the best tomato soup ever...

ROASTED RED PEPPER TOMATO SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 3 ripe, vine ripened tomatoes
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 1 red pepper (I used the little sweet peppers, orange and red, about 6 of them - it's what I had at home)
• EVOO
• 1 28 oz can of organic diced tomatoes
• 3-4 Tbsp tomato paste
• sea salt and black pepper to taste/as needed
• 1 cup low-sodium organic veggie broth (if you're cool with chicken stock, it too would be delicious I'm sure)
• 1/2 cup plain almond milk
• basil and oregano (I used dry b/c it's what I had on hand) - few sprinkles 
• Red pepper flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Cut tomatoes and onions into wedges. Remove seeds from red pepper and cut into even slices (I left whole, as I used the little ones).
3. Toss tomato, peppers, garlic and onion with basil, oregano, s&p, EVOO, and red pep flakes. Place all veggies on a baking sheet.. Roast for 20-30 minutes, or until the veggies are tender, lightly browned. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. In a large pot over medium to medium-high heat, add a little EVOO and more red pep lakes (if you like it hot!) and let heat up for a minute or so, add veggie broth, tomato paste, the canned tomatoes and the roasted veggies. Bring to a low boil. Season with s&p if needed.
5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then use an immersion blender, food processor or blender to puree your soup (leave some whole veggies if you prefer more texture).
6. Return to pot and add 1/2 cup plain almond milk (and more broth if it’s too thick for your liking).
7. Cook for 5-10 minutes more on medium to medium-low heat and serve warm.
8. Optional garnishes: pesto, oregano, parsley, roasted red pepper flake, parmesan cheese, basil, garlic croutons. Will keep in the fridge for several days. I served mine with avocado and it was ridiculous. 

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

autumn chili

quinoa is my friend. andy...not so much. "it's weird" is his only opinion of it.

lucky for me, unless something tastes like straight up ROT, andy'll wolf it down....naturally with a little extra cheese.

i'd like to start this post by apologizing for my hedious photography skills...now, onward to deliciousness.

this sweet potato and quinoa chili was just the fix i needed. i love chili....but the non-meat-eater in me doesn't like the meat part....however, i miss the hearty-ness provided by the meat in traditional chili.

this recipe was adapted from HERE. but i didn't care for a few of the steps, the consistency and i wanted a more beany-fresh tomato-ness (to satisfy both the hubs and myself).

quinoa, sweet potato chili

about 30-35 oz combination of the following: black beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans (i used majority black beans)
3 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp bbq sauce
32 oz vegetable stock

1 onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large tomato

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

few shakes of red pepper flakes

1/4 cup jalapenos

5 tbsp jalapeno juice

olive oil as need

1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks

1 cup cooked quinoa

salt and pepper to taste

avocado and (if you're andy) cheese for garnish

the how to

1. prep your veg; chop your onion and sweet potato to "fit on spoon" size. cook your quinoa according to package. i cooked a full cup (dry) and probably used half of that once cooked.

2. pour oil into a large heavy soup pot - like 2 or 3 twirls around the pot. over medium-low heat, slightly warm. add onions, and cook until soft and they start to turn brown.

3. add the garlic, red peeper flakes, and a pinch of s&p- cook for about 2 minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

4. add the potatoes, jalapeno juice, chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring to coat the potatoes. cover and stir occasionally for 5 or so minutes.

5. add the tomato, stirring to coat with the seasoning/potato mixture. 

6. add beans, and stock - cook for about 5 minutes-depending on potato done-ness, then add the quinoa.

 

7. continue cooking for about 15 minutes – 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are cooked and the chili has thickened to desired constancy.

8. top with avocado and cheese and enjoy!

 

apple, carrot, coconut bread

there she is. she's delicious. she's meaty and dense yet light and healthy...sugary...yet carrots. she's fabulous. she should be wearing prada. or something. whatever is fabulous to you.

i adapted her recipe from HERE (where you will find lots of other tasty treats) and i didn't use frosting. it doesn't need it. it needs a side of tea or coffee...but that's just about all.

many of you know my loaf love for food. bread foods = awesome. sweet bread foods = more awesomer. i'm not much for baking. having to accurately measure things isn't my go-to. so good luck with this recipe...i def. fudged a little of the measuring:)


apple, carrot, coconut bread
3 large eggs

1/2c vegetable oil (ABSOLUTELY SUB APPLE SAUCE HERE...YUMS)

3/4c white sugar

1/2 c brown sugar, no packing necessary
2 tsp vanilla

3 c all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tspn salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

 cinnamon - as much as you want. it's my bestie so i used lots

couple o' shakes o' nutmeg

2 c coarsely grated carrots

1 c apple, cut into 1/4″-cubes, i used one large apple

as much coconut as your heart can stand:) i shook mine right out of the package...whoops!

the how to:

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside

1. beat your eggs. add the oil, sugar and vanilla; continue beating the mixture until thick and slightly foamy

2. combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. a third at a time, add the dry ingredients into wet and gently stir (by hand) after each addition. gently fold in the carrots, apples, and coconut

3. pour the batter into the parchment-lined loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in to the center comes out clean. KEEP AN EYE ON THE CENTER. it will stay googy...which is delicious and disgusting all at once. make sure it is cooked. i probably baked for longer than an hour. cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes. turn out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly...eat it. eat it all. be like me and eat the whole thing in 2 days. eat it good and UNLIKE me, don't let your dog eat a big fat slice you cut for your OWN breakfast...grrr.

pesto is yum

easiest dish alive. delicious and fancy. also vegetarian? fabulous. i did mention i've stopped eating land animals, right? i'm still guilty of the seafood situation tho. 

few ingredients. as you can see, no pine nuts in sight....

toasty, toasty

all the babies in the pool

coming along

serious yum

little added protein...:)

2 c. fresh basil

2-3 garlic cloves

1/3 heaping c. nuts, your choice (pine, walnuts, cashews)

2/3 c. parm cheese

EVOO

S&P to taste

1. toast your nuts either in the oven or stove top. tossing lightly mid way through, about 3-5 minutes over medium heat (i obviously did mine on the stove top)
2. clean the basil, trim the stems. pulse the basil lightly in a food processor until you have a little room for the rest of your ingredients.
3. in go the rest of your ingredience - garlic, walnuts and a pinch o' s&p
4. pulse until mixed well it should be a chunky, semi-dry appearing paste. start streaming in your EVOO until you have a smooth, sauce-like paste. yum.
5. add your parm, small portions at a time, pulsing between additions. more EVOO and pulsing if needed - you don't want dry pesto!
6. taste and season appropriately. i added some more s&p. 
7. freeze or add to freshly cooked pasta. i left a small amount of my cooking liquid in my pasta (whole wheat linguini).

this goes great with some extra parm on top and any protein source...i chose salmon but chicken is great option if that's what floats your boat.

i love a snow day. heck, i love an extra day off period. these days seem so productive, so inspirational. even if i end up spending my time reading and rereading blogs, pinteresting my life away and sweeping the same five "hot spots" over and over...i'm endlessly happy on an extra day off. today, is a snow day. a pathetic seattle snow day.

when i looks like this outside in seattle...what is a girl to do but make soup, read blogs, watch home improvement shows with her husband and enjoy a bloody mary? thanks to schuelove, i made some delicious tortilla soup for the hubs and i. enjoy the pics below and see my "recipe" by scrolling all the way down.

the usual suspects, zucchini and mushrooms (already in pot), vege broth, spinach, garlic, red chili flakes, tomato, and tortellini

spinach, zucchini and mushrooms with garlic...yum

music is a necessity while cooking. not sure if you were aware of that. but music and love are what make food taste amazing...

add your vege broth, happy veggies in their hot tub

bring to a boil

in go the torts.

next step is obviously making yourself some sort of delicious beverage

top with some parm and you literally have the most amazing winter time lunch

vege-tortellini soup

1 medium zucchini

two handfuls mushrooms (for me this was about 8-10 small/medium mushrooms)

2 c. spinach, diced (this way Andy will eat it:)

2 T EVOO

2 T minced garlic

1 tsp dried oregano

a few shakes of red chili flakes

1, 15oz can diced tomatoes

4 c. vegetable broth (if you're a veg-head like myself, chicken or beef broth would work as well)

1, 10oz package of tortellini (or make your own, if you have hopes and dreams like me)

s&p to taste

parm. cheese as garnish

1. turn on some music. on a day like today, i suggest s. carey or, without surprise, sufijan
2. prep your vege. i did a medium dice on my zucchini, cut my mush into fourths (depending on size) and mined up my spinach - beautiful thing about cooking is you can make it up, the way you like it.
3.  in a large pot, gently heat up your oil over medium heat
4. add garlic and sautee until fragrant, roughly 1 minute
5. add in your mushrooms and sautee for 1 minute, add your zucchini. sautee your vege for a few minutes and add spinach
6. lightly season with s&p, add oregano and red chili flakes
7. add the can of tomatoes, liquid and all, incorporate well
8. add your broth, bring to a boil
9. make yourself a dirty martini, bloody mary or diet coke....asap. 
10. once soup is boiling, add the tortellini and cook for roughly 2-3 minutes
11. taste and adjust flavor as needed, more salt? a little spice? your call

you're done. i know, ridiculously easy. dish up and serve immediately, top with parm cheese and enjoy. make sure you have some deliciously smelling candles lit in your kitchen, that your lighting is prime-time...thank you snow, and that you're loving how your spending your day off (or whatever time)...this soup will taste much better that way.

oh yeah...can't forget to share with you my other tasty creation:

right before the new year i made a change. a "pre-new-year" resolution of sorts. i, cold turkey (no pun intended) stopped eating meat. now, now, i'm one of those, and always have been, cheater type vegetarians. see, dairy and i don't get along so dairy based protein isn't going to cut it for me. thus, i keep goin' on the seafood. i up all "protein rich" veg, grain, nut, legume options and in the deal...i end up eating my omegas (thank you salmon, etc.).

all of that mumbo jumbo being said, i've been on the hunt for "meaty" meatless options. i still need hardy meals, or i eat (andeatandeatandeatandeat). andy and i have started having morning shakes.....ok, sometimes they're also afternoon shakes but that's that.

usually they consist of: one banana, 1/3 c. nut butter (peanut or almond), 2 c. spinach, 2 cups frozen fruit of your choice (we like berries especially), a couple tbs of honey and flax seed, and 1/4 c yogurt. Sprinkle in some ice and enough dairy free milk to get you "shakin' (or smoothy-in') and you're good to go.  of course this makes two fairly large smoothies...so you can cut down on some of the ingredients if needed. YUM!

so yesterday, after two nights of less-than-normal sleep....i didn't get up to make shakes. i couldn't. luckily, i slept in just enough to wake up to THIS sky...i love the tiny view we get from our home. every weekday morning i get to see the sunrise, and surprisingly, it's usually gorg! this morning it was especially beautiful (naturally my iphone didn't do it justice).

from there we moved to my car not starting. it seems it had just ran out of gas, however, it is far beyond need for a tune up. THAT and we notice that someone scrapped my front bumper (likely parking)...as if my poor little car needed anymore dings...funny thing was that usually andy leaves well before i do. this day, i literally said, wait for me and we'll leave together! praise God we did...sheesh!

luckily this ment the hubs drove me to work, one of the many things i miss about my (and his) old job. although i'm not a morning person and usually just sat quitely in the car, those 15-20 minutes in the am with him were priceless. this morning in particular, we grabbed a starbucks (thank you, santa), looked at a possible new office location for him and he dropped me off EARLY to work. the walk after work wasn't as pleasant, as he was stuck in traffic trying to get to me and i just kept walking. freezing. wet. blah.

HOWEVER, lunch went a ltitle something like this:

and for serious, it doesn't get much better. israeli couscous with red quinoa (i made a large portion for myself - i'd say i had 1.5-2 c. total), cucumber, red pepper, minced spinach, carrot, a little pepper and a dash of home made vinegarette and YUM...top it off with a little avocado and life is AMAZING. no kidding.

weekend recap

apparently this blog has turned into mostly weekend recaps. whatevs. i love it all the same.

Friday we went to Cuoco for anniversary dinner. husband had scallop risotto and i had the hazelnut panchetta gnocchi. andy bought me flowers. we went to our fave-via trib for dessert and drinks.
 

saturday i went on a date with megan. walrus and the carpenter=love. we had wine, oysters, clam tartar, dinah cheese from vashon island, radishes and house made butter, the list goes on. we stopped at staple and fancy for a dink and followed it up with cupcake royal where i ate my fave-salted caramel. love having a foodie-friend in miss megan.

sunday the cement blogs and crumbles sitting in my driveway for 8+ months finally called my name...and kicked my ass. i'm still sore and am pretty sure i need to go to the chiropractor.



we went to a going away party for a friend and enjoyed the sun.