Not Your Typical Minestrone Soup

I guess technically any soup that contains beans, vegetables, and noodles can be called Minestrone, right?  At least that is what a recent article in the Wall Street Journal said.  I have always thought of Minestrone as having a clear tomato broth with green beans, kidney beans, a few other common vegetables, macaroni noodles and some parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.  But the following soup can be called "Minestrone" because it has those three basic elements: beans, veggies, and starch.  I could just keep inventing new "Clarion River Organics Minestrone soups" every week depending upon what CRO sends us, but then that would get confusing!   I am fairly certain you can't mess this up.  Just use what you still have in your fridge from CRO, throw in some beans and a starch and call it "Clarion River Minestrone Soup"!

Clarion River Minestrone Soup with Rosemary Pesto
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced plus 2 whole cloves
3 stalks celery
1/2 of a large Clarion River Organics rutabaga, peeled and diced
6 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 can (15-oz) white beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
3 cups Clarion River Organics chopped cabbage (about 1/3 of the head)
1 small apple, peeled and diced OR 1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 pound dry spaghetti, broken into thirds
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Rosemary Pesto:
1 cup kale, chard or other leafy green (the Clarion River Organics bok choi greens would work well)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/4 cup rosemary sprigs
2 Tbsp olive oil

Spray a large cooking pot with cooking oil and place over medium heat.  Add onions and minced garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.  Add a little water to the pot as necessary to keep onions from sticking and burning.  

Stir in celery, rutabaga and cook another 5 minutes.  Add 4 cups vegetable broth, bay leaves, white beans, lentils, cabbage, and apples or apple cider.  Stir to combine.  Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.  Add the additional 2 cups of broth as needed to keep enough liquid to make this a soup and not a porridge!  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Add the dry spaghetti and continue to simmer about 10 more minutes.  Make the rosemary pesto: in a food processor, puree greens, pecans, whole garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and oil until mixture is reduced to a paste.  

To serve, ladle soup into bowls.  Place 1 or 2 dollops of pesto on top of each bowl.  Serves 6.

Kale! Kale! Kale!

As promised, I have a trio of kale ideas for you.  Remember the thoughts of some from the CRO survey about kale?  It was their least enjoyed item.  So for those of you who fall into that category, I promised that the next time we received a batch I'd try to change your mind.  And now that batch is here!  Go for it!

Green Jade Soup

Idea #1:  Green Jade Soup 

This is an old Moosewood recipe and is a very simple, quick and low calorie way to get both greens and protein.  It will use up about 1/3 bunch of your kale.  Use your CRO carrots if you still have them!

4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions or leeks
2 Clarion River Organics carrots, sliced
1/3 bunch Clarion River Organics kale, coarse stems and rib removed, and chopped (about 3 cups chopped)
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 pkg (14-16 oz) extra fim tofu, cubed
several drops dark sesame oil, if desired

Place the shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, and set aside for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat the broth in a large soup pot.  When it comes to a boil add ginger, onions, carrots, and kale.  Lower the heat and simmer 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Drain the shiitake liquid into the soup pot.  Slice the shiitakes and stir them into the soup along with the spinach and tofu.  Cook for 5 more minutes.  Serve garnished with sesame oil if desired.  Serves 8.  

Spicy Black Bean and Kale Saute

Idea #2: Spicy Black Bean and Kale Saute 

I love the combination of the soft beans, the slightly crunchy kale, the heat of the red chili peppers and the saltiness of the olives.  A winning combination! If you are kale averse you won't even know you are eating it!  Use your CRO elephant garlic if you still have some!

1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
6 kalamata olives, sliced
1/2 bunch Clarion River Organics Kale, coarse stems and rib removed, and chopped (about 4 cups chopped)
1/4 tsp dried crushed red chili pepper flakes
2 tsp rice vinegar

Heat vegetable broth over medium heat in a large fry pan.  Add garlic and onion and cook 5 minutes.  If pan becomes dry, add a little more vegetable broth or water.  Add black beans and olives and cook 2 more minutes.  Add kale, stir to combine ingredients, lower heat to medium low, cover and cook until kale is tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in crushed red pepper and and the vinegar, heat one more minute.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4 as a side dish or 1 as an entree.

Idea #3: Breakfast Juice

Breakfast Juice

I nice way to use a generous handful or two of chopped raw kale is to throw it into a juice or smoothie.  You won't even know it's there.  I know you get tired of hearing about my Vitamix blender, but it is seriously the best kitchen appliance I've ever owned!  I literally use it everyday.  You can make a smoothie or juice with a regular blender, but if you want it fast and smooth, use a Vitamix (or Blendtec).  What I list below is the fruit I had on hand.  You can use any fruit you like in this.  Pour this juice into a to-go cup and drink it on your way to work.  There.  Now you have had your 5-7 servings of fruits or vegetables for the day.  You're welcome.  

2 small oranges, peeled
1/2 Clarion River Organics apple, cut into chunks 
1/4 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
a handful of Clarion River Organics huckleberries, stems removed and rinsed
a handful of Clarion River Organics ground cherries, husks removed and rinsed.
1/2 cup chopped Clarion River Organics kale
1/2 cup cold water

Add all ingredients into the blender*.  Blend on high for 2 minutes (longer, much longer, in a regular blender, sorry).  Serves 1 as a breakfast or 2 as a beverage with other breakfast foods.

*if you must have your 
juice a bit sweeter, try adding
a tablespoon of maple 
syrup or agave nectar to
this.  

Week 11 - Acorn Squash, Red Onion, Celery

Maybe it was the cool temperatures this week, but for some reason I have had fall food on my mind a lot lately.  I actually made a batch of lentil soup earlier in the week on one chilly morning.  So when I saw the acorn squash in this week's bag, it brought more thoughts of autumn to me.  Now I know it is a bit early to be thinking about Thanksgiving, a favorite holiday of mine because we simply celebrate the many ways God has blessed us, but with the acorn squash, an abundance of sage and thyme in my own garden, and a package of vegan sausage in my fridge, I decided to make an apple sage stuffing to fill the acorn squash.   

When you cut open an acorn squash you will notice that it contains quite a few nice white seeds.  These should not be discarded as they taste great when they are roasted - I think even better than pumpkin seeds.  Also, they are nutritious - just 2 tablespoons have over 4g of protein and a healthy dose of vitamin K, iron and folate.  Below the squash recipe I include a quick method to prepare and roast the seeds.  

The stuffed squash is a little bit of work, but the result is worth it.  A savory, hearty entree for four that needs only a small side salad to complete the meal.  You can make the side salad and prepare the squash seeds while the squash is in the oven.  So I hope you will try this and enjoy a little foretaste of autumn.

Apple Sage Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 package vegan sausage (I used Field Roast brand Smoked Apple Sage)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 Clarion River Organics Red Onion, chopped

Most of the ingrediants you will need

6 stalks celery, cut into small dice (if you are lucky enough to still have your CRO celery from week 10 you can use that - mine was sadly gone!)
2 Tbs. fresh chopped sage or 2 tsp dried
2 Tbs. fresh chopped thyme or 2 tsp dried
6 oz. plain bread stuffing cubes (you can make your own by cubing about 6 slices of bread and toasting in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
2 Clarion River Organics Acorn Squash, cut in half with seeds removed
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Roughly chop the vegan sausage.  Lightly brown the vegan sausage in a sprayed skillet (spray skillet with a little olive oil cooking spray) breaking it up with a fork as it browns.  Set aside.

Apple Sage Stuffing

Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a covered pot.  Stir in onion, celery, sage, and thyme.  Cook, covered, for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in stuffing cubes, applesauce, apple, and browned sausage.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the acorn squash halves pushing down on the stuffing to pack it in and mounding it across the top of the squash.  Place the halves in a roasting pan and pour water around (not on) the squash to 1 inch.

Lightly spray a large piece of aluminum foil and place over squashes sprayed side down and crimp around the edges of pan to cover pan tightly.  

Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.  Serves 4 as an entree.

To Roast Squash Seeds:

Using a spoon, scoop seeds from the squash halves into a colander.

Rinse the seeds in the colander under cold water, lifting and sifting the seeds with your hands to help remove all the little squash strings (don't worry if some remain, you just want to remove the majority of them so the seeds will separate).

Place seeds on a plate to dry for a few hours or overnight.

Spread seeds out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt (optional) and bake for 30 minutes at 250.  Place seeds in an airtight container.