Minestrone Soup (vegan/pareve, GF option)

Soup is a great meal when I'm stuck without a plan, so here's tonight's soup:

This soup is perfect for when I've stocked up on lots of veggies, especially from the sug bet rack, and it's time to use them up. I call it my 2 shekel soup - because I usually use the 2 shekel/kilo vegetables to make it! (But honestly, it's more than 2 shekels, because I buy tomato paste for 4-5 per can, and the ptitim cost me a few shekels, especially if I use non-wheat ones, but it's still an extremely inexpensive dish to make!)


Minestrone Soup (vegan, pareve, GF option)

1-2 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 sweet peppers (whatever color), diced
2-3 kishuim, diced
4 carrots, sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
any other vegetables you want - I added eggplant, celery and mushrooms as well, feel free to add whatever works for you!
1 can tomato paste
water
seasonings - salt, pepper, basil, oregano, etc
Optional: 1/2 package of "ptitim" (called "Israeli Couscous" in America) - Today I used the whole spelt ones I picked up on sale last week, but I often just leave them out.
Here's my quick and easy soup method:
Place oil in pot. Add all the chopped/diced vegetables (including the garlic). Turn flame on to medium-high and start cooking the vegetables, stirring frequently (I use a trusty bamboo spoon). When they are softened, add tomato paste, water, and seasonings, and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, then lower the flame to simmer for about 20 min.
Add the ptitim if using, and continue to simmer for about 10 more minutes.

Soup's done and you're all set for a great meal!

I make this soup about once a week, using up lots of vegetables this way (and then my family EATS those vegetables!), and it's always a hit.


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Pesach No-Pasta-Minestrone Soup

I'm really feeling like it's possible to enjoy the simplicity of food on Pesach. There are fewer options available to me in my non-kitniyot kitchen than I normally have on hand, but it's ok. We're all eating and doing just fine.

Here's one favorite of the week:

Pesach No-Pasta-Minestrone Soup

1-2 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 sweet peppers (whatever color), diced
2-3 kishuim, diced
4 carrots, sliced
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
any other vegetables you want - I added celery and mushrooms as well, feel free to add whatever works for you!
1 can tomato paste
water
seasonings - salt, pepper, basil, oregano, etc

Here's my quick and easy soup method.

Place oil in pot. Add all the chopped/diced vegetables (including the garlic). Turn flame on to medium-high and start cooking those vegetables, stirring frequently (I use a trusty wooden spoon). When they are softened, add liquids and seasonings, and stir well. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the flame to simmer for 10-20 min.


Soup's done and you're all set for (the start of) a great meal!

This soup served 6 plus a few leftover portions for the next day. 

I bought a ton of soup vegetables for Pesach, figuring between soups and baked potatoes I can get a bunch of easy meals together for the family.

What's your family eating this Pesach?

Minestrone Soup Recipe

I had a request for a minestrone soup recipe, and since it's a favorite around here, I figured I will share mine today!

It's not so much a recipe though.

I truly feel like cooking is so much more interesting when you don't have to follow someone's rules, instead you can be as creative as you like in the process of creating delicious food...

So here's what I do:

Heat 1-2 Tbp. olive oil in a heavy bottomed soup pot.
Add diced onion, chopped garlic, diced peppers, zucchini/kishuim, and any other veggies you want to use (I usually add celery, chopped tomatoes, broccoli stalks, eggplant, mushrooms... really whatever I feel like).
Cook over med heat, stirring occasionally. You want the veggies to brown somewhat. The key here is to really use a lot of vegetables.
Add soup stock to mostly fill the pot, and about 500g tomato paste (unless of course you are using a much larger/smaller pot than mine! I usually make a 5-7 quart pot)
Add black beans or lentils (if you want - my kids prefer when I leave them out).
Add seasonings - salt, pepper, basil, parsley and whatever else you want (I throw in a little cayenne pepper even)!
Stir, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 20 min. Add 1 cup of p'titim (a.k.a. Israeli couscous) or whatever small shape pasta you like to use, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, till the p'titim/pasta is cooked.
Serve hot!

My favorite heavy-bottomed pot. Ignore the messy kitchen, please!

Monday, November 14, 2011

I am so burnt-out on so many levels. There has just been a lot going on around here lately, and the to-do list keeps growing, and the to-stress-about list never shrinks! I just wish someone would wave a magic wand and arrange for a TOTAL break from real life, even if just for a day. I guess I mean to say, I NEED to recharge my batteries!
But since that's not happening, and there is a full day of homeschooling 4 kids ahead of me, and tons of laundry to fold, cleaning to do, sorting through I-don't-know-what-all-that-stuff-is that is sitting in piles in various rooms of the house (mostly in the kids' rooms, the master bedroom,and  the newly renamed "activity room" - formerly known as the "playroom"), I will have to have a supper plan early in the day.

So here it is:


Garlic Bread & Minestrone Soup

(Can you tell I'm experiencing cooking burn-out, too?)

If anyone is hungry after that, well, they will just have to find SOMETHING on their own!

Monday Night, July 18, 2011

Trying to figure out how to feed the family without spending lots of time in the kitchen. It's too hot in my kitchen!

Here's the plan:

Minestrone soup - not so sure if the kids will go for this in this heat, but I'm going to make it in the crock pot and hope for the best!


Grilled Cheese sandwiches


Fruit salad

Monday Night, May 2, 2011

Today we commemorate Yom HaShoah. It is a day dedicated to the memory and heroism of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. We pledge to never forget; to never allow history to repeat itself. We speak with our children about our history, and pledge with them to keep the memories alive.

We speak of people starving, being starved, being treated as subhuman. We pledge to treat all people with dignity and respect. Lessons we all want our children to learn.

We spend each day learning, but the solemnity of this day required that I say something particular. We learn, read, and more, and I plan our dinner. Nothing fancy, but enough to nourish.


Here's the menu:

Pita crisps
Minestrone soup (made with homemade pureed tomatoes. This time I roasted them in the oven before pureeing. yum)
Baked potatoes topped with broccoli and cheese
Make your own salad

Tuesday Night, March 28, 2011

Working on the pantry challenge... I'm having a hard time with this right now. I have so many little odds and ends left in the freezer that I'm not sure what to do... Right now I am focused mostly on the fridge, but I'll try to find ways to use the freezer stash as well.

Tonight, we're going to have:


Minestrone Soup (found a few small containers of leftover minestrone from other times. If it's not enough to go around, I'll add a few more veggies and  no one will be the wiser. The real question is, can I mix in the pureed cauliflower that stares me in the face every time I open the freezer?!)

Baked potatoes (actually, not sure if we really need these; maybe I'll rummage through the freezer and find something to use up! I'm afraid some of my labels rubbed off and I'm left with mystery food... does that ever happen to you?)

Cottage Cheese pancakes (we like these slightly salty. mix cottage cheese, eggs, flour, salt, and pepper. cook in a skillet just like pancakes)

Make-your-own-salad

Let me know if you're also doing a pantry challenge. How's it going?

Minestrone Follow Up

Remember I said I was going to put some cabbage in the minestrone soup and hope the kids wouldn't notice it?

Well, to my surprise, everyone loved it! They said this minestrone soup was BETTER than my usual! The two middle children, who usually complain about minestrone not being their favorite soup, even asked for seconds!

That came from kids who rarely comment when they like the food I serve, but are VERY vocal about the food they don't like.

I'm quite pleased with the results!

Wednesday night - March 2, 2011

I had a really busy day yesterday and the afternoon flew past me. So the kids and I decided together to just have pitot topped with olives and tomatoes, with cheese melted on top. I steamed some broccoli to get everyone to eat something green.

So for Wednesday, I'm planning a little better (I'm ok with my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants dinner, after all, everyone needs to just take care of other things sometimes!)...

Minestrone Soup - since I use such a variety of veggies in my minestrone soup, I think I can sneak some of that cabbage into it without being noticed. And to my son who reads this blog - please don't tell your brother and sisters!

Broccoli Puff - this is a simple mixture of chopped broccoli, cottage cheese, shredded cheese, eggs, a little flour, salt and pepper, baked up till it's golden brown on top. Yummy, a favorite in this house!

Tomato & Mozzarella Salad - my kids love mozzarella cheese, so I just slice up tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, and add some chunks of mozzarella and some fresh (or dried) basil. You can keep this frugal by using small chunks of cheese, and not so much. Really tomatoes are the star of this salad!

Spicy Roasted Potatoes - Mix olive oil with mustard, garlic powder, and ground black pepper. Cut potatoes into wedges and coat with olive oil/mustard mixture. Roast in a 400 F oven till crispy, golden brown. The kids like to dip them in ketchup....

Tuesday Night (Feb. 8, 2011)

I'm a little under the weather, but I still need to run my household. I hung out a couple of loads of laundry today, even though it's raining (I put the drying racks in the covered part of my mirpeset). (I have no dryer)
I didn't think of putting on a coat for that task... I'm cold.

If you have great warming foods to serve, please tell me! I could use some creative and different ideas.

My kids are wondering why I've been serving soup so often lately. Don't they notice it warms them AND fills them?

Here's tonight's menu:

Minestrone Soup
Cheesy Baked Cauliflower
Rice
Roasted Beets
Tomato and Chick Pea Salad

Some notes about this menu:

Minestrone Soup is very forgiving - you can really use all sorts of veggies in it!

I'm experimenting with the cheesy baked cauliflower. I bought a whole lot of cauliflower  for 1.99 NIS/kilo. Now I hope I have the energy to clean and check it... I know cheese is not the most frugal food, but you can stretch it pretty far with enough ingenuity.

I will make oven-baked rice, since I'm roasting beets also, and I'll probably bake something else since the oven will be on already. Date bread? Chocolate Cake? Cookies?

I cooked a lot of chick peas the other day, and now we need to be sure to eat them... so we're having a salad repeat. Especially since tomatoes were 1.99 NIS/kilo...

Let me know what you're making for supper!

Today's Menu

Today seems to be a "Pantry Challenge" Day. If you're not familiar with the idea of a pantry challenge, I'll give you a quick explanation:
A pantry challenge is when you challenge yourself to cook meals only using the food you already have in your house - pantry, fridge, freezer - without running out to the store. (There's a Yahoo group I've been a member of for several years devoted to this practice. People get really creative!) Some people do a Pantry Challenge when their budget is too tight, and they really cannot afford to shop anymore till the next paycheck, some do it because they simply aren't able to get to the store (that's me!), and still others do it as a "test" - to see if they are stocking up on the right things when they shop. This has lots to do with emergency preparedness, and also everything to do with bargain hunting.
I haven't been to the supermarket since 9 days ago (no good reason, really), so the food situation in my house right now is interesting, to say the least.

For now, my menus are going to focus on Supper (or Dinner).
I found a bunch of wilting broccoli at the back of the fridge that must get used - or thrown out, and that would be a shame - so I'm building my supper around that:

Minestrone Soup
Crustless Broccoli Quiche
Baked Potatoes
Cut veggies with dressing (all that's left are tomatoes and orange peppers, so that's what it is!)