Monday, March 12, 2012

Tomato Bisque & Spaghetti Squash


Serves 6

Ingredients:
  • 3 cups carrot juice
  • 1 ½ pounds tomatoes, diced or 1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, no-salt-added or low sodium 
  • ¼ cup (no salt added) sun-dried tomatoes, diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • Leek , chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tbsp no salt seasoning (e.g. Mrs. Dash No salt seasonings)
  • ½ cup raw cashews or ¼ cup raw cashew butter
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil (or more, if you really like basil)
  • 5 ounces organic baby spinach

Directions:
In a large saucepan, add all ingredients except the cashews, basil and spinach. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove 2 cups of the vegetables with a slotted spoon & set aside. Puree the remaining soup with the cashews in a food processor or high powered blender until smooth. Return the pureed soup along with the reserved vegetables to the pot. Stir in the basil and spinach and heat until spinach is wilted.

This soup is too good! I had to stop myself from scarfing it down! It has such a versatile flavor. After we ate our fill of soup, we saved the rest for the next day. I remembered that we had a 
Spaghetti Squash that needed to be eaten soon, so I sautéed 2/3 cup of halved cherry (or grape) tomatoes & 6 diced baby bella mushrooms in a large frying pan. I added the left over bisque & stirred until heated through.  Then I poured it over the spaghetti squash for a delicious, gluten free, vegan, & nutritarian spaghetti! Yummm. I was thinking that if you wanted to prepare it only as a spaghetti sauce, you could add the cherry tomatoes & mushrooms in at the beginning & use about ½ a cup less carrot juice. Never cooked spaghetti squash before? Click Here



Tomato Bisque recipe adapted from Dr. Fuhrman's 'Eat to Live'

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Baked Veggie Quesadillas

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
  • 1 cup frozen corn 
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
  • ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • 2 cups shredded Dairy Free Cheese, divided
  • Four 8-inch tortillas
  • cooking spray or 1 tbsp olive oil


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, over medium heat, sauté onion until soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic & cook 1 minute more. Add zucchini & frozen corn, sauté until zucchini is soft & corn is tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro & lime juice. Brush/spray one side of each tortilla with olive oil/cooking spray. Lay 2 tortillas, oiled side down, on a baking sheet. Place half of the filling on each & sprinkle with cheese. Place remaining 2 tortillas on top, oiled side up, & press down gently with spatula to seal. Bake for 5 minutes on each side, or until cheese has melted & tortillas are golden brown. Remove from oven & slice into wedges.

You could probably add some more veggies, or maybe some black beans, to make these tasty treats a bit more nutritious, but they sure are good like this! I’ll try it soon & let you know how it goes… & if you beat me to it, let me know what you did & how it was!