Fire-Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Yield: 4 Servings

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 (14 ounce) cans of hunt’s fire roasted tomatoes
  • 2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian)
  • 1/2 cup half and half (skip this if you want)
  • 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper (maybe a bit less)
  • 10-20 fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat, pour in the olive oil and saute onion until translucent. Add the chopped garlic (except for 1 clove) and sauté with the onion for 2 minutes.

Next, add the cans of fire roasted tomatoes (including the juice) to the pan and cover for about 15 minutes, stirring as needed. Add the chicken stock and half & half and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered, for 10 minutes or until it has thickened.

Add the remaining chopped garlic clove, crushed red pepper, fresh basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Lower your heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes more.
Using an immersion blender (or carefully transfer soup to a blender), puree soup until there are no large chunks of tomato left. Serve immediately with a hunk of warm french bread and get to dipping!

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition Info per 1 serving: 204 calories. 10.7 fat. 22.5 carb. 6 fiber. 4 protein.

Charlie Trotter’s Asparagus Avocado Soup

Alix Mayer

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 c filtered water
  • 2 c chopped asparagus
  • 1/2 avocado, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 c chopped celery
  • 2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbls nama shoyu (soy sauce or wheat-free soy sauce, like San-J)
  • 2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tsps minced onion
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • leaves from 1 thyme sprig
  • 1 1/2 tsp fresh tarragon leaves
  • pinch of freshly ground cayenne pepper
  • Celtic sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Garnish for Asparagus soup:
  • 8 asparagus tips, each sliced lengthwise into thirds
  • 1 stalk white asparagus, thinkly sliced on the diagonal
  • 4 tbls shaved fennel
  • 4 tsps Herb Oil:
  • 1/4 c firmly packed chopped fresh chives
  • 1/4 c firmly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
  • 1/4 c firmly packed watercress leaves
  • 1/2 c grapeseed oil
  • 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Directions

  • Herb Oil:
  • To make an oil with the brightest green result, in a small saute pan, saute the chives, parsley, and watercress over medium heat in 1 tbls of the grapeseed oil fro 2 minutes, or unitl wilted.
  • Immediately shock in ice water (this sets the color) and drain, squeezing to extract any excess water, then chop coarsely.
  • Or omit this step and simply chop the raw greens coarsely.
  • In a blender, combine the chopped green, the remaining 7 tbls grapeseed oil or the 1/2 cup oil if you have not sauteed the herbs, and the olive oil and process for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the mixture is bright green.
  • Pour into a container with a tight-fitting lid, cover and refrigerate for 1 day.
  • The next day, strain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids.
  • Return to the container and refrigerate for 1 day, then decant and use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
  • To make the Asparagus Soup:
  • In a high-speed blender, combine the water, asparagus, avocado, celery, olive oil, shoyu, lemon juice, onion, garlic, thyme, tarragon, and cayenne and puree until smooth.
  • Pass through a fine-mesh sieve and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • To make the garnish for the Asparagus Soup:
  • Ready the asparagus tips, white asparagus, fennel, and Herb Oil and reserve until serving.

Kansas City Baked Beans

Mary Beth Flanders

These beans were a big hit at the 2012 Flanders picnic.

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans pork and beans, drained
  • 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 3 bacon slices, halved

Preparation

  1. Stir together first 8 ingredients in a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish; top with bacon.
  2. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
  3. Note: We used K.C. Masterpiece Original Barbecue Sauce.

Squash Rings

Meghan Harvey

These are delicious and even good cold.

  • Delicata squash (or any winter squash)
  • Olive oil
  • Little butter (optional but makes it more sweet)
  • Little salt
  • Fresh thyme

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.  Try to rotate in between.

Cantaloupe Soup

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Food as Medicine: Super high in beta carotene (which Emily calls “Baby Carotene”) and other anti-oxidants. Healthy, easy and refreshing.

Chill melon. Blend seeds and webbing, along with one whole cantaloupe (peeled) in a blender. When you peel the melon, cut it very close to the rind–that’s where the vitamins are, as well as in the seeds and webbing. Add some cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger before you blend. Makes two to three servings. Enjoy.

The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Food as Medicine: Here is a list of common produce items that you should print out, cut out and carry in your wallet. According to the Environmental Working Group, you should always buy organic from the list of “The Dirty Dozen,” as these are the most contaminated with pesticides and herbicides. Foods from The Clean 15 are not as contaminated, so you can safely buy them conventionally (and usually less expensively).

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The Dirty Dozen

  • Celery
  • Peaches
  • Strawberries
  • Apples
  • Blueberries
  • Nectarines
  • Bell Peppers
  • Spinach/Kale/Collards/Lettuce
  • Cherries
  • White potatoes
  • Grapes (imported)
  • Dairy

The Clean Fifteen

  • Onions
  • Avocado
  • Sweet corn
  • Pineapple
  • Mangoes
  • Sweet peas
  • Asparagus
  • Kiwi
  • Cabbage
  • Eggplant
  • Cantaloupe/Watermelon/Honeydew
  • Sweet Potato
  • Grapefruit

Nori Rolls

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Food as Medicine: This is a super easy raw appetizer. Seaweed is another “superfood” that has many health benefits.

  • 5 sheets Nori (seaweed)
  • 1 cup Seed cheese
  • ½ cup shredded Carrots
  • ½ cup diced Celery
  • 1 cup Alfalfa Sprouts
  • 1 cup sprouted Sunflower or buckwheat sprouts
  • 1 julienne sliced Red pepper
  • 1 cup finely chopped Cucumber

Divide seed cheese into 5 portions.  Spread seed cheese on Nori sheets, leaving a clear area about ½ inch from each side. Then layer with carrots, celery, sprouts, red peppers, and cucumber.

Roll like a California Roll, then slice each roll into 5 or 6 pieces. Makes 25-30 appetizers.

Raw Corn Chowder for Two

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Put into a Vitamix or other blender:

  • 16 oz frozen, organic sweet corn (thawed) or 2 large organic ears of corn (cut from cob)
  • 1 1/2 T almond butter
  • 1 and 1/2 cups pure water (or 1 ½ cup prepared almond milk)
  • 2 T. chopped onion
  • 1 t. cumin
  • 1/4 t. sea salt
  • a dash of red pepper flakes

Blend all.

Place in bowls in dehydrator at 105 degrees for 45 min., or, if you don’t have a dehydrator, put in pan on stove top on low heat until your finger gets hot when you touch the bottom of the pan. It should be warm — not hot — to preserve the nutrients and enzymes.

Serve in beautiful bowls and sprinkle with paprika and sprouts and/or chopped red pepper. A very rich and filling soup. To your health!

Raw Seed Cheese

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Food as Medicine: Seed cheese is a staple of the raw food diet. It is a valuable source of protein and high quality fats. Soaking seeds and nuts reduces the amount of fat by about 30% and releases the bioavailability of enzymes and nutrients.

  • 1 c. sunflower seeds (no hulls) soaked overnight
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • Add 1 T water or Rejuvelac to desired consistency

Drain and rinse soaked sunflower seeds. Put all into a blender until consistency of hummus. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.  Serve in a pita or tortilla with chopped veggies, or as a “raw wrap” in leaves of cabbage, lettuce, or Napa cabbage.  Or, serve on sliced cuks, zucchini or other veggies.

Raw Yam Soup

Peg Harvey-Sweeney

Food as Medicine:  Sweet potatoes have a reputation among health food advocates as one of the most densely nutritious (but surprisingly low-calorie) foods on the market.

  • 3-4 Yams or Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 pint Sesame or almond milk
  • ½ t. Cinnamon
  • ½ Avocado

Combine above ingredients in blender until smooth. If you want it slightly warm, heat on stovetop just until your finger is hot when you touch the bottom of the pan.

You can add some optional seasonings:

  • Mace
  • Allspice
  • Nutmeg
  • Cloves