Avocado Gougères

Gougères are one of my most favorite things to make. They are delicious and take virtually no effort. They are spicy cheese biscuits that, if you cook them like I do, are super moist and melty. They're great.

Anyway, since my vegan days, I have heard that you can substitute butter for avocado in baking recipes. Today I actually tried it.

I made two notable changes here- I used whole wheat flour (which I don't think I like as much as regular all-purpose for this recipe) and, of course, the avocado. The results are not as pretty-looking as the ORIGINAL, but they are definitely healthier!

Avocado Gougères

Ingredients1/2 cup warm water 
1/2 medium avocado, well mashed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded grated Parmesan

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Combine water, avocado, and cayenne pepper in a bowl and mix.
3. Dump the flour in all at once and stir quickly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Add one egg and beat again until incorporated.
5. Once fully incorporated and smooth, add the other egg and mix again.
6. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese and mix.
7. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Use a spoon to make whatever sized balls you want. I usually get about ten, but I like 'em big.
9. Top each with a pinch of the remaining cheese.
10. Bake for 10 minutes at 425; then reduce heat to 375 and bake another 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

DD Guest Post- Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Hello! DD here!

Now, I have never been a very adventurous chef. I recently moved to California, though, and now I have access to farmer's markets within walking distance. Plus, I'm living alone, sans roommate, for the first time in my life, which means I can make whatever I want and no one can complain that we've had pasta for the fourth time that week. HAHA.

This has all made me feel a little more experimental.

One of my friends alerted me to the fact that one can make pizza crust using cauliflower. I took a gander at the ORIGINAL RECIPE HERE and it seemed pretty doable.

HOLY CRAP.

THIS IS DELICIOUS.

Plus it holds together super well! You can definitely pick it up and eat with your hands without any difficulty.

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mince the cauliflower as finely as you have the patience for (it should kinda look like rice).
2. Place it in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 8 minutes or until cooked.
3. Dump the cauliflower into a clean dish towel (or several) and squeeze as much moisture out as you can. VERY IMPORTANT, otherwise the crust will stick to the parchment!
4. Mix the cauliflower, egg, mozzarella, oregano, salt, and pepper, and press the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450F oven until lightly golden brown- about 20 minutes.

As it happens, my microwave timer is broken, so my crust ended up being a little burned. It isn't supposed to be as dark as it is in the photo. Sigh.

I topped my crust with the rest of the mozzarella I had, fresh chopped basil, and cayenne pepper. I baked it for another ten-ish minutes, and it came out GREAT.

SERVINGS

Enough for one famished twenty-three-year-old lady.

Quick Vegan Corn Chowder

I'm from New England, the land of chowders, which is fortunate, because I absolutely love chowder. Basically, a chowder is a soup which always contains milk, onions and potatoes, and is usually thickened with flour. You can add seafood, like clams or crab or fish, or ham, or my personal favorite: corn! Yes, corn chowder is my most favorite chowder. With all of the nondairy cream and milk available, its easy to make a vegan chowder, and that is what I did. You can substitute dairy products if you want. I usually don't thicken my chowders with flour; instead, I mash up some of the potato until it is the consistency that I want. If you want potato soup, add another potato at the beginning and leave out the corn. Simple as that!

Quick Vegan Corn Chowder
4 large potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and diced in 1/2 inch cubes
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
olive oil for sauteeing
1 Tbs veggie broth powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 heaping Tbs salt (I use Adobo Seasoning Salt which adds a slight yellow color and garlic flavor)
generous pinch each of: rosemary, sage and marjoram
2 generous pinches thyme
4 C water
2 C corn kernals
2 C nondairy creamer
1 Tbs non-dairy margerine like Earth Balance

Saute the onions, carrots, celery and potatoes in olive oil until onions are transparent and veggies are starting to soften. Add cayenne, salt, rosemary, sage, marjoram and thyme and saute for another minute. Add the broth powder, then pour in the water and stir well. Simmer for 15 minutes until all the veggies are very tender. Use a potato masher or a hand-held immersion blender to puree the veggies, giving the soup more body. I prefer to use the potato masher because it leaves a white colored soup with little orange and pale green flecks which is so pretty! Pour in the creamer and the corn, and heat until the corn and soup are piping hot. Adjust seasonings. Serve with a little shaving of margerine on top for added richness.

Yum!

Chowders lend themselves to endless variations in spicing and ingredients, but sometimes its nice to chow down on a plain old New England classic like corn chowder.

Kale Braised with Carmelized Onions and Rutabagas

One thing I've learned about cooking is that you can never have too many carmelized onions! They are so very delicious that sometimes I eat them as a vegetable. I should have gone food shopping yesterday, but didn't want to brave the Saturday crowds, so I had a look in the fridge to see what I could put together. I had a lovely bunch of curly kale and a medium-sized rutabaga as well as a few onions, so this dish was born. Its really a riff on Italian minestra, which is garlicky greens and beans, and southern-style turnip greens with turnips. Whatever it is, it certainly is delicious - so delicious that I ate half of it in one sitting. Luckily, its pretty healthy, so no problem. The rest was packaged up for work lunches this coming week.

Kale Braised with Carmelized Onions and Rutabagas
2 Tbs butter or margerine
4 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 onions halved and sliced very thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium rutabaga, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbs smoked paprika
1 Tbs garlic salt/Adobo seasoning
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bunch curly kale
2 Tbs water

In a large pot with a tight fitting lid, melt half the butter and 1 Tbs of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring often, for about 10 minutes until starting to carmelize and brown. Add the remaining oil, minced garlic, rutabaga, paprika, salt and pepper, stir well so that everything is coated with oil and spices. Turn heat down to medium, cover tightly, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring twice, until rutabagas are just barely tender. Add water to keep from sticking if necessary - this should not be necessary if your pot is nonstick. Uncover, add the kale and stir well. Cover again and let steam for about 4 - 5 minutes, until kale is wilted. Stir well and adjust for salt and pepper.

The onions continued to carmelize as the other veggies were cooking and ended up sweet and almost sticky, as did the rutabagas, which also were beginning to carmelize. This would be yummy with a spritz of lemon juice, or even balsamic vinegar to cut the buttery richness of the oil. I used Earth Balance spread rather than butter, since that's what I had in the house (Lent is upon us, you know), and it was yummy. I think this would be a fabulous base for a pasta salad - just stir in about a half pound of pasta, cooked al dente.

Again, I have no photo, and I apologize. I've unpacked the camera, but haven't found the charger yet, so photos will have to wait. Suffice it to say that this was a very pretty dish, with the small orange cubes peeking out from the dark green of the kale.

In the Orthodox Church, the Rite of Forgiveness at vespers this Sunday afternoon is the official beginning of the fast, of Great Lent. Every person in the parish, from the youngest to the oldest, will line up and ask forgiveness of each other for what they have done and what they have failed to do during the past year. There is always much hugging and many tears as hurts are forgiven. It never fails to move me, and humble me as well. So, in the spirit of Forgiveness Sunday, dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to forgive me for my sins and offenses, for what I have done and what I have failed to do, for how I have consistently missed the mark and fallen short of Christ's example.

Ratatouille (not the mouse!)

Dear Daughter and I watched the movie, Ratatouille, last month and absolutely loved it! So, that got me thinking about how long it had been since I made this delicious vegetable stew from the south of France. When I first became Orthodox, it was one of my main go-to lenten recipes - a real staple. I made it probably once a week or so for years, but when we moved here 11 years ago, Mom took over the kitchen and I think I've only made it two or three times since then.

Last week there were beautiful eggplants at the new Kroger where I shop, the first eggplants of the season, so I splurged and bought one. (HOW I LOVE THAT NEW KROGER!) I admired its perfection for a day, that's how beautiful it was! Then I decided to make ratatouille.

Here is my tried and true, favorite recipe:

Ratatouille
2 medium eggplants cut in 1" cubes
8 tomatoes cut into eighths
4 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2" cubes
4 green peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1" squares
2 onions roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 tsp dry thyme
2 bay leaves
1 - 2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 C dry white wine
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

Over medium heat, put the olive oil into a heavy bottomed dutch oven. When the oil is hot, saute the onions, garlic, zucchini and peppers for a about 5 minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Add in the eggplant, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, salt, pepper and wine. Stir well, then bring to a slow simmer, cover and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and buttery, and the flavors are well melded.

I have often made this in the crockpot. Simply place the ingredients into the crockpot in this order: eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers. Lightly salt and pepper each layer, and sprinkle a little bit of onion, garlic and thyme on each layer as well. Bury the bay leaves and pour the wine over all. Cover tightly, set heat to med and let it cook all day, at least eight hours.

I have often made this in the 8 qt. pressure cooker as well. Layer the ingredients as for the crockpot. Lock the lid into place and bring to 15 lbs pressure. Cook for exactly 10 minutes and reduce the heat quickly according the manufacturer's directions.

This smelled so yummy as it was cooking, that it woke DD up from her apres-school nap! She wanted potatoes, so I made some garlic mashed potatoes and served the ratatouille on top, a la Vegan with a Vengance Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy which we dearly love and eat often.

There are a million variations on this theme. You might notice from the photo above that there are no visible peppers. Well, I didn't have any peppers, and it was still yummy! Sometimes I put in mushrooms, or during Lent, I might put in a can of drained chickpeas for the protein. Add some potatoes, change the thyme to oregano, drizzle olive oil over the finished dish and you have Greek briami. Add the potatoes, omit the oregano and the thyme and replace it with a handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped, and you have ciambotta from southern Italy, where my people are from.

I've served this over noodles and in bowls with crusty bread for dipping. I've simmered most of the liquid off, lightly mashed the veggies, and used it as dip and as a topping for crostini. It makes a wonderful filling for a quiche. There is no end to what you can do with the leftovers, if you're lucky enough to actually have leftovers!

No matter where in the world you are from, or where in the world you are, you will enjoy Ratatouille, and all its variations!

Ribollita

I live in the deep south, and as such, there are certain types of food which I cannot easily find. Savoy cabbage is one thing that I think I've found just twice in the last 10 years. Last weekend, though we were in Atlanta and made a visit to the Decatur Farmer's Market. Oh JOY! Oh BLISS! Oh HEAVEN ON EARTH! As soon as I walked in, I told DD that I wished I had brought my little two man tent because I was moving in! They had everything I ever wanted and then some, and everything was perfect and everything was very, very inexpensive. If I shopped there regularly, I think my food bills would go down maybe 25% . I saw a perfect, small savoy cabbage and brought it home. Tonight, I cooked half of it in a traditional Tuscan soup called Ribollita.

Ribollita means "cooked again" in Italy, and refers to the long, slow cooking that gives this soup its characteristic thick character. However, since I had two starving teenagers to feed, the soup did not cook a long time. Its now after dinner, and the leftovers are quietly simmering on the stove, so I expect the soup to be perfect tomorrow. This soup is also a candidate for the crockpot; just set everything to cook in the morning and come home to a delicious dinner.

In Tuscany, the preferred green vegetable is a variety of black kale and the preferred bean is cannelini. Here in America, any type of kale or cabbage will do, but sharply flavored greens such as mustard greens would overpower this simple dish. Cannelini beans are easily available, but any white bean such as Great Northern, flageolets, or even navy beans would be good substitutes.

Ribollita
Extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
3 - 4 oz pancetta, diced (optional) OR 1 tsp liquid smoke
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 leek, cleaned well and diced
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 Tbs Herbes de Provence
1 Tbs dried basil or 3 Tbs fresh basil, minced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
1 15 oz can cannelini beans, drained
6 C chicken (or vegetable stock)
1 bay leaf
A 3-inch piece of dried out parmesan rind
6 - 8 oz (half a small head) of savoy cabbage, sliced into ribbons

Put about 2 Tbs olive oil in the bottom of a large, thick bottomed pot. Over medium high heat, saute the onion, leek, celery, carrot, and pancetta if you are using it, until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the edges of the vegetables are just beginning to turn golden. Stir in the salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, basil and bay leaf and saute for a minute, then add in the tomatoes with their juice, the drained cannelini beans, the stock, parmesan rind and cabbage. Stir well, bring to a simmer, and reduce heat to medium low to keep it slowly simmering. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender. If you can simmer for a few hours, it will be more delicious, but its plenty good after 30 or 45 minutes.

Serve with large croutons. To make croutons, take a slice of bread, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on one side, and toast until golden brown. I used greek flat breads and they were delicious.

Place a crouton in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over it. Sprinkle with parmesan if you want (we didn't) and enjoy!

DD has a new boyfriend, hereinafter known as TBF2, and he liked the soup enough to ask for the recipe, so I guess this is a winner!

To make this vegan is simple: Use vegetable broth, or use 6 C water plus 1 1/2 Tbs Vogue Veggie Base. Omit the pancetta, but towards the last 15 minutes of cooking, stir in 1 tsp liquid smoke, which is what I did. You can omit the parmesan entirely and its still a delicious soup.

Slow Cooker Sun Dried Tomato Pate

I'm always on the lookout for something that will make a yummy sandwich for dear daughter to take to school. Even though she is off this week, this no-fuss but still delicious recipe caught my eye. She'll be eating this with crackers and crudites rather than in a sandwich this week! With my apologies to Robin Robertson:

Slow Cooker Sun Dried Tomato Pate
1/2 C sun dried tomatoes
boiling water as needed
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 C blanched whole almonds
2 15-oz cans white beans (or 3 C cooked from dried beans)
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the tomatoes in a heatproof bowl with enough boiling water to cover. Let stand for 30 minutes to soften well. Drain, reserving 1/2 C of the soaking liquid. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add onion and garlic, and sweat until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until coarsely chopped. Add the beans, the drained tomatoes, the reserved soaking liquid, the onion mixture and parsley and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spray an oven-proof 4 cup mold that fits inside your crock pot. Pack well with the bean mixture, smoothing top flat. Cover tightly with aluminum foil, poking several holes to let steam escape. Place the mold on a trivet in the crockpot, pour an inch of hot water in. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Let cool completely before inverting and removing from the mold. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Crunchy Blueberry Muffins

I made a batch of these for a meeting at work last week, and everyone seemed to really love them! Sorry, no photo, but I'll be making these again soon. It should be very easy to veganize this recipe for Lent.

Muffins
1 egg
1/4 C melted butter
1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C white flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray 12 muffin tins. Beat egg, milk and melted butter together. In a large mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. Stir in blueberries, making sure that each berry is coated with the flour mixture. Lightly mix in the wet ingredients, being careful to not break too many blueberries. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened - its ok for there to be lumps. The less you stir, the lighter and fluffier the muffins will be. Fill the muffin tins a little more than half full. Its good to use an ice cream scoop for muffins because there is less mess and all the muffins will be the same size. Sprinkle the topping evenly over all the muffins. Bake 18 - 20 minutes till golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Topping
2 Tbs raw sugar, or other large grained sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg or apple pie spice

Makes 12 medium to small muffins

To Veganize:
Instead of the egg, use egg replacer such as Energ-G to equal one egg
Instead of the melted butter, use 1/4 C vegetable oil plus 1/2 tsp butter flavoring or vanilla extract
Instead of the milk, use 1/4 C vanilla soy milk, plain soy or other non-dairy milk, or apple juice

Fatfree "Cream" of Mushroom Soup

Today the weather was cold, raw and rainy, just crying out for soup. I had already planned on using some mushrooms that needed to be eaten (I had roasted portobella mushrooms a few days ago), so maybe cream of mushroom soup. Yes, the ultimate comfort food. I remember frosty nights in New Hampshire at our little country inn in Lake Sunapee when my Mom would make cream of mushroom soup (my favorite) and sandwiches for my Dad and me. Those were sweet days, full of love and the wondrous Lake Sunapee ringed by mountains. Sweet, sweet memories.

But, I ended up staying late at work, and dear daughter is at a friends for dinner, and I have no milk or cream in the house. I stood in front of the fridge wishing that some milk or cream would appear, but no.... then I remembered that I had bought a little box of skim milk powder for bread baking! Yay!

So, here is what I did - it was very yummy, and I ate almost all of it. There is just one good sized bowl left for lunch tomorrow.

Fatfree "Cream" of Mushroom Soup
4 C hot water
3 Tbs flour
1 C skim milk powder
1/2 C soft style tofu (Mori Nu brand)
10 almonds
4 roasted portobella mushrooms, about 3" in diameter
1 tsp broth powder
1 tsp salt
pinch or two of cayenne
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/3 C sherry

I put the hot water in the Vitamix together with the flour, milk powder, tofu, almonds, broth powder, salt, garlic powder and cayenne and let it blend on hi until steaming, about 4 or 5 minutes. Taste for saltiness. Put one mushroom in and let it be blended completely. Add the sherry, blend and taste. Turn the blender off. Slice the mushrooms into quarters and place in the blender, and blend at the slowest setting for about 20 seconds until they are chopped and distributed throughout the soup.

It was delicious, surprisingly so, since there was no fat at all. It would have been tasty without the sherry, but I adore sherry in my mushroom soup, so I went for it.

Altogether, this soup took around 8 or 9 minutes to make, and I am STUFFED! I couldn't eat another morsel of anything if you offered me a million dollars! (Well, maybe for a MILLION.... grin)

You could easily make this on top of the stove - it would just take longer. Basically, you are making a white sauce and adding mushrooms - that's all it is.

Happy eating!

Lightened Up Baked Pakistani Rice

Yesterday at my church's pot luck, there was the yummiest curried lentils over rice! It got me thinking about making something curried today. I had also read somewhere online about baking rice and I wanted to try it. That's how this dish was born.

The original recipe for Mattar Palao called for an entire pound of rice, which is a little too much for just the two of us, as well as half a pound of butter! Yikes! So, I lightened it up and tried to keep the same flavors.

It was very delicious, though I'm a little disappointed in the texture of the rice. It really wasn't light and fluffy. I think I'll need to experiment with baking rice some more and report back. Since I was going to have the oven on, I decided to roast eight large portobella mushroom caps, and serve the rice in those. With a nice salad, it was a quick, tasty and filling meal for two!

For the mushrooms:
Preheat oven to 375F.

Clean mushrooms, remove stems and place cap side up on a baking dish.

Give a quick spray of olive oil onto each mushroom, sprinkle with some seasoned salt (I used Soul Seasoning) and place, uncovered, in the bottom rack of the oven while it is preheating. Then start making the rice.

Pakistani Flavored Rice for 2:
1/2 diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seed
pinch powdered cloves
1/8 tsp powdered cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
dash of cayenne
1/2 tsp garam masala (hot or mild)
1 C white long grain rice (Basmati would be best)

2 C water
1 small tomato, seeded and diced
1 C frozen peas or lima beans
2 tsp veggie broth powder
salt and pepper to taste

Pumpkin seeds (pepitos)

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until translucent. Add the spices and saute, stirring all the time to prevent sticking, until very fragrant. Add in the rice and saute, stirring, until the rice is coated with all the spices and mixed well with the onions. Stir in the water, then add the tomato, peas and broth powder. Stir till well blended together. Bring to a boil on top of the stove. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust. Cover and bake in a 375F oven for 20 minutes. Fluff and serve mounded in the mushroom caps. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds for additional crunch, color and nutrition.

Although this was very delicious in flavor, I think that it could have cooked another five minutes or so. You should also probably let this sit for five minutes before fluffing. All in all, there is no time saving to baking rice, and after one experiment, I prefer the texture of rice steamed on top of the stove. I'll make this recipe again, and I will certainly try baking rice again!

Lebanese Cauliflower Rice (Yakhnit al-Qarnabit)

Years ago, back in San Jose, I was friends with a young Palestinian couple, Bill and Renda. I drove Renda home one night and was invited in. Arabic hospitality is legendary, and of course, Renda would not let me leave until I had eaten something. Since we had been talking about food, she gave me a taste of her dinner from the night before: cauliflower rice. Oh my.... I really loved it! Since it was Lent, it was vegan, but it often includes meat, and sometimes is made with wheat instead of rice.

On Sundays, I don't usually cook a large meal, but we pick at leftovers, or sometimes we go out to eat. I was watching figure skating yesterday afternoon, and DD was online chatting with her cousin, but The Ex was getting a little agitated. Turns out he was hungry! When I looked in the fridge, I saw a beautiful head of cauliflower and decided to make cauliflower rice. Here is what I did:

Lenten Cauliflower Rice

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt or to taste (I used Adobo seasoning salt)
1/8 tsp red pepper
2 C long grain white rice
4 C water
1 15 oz can chickpeas
olive oil

In a 5 quart dutch oven, saute the cauliflower over high heat in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until it is golden. Add in the onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Add in the salt, pepper and rice and stir until all the grains of rice are coated with the oil. Continue sauteing the rice for 30 or 40 seconds. Stir in the water and chickpeas, bring to a full simmer, lower heat to just barely simmering, cover and let cook for 20 minutes.

Served with a salad and a piece of fruit, like we did, and you have a complete meal! I just love this rice - I haven't made it in a long, long time but I have a feeling I'll be making it often again! No photo for this one because we were too hungry! Once I started cooking, the delicious aromas made DD and me very, very hungry!

If you want to use meat in this, its traditional to saute about 1 lb of cubed lamb first, then add the cauliflower. I've also used cubes chicken which is really yummy in this. You can use chickpeas with the meat, but most people that I know don't - at least not in this dish. Also if using meat, add in 1/2 - 1 tsp of allspice.

Note: I never use just plain allspice, though many, many excellent Arabic cooks do. I use a mixture of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. In a pinch, go ahead and use commercial apple pie spice as a substitute.

Vegetable Chickpea Soup with Rustic Rosemary Bread

About 4:oo pm today, dear daughter telephoned me at work. She had managed to sweet talk her father into driving her and two girlfriends to the mall so that they could finish their Christmas shopping. This would have brought me to my knees, no question, but the Ex managed to complete this onerous task relatively unscathed. DD told me not to worry about dinner since they were at the mall and she wasn't hungry anyway. I understood her to mean that she and her father would get dinner at the mall.

They were home when I got home from work. DD was in her room, studying for her finals tomorrow and TE was watching something military-like TV. I saw that the kitchen needed to be cleaned up from whatever they ate during the day and began doing that, and as I put things away, I mentioned to TE that DD had said not to bother with dinner. He was surprised, and he was hungry for dinner. Yikes!

I opened the fridge and surveyed the contents. Two loaves of rustic rosemary bread. Lots of veggies. Hm.... vegetable soup with rosemary bread. Yes, that's it! I started throwing things in the pot and in about 35 or 40 minutes, I had a delicious pot of fresh vegetable soup. This is what I did:

Vegetable Chickpea Soup

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large carrots, sliced in half moons

2 large stalks celery, sliced

3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut in 1/2 inch cubes

3 cloves garlic

4 large leaves collard greens, deveined, halved and cut into ribbons

2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs Herbes de Provence

2 1/2 quarts vegetable broth

salt and pepper

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes in juice

1 15 oz can chickpeas

In the bottom of the soup pot, swirl the olive oil and saute the onions over medium heat. While they are cooking, prep the rest of the vegetables in the order given, adding them to the pot when sliced, each in its turn. Season the veggies well with salt and pepper and the Herbes de Provence. Add in the can of tomatoes together with their juice, and the drained chickpeas. Discard the chickpea liquid. Add in the broth and simmer for 20 or 25 minutes until the vegetables are well cooked but not falling apart. Taste for seasoning and adjust to your taste.

If your broth isn't flavorful enough, you could add a few dried mushrooms crumbled into the broth at the beginning, or even broth powder.

We really enjoyed this soup a lot, and it had a surprisingly rich flavor for the amount of time that it cooked. We have enough left over for lunches tomorrow, and I'll put a serving or two in the freezer for later on in January when I need something to take to work for lunch.

I always have potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, chickpeas and canned tomatoes in my house, so I guess I can have this soup any time that I want!

This just goes to show you that freshly cooked food is inexpensive, is delicious, is no trouble, and does not have to take a long time to cook!