Creamy Asparagus Soup

Cooking asparagus for dinner? 

Double your batch and make this quick soup the next day. 

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 pound asparagus, cooked soft

3-4 c low-sodium vegetable broth

½ tsp ground pepper

½ cup milk of choice (dairy, heavy cream, unsweetened almond, soy milk, etc.) 

1 tsp lemon juice

Directions

1. If your asparagus is still whole, cut into 1-2” pieces.

2. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until starting to brown, 8-10 minutes. Add asparagus, 3 cups broth, and pepper. Reduce heat to simmer.

3. Once soup has simmered 5 minutes, remove from heat. Use immersion blender to puree in pot, or blend in batches in a blender or food processor (be sure to vent to let steam escape). Add more broth if you'd like the soup to be thinner. 

4. Return soup to pot and heat until just steaming. Turn off heat and stir in milk, then lemon juice. Enjoy hot or warm/room temperature.

Does this soup look familiar? I hope so! It's nearly the same as the Sweet Potato Soup. Really...you can make almost any vegetable soup using this recipe. Try it with broccoli, squash or even carrots. 

Warm Breakfast Quinoa

Warm Breakfast Quinoa (“KEEN wa”)

Adapted from 101Cookbooks.com

Ingredients

1 c water

1 c milk of choice (dairy, almond, soy)

1 c quinoa

Toppings: cinnamon, real maple syrup, agave, berries, nuts, seeds, dry fruit, granola, etc.

Directions

Add water, milk and quinoa to a large saucepan, preferably a wide shallow pan with sides but a pot will do. Bring to boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes. All the liquid will absorb so keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Once liquid is absorbed remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. To serve, top with fruit, nuts and seeds, and a little sweetener of your choice.

I usually have this warmed, but it’s good cold. This dish makes great leftovers, so cook it up on a Sunday for quick, healthy breakfasts all week! My favorite topping combo is cinnamon, blueberries, chia seed, pumpkin seeds, pecans and a drizzle of real maple syrup.

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Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Adapted from Food Network Kitchen

Ingredients

Dressing:

¾ c extra virgin olive oil

1 T honey

2 T red wine vinegar

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp whole grain mustard

Salad:

½ pound Brussels sprouts

¼ cup dried fruit (like cherries, currants, blueberries or cranberries)

1 crisp apple, diced

¼ c sliced almonds

Directions

1.     Mix dressing ingredients in a large bowl with a fork or whisk.

2.     Wash and shave the Brussels sprouts using the shredding plate on a food processor or sliced very thin using a chef’s knife. Add to dressing and toss to coat.

3.     Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix.

4.     Serve salad right away or store in fridge. Keeps for 1-2 days. The sprouts got a tad soggy on day 2.

Roasted Southwest Salad

Roasted Southwest Salad

Ingredients

1 yellow onion

2 red bell peppers

2 c frozen corn

1 15-ounce can salt-free black beans, drained and rinsed

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Chop onion and peppers into approximately 1/2-inch pieces. Pile half the onions and peppers onto one rimmed baking sheet, the other half on another sheet. Pour 1 c corn onto each baking sheet. Drizzle each sheet with some of the olive oil (reserving about half the oil) and toss well.

Roast vegetables for about 30 minutes, tossing 3-4 times. Leave in longer if you want the vegetables to get more charred.

Remove from oven and let cool a bit. Using a rubber spatula, scrape vegetables and any charred bits and juice into a large mixing bowl. Add black beans, remaining olive oil and spices. Stir well.

Notes

Serve with fish tacos, taco salad, or on top of grilled shrimp or salmon. Keep refrigerated and consume within 3 days.

For an extra dose of protein, add cooked quinoa to this salad. 

Massaged Kale Salad

Massaged Kale Salad  

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Original recipe found here!

Ingredients

1 bunch kale

½ tsp salt

1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (see note)

½ cup currants

1 apple, diced

¼ c extra virgin olive oil

2 T red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

½ c gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Directions

Wash kale well and shake dry. De-stem kale (see note) and cut entire bunch into ribbons, about ½ inch thick. Stack all the leaves and squish them together to do this all at once. Put kale in a large mixing bowl.

Add salt and massage the kale for 2-4 minutes, just like you would knead bread. The kale will become darker and wet, wilting a bit.  I massage mine until the volume of kale is reduced by about half.

Stir in walnuts, apple and currants. Drizzle with oil and vinegar, mix well. Gently fold in cheese. Enjoy! 

Notes

This salad keeps very well in the fridge for a couple days, and is almost better the next day.

Toast nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Toss regularly. Heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until fragrant.

To de-stem kale, fold leaves in half and “slide” leafy greens off with your hands. Alternatively, you can cut the leaves off using a paring knife along the stem, but I find this takes longer than necessary. Ripping the leaves off is just great.

Gluten free? Some soft cheeses are on the 'no' list. Change the gorgonzola out for feta, or make without the cheese...it's still great.

People that "can't stand" kale love this salad, just sayin'.