A Delicious Cabbage Soup

Hello hello - it’s been a while since I’ve posted - life has been full and busy. I’ve been spending time teaching herb classes, doing some organizing, spending time with good friends, and thinking about this year's garden.

Spring is definitely taking its time getting here and I’ve been restless. I was looking at photos from last year at this time and we were wearing lighter clothes, the sun was shining and our early bulbs were blooming. Our crocus have finally come up and the tulips and allium are starting to peek their heads out - so there is hope. 

For those of you who are anxious to clean up your yard - please wait until the temps are a consistent 50 degrees for a week or so. Our bees and pollinators are still sleeping - we need them in our gardens. 

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that we have new neighbors and last fall they built a 6-foot fence so we’re in the process of revamping our gardens. As luck would have it our 2 beds closest to the fence were rotting, which means we were planning to replace them anyway and now we can move them to the north side of the far beds - basically full sun - so a bonus!

Tonight we’re sitting in the living room with a roaring fire enjoying a hearty cabbage soup and cornbread - it’s delicious!

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic - minced

6 cups veggie broth

2 carrots - diced 

2 stalks of celery - diced

1/2 head cabbage - chopped 

2 cans diced tomatoes 14 oz each 

2 cans of white beans 

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a large stockpot add the olive oil, onions, carrot, and celery saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and spices - saute for 1 minute. Add the cabbage and sweat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Add the broth, tomatoes, and beans, bring to a boil, and then simmer until the cabbage is tender. 

We served with cornbread - it was delicious!

Lentil Stuffed Peppers

Can you believe it’s almost April? I was checking the weather yesterday and noticed that last year on March 28th the temperature was 74 degrees - no wonder the crocus were blooming. We haven’t seen any sign of them this year but they will be here soon. 

The 2022 gardening season is not far away and now that I am retired I have all day to work outside (as opposed to half days like last year). Our new neighbors put up a 6-foot plastic white fence which will most definitely block the sun on 2 of our beds. I could be mad (and initially I was) but it is their yard and in the end, it gives me an opportunity to do something new. So we’ll move the two beds and the fence over and carry on. 

I’ll be working in the Hopkins Community garden this summer as part of my Master Gardener volunteer hours and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also teaching a class on growing and harvesting herbs and I’ll be hanging out at the Golden Valley Farmers Market on some Sunday mornings. 

We're still working through last year's harvest - tho we can start to see the bottom of the freezer. We still have some zucchini and summer squash, tomato sauce, pesto (lots of pesto), and hot peppers to use up. I have one last head of garlic before I need to head to the store. 

When I was a kid my mom often made stuffed green peppers - usually with ground turkey and they were a favorite. While turkey is not on the menu these days lentils definitely are. 

Ingredients:

3 peppers - any color 

1 onion - diced

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1/8 tsp cayenne

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 T tomato paste

1 cup chopped tomato

1.5 cup vegetable broth 

1 cup uncooked red lentils

salt to taste 

pepper to taste

feta cheese 

Instructions:

Cut peppers in half length-wise and remove the stem, seeds, and core. Place on a microwaveable dish and cook at full power for 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and set aside. 

In a medium pan saute onions in 1T of olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and cumin and cook for one minute. Add veggie broth, lentils, tomato paste, salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until the lentils are done (red lentils will turn yellow and get mushy when done). 

Preheat the oven to 350. Place pepper halves in a baking dish and fill with lentil mixture. Sprinkle with feta and bake for approximately 15 minutes until the mixture is heated through and the feta is starting to brown. 

Serve with a salad and enjoy!

A Wellington by any Other Name

We’ve been back for almost a month and Mother Nature has been less than kind. Weather aside we’ve gotten back into the swing of being home. I’ve lunched with friends, we’ve connected with Dan’s dad, and on Friday night we had our movie night friends over for an experimental dinner.

I’ve often heard that you shouldn’t try a new recipe when you are having guests, which I think is crazy cuz I do it all the time, as a matter of fact, our friends kind of expect it - well at least these friends do, probably because I do it so often. 

When we were in Arizona my friend Ann made a fabulous Mushroom Wellington, filled with onions, nuts, and of course lots of mushrooms. I’ve been hungry for beets lately and I decided to make a Beet Wellington - a rift on her recipe if you will. 

Unless you are retired and love to spend a good portion of your day cooking, this is not a recipe for a weeknight nor for the faint of heart. You can minimize mushroom chopping by using a food processor but be careful not to over-process, you want mushroom texture. One ingredient I would add going forward would be toasted walnuts, but since my friend has a horrible reaction to them I left them out. 

We served the welling with steamed broccoli and wild rice - it was delicious. 

Ingredients:

Filling

4 medium to large beetroots - approximately the same size

olive oil

10 shallots

8 cloves of garlic - minced

2 lb mushrooms - I used a mixture of chestnut and cremini

1 lb of spinach

salt and pepper

2 tsp rosemary - dried 

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

1 egg beaten with a splash of water

Everything bagel seasoning for top 

Balsamic Reduction

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sugar 

Instructions:

Heat up the oven to 200° C / 390° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.

Peel the beetroots. Pound 3 tsp of dry rosemary with 1½ tsp of coarse sea salt in a pestle and mortar until you get fine rosemary salt. Brush the beetroots with olive oil and sprinkle with some (not all) of the rosemary salt. Place on a baking tray and put into the hot oven for about 1 hour (until the beetroots can be easily pierced with a knife).

Place balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small pot. Bring it to the boil gently and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes or so until the liquid reduces by about ½ and becomes thick. Beware that it will become even thicker once it cools so don’t let it reduce too much. If you do, add a splash of water to bring it back.

Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-based pan. Add finely chopped shallots to hot oil (you want them to sizzle once added to the pan). Fry on a low heat stirring from time to time, until lightly browned. Add garlic and fry for a few minutes until soft and fragrant. 

Chop your mushrooms into fine dice (you can also use a food processor) while you’re frying the shallots and garlic. Remove one-third of the shallot and garlic mixture and set aside. Add chopped-up mushrooms into the pan and coat in the shallot and garlic mixture. Cook mushrooms on a medium heat until all the water evaporates. Add wine to the pan and allow it to cookout. Season the mushroom mixture with some of the rosemary salt and black pepper. Let it cool. Once cool, add chia egg and mix well. The mixture should be sticky but not watery.

Wilt spinach in a warmed-up pan with a lid. Once wilted, allow it to cool completely. Once cool, squeeze all the water out of the spinach using your hands or a muslin cloth. Go over the spinach twice or even three times to ensure that it is as dry as possible. Place spinach in a large bowl, season with rosemary salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Add shallot and garlic mixture you’ve set aside in step 6 and ¼ cup of breadcrumbs.

Assemble:

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and heat the oven to 390. 

Lightly flour the baking paper and put a defrosted sheet of puff pastry on it so that the shorter edge is facing you. 

Designate a long, narrow area (about 4 inches by 10 inches) where the filling will be stacked. The area should be about 2 inches from the edge of the pastry so that the pastry on the other side of the filling can be wrapped over the filling. Leave a 2-inch margin on each end so that you can fold the ends nicely.

Scatter bread crumbs on the puff pastry to provide a barrier between the filling to prevent a soggy bottom. 

Start by placing the spinach mixture in the long rectangle. Press it down with your hands so that it is packed tightly. Place the roasted beetroots in a long row over the spinach. 

Mold the mushroom mixture over the beetroots making sure it fills all the nooks and crannies tightly. 

Fold the pastry over the filling as tightly as you can - a second pair of hands can be helpful here. Seal the pastry together with the 2-inch margin you left on the other side. Wrap the pastry on both ends like you would wrap a present. 

Make shallow cuts on the top of the wellington with a sharp knife. Brush the top and sides with egg/water mixture and sprinkle with the bagel seasoning. 

Bake for 60 minutes until golden brown. 

Roasted Vegetable Miso Soup with Soba Noodles

Have you been bitten by the Wordle bug? I’m a word person, I love to read, when I got the newspaper (you know the old fashioned kind that you could touch and feel) I did the cryptocryptoquip and crossword puzzle so you could definitely assume it’s one of the first things I do when I log on in the morning. 

There was an article in the New York Times last week that talked about why Wordle was so popular and one of the things was scarcity - because there is only one posted every day. So for those of you who want to do more than one Wordle I give you Hello Wordl. And you can make it more challenging by expanding the number of letters (instead of the original 5). So, for those of you who want more than 1 puzzle a day - Wordle on my friends. 

We’ve been back from AZ for almost 2 weeks now and we’re getting back into the swing of MN winter - not loving it just accepting that it’s here for the duration and at some point it will end - maybe not until May but it will end. If you are a gardener, it’s a great time to peruse the online seed catalogs and plan your summer garden. Each year I try to do a couple experiments - this year will be Minnesota Midget Melons and black turtle beans. There might be other surprises but so far those are my choices. 

Minnesota Midgets are great for our short growing season. They are about the size of a softball and super sweet. I’d not heard of them until last year when I was talking with a neighbor who was growing them and they basically let you know when it’s time to harvest; they basically fall off the vine when you touch them. 

I’ve had a container of miso broth that I purchased before we went to AZ and was hungry for soup. I found a couple recipes online but none of them had what I was looking for so I took a little of this and a little of that and make a roasted veggie soup with a delicious broth - there were no leftovers. 

Ingredients:

2 carrots, sliced diagonally

8 - 10 brussels sprouts, quartered

1 broccoli crown, cut into florets

1/2 honeynut butternut squash

1 package soba noodles 

1 container of miso broth (or you can make your own using 5 - 6 T miso and 4 cups of water). 

Garnish:

sesame seeds 

chopped green onions

red pepper flakes

cilantro

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chopped veggies on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add a drizzle of olive oil and toss. Sprinkle veggies with salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 25 minutes or until veggies are fork-tender, turning halfway through. 

While veggies are roasting, cook soba noodles according to package directions. Rinse under cool water when done to halt cooking. 

If you have purchased miso broth, simply warm it up in a pan. If you are making your own, add water to a pan and heat, remove from heat and add the miso paste, stir until combined. 

Assemble soup: Add noodles and vegetables to soup bowls and top with miso broth. Add garnishes and enjoy!

Burrito Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Well, it had to happen sometime - we are back from Arizona, and whose idea was it to return in February - obviously mine. 

Arizona boasts 330 days of sunshine and it did not disappoint. Temperatures were in the high 60’s to 70’s which was perfect for happy hours on the patio, hiking the local trails, a little sipping and beer tasting at the San Tan Brewery, and general all-around enjoying. We got together with family and friends, had outdoor dinners at a few nice places, and saw the Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden with friends Ann & Warren.

We are back in the frozen tundra. The laundry is done and put away, I’ve started to connect with friends and I’m regulars working out and doing the normal everyday stuff that we do in Minnesota in the middle of winter. I am also starting to think about my garden and checking out seed websites - so many things to plan. 

Before we left for AZ we still had a few butternut and spaghetti squash that had not been cooked or eaten. Three of them traveled with us, we gave one spaghetti squash to friends and we cooked the other one but one - a very large spaghetti came home with us; we never got around to eating it. 

It was definitely time to use it so I roasted it (and because it was so big it took an hour and 45 minutes to cook. I stuffed it with some peppers, onions, black beans, and veggie crumbles and topped it with a little cheese - it was delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 large spaghetti squash

2 T olive oil

Filling

1 (16oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 bag Gardein veggie crumbles 

1/2 cup corn - I had corn, bean, and carrot mixture so I tossed that in

2 garlic cloves - minced

1 onion, diced

1/2 red pepper

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 cup salsa

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

dash of salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 

2. Cut the squash open lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Coat open side of squash with olive oil and place open side down on the baking sheet,

3. Bake until done - this will depend on the size of the squash, check it after 50 minutes. While squash is cooking make the filling. You can add whatever you want or have in the fridge or freezer. 

4. In a large pan add 1 T olive oil and saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add spices and pepper, corn mixture, black beans and veggie crumbles cook until crumbles are heated through. 

5. When squash is fully cooked, removed it from the oven and fork out squash flesh but leave in the bowls and add black bean mixture. Option to top with cheese or nutritional yeast. 

6. Bake for another 10-15 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted. 

Enjoy!

 

Bringing in the New Year - Southwestern Style

Happy New Year and welcome to 2022. While it isn’t starting out to be a banner year - I’m hoping for a better year than 2021 - at least from a pandemic perspective. 

Dan and I are spending some time in Arizona - the weather is much warmer and as a bonus, we get to see some family we haven’t seen in a while. We’re still keeping things low key, not eating in restaurants, seeing people outdoors, and masking whenever in public. 

I've started on another 30-day yoga journey to renew my practice (Yoga with Adrienne) and I'm trying to get out every day to walk at a new park, trail, or hike. Our rental is very nice and we have lots of citrus trees - that keep us in oranges, lemons, and grapefruit. 

Dan is working (someone has to make money) most days but sneaking in a walk, hike, or happy hour on the patio when the weather is particularly awesome. We're planning to visit the Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden and do a bit of driving for some weekend hikes. All in all we're doing well and not missing all that MN weather. 

A friend gave us 2 poblano peppers the other day and I decided to stuff them with some quinoa and veggies - beware - I did not use gloves when slicing them and my hand burned for a couple hours after that. I finally got up and put ice on it, which did the trick. 

One thing about staying in someone else’s house, you don’t have all those bottles and jars of stuff and you really don’t want to go out and purchase them so you make do. For those of you wondering tho - I'd still buy the black beans and not spend my time cooking them from scratch. 

Quinoa Stuffed Poblano Peppers 

Ingredients:

• 1 package roasted red pepper quinoa mix
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• Olive oil
• 1 can crushed tomatoes with chilies 
• 1 can of black beans 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ tsp each: black pepper, salt, and cumin
• vegan shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 medium poblano peppers
• 1 avocado

Instructions:

Cook quinoa using package directions. Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in a little olive oil until tender. Add spices and stir to combine. Add tomatoes, black beans, and cooked quinoa and simmer until the mixture is hot. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut a slit down the middle of each pepper and remove seeds (this is where a pair of gloves would be a good idea). Stuff the peppers with the quinoa mixture, cover with foil, and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese, and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Serve with salsa and avocados.

Enjoy!

Making Spirits Bright

 The holiday is in full swing - how do I know? Either Amazon or UPS shows up at my door almost every day, sometimes the packages are for me and sometimes they are for my neighbor. Our neighbor’s house faces one street but their address is another street. If I’m lucky I catch the delivery person but most of the time I use it as an opportunity to go over and chat with my favorite neighbors - it’s a bonus. 

Last weekend was cookie weekend - we have peanut blossoms, date and cranberry pinwheels, coconut thumbprints with plum jam, and my grandma's molasses with lemon buttercream frosting and sprinkles (because everyone needs sprinkles in their life right?). 

Sunday we had my father-in-law and his lady friend over for dinner; homemade spaghettini over zucchini noodles, cornbread, and a salad. I also tried a new appetizer, which I saw on TikTok - blue cheese and walnut pull apart; it has 5 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to put together, which is less time than the video - go figure. 

I love this time of year, the lights, carols, glitter, and gold. I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas celebrations with both my and Dan’s families - we are lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. This year Dan’s daughter Mary and her husband Matthew are hosting The Thundering Herd (aka Dan’s family) and we will spend Christmas Eve with my sister, brother-in-law, and their families. The little ones are growing and there is a brand new baby - there will be lots of fun, food, and laughter (yes that is code for noisy!).

Dan and I are planning to spend some time in warmer weather after the holidays with friends and family and I’ll get my first social security check in February - Thanks Uncle Sam (yes I know it is actually my money). 

I am settling into retirement and enjoying it more than I thought I would. I am not freaked out by no longer getting a weekly paycheck and I’m busier now than when I was working - life is good. I’ve taken up a new hobby - making earrings and I am still knitting - actually I have a Xmas present that I am trying to finish - it will be close but I think I can do it!

There was a little drama with dinner and I forgot to take a picture before we ate it. So I'm sending you over to Eat, Live Escape's post where you can see their pictures and watch their video.

Blue Cheese and Walnut Pull-Apart

Ingredients:

1 package vegan puff pastry (if you are ok with dairy then use the regular puff pastry) - thawed

100 grams blue cheese

walnuts

2 T honey

Fresh Rosemary

Plant-based milk 

Salt & pepper

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

1.  Place 1 sheet of puff pastry on a baking sheet and lightly roll out the seams. Break blue cheese into chunks and scatter on the puff pastry. Break up walnuts (into different sizes) and scatter them around the cheese. Chop rosemary and sprinkle over the cheese/walnuts. Drizzle 1 T honey over the pastry/mixture. 

2.  Roll the puff pastry up (like a cake roll), tucking the ingredients as you go. Slice the rolled puff pastry length-wise. Twist the 2 halves, tucking and pinching the dough to keep the ingredients in the pastry.

3.  On a parchment-lined (or Silpat lined) baking sheet, coil the puff pastry twists, connecting the two pieces. Repeat the full process (from step 1) for the second sheet of puff pastry. 

4.  When you have coiled all 4 pieces (2 pieces of puff pastry, cut in half), brush the top with plant-based milk and top with rosemary, salt, and pepper. 

5.  Bake for @ 30 minutes, until golden brown, and enjoy!

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and spending time with family doing the things you love. 

Thanks for stopping by!