Carrot-Ginger-Cashew Soup

Here's another easy soup.  This recipe is for four served with bread and a hearty salad.

You'll need 2 boxes of Pacific Organic Cashew-Carrot-Ginger soup and 1/2  box of Trader Joe's Carrot Ginger soup. Pour those into a saucepan and heat slowly.

In the meantime, take the kernels off of two ears of corn and mince about 1/4 cup of fresh ginger. Slice 1 large leek very thin.  Mix those with sea salt and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment.  Roast these for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Some of the ginger and leeks should be crispy and shriveled.  Check them often.

Marinade 24 large raw shrimp with shells removed in some oil, vinegar and finely-chopped flat parsley.  I used Honey-Ginger White Balsamic vinegar and Roasted Sesame Oil from LeRoux Kitchen. Grill them for about 3 minutes on each side.


Spiralize 1 large parsnip and about 6 large carrots. I found "carrots of many colors" in the grocery store. It was fun. Place these in a Ziploc bag with some salt and pepper and olive oil.  Shake and microwave for four minutes or longer until they are soft enough to eat.

Thinly slice 6 scallions.

Layer the carrots in a warmed shallow soup or pasta bowl.  Ladle in enough soup to cover the carrots.  Top with leek/ginger/corn mixture.  Sprinkle with scallions and place 6 shrimp on each bowl.  Garnish with a sprig of flat parsley.

Roast Chicken with Honey-Lemon Sauce in Clay Pot

I combined some recipes I found online to make this roasted chicken.  One was from Emeril's website.
Prepare a clay roaster by soaking in cold water for 15 minutes. Wash the chicken well inside and out under cool running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Rub chicken all over with 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and season evenly on all sides with the salt and pepper.  Place the reserved lemon shell inside the chicken cavity and stuff with some fresh savory herbs. Cover the roaster and transfer to a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and cook for 45 minutes.

Combine 1/4 cup of lemon juice,  2/3 c. honey, and 1-1/2 T soy sauce in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until heated through. In a small bowl, make a paste from 4 tablespoons of butter and the flour. Whisk the butter-flour mixture into the melted honey-lemon-butter mixture. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove the clay cooker from the oven and pour the honey-butter mixture all over the chicken, making sure to evenly cover the breast and any exposed areas. Cover the roaster and return the chicken to the oven for 45 minutes, or until it is cooked through and very tender.

I served this with a spinach salad and butternut squash sautéed with shallots and thyme. 

Thai Sweet Potato Soup with Grilled Shrimp and Corn

Here's an easy grilled dinner for two on a cool spring night.

Grill about 8 large shrimp per person and one ear of corn. Take the corn off the cob.

Spiralize one large sweet potato and cook the spirals in a bag in the microwave.  Slice about 4 scallions. Cook a few slices of bacon and crumble. Chop 1/4 cup fresh cilantro.

Heat 1 box of Pacific Organic Thai Sweet Potato Soup in a saucepan.

Preheat soup bowls or pasta dishes.  Place the sweet potato spirals in the bowl, cover with most of the corn.  Cover with hot Sweet Potato Soup, grilled shrimp, scallions and bacon, a few corn kernels and chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper but the soup is very well-seasoned. 

Add more slices of vegetables (peppers, etc.) and add one more box of soup for four people.

Serve with Spinach Salad and toasted bread slices.

Sprouted Kitchen Mushroom Rice Burgers

These burgers are delicious!  They are a lot of work but even good the next day.  We had them with sautéed shallot slices and crumbled blue cheese.  Oh, so yummy!  Add Spouted Kitchen Sweet Potato Fries dipped in Catsup - Home Made and you'll be in heaven. The burger and fries recipes are from The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook. Invest in this book - it is well worth it.

Mushroom and Brown Rice Veggie Burgers (from Sprouted Kitchen by Sara and Hugh Forte)

 Melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter in a large sauté pan.  Add 5 cups stemmed and finely chopped cremini mushrooms, 5 cloves of chopped garlic and a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and sauté until the mushrooms are softened and the excess water has cooked off, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

Combine 1/4 cup ground flaxseed, 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained well, 3 Medjool dates, (make sure they are pitted!), 1/4 cup fresh parsley, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 2 1/2 tablespoons tahini, 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. of sea salt and some pepper in a food processor.  Combine well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Add the cooled mushrooms with juices from the pan to the bowl along with 2 cups cooked and cooled brown rice (cooked in some vegetable broth for extra flavor).  Stir to combine and if too juicy add 1 to 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats, if needed*.   If you refrigerate the mixture, the patties may stay together better but it isn't necessary.

Arrange a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Form the mixture into 6 patties, each about 1 inch thick. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the patties on the baking sheet with space in between. Bake them in the oven until toasted on top, 14 to 18 minutes.

Yummy Spring Breakfast

Breakfast this past weekend was hash browns with poached eggs, turkey bacon, and mixed berries drizzled with lemon honey.  A bit of homemade catsup on the side made it a delicious meal.

Spiralize four medium white potatoes and precook them in the microwave in a Ziploc bag (a little olive oil, salt and pepper mixed in) for three minutes. Place a bit of butter in a skillet and cook the potatoes slowly with some roasting seasoning for vegetables, stirring often. Cover with a cake pan the same size as the skillet and turn the heat down low.

Preheat your oven's broiler.  A few minutes before serving, turn up the heat under the skillet on the stove and drop eggs spaced around the skillet over the potatoes.  When the whites are nearly cooked, place the skillet under a broiler until the whites are done.

We get our turkey bacon from Stoltzfus' Poultry at the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmer's Market in Princeton, New Jersey.  It's so good we buy a few pounds every month to eat on the weekends. We simply heat it up in a skillet before serving.

I bought a jar of lemon honey at T.J. Maxx and was aghast at the cash register when I realized it was $14.99! I'm glad I splurged, though.  It is delicious and from Italy. Served over berries (a little goes a long way) it was really yummy.

The pièce de résistance, however, was homemade catsup made by my friend, Irene Gotovich. It's vegan and oh-so-much-better than the name brands.

Homemade Catsup

Mix 2/3 c. water with
4 tsp maple balsamic vinegar
4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 pinches ground cloves
2 pinches allspice
1 T maple syrup

Mix the spiced water with two 6 oz cans of tomato paste.

Simmer and use just like you would use any catsup.

Sweet Potato Fries

Baked Sweet Potato Fries (again, from the Sprouted Kitchen)

3 lbs sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 rosemary powder (or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh)
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

Wash and cut potatoes into wedges. Preheat oven to 425*F
Combine the potatoes and all other ingredients in a bowl or bag and shake the potatoes until all look evenly coated.  Place on a baking rack on a cookie sheet and place the wedges in a single layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes until tender in the center.