Chilled Sugar Snap Pea Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped leeks
Salt to taste
4 cups chicken broth
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
A pinch cayenne
1 pound cleaned sugar snap peas, ends and strings removed
2 mint leaves

Put olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the leek. Add salt to taste and cook, stirring, until leeks are soft. Add chicken broth, black pepper, and cayenne, and bring to a boil.

Stir in sugar snap peas and mint leaves. Cook until peas have softened slightly.

With a slotted spoon, move the veggies to a blender and then add some of the cooking liquid. Blend on high to puree, adding liquid as needed. At the end, add all the liquid and liquefy until smooth. If you want, pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and press until only the fibrous material is left behind. Either way, cool it to room temperature, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Season to taste. Serve with a swirl of crème fraiche and mint leaves in each bowl.

We thank allrecipes.com for this recipe.

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Kefir Cheese

4 cups of milk kefir

Ferment your milk kefir for 48 hours (or more if you’re in a cool place). Wait for the curds to separate from the whey. You can use cheesecloth or nut milk bag to squeeze the whey out. Four cups of kefir are enough to produce a cup of kefir cheese.

Pour the kefir into the cheesecloth and let it sit and drain in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. You may use single or double thickness of cheesecloth as you wish. If you produced a thick kefir, perhaps a single thickness of cheesecloth would do.

To speed up the process, lift the four corners of the cheesecloth together, hold them up to form a bag so that you can squeeze out some more whey. You can twist the bag to squeeze. This will compress the curds to form cheese.

Don’t discard the whey. You can use that to make nutritious kefir smoothie and shake, or mix with cultured vegetables later.

Check if you think your cheese is ready and then tip it from the cheesecloth into a glass or ceramic bowl. Scrape the remaining cheese from the cheesecloth with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Add any spices or other ingredients if you wish and then place in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

Serve and enjoy your kefir cheese!

We thank Giselle of Your Kefir Source for this recipe. For more kefir recipes and information, she suggests visiting YourKefirSource.com.

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Cubby’s Salad

Quantities are flexible depending on the amount of salad you wish to make.

Chopped cabbage–green, napa, or your choice
1 rib celery, sliced
1 can tuna, drained and flaked
Miracle Whip or an organic mayonnaise, your preference
Fritos or organic corn chips

Chop the cabbage of your choice and put it in a large bowl. Add the sliced celery, flaked tuna, and an appropriate sized handful of corn chips. Add just enough mayonnaise to hold the salad together, and stir it together gently. Serve immediately. Don’t plan on keeping leftovers of this salad, because the corn chips get soggy.

I added a bit of minced baby dill and it was delicious!

We thank Robin Sweeney for this recipe.

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Basil Jelly

4 cups water
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
3 drops green food coloring, optional
5 cups sugar

In a large saucepan, bring water and basil to a boil. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Strain and discard basil.

Return 3 2/3 cups liquid to the pan. Stir in pectin and food coloring if desired. Return to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the sugar. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; skim off foam.

Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Yield: 6 half-pints.

Nutritional Facts: 1 serving (2 tablespoons) equals 87 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, trace sodium, 22 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, trace protein.

My suggestion would be to use the exact amount of basil liquid and boiling time required by the jelly recipes that come with your boxed pectin, since every pectin is a bit different.

We thank Robin Sweeney for this recipe, who found it on TasteofHome.com.

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Collards Sauté

collard greens

Here’s a classic collards recipe. Try using Nash’s super-tasty pastured-pork bacon, or find an organic pork producer in your area.

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon
1 large Walla Walla onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into bite-sized pieces

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Crumble it and add onion. Cook until tender. Add garlic and continue cooking until fragrant. Add collard greens and sauté until just wilting.

Pour in chicken broth, add salt, pepper and pepper flakes, and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 30 minutes until greens are tender.

We thank allrecipes.com for this recipe.

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Roasted Pepper and Onion Wrap

Walla Walla onions

Walla Walla onions, oh so sweet!

5 cups Walla Walla onion, thinly sliced
5 cups pepper strips
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken pieces, sliced tofu or browned Nash’s ground pork
1 1/2 cups grated feta, mozzarella, provolone, or cheddar cheese
8 large organic tortillas

Preheat oven to 450° and oil a baking tray. Place the onions, peppers, garlic, oil, oregano, salt and black pepper in a large bowl and toss together to coat evenly. Spread on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes and briefly stir. Bake another 10 minutes and stir again. Continue for another 5-10 minutes until the veggies are tender and starting to brown. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the chicken/tofu/pork and cheese.

Warm the tortillas and place a cup of the filling on one half of each, then roll up the wraps and serve immediately. Add toppings like salsa, sliced avocado and a dollop of plain yogurt.

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Carrot-Ginger Salad

Carrots fans bunched

If you love that lovely carrot-ginger flavor, also try a carrot-ginger soup, mmmmm!

1 cup golden raisins
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup plain yogurt or Vegannaise
Rind of 1 lemon, grated
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste
4 cups carrots, grated

Cover the raisins with hot water and soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Mix ginger with yogurt, lemon rind, lemon juice and salt. Combine the carrots, raisins and dressing. Toss well and adjust seasoning.

Substitute orange juice and rind for lemon, if you like, and garnish with a little finely sliced onion and fresh cilantro leaves.

We thank Edward Espe Brown and The Complete Tassajara Cookbook for the basis of this tasty recipe.

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Stuffed Zucchini

Green Zucchini

Stuff those zucs with all the wonderful fresh veg you can find at your neighborhood farmer’s market.

3 large zucchini
1 pound Nash’s pork sausage
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Marinara sauce (see below)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Trim stems from zucchini and slice lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and put in bowl. Mix seeds with sausage, garlic, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. Stuff squash with sausage mixture and place in 9×13-inch baking pan. Pour marinara sauce over squash and cover pan with foil. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until sausage is cooked. Remove foil and cover with mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is melted.

Marinara Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
3 medium-to-large diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, basil and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until fragrant. Stir in sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour in tomatoes with their juices and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree until smooth in food processor or blender.

We thank allrecipes.com for this recipe.

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Parsley–Mint–Cherry Tomato Salad

flat-leaf parsley and Italian parsley

This parsley wants to join you for dinner.

Serves 6

1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 large bunch mint
1 quart cherry tomatoes
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pick the leaves from the parsley and mint and place in a large bowl. Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss with the parsley and mint leaves.

Combine the shallot, mustard, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in the oil until emulsified, then toss the dressing with the salad and season with salt and pepper to taste.

We thank Takepart.com for this tasty recipe.

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Zucchini Chips

Zucchini leaf

Potatoes aren’t the only vegetable to make delicious chips. Try zucchini!

1 medium zucchini
1+ tablespoon olive oil
Salt

Preheat oven to 220 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Thinly slice the zucchini into circles. Place the slices between 2 sheets of paper towels and press on them to extract as much moisture as possible. Line them up on the baking sheet tightly but without overlapping. Then take a pastry brush and brush the olive oil on each zucchini slice. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Be conservative, because you can easily over-salt. You can always add more later. Bake for 2+ hours until they start to brown and get crispy. Let cool before removing and serving. Store in an airtight container.

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