Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

My friend Marie has given up solid food for Lent, I sent her this recipe yesterday and it sounded so good I remembered why I make it. So I made it again, it is creamy and tasty without dairy, low fat too, full of veggies. I served it with Sweet and Spicy Empanadas, (a Rick Bayless recipe). We loved it all. I'll add the Empanada recipe below just in case somebody feels adventurous enough to try these, a little labor intensive but easy. You can really add any filling, he uses frozen pie crust dough which helps to make it faster. COOK ON.........................

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

I thought about throwing a couple handfuls of small broccoli trees into this soup (a few minutes before doing the puree), spinach would be great as well. You can use a vegetable stock if you like in place of the water.

Ingredients Serves 4 to 6.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 stalk celery (diced)

1 carrot (diced)
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
2 cups dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
5 cups water (or chicken broth, which I use)
juice of 1/2 lemon (reserve the zest)

a few pinches of smoked paprika
more olive oil to drizzle

Add olive oil to a big pot over med-high heat. Stir in onions and salt and cook until the onions soften, just a minute or two, add carrots & celery saute another two minutes, now add the garlic saute just until garlic is softened. Add the split peas and water. Bring to a boil, dial down the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the peas are cooked through. Using a hand blender (or regular blender) puree the soup to your desired consistency. If you need to thin the soup out with more water (or stock) do so a bit at a time. Stir in the lemon juice and taste. If the soup needs more salt, add more a bit at a time until the flavor of the soup really pops.

Ladle into bowls or cups, and serve each drizzled with olive oil and topped with a good pinch of smoked paprika and a touch of lemon zest. THIS REALLY ADDS FLAVOR.

Sweet and Spicy Empanadas

Here's another one from chef Rick Bayless, who uses premade pie dough as a shortcut. You can prep the empanadas ahead of time, put them on baking sheets, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove the plastic wrap and pop them in the oven when the game's second quarter starts, and they'll be warm and ready at halftime.

Ingredients MAKES ABOUT 20 (3-INCH) TURNOVERS

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound coarsely ground beef or pork

1 medium white onion, chopped

1 cup prepared medium tomato salsa

1/2 cup chopped green olives

1/2 cup chopped raisins

2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

Salt

1 15-ounce packages refrigerated ready-made pie dough

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, add oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. Add meat and onion and cook, stirring, until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Add salsa, olives, raisins, brown sugar and about 3/4 teaspoon salt; cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Cool.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 3-inch circles. Lightly paint the edges of each circle with water. Scoop about 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling onto each, fold over and press edges together with a fork. Put on lightly greased baking sheet. Beat egg with milk and brush mixture over tops of empanadas. Bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm.

PER SERVING (3 empandas): calories: 288 (59.2 from fat); protein: 7.1 grams; total fat: 19 grams; saturated fat: 5.1 grams; cholesterol: 37.6 mg; sodium: 444 mg; carbohydrate: 22.7 grams; dietary fiber: 1.8 grams

Adapted from Rick Bayless, FronteraFiesta.com

Soba Noodle Sesame Salad

Sorry I've left you all for so long. Busy, busy, still been cooking. Brought some goat meat from Brookside Farm, which is where I buy my farm fresh eggs, oh my they are so good. She raises Boer Goats, butchers and sells the organically raised goat meat. Did you know that goat meat is the meat most eaten by people on the planet, that's right, over beef. I cooked it as I would beef for burritos, in the crock pot, mexican spices and let it cook for 10 hours. I made goat meat tacos, grilled onions, avocados, homemade salsa. It was so good, even picky Michael loved it. Also, goat meat is leaner, lower in cholesterol and just healthier than beef or pork. Open up your mind and give it a try, you won't be disappointed. But that's not my post for the day.

I've been feeding my neighbor Clark who fell off a ladder and broke 9 ribs, he's on his 5 th week of convalesces, but he has decided that he can now cook for himself. So tonight was the "last supper' I made for him. We had grilled salmon and a Soba Noodle Sesame Salad, that is the recipe I;m giving you today. It was satisfying, delicious and a very good accompaniment to salmon.

Soba Noodle Sesame Salad

Ingredients

Step 1: You will need...

17 ½ oz Japanese soba noodles

1 2⁄3 fl oz soy sauce

2 ½ fl oz vegetable oil

the juice of 1 lemon

4 spring onions , chopped

1 small bunch of fresh coriander leaves , chopped

1 oz sesame seeds

1 inch of ginger , peeled and chopped

salt and pepper

I added some grated carrots, grated daikon radish, and bean sprouts. Added some sugar and garlic powder to the dressing.

Directions Serves: 4

Step 2: Boil the water
Fill the large pot three-quarters full of water. Place on the stove with the lid on and bring to the boil.

Step 3: Cook the noodles
When the water is boiling, add the noodles and stir. Leave the pot uncovered and bring back to the boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes.

Step 4: Toast the sesame seeds
Place a small frying pan on the stove on a medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir, toasting them for about 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally stirring and taking great care not to burn them. When toasted, remove from heat.

Step 5: Make the dressing
Add the soy sauce to a small bowl followed by the lemon juice, ginger, oil and some freshly ground black pepper. Whisk well until all the ingredients are fully combined.

Step 6: Drain the noodles
Pour the noodles into the colander and drain when they are cooked.

Step 7: Combine the ingredients
Transfer the noodles into a large bowl and follow with the sesame seeds, onions, coriander and the dressing. Combine together with the wooden spoon.

Step 8: Garnish and serve
Heap a generous helping onto a plate, garnish with a few coriander leaves and serve.

Aunt Honey's Greek Lemon-Rice Soup with Chicken

My sister in law, "Aunt Honey" aka Connie, shared this recipe with me. I'm making it now and thought this was be an excellent post. I've got to say this has always been one of my favorite soups. Any good greek restaurant should have it on their menu. I love it. This is a quick version and according to Aunt Honey just delicious. Add some pita or crusty bread, some cucumber and hummus and you've got a perfect menu. COOK ON...........

Aunt Honey's Greek Lemon-Rice Soup with Chicken

START TO FINISH: 20 MINUTES SERVES 4

Avgolemono, a traditional Greek soup made from chicken broth, lemon juice, eggs and rice, is a simple soup that we’ve somehow neglected to concoct a desperate version of – until now.

Ingredients

1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2/3 pound), diced
1/3 cup (uncooked) long-grain rice 
3 eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat broth over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Add chicken and rice, cover the pot, and cook 15 minutes. (Reduce heat if necessary to keep from boiling over.) While chicken mixture cooks, beat eggs lightly in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and whisk well.

When chicken is cooked through and rice is tender, remove soup from heat. Use a glass measure to remove about 1 cup of broth from soup and slowly drizzle broth into egg mixture whisking constantly.

Place soup back over low heat, and stirring constantly, add egg mixture to soup pot. Cook and stir about 2 minutes to thicken slightly. (Do not allow soup to boil.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and ladle into bowls and serve.