Tomato Basil Avocado Soup

Oh. My. Goodness.

This soup is creamy. It's rich.  It's full of fabulous flavors.  It's incredibly simple to make.  And it's healthy.

I saw this recipe and just knew I had to try it. I love chilled soups in the summer, and I love tomato based soups.  The fact that this soup had an avocado in it just made it all the more appetizing to me.

Ahh...and the ease of this soup. Have I mentioned how easy it is?  It's easy. Oh. So. Easy.

You start with this:

 
Go to this:

And end up with this:

Pretty isn't it?

I served this with a spinach quinoa bake (the recipe will be up in a few days!) and a fabulous green salad.  It was a very filling and tasty meal.  It's a meal I can't wait to make again.  And let me tell ya, the soup made the meal.


Tomato Basil Avocado Soup
serves 4

• large can crushed tomatoes (1lb, 12oz)
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 t minced garlic
• 1 very small red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup well-packed chopped basil
• 1 avocado, chopped

--Puree everything until smooth and creamy

Pizza Dough (Bread Maker)

Almost every single Friday night when it's not too hot out, we make our own pizza.  Over the years I've experimented with no-rise crusts, making my own from scratch without the help of a bread machine, and now that I have a bread machine, I've played around with different types of pizza doughs.  Whole wheat, half and half, with cornmeal and without, with honey and without.

After going without our pizza nights for most of the summer, I've made pizza the last 2 Fridays and with the dough recipe that I think will be our stand-by from now on.  I don't know how many of you have a bread maker or would even be interested in this, but I thought I'd share.

Pizza Dough (for the bread maker)
Makes a 1.5lb ball of dough

• 1 c + 3 T water
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 c whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 T sugar
• 2 t active dry yeast
• 1/2 t salt
• to taste: shake in some garlic powder, basil and oregano

To bake, roll it on out, top with sauce and whatever lovin's you want and bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.  

Cooking Grains

All grains are cooked in water or stock/broth, but the ratios are all different, as are the cooking times and amount produced.  Sometimes it gets confusing, so we hope this chart helps out.

Generally speaking, grains are never soaked overnight, but they all need to be picked over, rinsed, and drained.  Most of the time, you will combine the liquid with the grain in a pot, bring it to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for the appropriate time.  Always follow the package directions when available.

1 cup dry	Cups of Water or Stock	Cook Time (mins)	Cups Produced
Amararanth	1.5	20	2
Arborio rice	2	25	2.5
Barley	3	45	3.5
Basmati rice	2.5	20	3
Brown rice	2	45	3
Bulgar	2	15-20	2.5
Couscous	1.25	10	2.25
Homeny grits, quick	3.5	5	3.25
Kasha/Buckwheat	2	15	2.5
Millet	2.75	40	3.5
Oats, whole grain	2	60	2.5
Quinoa	2	15	2.5
Rye berries	2.75	60	2
Wheat berries	2.75	120	2.75
White rice	2	20	3
Wild rice	2	50	2.66

Curried Summer Vegetable Stew

With the days thankfully cooling off over here, I've been dying to make a stew.  So when I saw a recipe for a summer vegetable stew, I was all about it.  Add in the fact that I've been getting all the summer vegetables at our local farmer's market and I was doubly excited for this meal!  The original recipe is here, I tweaked it quite a bit.  The most notable change is the lack of true coconut milk.  Not only did I not have any on hand (on purpose), but my version with faux coconut milk is just so much healthier.

This serves about 6, but to stretch it to feed us all twice, I bulked it up by serving it over some millet.  You could easily serve it over quinoa, too, or just eat it plain.  Any way and you can't go wrong.  Seriously.  Even my little guys (who are growing like weeds, I might add, and eating almost as much as their mother!) ate full bowls with no hesitation!  Serve with a green salad and you're golden.

Curried Summer Vegetable Stew
Serves: 6

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 c chopped sweet onion
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 med eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch chunks.  5 cups
• 1 med yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks. 2 cups.
• 1 med zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks.  2 cups.
• 1 t ginger powder
• 1 t gram marsala
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1 can chickpeas, rinse and drain
• 1 cup broth (veg or chicken would be best)
• 2 c tomato sauce
• 1 c faux coconut milk (1 cup almond milk + 3/4 t coconut extract), or the real deal if you don't mind the fat and calories
• 1 T dry cilantro
• cooked millet or quinoa (optional)

-- Heat the oil in a dutch oven or stock pot.  Saute onion until soft and translucent.  Add garlic and saute another 3 minutes.
-- Add in vegetables and cook until almost all soft. (to speed this process up, I nuke my veggies for about 5 minutes to just start the process going.)
-- Add in spices and stir for a couple minutes to release all the aromas!
-- Add in chickpeas and all liquids.  Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer 5-10 minutes until the vegetables are completely soft (but before they get mushy!)
-- Add the cilantro and stir to incorporate 

Cooking Beans

When cooking beans or legumes from their dry state, this is the general rule of thumb.  Fill a large bowl or pot with cold water and beans and let soak overnight. Water should cover beans by a couple inches.  

In the morning, drain and rinse the beans.  When ready to cook, combine the beans with the appropriate amount of water or stock in a large pot.  Bring the water to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for appropriate time.  Drain when done and you have ready-to-use beans!

1 cup dry	Soak Overnight and Rinse Well	Cups of Water or Stock	Cook Time (hrs)	Cups Produced
Aduki beans		3	2	2
Anasazi beans		4	1.5	2
Baby Lima beans		2	1.5	1.75
Black beans		4	2	2
Black-eyed peas	NO	3	1	2
Chickpeas		4	3	2.5
Cranberry beans		3	1.5	2.5
Fava beans		3	3	2
Great Northern beans		3.5	2	2
Kidney beans		3	1.5	2
Lentils	NO	3	.75	2.25
Mung beans		2.5	1.5	2
Navy Beans		3	2.5	2
Pigeon beans		3	.5	2.25
Pink beans		4	1.5	2
Pinto beans		3	2.5	2
Red beans		3	3	2
Soy beans		4	2.5	3
Split peas	NO	3	.75	2.25

A note on toxins found in red kidney beans! Make sure to soak them at least 12 hours and boil vigorously for 10 minutes before simmering or putting in a crockpot. Canned beans have already undergone this process.

To quick-soak: Dried beans should be soaked in cold water overnight to ensure even cooking. But if you don't have the time, here's what you do:

Rinse beans in cold water. Put them in a large pot and cover with about 3 inches of cold water. Bring almost to a boil (small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot), cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for 1 hour. Drain. The beans will be "soaked" and ready to cook.

Crockpot: You can also cook beans in a crockpot instead of on the stove. Generally, high for 3-4 hrs or low for 6-8 hours works well, but check around for specific times. This is a great post on cooking beans in a crockpot and whether or not to soak.

Basic Directions: How to Cook Grains (and Lentils)

Here are general directions to cook grains and legumes on the stove top if you don't have a rice cooker (which you can use to cook all sorts of grains and legumes in!)

All for 1 cup of grain/legume.

Brown rice: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water and rice to a hard boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes until holes appear on top and liquid is all cooked out.

Couscous:  In a small saucepan, bring 1 ½ cup water to a boil.  Add couscous and stir, remove from heat, cover and let sit 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Lentils: Pick over for small rocks. Rinse and drain.  In a medium sauce pan combine lentils with 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a medium low heat, simmer 30 minutes until done.  Water should be almost all absorbed.  Drain if there is excess water.  

Barley: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a hard boil.  Add barley, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 30-40 minutes until water is absorbed and barley is desired tenderness.  

Millet: In a medium saucepan, bring to boil 2 cups of water with the millet.  Reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Turn off heat, let stand still covered for 5 minutes, and then fluff with a fork.

Quinoa: Rinse quinoa well.  In a medium saucepan, bring to boil 2 cups of water with the quinoa. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Turn off heat, let stand covered for 5 minutes, and then fluff with a fork.

Brown Rice and Lentils: You can cook these two together as you would one or the other. For instance, 1 cup of dry brown rice and 1 cup of dried lentils with 4 cups of liquid.

How much does that equal?

A lot of times, recipes will call for a pound of an ingredient, like potatoes.  If you're like me, I have a 5 lb bag of potatoes sitting in my pantry and I don't have a kitchen scale to weigh out an exact pound.  This chart is meant to help you figure out some basic ingredient conversions for our most-used ingredients.  A fabulous chart that is more extensive can be found at this site.

Item	In cups	Other measurement
1 small onion	.75 cups chopped
1 medium onion	1 cups chopped	1 TBLS powdered
1 large onion	1.25 cups chopped
1 lb onion	2.5 cups chopped
1 clove garlic	1 tsp minced	¼ tsp powdered
1 lb sweet potatoes	4 cups cubed	3 medium
1 lb white potatoes	4 cups cubed	3 medium
1 lb carrots	3.5 cups diced	2-3 large
1 lb eggplant	4 cups cubed	1 small
1 lb raw spinach	5-6 cups packed
1 lb raw kale	5-6 cups packed
1 lb squash/zucchini	4 cups cubed	2 medium
1 lb asparagus	3 cups 1 in sections	1 bunch
1 lb broccoli	2 cups florets	1 head
1 lb mushrooms	4 cups sliced	2 cups sliced, sautéed
1 lb string beans	4 cups
1 lb apples	3 cups diced	3 medium