Easy Cabbage Potato Soup

Ohhh! We do love the smell of soup in the winter! This cabbage potato soup is a winner! So says the King! He said this soup gets even better every day too! Making this healthy soupy stew the night before serving would be a fantastic idea. Let those flavors marry overnight! So romantic! Just like the King and I.

Since I tend to make my soups from whatever is around the kitchen, I wondered what beans would go with cabbage and potato? White navy beans would not fight the flavors. Luckily we had them in the pantry. Okay, Go! Just add mirpoix and spices. Easy!

Cabbage Potato Soup

(All ingredients are organic - especially the potatoes!)

4 celery stalks chopped

3-4 carrots sliced

1 yellow onion chopped

6-8 small buttery potatoes chunked

1/2 or 1 very small head of cabbage chopped into large pieces

1 box low sodium vegetable broth

4 cups of spring or filtered water

2 bay leaves

2 Tbs Dr. Fuhrman's veggie zest or 1 Tbs ground sage

Big handful of Bouquet garni spices

1 can white navy beans

Himalayan salt, garlic salt, and fresh ground pepper to taste

Optional additions to above recipe:

1 cup of chicken broth and then omit 1 cup of water.

6 sliced white mushrooms

Place the mirpoix of celery, carrots, and onion in stockpot. Add potatoes and cabbage. Add liquids and spices. Bring to a simmer then add rinsed navy beans. Simmer 2 - 4 hours or more. I let mine sit on the back of the stove on the lowest setting when everything is done. The King comes in for late suppers. Salt and pepper to taste. As always with soups and stews, you can adjust every ingredient to your own desires.

This makes a very satisfying soup that will thicken slightly each day as the potato and cabbage break down. Want to add more body to the soup liquid? Take a cup of the cooked soup ingredients, mash it up and add back to the pot. Enjoy!

NOTE: If you do not have a jar of Bouquet Garni in your spice collection then make your own mix of rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, dill, marjoram, sage, and tarragon. The tarragon tastes especially nice in this soup.

Only eat organic potatoes. Those nasty fungicides go deep into the flesh. No more toxins in our food, or our loved ones. Be happy! Be healthy! Be peace!

Roasted Cabbage Steaks! Slab-O-Matic Side Dish Simplicity For You!

Are you too busy or what???? How about a stupid easy side dish? That's what I'm talkin' about baby! Not one for slaving in the kitchen. I just love it when the kitchen smells like I am hard at work! Yes, I like my healthy food quick, easy, and tasty too. You deserve some Zen out time during these hustle bustle holidays!

Be sure to purchase an organic green cabbage while you are out shopping. To get started remove the outer leaves, and rinse the cabbage clean. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice your whole cabbage into thick steaks, approximately one inch, and arrange on baking sheet. 

Drizzle olive oil on the steaks and turn each over to coat both sides of those hunky cabbage slabs. 

Splash apple cider vinegar across those zesty cabbage slabs. Then liberally shake on cracked pepper and garlic salt. You could rub them down with real garlic if you prefer, then add pink Himalayan salt. Now place your slab-o-matic baking sheet on the middle rack in your pre-heated oven.

Cook for 30 minutes, then turn the slices over and roast for 30 minutes more. Go relax. The slabs are done when they have some golden brown edges. These are so delicious and melt in your mouth good!  The vinegar adds such a nice flavor to the finished dish. That makes sense as cabbage and vinegar are long-time pals.

Before serving shake on some Parmesan cheese, or vegan nutritional yeast across the cabbage steak.

Perhaps tonight you could serve your slabs with a veggie burger that you may have stored in your freezer a month ago. Just place your frozen burger on the baking sheet to reheat. So clever! Remember when you do not have time to be fussing in the kitchen serve up this super simple side dish made with cancer fighting cabbage. It just does not get any easier than slice, drizzle, and shake! So go put on your snazzy retro apron and serve the meal as if you have been in the kitchen all day. Slabtastic!

Be happy! Be healthy! Be peace!

Pesto Quinoa Sweet Potato Golden Beet Black Bean Veggie Bowl Of Comfort Food

That's a mouthful to say! It's got so much going on! This tasty colorful comfort food bowl full of vitamins and protein is very satisfying. Maybe I should add in some avocados and I would have all my favorite foods in one bowl! Mmmmmm. You can make this bountiful bowl with the root vegetables that you may have roasted on the previous day, like I did. Yes this bowl could be using up items that you may already have open in the fridge like those beans from your soup, salsa, or tacos. The leftover mushroom gravy quinoa with peppers and onions from the night before. Pesto you already made or have purchased in a container. Regardless of how you get the ingredients together it will be a bowl full of yum! Of course if you are using up leftovers that makes it super easy. Many other produce items can be substituted for what you have on hand. Get creative! If you have to start from scratch here is the rundown. This would make a great lunch meal for work too!

Pesto Quinoa Sweet Potato Golden Beet Black Bean 

Veggie Bowl

Sweet potatoes

Golden Beets 

Onions

Green peppers

Radicchio

Mushrooms

Kale, spinach, or chard

Black beans

Quinoa

Mushroom gravy

Pesto 

Hemp seeds

optional: avocados!

Re warm your cut up and roasted sweet potatoes, beets, onions -  see recipe here.

Cook quinoa in pot for 10 minutes. 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water covered. Bring to a boil then simmer like rice. Fluff when your quinoa has ringlets. 

Saute in water some chopped onion, chopped peppers, sliced mushrooms, chopped radicchio, plus a large handful of kale, spinach, or chard. Then add a box of organic mushroom gravy and lightly stir. Add in the cooked quinoa and 1/2 cup of black beans. Lightly stir again.

Place you quinoa veggie and gravy mixture in bowl. Scatter your root vegetables over the top, sprinkle hemp seeds, and add a big scoop of pesto!

Curl up with this bowl and enjoy! Be happy, be healthy, be peace!

Asian Hoisin Quinoa With Persimmon Salad

It's whats for dinner! I wanted to share a simple tasty sauce that I have been making lately. A really big hit in our house for all manner of vegetables and greens! You will need a couple of store bought products to keep on hand in your fridge. More about those below.

To set the scene at our castle: I am usually creating promo graphics for my husband's business when he comes in from work at night. Then it's 'oops' got to go make the dinner! So in those moments the quickest meal made of our fresh ingredients with a bit of pizzazz are the lifesavers in the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes honey!" So I scurry out to the kitchen and look over the organic greens in the refrigerator. Sometimes I plan the night before... and well sometimes I am just as they say.. "In the moment!" Then I get to chopping!!! Actually if I need help chopping or with anything at all, my wonderful husband always offers to help... or even do the dishes! Lately he has been making the green juice while I prepare the meal. How awesome is that!? He truly is the King!


Back to this quick Asian meal solution! If you luvvvvvvvvvv Asian take out flavor then this sauce combo is wowza! You need these three organic products in your fridge arsenal. Premier Japan Hoisin from Edwards and Sons, Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Aminos, and DeNigris Balsamic Vinegar Glaze. Love this magic trio! 

All of our ingredients are organic and you can use any saute greens and veggies you have on hand. This is one of those dishes where we don't really measure anything. Just chop the veggies, water saute, shake, and drizzle. Chop, saute, shake, and drizzle.... chop, saute, shake, and drizzle...

Asian Hoisin Quinoa

1 cup rainbow quinoa

any greens chopped - we used kale

any vegetables of choice chopped  - we used the following

sliced onions

sliced mushrooms

sliced carrots

sliced almonds

Hoisin sauce

Raw Coconut Aminos

Balsamic Vinegar Glaze

spring water

Optional: fruit, cashews, raisins

Chop all veggies while your quinoa is cooking. Our standard rainbow quinoa measurement is one cup quinoa to two cups of water in small saucepan for ten minutes. When the water is gone and you see those quinoa ringlets it's done. Just remove from heat and fluff.

In a saute pan place vegetables and small amount of water. Lightly saute and cover. Stir and add more water as needed. Veg should be cooked in a few minutes. Do not over cook. We like to keep our greens and vegetables full of goodness and flavor. Plus this is a quick dinner throw down.



Add in sliced almonds, raisins, or raw cashews at this point. Then shake and drizzle in the Hoisin, coconut aminos, and balsamic vinegar. Stir and taste. You can add a bit more water, or any of the 3 bottled liquids to your taste preferences. Create as much sauce you need to glaze vegetables and quinoa. So so good! If you are a "hottie" and require some heat added to this dish just go for it! Don't let my 'mild taste-buds' hold you back!



Now scoop a portion of quinoa on your plate from the sauce pan. Top Quinoa with your delicious vegetable and sauce mixture.

Tada! Easy quick Asian style meal in about fifteen minutes! Since we have salad everyday in addition to our entree, I like adding a new item every week from the exotic fruit section of the store. Fabulous food fun! Persimmons made a colorful addition to our usual dinner salad of mixed greens, tomatoes, avocados, onions, nuts, and seeds below. They are the orange and golden chunks. You can read more about persimmons on this post. 



I hope your can purchase these 3 items in the organic section of your food market and then have this versatile sweet tangy sauce on your meals real soon! I will post some Amazon links below if you cannot get them in your store. This Asian sauce also works well on gluten free pad thai noodles. Heck it would probably be good on that salad up there too! Although I did put the balsamic vinegar glaze on my salad. Yummmmm!

Now doesn't that look mouthwatering? Super tasty my friends! Okay honey... dinner is served in the living room tonight, and we are ready to watch Downton Abbey. Be happy, be healthy, be peace! Chop, saute, shake, and drizzle cha cha cha....

Loaded Sweet Potato: A Fiesta Of Bliss!

Since it was just 'Cinco de Mayo' I thought I would entice you with a Mexican sweet potato taco of sorts. Filled with my most beloved foods... this dinner is divine! No dessert needed! I promise! This meal is my new favorite, and I think it might be yours too... just look at that fiesta of color. Plus it gets better when we add the glaze! How is that even possible?

Sweet potato, avocado, cashews, salsa, and blue corn chips all in one meal? Oh my!

Fiesta Sweet Potato

You will need these organic items:

Whole sweet potato

Salsa

Avocado chopped

Black beans - can be from a can, just be sure to rinse them.

Chopped onion

Chopped tomato - I used cherry tomatoes.

Sweet corn - can be frozen corn that you lightly steamed.

Optional chopped organic green, yellow, or red peppers

Raw cashews

Hemp Seed

Balsamic Vinegar glaze

Organic Blue corn chips

Bake a giant organic sweet potato for two, or bake a few smaller individual sweet potatoes to suit the number of people at your meal. Place your sweet potato on a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up. Slice an opening and bake 40 to 60 minutes depending on the size of your potato at 350 degrees. When done the flesh of the sweet potato should be soft enough to put a fork through easily.

Open the cut area of the sweet potato and fluff the interior meat. Place potato on a plate or wide bowl. I did not put amounts on this recipe since it's "to each his own" when it comes to toppings. Be generous!

Let's spoon on a heaping layer of organic salsa over the open area of potato. Add organic black beans, chopped organic onion, chopped organic avocado, chopped organic tomato, whole raw cashews, and sweet organic corn. Did I say organic enough times? If you have organic chopped sweet peppers add them in too! Just like a taco let everything spill over and be voluptuous. Tantalizing, yes?

Got a a giant sized sweet potato like we had for dinner? Just slice that baby down and place the other half on another serving plate. Add more fiesta toppings if needed for your sweet dining partner. Be nice and share. You get points and maybe some leftovers too!

A rainbow of delight. Sprinkle your taco-ish creation with hemp seeds.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar glaze. Did I mention that stuff is a favorite too? Ha! It did get better!

I added a bunch more sweet corn on my plate! Oh did I do that? Oh yes, this is gonna be good!

Now put a bowl of organic 'Garden Of Eatin Sprouted Blue' chips, or organic 'Late July' brand corn chips on the table. Dig into this glorious sensual sweet potato taco with your chips, or a fork.

Close your eyes and say mmmm. Hear that? It's fiesta sweet potato bliss... your soul will be singing! 

Be happy, be healthy, be peace.

Two Spaghetti Squash Recipes: Your Healthy Substitute For Gluten Filled Pasta

The old gluten filled refined white flour sugar spike pasta of our past was the cause of many ills for my body. It's now great to have a few good alternatives to the much beloved Italian style dishes we formerly loved to eat. One of the healthiest is cooked spaghetti squash. Simple to prepare, the hardest part is slicing it open! The two recipes I am sharing today show how to use the spaghetti squash in very old school traditional ways with colorful mixed veggies that make you say "Yum!"

If you have not tried spaghetti squash please give it a shot. Like I said the most difficult part is slicing it open lengthwise. Get a good sharp knife and very carefully work your way around the hard shell to the interior. 

Once you open the little beast, scrape out the seed area in the middle. I like to use a grapefruit spoon for this task. Rub olive oil on the flesh and place the squash halves flesh down on a cookie sheet in the oven. You can cover your cookie sheet with parchment or aluminum foil... or not. Bake the spaghetti squash at 375 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes. 

Once halves are baked, carefully flip over the squash. They are hot! Flesh should be soft.

Scrape out the interior with a fork to loosen the spaghetti looking strands. 

You can scrape right down to the hard shell and get every bit of the squash out. 

If all you need that evening is half a squash for your meal, then wrap the other half with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. If you save the squash that you scrape out of the shell into a glass container, be aware that the next day it will be bit runny, as the liquid leeches out of the flesh. I found saving the leftover spaghetti squash flesh intact within the shell cuts down on that watery effect.

Top the spaghetti squash strands with any of the following: a traditional tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, cinnamon & maple syrup, pesto, or a savory veggie/sauce mix!

I found that roasting chopped vegetables right along side the baking squash is a quick easy way to get a dinner ready with very little fuss. This plate gives you the traditional look of spaghetti without all the calories! Remember to flip your spiced mixed roasted veggies halfway through cooking so they are evenly done. Check out one of my posts about roasting root vegetables here.

Sprinkle the tomato sauce with some nutritional yeast, Italian spices, and hemp seeds. I used Eden brand crushed tomato sauce from a jar. That's the first way to prepare your simple spaghetti squash meal.

For the second squash main dish I heaped a bunch of fresh lightly water-sauteed veggies over the sauce-covered spaghetti squash for a vibrant and delicious dish. 

Use what is in season for your vegetable mixture. Such as mushrooms, onions, and garlic lightly sauteed in a bit of spring water for a minute or two.

Add some greens like Swiss chard or spinach till just wilted. 

I added thyme, oregano, marjoram, and basil to the Eden brand tomato sauce and layered it over the spaghetti squash. Then I covered the squash dish with my lightly water-sauteed mushroom, onion, chard vegetable mixture, tossing fresh cut tomato, and pumpkin seeds over all. What gorgeous color! 

This is a wonderful, satisfying meal that you can feel good about eating! After digesting this healthier type of spaghetti you will feel light, and not bloated like the old white flour pasta days!  If you have not done so as of yet, look into the delightful taste of spaghetti squash as one of your pasta alternatives.

A whole unopened spaghetti squash can be stored for as long as 6 months in 50-60 degree temperatures. Some folks prefer to cook their squash whole and uncut first because this softens the thick squash shell. After baking for an hour they then cut around the middle. This is an extremely hot way to handle and cut the squash to remove the strands of flesh. I would not be messing about with that method myself. If you decide to use this technique be sure to use a towel to hold the hot squash as you move it around to cut open. Spaghetti squash is sweet, and contains a good source of dietary fiber, magnesium, potassium, B-6, vitamin C, calcium, and niacin. 

Hey! I was just looking at my photo below, and thought if you are single and no one is looking, maybe you can just put your toppings right in the squash shell boat, and avoid washing a bowl. Looks do-able! 

Enjoy your organic fresh and local veggies!

Asian Style Pilaf - Mung Bean Sprouts With Mushroom Veggie Quinoa

Quinoa! Food of the Gods! Truly it is! We love quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) because it accepts any flavor combination from sweet to savory, making it one of the most adaptable foods on the planet. This valuable gluten-free source of protein is a nutty delight and a popular wonder food for good reason. Indeed it's chock full of nutritious B vitamins such as folate, thiamin, riboflavin, and a B6 source of manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, iron, and zinc. It's goodness goes beyond flavor.

Quinoa is a seed and not a grain, and is prepared similar to rice. One cup of Quinoa to two cups of water, makes 3 cups of cooked fluffy Quinoa. Mix it with a sauce, and various veggies. So easy! Just check out my other quinoa posts: Quinoa cold veggie salad, Sweet Breakfast Quinoa, and Quinoa veggie bean burgers to view how versatile this food is to have in your pantry. Say it again...Keen-Wah...Keen-Wah...Keen-Wah! 

The seeds come in cream, black, and red colors, which you can mix together to make your own rainbow Quinoa. To get the most out of the more expensive colored quinoa, just place a variety of the quinoa colors into a mason jar, then add in more of the cheaper cream colored Quinoa. Ta-da! Rainbow quinoa! Using a mason jar funnel keeps those tiny seeds from running all over your kitchen counter hiding under things! Then I usually take 1/2 cup of rainbow quinoa from my mason jar mix, add that into a measuring cup of 1/2 cup cream colored quinoa... stretching out that rainbow mix even more! 

Be sure to place your quinoa seeds into a mesh strainer and rinse before cooking to remove the mildly bitter saponines. Sometimes I forget, although I can say that the quinoa never tasted bad to me either way. So don't feel bad if you forget too. Some brands of quinoa come pre-washed and may save you the step. Use organic and fair trade quinoa if possible. All of our ingredients are organic. Do the best that you can.

Every week we usually have some type of quinoa pilaf mixed with whatever veggies are in the kitchen. So this recipe is an example of one of those evening meals with an asian twist. You can add or subtract whatever items you have at your home because quinoa is so forgiving and adaptable to all flavor combinations. You can make extra quinoa just for the leftovers, and then use it in your next day's breakfast, or dinner salad. Here's what to mix together to re-live your old days of Chinese take-out food:

Asian Style Pilaf - Mung Bean Sprouts 
With Mushroom Veggie Quinoa

1 cup rainbow or plain Quinoa

spring water

box vegetable broth

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms of choice 

1/2 green pepper
1/2 purple pepper 

1/3 sliced onion 

1/2 cup chopped spinach

2-3 chopped leaves Swiss chard

2 tbs balsamic glaze

3 tbs coconut aminos

1 tbs coconut palm sugar

chopped tomato

1/2 chopped red sweet pepper

handful mung bean sprouts

pecans

sliced almonds

raisins

Optional: 
Mandarin orange slices
Pineapple chunks

Add 1 cup of rinsed quinoa to 2 cups boiling water or vegetable broth. I usually use water first and then add the broth to the mixture in the saute pan later, as you will see in directions below. Although if you prefer, you can use the vegetable broth in both instances for more intense flavor. Bring the quinoa to rapid boil, turn down, simmer covered for 10 minutes, or until water evaporates. Do not let burn.  

When cooked quinoa is fluffed with a fork it should look like the rainbow quinoa in the photo above. Notice the little white ringlets that have busted out of the seeds. Remove pan from burner. Set aside covered. 

While quinoa is cooking mix the coconut aminos, balsamic glaze, and coconut palm sugar into a small bowl. Then saute onions, sliced mushrooms, purple and green peppers, with a small bit of water in a saute pan for a few minutes. Add in Swiss chard leaves, plus fresh or frozen spinach. If you only have one or the other of the greens or the peppers that is fine. Stir a few times till the greens are wilted. 



Add in the cooked quinoa and stir together. Add enough vegetable broth into pan to soak into the quinoa. Then pour in the coconut aminos and the balsamic glaze mixture. Toss in a handful of almonds, pecans and organic raisins. Stir all lightly again. That's it folks!

Plate the cooked quinoa pilaf mixture. Top with fresh tomatoes, sweet red peppers, and then garnish generously with the fresh mung bean sprouts. If you have any mandarin orange slices or pineapple chunks they would go well with these flavors too. Try to avoid using old fashioned soy sauce on your Asian style pilaf as it is full of salt and MSG. Use instead the bottles of sweet balsamic glaze sauce and the coconut aminos, to flavor your individual pilaf serving according to your own taste preference. 

I think you will love the combination of warm broth flavored quinoa and greens, the cold crispness of the sprouts and sweet red peppers, the savory fresh tomatoes, the sweet chewy raisins, and the crunchy nuts. If you have orange slices or pineapple chunks they would add extra sweetness too. Go ahead and add that glorious generous drizzle of coconut aminos and balsamic glaze to your bowl. Oh My! A very healthy substitute for "Chinese take-out" cravings. Yes you can feel great about eating this Asian quinoa pilaf! 

Warning: You will want seconds... And that is okay!!!! Keen-Wah! Yeah baby!

I hope those of you new to cooking quinoa will try this simple Asian style pilaf, so that you can at a moment's notice quickly make a delicious quinoa dish for your family! Be sure to serve with a fresh side salad too. 

Be Happy. Be Healthy. Be Peace. Much love!