Here’s a quick stirfry to use with your very own lentil sprouts.  Feel free to swap out vegetable favorites, just be sure to cut them into small pieces.  Carrots and shitake mushrooms would be lovely.  Serve with either rice noodles or brown rice cooked in coconut milk.

Gingered Lentil Sprouts

1/2 red pepper, cut to a small dice
1 c small broccoli florets
1 large clove of garlic (or 2 small), minced
1- 1 1/2 T minced ginger (no need to peel)
1/2 t red pepper flakes (optional)
2 c lentil spouts
1 T sesame oil

1.  Heat a wok or a large frying pan over a medium high flame.  Add about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Once hot, add red pepper.  Season with a pinch of sea salt.  Saute for about 2 minutes.

2.  Add broccoli and another pinch of sea salt.  Saute for 1 minute.  Add garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes.  Stir and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).  Add lentil sprouts and another pinch of sea salt.  Cook for another 2 minutes. 

3.  Remove from heat.  Add sesame oil.  Mix well.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve hot with rice or rice noodles.

Ask mamaguru

 I love tomato basil soup.  Do you have a recipe for this? I haven’t found any online?
Thanks, Bonnie Stockdale

Hi Bonnie,
I do have a recipe and it’s one of my favorites.  Here you go. 
Love, Rebecca

This simple and delicious recipe hits all the right notes and only needs 10 minutes of actual prep time. 

What I love most about this recipe is the triple hit of basil.  First, the dried basil melds with the soup as it simmers.   This creates and undercurrent of basil throughout the soup. Next, fresh basil gets blitzed into the whole thing.  Because it is added off the heat, it keeps its brightness and assertive flavor.  Finally, the garnish of basil ribbons is my favorite part and I have been know to hog more than my fair share.

Even though canned tomatoes are used in this recipe, it tastes very fresh.  Of course you can always peel and dice tomatoes during tomato season for ultimate freshness, but I find that I don’t feel like cooking soup in the hot months that produce tomatoes, so I usually used canned.  Serves 4-6.

 Tomato Basil Soup

1 small onion (or half a large), diced
1 rib of celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T tomato paste
1 large can (28 oz.) of chopped tomatoes (Organic or San Marzano are best!)
1 T dried basil
1 t dried oregano flakes
1 bay leaf
4 c vegetable stock or water
1/2 c fresh basil
optional Parmesan cheese as a garnish

1.  Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a soup pot over a medium flame.  Add onions and a pinch of sea salt.  Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.  Add the celery and another small pinch of salt.  Cook for a minute.  Add the carrot and do the same.  Add the garlic.  Cook and stir until you smell it (about 30 sec.). Add the tomato paste and stir until it coats the veggies. 

2.  Add the tomatoes, spices and stock.  Bring just to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and add 1/4 c of the fresh basil.  Puree soup.  Let your blender work for longer than you think it needs and it will turn out nice and creamy. 

3.  Garnish with fresh baisl leaves just before serving.  You can also add a drizzle of very good olive oil and a fresh grating of cheese if you wish.  Serve with crusty bread and a green salad for a simple dinner or with a grilled cheese sandwich for a classic American meal (skip the cheese garnish in this option).  Enjoy!

Here’s a South Indian soup recipe straight from the kitchen of my own yoga teacher, M.S. Viswanath, or Master-ji as we called him.  This one one of my favorite dishes and his wife, Lakshmi, dictated the recipe to me in her living room over afternoon chai.  I furiously scribbled the ingredients in my red spiral notebook which contained all my thoughts and lessons from my time in Bangalore. 

This is a beautiful, lightly curried stew.  The warm spices are cut by the cool yogurt which makes a lovely introduction to Indian spices for children.  It’s deeply comforting and extremely healthy.  Not only do the vegetables contribute to health by loading you with potassium and vitamin C, but the spices also have healing properties.  Enjoy.  Serves 4-6.

Aloo Sabzi

3 potatoes (Yukon Gold is a good choice)
2 large tomatoes
1 t ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil
1/2 t cumin seeds
1/4 t turmeric
1 t chili powder
1 t coriander
1/4 c plain yogurt
fresh cilantro for garnish

1.  Place the potatoes in a large pot of water, add salt and bring to a boil.  Once the water is boiling, add tomatoes for 1 minute each.  Remove the tomatoes and easily peel off their skin.  Chop them and set aside.  Continue cooking the potatoes until they are tender (about 15 minutes).  Gently skin the potatoes and loosely mash them.  Set aside.

2.  In another pot, heat the ghee or oil.  Add the cumin and let it sprout (wait for a loud sizzle and fragrant smell).  Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.  Add a small pinch of sea salt and the turmeric.

3.  Add the potatoes and spices.  Allow them to saute for a few minutes.  Add about 1 c water.  When it starts to boil, add the yogurt.  Boil for 5 minutes.  Check the seasoning and adjust if needed.  Remove from the heat and garnish with cilantro.

Everyone needs a few simple, healthy, go-to recipes for busy nights.  This is one of my family’s favorites.  My husband even had me make it for his birthday dinner one year!  It’s tasty and is my kiddos favorite way to eat broccoli.  They call it Worms and Trees.

It takes only 20 minutes to make, so we eat it about once a week.  Sometimes I serve it straight up vegan and sometimes I add shrimp. I hope you love this recipe as much as we do.  The left-overs are a great next-day lunch.  

Serves 6-8.

Garlic-Sesame Noodles with Broccoli

1 box angel hair pasta
a big head of broccoli, just cut off the top florets (the stems make a great soup the next day)
4-6 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2- 1 t red pepper flakes*
a few tablespoons of olive oil
3 T sesame oil
optional chili oil*

1.  Bring a pot of very salty water to a boil.  While it is heating up, chop your broccoli into small florets and mince your garlic.  Once your water is boiling, add broccoli to the water and cook for 1 minute.

2.  Meanwhile, heat a large saute pan with 3-4 T of olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes.*  Transfer broccoli from the water to the saute pan.  Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.  Turn off the heat in this pan.  Bring the water back to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. 

3.  Before draining pasta, reserve a cup of pasta water.  Drain pasta and add it to the broccoli.  Stir to combine well.  Drizzle a few tablespoons of sesame oil over the pasta.  If you need to loosen it, add a bit of the pasta water.  Season generously with sea salt and black pepper.   You can heat the pan again if you need to, but usually it is still steamy hot.  Spice lovers can add a few drops of chili oil to their bowls.  Enjoy!

*Spice Note:

If your kids don’t like spicy food, you can use either a little bit or no red pepper flakes in the recipe.  Adults can add chili oil at the end to get that kick.  I think it’s a good idea to use a little spice to acclimate children’s pallets, but not overwhelm them.  You know your family best.

Here’s an idea for dinner tonight to calm the partisan fighting.

Ying Yang Soup

1.  Take two contrasting soups.   I used Black Bean Soup and Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup.

2.  Pour them from measuring cups starting at the top and bottom of the bowl. Swirl to opposite sides and trail off at the end. 

3.  Use a spoon to add the contrasting drops. 

4.  Enjoy the comforting taste and warmth of both soups together.  Let go of the election;  it’s over and there is now work to be done TOGETHER!

My summer without tomatoes has been sad, but it’s also inspired new recipes as I tackled the culinary challenge of an elimination diet.  I adore the classic Caprese flavor profile and craved it deeply, so I started experimenting with the savory side of strawberries.  I just wanted something red to go with the green.  This oven-baked risotto is one of the best dishes to come out of my nightshade-free diet.  The fresh basil and strawberries speak of the garden’s harvest.  This is an elegant dish, worthy of entertaining.  It serves 6-8.

Pesto Risotto with Balsamic Strawberries

2 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 c arborio rice
1/3 c white wine
6 c vegetable broth
1 1/2 c sliced strawberries
1 1/2 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 c parmesan cheese
2 T butter
squirt of fresh lemon
1/2 c pesto
optional toasted pine nuts  and basil for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 425°.  Place a dutch oven* over a medium flame and heat olive oil.  Add onions.  Season with sea salt and pepper and saute for about 4 minutes, until they become soft and translucent.  Stir often to avoid browning.  Add garlic and saute for another minute, until you can just smell it.  Add the rice and stir for about 3 minutes, until rice is toasty.  Add wine.  Stir.  Add 5 1/2 cups of broth and continue stirring for another minute.

2.  Place the lid on your dutch oven and put it in the oven for 18 minutes.  No peeking.  In the meantime, slice the strawberries and mascerate them in vinegar with a hint of sea salt as well.  If using pine nuts, toast them now and set aside.

3.  Take risotto out of the oven and place it over a medium flame.  Remove the lid.  Stir in the remaining broth, butter and cheese.  Stir and cook another 3-5 minutes, until risotto is cooked through and has reached the desired creaminess.  Turn off heat.  Add lemon juice and pesto.  Stir until well-combined.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  Serve immediately, spooning strawberries as a garnish and sprinkling with pine nuts and basil if you have them.  Enjoy!

* You don’t need a dutch oven for this recipe; you can also make it stove top.  To do that, heat your broth until simmering.  Add it ladle by ladle to the rice, stirring and waiting for the rice to absorb the broth before adding more.  Adjust your temperature so that this will take 22 minutes.  If you try to bake this without a dutch oven, the heat will not distribute properly and you probably won’t be happy with the results.

My family loves pizza. 

Let me clarify: we love pizza like we are all a bunch of junior high school kids.

We are obsessed. 

We eat it about once a week, almost always homemade.  I have my pizza dough recipe down pat and it’s such a fun way to eat veggies.  Although it might seem daunting to make pizza from scratch, it becomes old hat after a few tries.  It’s great fun for kids too because they can knead, punch and roll out the dough as well as sprinkle the toppings.

I have shared my pizza recipes in the past, but the other night was just so wonderful, I had to share it too.  I made it from bits and pieces I had leftover, so if you don’t have one thing (preserved lemons, perhaps), substitute what’s on hand.  If you do want something spectacular, this combination is worth the effort of arranging your weekly meal plan around.  The worldly flavors of the preserved lemons and kalamata olives are complimented by the rich heartiness of the mushrooms.  Crispy kale adds a surprising crunch on top.  Divine!

Mushroom Kale Pizza

1/2 recipe of pizza dough
3 T pesto
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T preserved lemons, minced
8 kalamata olives, pitted and quartered lengthwise
1/4 c thinly sliced onion
1 c sliced crimini mushrooms
1/3 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 leaf of kale sliced into fine ribbons
olive oil
sea salt (Black Hawaiian is the best, but that might be taking it too far.)

1.  Preheat oven to 500° with a pizza stone in it.  It is best to have it at this temperature for 20 minutes before cooking.  If you don’t have a pizza stone, put your baking sheet in the oven five minutes before putting your dough on it to create a shock of heat.

2.  Roll out dough and place it on pizza paddle or hot baking sheet (careful!).  Spread pesto all over the dough.  Scatter garlic, preserved lemons, olives and onions evenly.  Sprinkle half of the cheese on it.  Add mushrooms.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.  Add the rest of the cheese.  Sprinkle with kale.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper once more.

3.  Bake for about 10 minutes with a watchful eye.  Cheese should be melted, kale crisp and the dough should be nice and crusty.  Cool on a wire rack so you don’t lose crispness in the bottom crust.  I served mine with a mango-cherry salad.  Enjoy!

Here’s a fabulous recipe for the summer featuring the crowning glory of this growing season: the tomato.  I developed this recipe a few months ago during the height of Florida’s tomatoes.   It’s delicious and so much easier than a traditional risotto.  You can serve it warm or at room temperature.  It tastes best when enjoyed al fresco.   The rest of my summer will be spent nightshade-free, so those of you who can, please enjoy my share of the delicious red fruit.

Roasted Tomato Orzo Risotto

2 pints grape tomatoes
2 large cloves of garlic
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
2 T fresh basil
2 T fresh parsley
1 lb orzo
2 T butter
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c ricotta cheese

1.  Smash cloves of garlic with the flat edge of your knife.  Place garlic and tomatoes into a shallow pan.  Generously drizzle with olive oil.  Generously season with sea salt and black pepper.  Slow roast in a 275° oven for 2-3 hours, until tomato skins burst. 

Note: this step can be done in advance and tomatoes stored in the fridge for up to a week.  You can also do this at a higher temp (350) for a shorter time (30 min.), but I prefer the sweetness of a slow roast.

2.  Once tomatoes are ready, cook orzo according to the package directions.  Be sure to season your boiling water with a lot of salt.  (It should taste like the ocean).  Before draining reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.

3.  Chop up the roasted garlic cloves.  (If you chopped them earlier, they would have burned.)  Immediately after the orzo is drained, add tomatoes, garlic and the olive oil they were cooked in to the orzo.  Add butter, herbs, and cheese.  Stir.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  To make the dish creamy add the reserved pasta water a splash at a time until you like the consistency.  If you plan on eating this later, keep a little pasta water to add at the last minute to freshen it up.  

4.  Enjoy!  This is lovely when served with an arugula salad, a few katamala olives and a glass of chilled Beaujolais.  Best if eaten outside with someone you love.

Another repost from last year’s Halloween recipes.

Here’s the perfect recipe to serve your little goblins before they head out trick-or-treating.  Spiderweb Soup is a combination of Butternut Squash Soup and Black Bean Soup.  These recipes are very simple.  You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already, and it only takes a half an hour to whip up the whole thing.  The sweetness of the squash paired with the spice from the black beans is delicious.  Serve with crusty garlic bread to keep the vampires at bay.  Serves 4

Butternut Squash Soup

1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package of frozen squash, defrosted
2 c vegetable stock
1 t pumpkin pie spice
a few shavings of fresh nutmeg
juice of half a lemon

1.  Heat about 2 T olive oil over a medium flame in a soup pot.  Add onion and a pinch of sea salt.  Saute for about 2 minutes.  Add celery, carrot, apple, bay leaf, garlic and another pinch of sea salt and cook for 2 minutes.

2.  Add squash, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg and stock.  Stir.  Season once again with sea salt and black pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer with lid almost closed for about 15 minutes, until veggies are soft.

3.  Discard bay leaf.  Add soup to blender and puree in batches.  Either cool soup or be careful to allow steam to escape in blender.  Set aside.

Black Bean Soup

4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 t red pepper flakes
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2- 2 c vegetable stock
2 t cumin powder
juice and zest of 1 lime
2 T canned green chillis
2 drops of hot sauce

1.  Heat about 2 T olive oil in a soup pan over a medium flame.  Add red pepper flakes and garlic.  As soon as you smell garlic (30 sec.) add beans and stock.  Add remaining ingredients.  Season with sea salt and pepper.  Add a bit more olive oil if you’d like.  Allow soup to simmer for 5- 10 minutes.

2.  After you have pureed the squash soup, use the blender to puree the bean soup in batches.  There is no need to wash the blender if you go from orange to black.

Spiderweb Soup

1.  Ladle Butternut Squash Soup into bowl.

2.  Using a an everyday spoon, carefully draw 3 -4 circles of Black Bean Soup and dot it in the middle. 

3.  Using a chopstick, draw lines from the center of the soup outward to the edges to achieve spiderweb effect.  Serve warm with garlic bread.  Happy Halloween!

Note:   These soups are quite thick, because it makes the spiderweb easier to achieve and I want to fill up my kiddos.  If you prefer a thinner broth, just add 1-2 more cups of stock.