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.

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.

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 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

Beef Stew

Annie Benson Peevler

  • 2 lbs. beef stew meat
  • 2 tsp. salt and pepper
  • 2 or 3 onions, chopped
  • 1 can (5.5 oz.) V-8
  • 1 can (No. 203) tomatoes, juice or soup (I use a pop can size of tomato juice)
  • 1 c. or 1 can beef bouillon
  • 2 stalks celery, cut in 1Ó pieces (I use celery salt instead)
  • 5 or 6 carrots, cut up
  • 4 or 5 potatoes, cut up
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
  • 3 or 4 T. quick cooking tapioca
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Season meat; arrange in ungreased 13” x 9”casserole. Add other ingredients. Bake 3 or 4 hours, until meat is tender, at 250 deg. Cover; do not peek for the first 3 hours.

Note: Can be made the night before and reheated the next day. Excellent with homemade biscuits.

I tried a ton of Beef Stew recipes and never really loved any of them — until I found this one. No browning the meat — you just throw everything in one big dish and in the oven it goes!

Cheesy Potato Soup

Annie Benson Peevler

  • 3/4 C. chopped onion
  • 3 T. butter
  • 4 to 6 C. diced potatoes
  • 1/4 C. flour
  • 8 oz. Velveeta cheese
  • 1 can Campbell’s Pepper Jack Cheese
  • 3/4 C. shredded carrots
  • 1 t. basil
  • 2 cans or 3 C. chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 C. milk
  • salt and pepper to taste

In pot sautee onion, carrots and basil in 1 T. butter until tender, add potatoes and chicken broth and boil until potatoes are tender (10 to 12 min.)

In a small pan or skillet melt remaining butter, stir in four, add this to soup and stir for a few minutes.

Add Velveeta cheese, can of pepper jack soup, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts.

Tomato Basil Soup

Melinda Campbell

  • 1/3 c. Olive Oil
  • 1 medium Onion
  • 1t. minced Garlic
  • 1/3 c. Flour
  • 1 – 14z Can Diced Tomato
  • 2 – 14z Cans Chicken Broth
  • 2t. dried Basil
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. pepper

Heat Olive Oil… saute garlic and onion — stir in flour and then remaining ingredients. Blend with wire whisk and simmer 30 minutes. Puree and food processor and serve…

Serves 6.

Super Easy, Super Healthy, Super Yummy Southwestern Chili

Nick and Molly Slavik

This was the first dish that Nick learned to cook..It’s that easy.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cans of Diced Seasoned Tomatoes
  • 1 Can Mild Rotel Tomatoes (optional)
  • 1 Can of Whole Kernel Corn, drained
  • 2 Can of Chili Seasoned Beans
  • 1 Can of Black Beans, drained
  • 1 Can of Great White Northern Beans (optional), drained
  • 1 pound of Ground Beef or Ground Turkey
  • 1 Package Taco Seasoning (season to taste 1/2 to 1 packet)
  • Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing/Seasoning Mix (optional)
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Cook the ground beef and drain. Put ground beef back into skillet and cook for a couple of minutes with taco seasoning (to preferred taste) and a tablespoon of water.

In a large pan add the seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, corn, and beans. Bring almost to a boil then reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes or until hot. For a creamier version add packet of ranch style dressing mix.

Serve with cheese added to each bowl and Saltine Crackers. Tastes even better the next day as leftovers.

Kale Soup

Rosemary Fritzjunker

Makes a gallon.

[Editor’s note: Vegies from the cabbage family have lots of antioxidants, and are reputed to keep you from getting cancer.]

Heat large pan and add sausage and onion and sauté.

Add:

  • 4 quarts chicken stock
  • 2 T. Olive oil
  • 1 lb. Chorizo Sausage sliced 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 large onion- chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1 cup dried navy beans which have been soaked overnight
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Cook covered 1 1/2 hours covered.

Add:

  • 1 can red beans
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
  • Bunch Kale, washed and chopped
  • 1/4 t. pepper
  • 1/8 red pepper

Cook 1/2 hour more or until potatoes are done. Remove bay leaves.

Serve with slices of French bread.