Easy Black Bean Soup

I pureed fresh lime juice, oil, onion, chile, and cooked black beans for a delicious soup that literally took me 10 minutes to make. So delicious, healthy, and fast!!

New Old Fashioned Dishes

While eating an absolutely delicious plate of portobello parmesan at Delmonico's Restaurant, I began to wonder if there were other traditional favorites I could make over to be vegetarian.

I decided to try making Tofu Francaise.  I think I'll make it with vegetable broth and extra firm tofu.

I'm taking the long weekend off from cooking...it's Columbus Day...so I'll be back to post pics later on.

Felice lunedì senza carne!

Pasta e Fagioli (pasta and beans)

No September is complete without a giant pot of this comfort food.

Generally I try to stick to whole wheat pasta, but there was no whole grain option in the shape I prefer, and I just couldn't bear to substitute.  It wouldn't be the same!

And then for some reason I had no hesitance to throw a collection of random leftover vegetables in the pot.  Or to substitute regular vegetable broth for the mushroom broth I usually use.  It's different, and yet...the same.   Ahhhh....Pasta e Fagioli.

Fast food

I neglected my grocery shopping and cooking this week, so by mid-week, I found myself in serious need of a fast and healthy lunch.

I found a few frozen cheese ravioli in the freezer, frozen chopped broccoli, a little leftover cooked kale, tomato broth, and cooked pinto beans.  I threw it all together and viola, a nice hearty soup for lunches.

Although I'm admittedly disappointed to have soup weather this early in the season, my lunch was fantastic and deliciously easy.

The Harvest

We have had so little sun this summer. :( 

I finally harvested the rest of my pintos.  I didn't get much--maybe a cup or so.  My fault--I should have put them in a sunnier spot.

Meanwhile, other beans are sprouting up.  I think they're the chic peas.  I'm really looking forward to eating fresh chic peas for the first time.  I'll cross my fingers.

Quinoa, Pinto, and Spinach Salad with Smoked Paprika Dressing

This week I'm a bit behind on my cooking, but not too late for Meatless Monday!  Usually I cook my food for the week's lunches on Sundays, but I was a bit under the weather so I put it off.

I'm planning on making this salad this week.  Epicurios has never failed to deliver an awesome recipe, so I have high hopes.

The recipe calls for spinach and cooked quinoa topped with lots of mint, feta, and a smoked paprika vinaigrette.  I'm not a fan of mint--unless it's in ice cream with chocolate chips ;)--so I'm going to skip that.  I happen to have some pintos I need to cook up--from my harvest, yay!!--so I'm going to use those in favor of the chic peas.

Edited to add a pic.  I used strips of roasted eggplant, which was just phenomenal.

Happy Labor Day!

I don't have any pics for you today, but here are some ideas for a Meatless Monday grill.

If you love burgers, there are endless varieties of bean-based burgers you can make.  Generally, you need a solids, spices, and binders.  Pick one or more from the following lists, mixing until you get a "burger-ish" consistency.

Solids--Ideas
Black beans
Lentils
Textured vegetable protein
Pinto beans
Very finely chopped mushrooms
Celery
Grains

Spices
Onions
Garlic
Ground hot pepper (I like chipotle because they are smoked and lend a nice BBQ flavor.)
Creole spice mix
Italian spice mix (if you like your burgers to have a meatball-like flavor)
BBQ sauce
Jerk seasoning

Binders
Bread crumbs
Cracker crumbs
Fresh bread
Pureed cooked pasta
Egg

Fry, grill, or broil your burgers.  Sometimes veggie burgers are more delicate than meat burgers, so be careful when flipping.  Serve as you would any burger--with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.  Enjoy!