger sesame bowl and my husband had a Thai peanut bowl (cooked). Both were delicious. The second time I had a raw nacho plate that I mostly didn't like. The flax chips didn't have a taste and the sunflower dip was, um, gritty. The salad and mango chutney were both great but I couldn't eat much of the rest. My husband, however, enjoyed his (cooked) lentil burger.



We've also been to Sidecar - a completely vegan store that supports an animal sanctuary, and a handy little sushi spot called Kisaku. At Kisaku we had delicious edamame and very good vegetable rolls. To our surprise, the rolls came with a complimentary salad and bowl of miso soup. Too bad the soup was made with fish stock, and when I told the waitress we were vegetarian, no offer of veg soup was made. Bummer.

So about the soup I made for today's post.. I was trying to make something similar to the soup we had at a vegan meet-up dinner back in Madison, and while the two main ingredients are the same, the soup tastes very different. My son and I liked it a lot but my granddaughter was not thrilled. T be fair to the soup, she wasn't very hungry today, and mostly dumped her food onto the floor, to the delight of the dog. I think she would have liked it more yesterday when she seemed to have the appetite of a young bear. (You can view her reaction below.) I didn't spice the soup up as much as I might have because I was planning to offer some to the babe, but I probably would have added something hot. I have to say that the soup had a very fresh taste exactly like the veggies it was made from.



Zucchini spinach soup

• 6 cups fresh zucchini, in small cubes
• small bunch fresh spinach, washed well
• 1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 - 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup) plus zest
• 1-1/2 cups white kidney or cannelini beans, rinsed well and drained if from a can
• 1 cup water or broth
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar (evaporated cane juice)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried dill weed (to taste)
• fresh ground pepper to taste (optional)

1. Saute the zucchini and garlic in the oil in a wok or large pan until the zucchini begins to brown and soften, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the spinach, and toss to wilt, about 1 minute or less.
3. Place the vegetables, lemon juice and zest, beans, water or broth, salt*, sugar and dill in blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. (*If you are using broth, blend and taste before adding salt.)
4. Place blended soup in a pot and heat gently to desired temperature. Grind pepper over the top if desired.

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We went blackberry picking along a bike path and now I've got blackberries in the freezer.

Lentils with linguine

I had a friend who could only make one vegan dish. Whenever we went to his house for dinner or he came to ours for a potluck, he prepared that recipe. It was a lentil and elbow macaroni casserole and it was delicious, so I truly looked forward to our dining together. We didn't get together that much, and I decided I wanted to have the casserole more often, so I asked for the recipe. Imagine my shock when I saw that the casserole contained a half cup of olive oil. No wonder it tasted so good! I felt like I'd been stuffed and marinated. I tried to make a slimmer version but it just wasn't the same, and eventually the recipe disappeared from my collection.

Recently my husband found a recipe for lentils and pasta in the New York Times, and he's made it a couple of times. It's easy to make, has lots of flavor and reminds me of that yummy but rather high-fat version we enjoyed years ago. We like to make it with Whole Foods whole wheat linguine, our favorite whole wheat pasta of the moment. It would also be especially great with some nice thick udon or with rice pasta.



Lentils with linguine (adapted from a recipe in the NY Times)

• 1 cup brown or green lentils, washed and picked over
• water (or half water and half low-sodium vegetable broth)
  
• 2 onions, one cut in half, the other finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, cut in small dice
• 1 zucchini, in small dice
  
• 4 large garlic cloves, 2 cut in half, 2 minced
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoons ground cumin
• Pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)
  
• Freshly ground pepper
• 12 ounces whole wheat pasta (especially linguine or udon)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley

1. In a heavy saucepan, place the lentils, halved onion, halved garlic cloves and the bay leaf, and add enough water (or water and vegetable broth) to come 1 1/2 inches above the lentils. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 to 45 minutes, until the lentils are tender but still whole. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain the lentils, reserving the broth.
2. Begin heating a large pot of water for the pasta.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat and add the chopped onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes, and add the red pepper. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender and the onion is beginning to color, another 5 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook a few minutes more. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, the garlic, coriander, cumin, and cayenne. Continue to cook, stirring, for a minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Stir in the broth left over from cooking the lentils. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid slightly, then stir in the lentils. Add pepper, taste and adjust salt, if needed. Keep warm while you cook the pasta.
4. Cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente. Check a few minutes before the end of the suggested cooking time. Drain and toss with the lentils. Add the cilantro, and serve.

Buffy, the reluctant model

Greek-style cannellini beans and veggies with orzo

I've been spending a lot of time looking through my recipe collection, and it's bringing back old memories of food and cooking. Back in my early days of vegan cooking, when cookbooks were very limited and nut-roasts and lentil-walnut casseroles were the latest, I was thrilled to find a recipe in my Country Life cookbook for a loaf with unlimited variations. As long as one followed the basic proportions of grains, beans, veggies, herbs, crumbs and liquid, an infinite number of combinations were possible, and countless delicious dinners awaited. To celebrate this momentous discovery, we invited friends for dinner, and I couldn't wait to show off scrumptious loaf variation #1. My friend Deborah and I were each preparing food for the meal when her husband looked at the loaf and declared, "everything you two make is brown." He had a grin on his face and I don't think he meant any harm, but I felt like I'd just been hit over the head with a 20 pound mushroom. Everything...I...make...is...brown? Could this be true? Brown? Brown? Brown? Why yes, I believe he may be correct. Everything is brown TONIGHT, but was everything brown yesterday? Will everything be brown tomorrow? I was stunned, deflated, sad.

It reminded me of when I was in high school and was following an upbeat directive from Seventeen Magazine to discover my favorite color. "Just look in your closet," the magazine cheerfully encouraged, "your favorite color will be there." Will it be ruby? pumpkin? cerulean blue? I looked in my closet and there it was - my favorite color - brown! Even then, I was a nut loaf covered in mushroom sauce.

By the time the Moosewood Collective published "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home" in 1994, vegetarian cooking had become much more original. My friends Alan and Claire have been rediscovering recipes in their copy of Moosewood and I decided to take another look at mine in search of colorful and tasty food. I asked my husband to pick out something interesting and here's what he came up with. Is it brown? My husband says emphatically, "NO." I say maybe just a little beige, but in a very colorful way. It's a homey, comforting everyday dish that we really enjoyed.

Greek-style cannellini beans and vegetables

• 2 quarts water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2-3 carrots, chopped, chopped
• 1 red or green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup orzo
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint (1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced dill (1 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh marjoram (sprinkle dried)
• 5 artichoke hearts, drained and sliced (14 oz. can)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups cooked cannellini beans (15 oz. can, drained and rinsed)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups stewed tomatoes or fire roasted canned tomatoes
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• red wine vinegar

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the orzo to al dente. Drain and stir in 1 tablespoon of oil.
2. While the orzo is cooking, saute the onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon of oil. When the onion softens a bit, add the carrots and pepper. Cook for several minutes and add the zucchini. Add the herbs and artichoke hearts. Gently stir in the the beans and tomatoes. Simmer for several minutes. When the veggies are hot and cooked, stir in the orzo and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of red wine vinegar (or serve at the table in a cruet).
3. Serve with olives, bread and a green salad with toasted walnuts and dates.

This may not be a Greek addition, but I think that dried crushed hot red pepper adds a nice flavor to this dish.