Potato - Kale Soup (including a sausage option)

With half a bag of potatoes to use up and a craving for green leafy vegetables (prompted by a delicious cup of wild nettle soup at the Mitsitam Cafe at the National Museum of the American Indian), this morning I decided to make potato-kale soup for this week's lunch rotation. Depending on your taste and status as vegetarian or not, you can make the the soup completely vegetarian, use a chicken stock base, or add sausage (about 1 lb., sauteed along with the onion - this will make a soup similar to the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden).

Potato - Kale Soup (6-8 servings)
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
8-10 cups liquid (I used 4 cups chicken broth, 1 cup vegetable juice, 1 cup white wine, and 2 cups water)
small piece of rind (~ 2 in. x 2 in.) from Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4-5 stalks celery
2-3 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 lb kale, stems removed and leaves cut or torn
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried basil or Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1. Combine potatoes, liquid, and cheese rind in a large stock pot. Cook over medium heat about 10-15 minutes (until potatoes begin to soften), stirring occasionally.

2. While potatoes cook, heat olive oil in a skillet. Add onion, celery, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute until onions and celery begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

3. Add onion mixture, kale, pepper, basil, and cumin to stock pot (don't worry - the kale WILL boil down and shrink!). Reduce heat to medium-low (slow boil) and continue to cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If desired / necessary, add additional water to soup while cooking to achieve desired ratio of vegetables to broth.

4. Remove any remaining cheese rind and serve!

Dal

Ever since traveling to India last year, I've been working up the nerve to try my hand at Indian cooking. For my first foray into Indian main dish cooking (that is, without a pre-made simmer sauce), I decided to try dal, a lentil stew that can be made in many ways with many types of lentils. This recipe provides a dish that is fairly mild - if you like something hotter, just up the amount of spices in the recipe, substitute cayenne pepper for black pepper, or add a fresh chile pepper. Also, this recipe calls for a full pound of lentils - but can easily be halved if you don't want to have A LOT of dal on your hands.

Dal (8-12 servings)
1 lb. (~ 3 cups) lentils
8 cups hot water
1 stick (2 1/2 inches) cinnamon
1/2 tsp. black or cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground paprika
1 T. curry powder
1-2 T. olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 T. fresh chopped ginger (or ginger paste)

1. Combine lentils, hot water, cinnamon, pepper, salt, cumin, paprika, and curry in a large stock pot. Cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a low boil and continue cooking untils lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.

2. While lentils are cooking, heat oil in a frying pan and saute onion, garlic, and ginger until onion is clear.

3. When lentils are ready, stir in onion mixture.

4. Serve over rice, with naan, or along side other dishes.

Sweet & Spicy Carrot - Ginger Soup (with Orange and Curry!)

In the past few weeks, DC has swung from a crippling snowstorm to 70 degree temperatures to flurries. With that sort of range in weather, what's a girl to make for a week's worth of lunches? I settled on a carrot - ginger soup that is both spicy (curry) and sweet (orange). This is a very easy recipe to put together and can easily be altered to fit your own tastes - more or less ginger, curry, and orange juice, depending on how sweet and spicy you prefer. Be forewarned, though - carrots can take a while to soften, so leave plenty of time for this soup to simmer before you puree!

Sweet & Spicy Carrot - Ginger Soup (4-8 servings)
1 lb carrots, sliced thinly
2 T. fresh-chopped ginger or ginger paste
1 T. curry powder
6 cups liquid (I used 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup range juice concentrate, and 3 cups water)

1. Combine all ingredients in a large stock pot. Cover and cook on medium (easy boil), stirring often, until carrots are softened (at least 30 minutes).

2. Puree in batches in a food processor or blender. Return to heat and cook and additional 5-10 minutes, stirring often, to make sure that soup is well blended. Adjust sweetness and spiciness by adding additional water or spices as necessary.

3. Serve piping hot, perhaps with a sprig of parsley for garnish!

Cheesy Macaroni with Spinach and Artichoke

Macaroni and cheese is one of my favorite dishes, despite the fact that it is loaded with things that aren't very good for you. I also really like spinach-artichoke dip, but for many of the same reasons it isn't a great choice for regular meal rotation. However, I think that I've managed to come up with a dish that combines these two favorites AND is somewhat healthier than either of the traditional versions. This recipe uses whole wheat pasta, low fat dairy products, and veggies - to reduce sodium from the canned vegetables, rinse with clean water after draining.

Cheesy Macaroni with Spinach and Artichoke (~8 servings)
1 lb whole wheat pasta (macaroni, penne, etc.)
1 cup skim milk
2 cups lowfat (2%) shredded cheddar cheese
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 14 oz. can spinach, drained
1 tsp. ground black pepper (or to taste)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

2. While the pasta is cooking, combine milk, cheese, artichokes, spinach, and pepper in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until cheese is melted.

3. Stir together pasta and sauce. Serve!

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

With all of the news about peanut butter recalls, I've been reluctant to post this recipe - but the truth is, I love peanut butter and find it hard to go without. So in spite of the recalls (which I am hoping will all be sorted out soon), I'm sharing this great bar cookie! I brought these into the office a while back and they disappeared pretty quickly.

Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars (enough for a crowd)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

2. Stir butter and peanut butter together in a large bowl. Add sugar and brown sugar and stir until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

3. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until well blended. Stir in peanut butter chips and chocolate chips.

4. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

5. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Slice into bars (about 36) and serve.

Vegetable Pasties (PAH-steez)

One of the delicacies of Michigan - really, of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - is the pasty. Legend has it that the miners of Cornwall brought these meat and vegetable pastry pockets "across the pond" when they came to work in the copper and iron mines of Michigan. Since then, the pasty has gained popularity in both peninsulas and pasty aficionados can find a variety of pasties at any number of drive-through and take-home pasty shops.

For those brave enough to make their own pasties, or those unlucky enough to live far away from a pasty shop (like me), here's my recipe for vegetable pasties. My recipe uses store-bought pre-made pie crusts - but if you're interested in making your own crust, you'll find plenty of opinions on how to best make pasty crust by googling "pasty recipe." If you'd like a more "traditional" Cornish pasty, add 1-2 lbs. cubed steak or ground beef in place of the sweet potato and mushrooms.

Vegetable Pasties (~ 12-16 half-sized pasties or 6-8 full-sized pasties)
2-3 medium potatoes, peeled
1 rutabaga, peeled
1 turnip, peeled
1 parsnip, peeled
10-15 baby carrots
1 medium onion, peeled
4-5 celery ribs
6 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 sweet potato, peeled
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6-8 refrigerated pie crusts (3-4 boxes)

1. Dice (~ 1/4 - 1/2" cubes) or thinly slice all vegetables and mix together in a large bowl.

2. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet(s) with foil.

3. Unroll a prepared pie crust. (If making your own crust, roll out a 9" round, about 1/4" thick.) For full-size pasty, place about 1 - 1.5 cups of filling + 1/4 cup cheese on one half of crust. For half-sized pasties, cut crust in half and place about 2/3 - 3/4 cup filling + 2 T. cheese on one half of each piece.


4. Fold crust over filling and pinch edges together, then fold or roll edges to make a double-thick seam (see photo below). Cut a few small vents into top of pastry pocket. Place on foil-lined baking sheet.


5. Bake at 350F for 60 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and vegetables are soft.

6. Serve hot with plenty of ketchup on the side!


7. Leftover pasties can be refrigerated and reheated later. Heat at 350F for 15 minutes. If you freeze the pasties, reheat at 350F for 45 minutes or until heated through.

Vegetable Lasagna

I love lasagna, especially vegetable lasagna. This one is filled with veggies and lower-fat cheeses, so is actually fairly healthy!

Vegetable Lasagna (approx. 12 servings)
2 cups diced zucchini (do not peel)
1 cup diced bell peppers
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 cups sliced mushrooms (about 12 oz.)
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup dry red or white wine
3 T. chopped fresh basil
1 9 oz. bag baby spinach
2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 24 oz. jar pasta sauce
1 9 oz. package no-boil lasagna noodles

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Combine zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, garlic, salt, and wine in a deep frying pan or saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in basil and set aside.

3. Cook spinach (+ up to 1 tsp. water, if needed) in a large pot at high heat for 3 minutes, until just wilted (still bright green). Drain and chop coarsely, combine with cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese.

4. Assemble the following layers in a 9 x 13 x 3 in. baking dish (listed top to bottom):
1 cup pasta sauce
4 lasagna noodles (overlap slightly)
1/3 spinach - cheese mixture
1/3 vegetable mixture
4 lasagna noodles (overlap slightly)
1/3 spinach - cheese mixture
1/3 vegetable mixture
1 cup pasta sauce
4 lasagna noodles (overlap slightly)
1/3 spinach - cheese mixture
1/3 vegetable mixture
4 lasagna noodles (overlap slightly)
1 cup pasta sauce

5. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350F until noodles are tender, 50-60 minutes. Remove foil and top with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, bake an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

6. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.