The Soup Project: Dilled Cabbage, Mushroom and Potato Soup

I stopped at Tall Grass Bakery to buy a baguette last Saturday at the market and while I was waiting to pay, I spotted the most beautiful rustic pumpernickel loaf I'd ever seen. How could I have missed this lovely bread on other weeks? I often see things I'd never noticed previously while waiting to pay, and this bread practically shouted for a cabbage or sauerkraut soup. I'd been looking for a good cabbage soup, so I bought the bread.

On my way out of the market I stopped at the Patty Pan Grill to get tickets for this dinner event. While I was there, I mentioned my bread and cabbage soup idea to Devra. She told me she had a great cabbage soup recipe in her book Local Bounty."It tastes like a corned beef deli sandwich without the beef," she'd said.

The idea of sandwich flavors in a soup bowl intrigued me. I never thought about adding mustard to a cabbage soup, but if you tried my Rustic Lentil Soup recipe, I get mustard as unique soup ingredient. And a sandwich in a soup bowl sounds like peasant food to me-- simple, good flavored food.

When you think about it soup has sustained people since the beginning of time. I wondered how old this culinary dish was, so I checked The History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat and found this illustration of an open-air kitchen in 1570. Of course it's only logical that soup's predecessors were made in big cauldrons over open fires.
Here are a few other things I discovered about soup in history:

• Soup is probably as old as the first fire, but the oldest recorded soup can be dated to about 6,000 B.C.
• The word soup is Germanic in origin and comes from the word "sop" which refers to a piece of bread used to soak up a thick stew
• In 1772 a cookbook called The Frugal Houswife contained an entire chapter devoted to soup
• During colonial days, German immigrants living in Pennsylvania were famous for their potato soups.
• "Pocket soups" that could be reconsituted with a little hot water were often carried by colonial travelers

For this cabbage soup recipe, I combined the best of two recipes for this soup, but my main idea came from Local Bounty. I added the mushrooms, celery and carrots from Mushroom Barley Soup in Vegetarina (1984,The Dial Press) by Nava Atlas. I didn't add the barley for this soup because even though I added vegetables, the rule is: less is usually better with soup and I try not to add a starch that competes with the star of the show which means potatoes, for this recipe anyway. Get potatoes with a good flavor from the market because the soup doesn't cost much to make and a good potato flavor is worth the extra expense.

Dilled Cabbage, Mushroom and Potato Soup with Pumpernickel Bread

The idea is to place a slice of bread into each soup bowl, but I couldn't stand to do it with Tall Grass Bakery bread, it's just too beautiful.

1/2 ounce dry mushrooms (use a wild mix or porcini)

2 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons canola or olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

2 teaspoons dill weed

1 teaspoon whole caraway seeds

4 cups water or stock

2 medium potatoes, washed and cut into bite-size chunks

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper to taste

4 to 6 cups shredded cabbage

2 to 3 tablespoons mustard

Sliced pumpernickel bread

1. Soak mushrooms in boiling water for at least an hour. Remove mushrooms and chop, reserving liquid.

2. Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil, onion, celery, and carrots. Reduce heat, stir and cook until onions are soft. Stir in garlic, dill, and caraway seeds. Then pour in water or stock, mushroom water and add chopped mushrooms and potatoes. Cook for 30 minutes or until potatoes are done, add salt, pepper to taste. Blend in mustard and all but 1/2 cup of the shredded cabbage.

3. Garnish with remaining cabbage and serve with pumpernickel bread. Serves 6 to 8

The Soup Project: Franz Kafka and Meyer Lemon Leek, Mushroom and Potato Soup

Soup for Valentine's Day? Why not? The concept of a peasant food on a holiday intrigues me. And the idea made me curious how many others (bloggers, cooking Websites, etc) included soup in the Valentine's Day celebratory meal for lovers.

At All Recipes it's the decadent lobster bisque, and at Whirled Soup it's a fabulous sweet potato soup. At Seriously Soupy, check out the chocolate soup--not sure I'd have it for dinner, but what a great idea for dessert! Okay soup isn't a traditional Valentine's Day dinner, but the search made me realize just how popular soup is these days. As for leek soup--though I missed them at the market this week, it's that time year when people make leek soup.

One recipe came to me a few weeks ago from Chris Curtis at the U-District Market. She handed me the recipe and said, "I don't know if you have this soup recipe or not yet." Oddly the same day, I got another leek soup recipe from Casdadia Mushrooms as I was buying shiitake mushrooms. And when I got home, I saw that 101 Cookbooks had just posted this leek soup recipe. It seemed like some kind of sign and when I found this quirky book at the library that afternoon, I was sure Kafka's Soup was yet another leek soup recipe.
It wasn't, but the cover was way too intriguing to pass up. When I opened the book this was on the inside flap: "If you've ever wondered what it would be like to make dinner with Franz Kafka, Jane Austin or Raymond Chandler, this is the chance to find out. Literary ventriloquist Mark Crick presents fourteen recipes in the voices of famous writers from Homer to Virginia Wolf to Irvine Welsh."

Every recipe in this little book lists ingredients and the instructions are written like short stories dictated by famous authors. Quick Miso Soup a la Franz Kafka is a very plain soup with only four ingredients--miso, silken tofu, mushrooms and a few leaves of wakame. As the story opens, K. isn't quite sure whether he invited his dinner guests or they simply showed up unannounced, and like The Trial, it isn't long before K. refers his "guests" as officials and wonders what positions they hold. K. assumes his "guests" are passing judgment over his culinary inadequacy at every turn and even as he's slicing the tofu he feels at odds and alienated at his own dinner party. Mark Crick has captured K. perfectly.

At one point K. notices his guests are already enjoying his wine that he hadn't yet offered, and he atttempts to shame them for taking such liberties. "How's the wine?" He inquires with a hint of sarcasm. They chorus, "It would be better with some food. But since you have not even granted us the courtesy of dressing for dinner we do not have high hopes."

Even if you aren't into Kafka, this book is a hoot. I loved Lamb with Dill Sauce a la Raymond Chandler as well as the Clafoutis Grandmere a la Virginia Woolf. And speaking of cherries, I've got some thawing in the refrigerator for this dessert. What more could you want from a holiday--good food, good stories and a decadent, sexy ending to the meal?

Here's the soup of the day:

Meyer Lemon Leek, Mushroom and Potato Soup

This soup is a combination of Simple Mushroom & Leek Soup from Cascadia Mushrooms Cream of Leek Soup (minus the cream) from the U-District Market and my own imagination. The shiitake mushrooms give a backbone. These mushrooms have a meaty texture when dry-fried and add a depth of flavor that compliments delicate leeks. The potatoes should be practically falling apart when done and this way, they create a thicker texture. If you want to add protein, but not meat, take a page from Kafka's Soup and cut a block of tofu into bite-size pieces and add them during the last stage of cooking, or cut some Field Roast into tiny pieces and toss them at any time.

1/2 to 1 pound small to medium shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and reserved and tops sliced (Save the stems in the freezer for stock later).

3 medium to large leeks, thinly sliced white and light green parts

2 tablespoons olive oil or 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter

4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1 cup diced celery

2 medium potatoes, medium dice

1 medium sweet potato, medium dice

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon thyme or basil

1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped Meyer lemon zest

5 cups water or stock

Handful of arugula, chopped

2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped cilantro or finely sliced arugula

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese or bread crumbs (optional)

1. Heat a heavy pot over medium heat. Add mushrooms and dry-fry until they soften. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pot, saute leeks in oil and butter until soft. Add garlic, celery, red potatoes and sweet potatoes. Stir to coat vegetables.

2. Add bay leaf, thyme, lemon zest and water or stock. Simmer for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are very soft. Add lemon juice and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped cilantro, chives or my favorite, finely chopped arugula. Grate some cheese if you like or sprinkle with bread crumb (a good way to use crouton crumbs). Serves 4

The Soup Project: Black Bean Chili and meal planning

Ever since Oprah's staff took the week long vegan challenge, people have been asking about vegan diets. In our house, I'm not vegan but rarely eat dairy products and Tom eats meat but doesn't shop or cook much, so our dinners tend to be vegan with dairy optional. It's not that hard to do, but when I checked the menus on Oprah's challenge week, I was surprised they relied heavily on faux meat substitutions, like tofurkey (something carnivores usually snicker about and never take seriously).

Vegan Meal Planning

At our house, we rely on grains and beans to build our meals, a much more economical way to eat than packaged processed faux meat. (One exception to this is Field Roast, a version of seitan, a wheat-gluten meat substitute that has quite an amazing texture and flavor and is worth experimenting with in recipes.)

For great suggestions on vegan budget meal planning (or even if you just want to cut back on meat consumption) check out Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson, author of Vegan Planet. Planned leftovers, cutting down on kitchen waste, and keeping a well-stocked pantry are just some of the suggestions in this useful book. Robertson also covers buying CSA memberships, produce stands, and growing your own produce. I liked the simplicity of her recipes and even selected one, White Beans and Lemon Potatoes, to make this week.
Here is a quick look at this week's vegan dinner selections at our house:

1. Black Bean Chili (from The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook), Lemon Coleslaw (from Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love) and corn chips

2. Leek Soup (adapted from 101 Cookbooks), tortilla wraps with spicy yams and black eyed peas and Lemon Coleslaw

3. Lemon-Parsley Quinoa Pilaf, roasted vegetables with horseradish sauce

4. Shepherd's Pie with Lentils (adapted from The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook), green salad and grilled garlic toast

5. Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole, braised kale and green salad

6. Pizza Party with roasted vegetables, Chipotle Field Roast, (cheese optional) and green salad

7. White Beans with Lemon Potatoes and Greens (adapted from Vegan on the Cheap), cornbread and green salad

One secret I discovered for a successful meal plan within a budget is to set aside a half an hour to come up with recipe ideas and generate your food list for the week. Make sure to also consider desserts. This week we look forward to Raw Apple Cake and Lemon Sugar Cookies with fruit compote.

Here's the recipe of the week:

Black Bean Chili

This recipe is one of my favorites adapted from The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook. I created it for black eyed peas, but you can easily use black beans like the ones I bought from the Alvaraz family farm last fall at the farmers' market. This chili goes nicely with cornbread or warm corn tortillas and a green salad.

2 tablespoons canola or olive oil

2 red onions, peeled and diced

1 jalapeno, finely chopped (remove seeds if desired) or use 1 tablespoon chopped "kick butt" Mama Lil's peppers

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

3 cloves garlic, pressed

1 carrot, sliced

1 1/2 cups dry black beans, soaked overnight and drained

3 cups water

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar

Salt to taste

Chopped cilantro, diced avocado, copped green onions or bread crumbs for garnish

1. Heat a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil, onion, and jalapenos. Stir, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the onons are soft.

2. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic, carrot, black beans, water, tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the black beans are tender--about an hour.

3. Add vinegar, sugar and salt to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro, avocado or green onions, if desired. Serves 4 to 6.

Stay tuned for ideas on how to dine out on a tightwad's budget plan. Here's a humble feast designed for those who want to dine out but often don't have the cash flow for high end meals. Check it out.

The Soup Project: Deborah Madison's Rustic Lentil Soup

I wanted to immerse myself in the world of soup, so I visited the local library online and reserved a number of soup books. As often happens with the library the books all came at once so I came home with an armload. The stack made me wonder whether world needs any more soup books? Who knew soup was this popular? Obviously I was clueless.

I looked through the books and the one that stood out from the pack was Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. I remembered when this book came out, but at the time I had lots of soup recipes and my space for book collecting is full, and I confess, I don't always look at new cookbooks. But once I flipped the pages, I was inspired by the way she combines flavors. And when I spotted "A Rustic Lentil Soup with spinach," I knew this was the soup of the week. I couldn't wait to make (or change) the recipe.
Deborah's recipe listed onion, carrot, red bell pepper, and spinach. Bell pepper and spinach are fresh ingredients that I don't buy in the winter but when I spotted these mushrooms, I knew they'd be perfect in my dream version of this soup recipe.

Shiitake mushrooms add a deep flavor and an intriguing meaty texture and they also offer so many health benefits, it's worth the price to add them to vegetarian main dishes and soups. You don't have to buy a whole log at this booth at the U District Market because they also sell these nutritional gems by the pint container. As I recall one pint cost $6.00.
We bought a shiitake log like this one (but not from this place) and we waited and waited and finally got one huge mushroom, one of the biggest I'd ever seen, and then only a few small ones later, so actual results aren't always like you see in the picture.
A soup just wouldn't be complete without Nash's sweet carrots. (Look for them at all Seattle winter markets as well as PCC Natural Markets.) These carrots turned extra sweet this year and my Cooking Assistant checks my bags each week looking for them.

Here's the recipe with my adaptations for winter vegetables. Get out the crusty bread or make your own biscuits to go with it because it's pure comfort food for a rainy winter day.

A Rustic Lentil Soup with Kale

Adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, she says "all greens are good with lentils, and I especially like to add them to a soup that's going to be a meal. That way you get all your good foods together in one bowl."

1 cups brown lentils, rinsed and soaked if possible

1 to 1 1/2 cups shiitaki mushrooms, stems removed and sliced

2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

1 carrot, grated or finely diced (use one of Nash's big carrots, if you're lucky enough to have them in your kitchen)

1 potato, diced (no need to peel)

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 bay leaf

6 cups water or vegetable stock

2 cups kale, middle rib removed, finely chopped Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Chopped parsley

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Red wine vinegar or apple cider to taste

Croutons for garnish

If you haven't already soaked the lentils, soak them while you prepare the rest of the soup.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and dry fry the mushrooms until they become soft--5 to 7 minutes. Roughly chop and set aside.

Heat a soup pot over medium head and add the oil, onion, and carrot. Stir and cook until onion softens, add drained and rinsed lentils, mushrooms, potato, garlic, tomato paste, prepared mustard, dry red wine and bay leaf. Stir to combine, then add water or stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook until lentils are soft.

Add kale and salt and pepper to taste and continue to cook until kale softns--5 to 10 minutes. Add about a teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and add a dash of vinegar to each serving. Garnish with croutons, if desired.

Nobody "gets" croutons like my Cooking Assistant. What's your weakness with soup?

The Soup Project: National Soup Month and Locro Argentino

The more I discover about soup, the more it intrigues me. Last week I learned that January is National Soup Month, and I got so excited about this factoid, I thought I'd just toss it out and impress everyone. Then I looked it up here and found out that January is not only National Soup month it's also National Meat Month, National Candy Month, and National Hot Tea Month. And who knew that today is National Coffee Break Day?

Give me a break. The truth is I suspect these kinds of holidays are concocted by food companies to help pitch their products and entice us to buy their brand. They offer coupons under the guise of a holiday. Big whoopie. National month or not, soup is a budget-stretching meal option that happens to be gaining popularity this year, in my kitchen anyway, and I hope in yours too.

This week's soup happens to be one of my new favorites from Argentina from this fabulous cookbook, I mentioned last week, The South American Table by Maria Baez Kijac

The original recipe lists canned hominy in the ingredients, but I don't like the canned versions of most foods, and there isn't an organic option for hominy, so I always stare at the cans and end up passing on it in favor of frozen corn. When I found hominy at Rancho Gordo, I got a small bag of that, and later when I learned Anthony Boutard of Ayers Creek in Gaston, Oregon grew and sold it, I bought some from him. Now I'm hooked.

Locro Guascho Argentino

This vegetarian soup is adapted from The South American Table. The original recipe also included a 1-pound beef brisket and 8 ounces of Polish sausage. Though the recipe specified that the sausage was optional, few spices or herbs were included making this a rather mild-tasting soup without the meat. That is, until you add a spoonful of sofrito, a fried spicy sauce stirred into the soup at the end of cooking. Also I discovered that Field Roast (a vegetarian wheat-based sausage) has the perfect meaty texture with a sausage-like flavor and isn't off-putting like some of the vegetarian faux soy-based meat substitutes of the past.

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

6 cups stock or water

1 cup white beans, rinsed and soaked for at least 4 hours

1 medium-large carrot, diced

1 sweet potato, diced or 1 pound winter squash, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 medium potato, diced

2 cups cooked hominy

1/2 cup chopped sundried tomatoes

8 ounces Field Roast sausage, sliced (optional)

Pepper to taste

Sofrito

2 tablespoons olive or canola oil

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup minced green onions (use some of the green as well as the white part)

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and oil. Stir and cook until onion becomes translucent. Stir in garlic and cook for a few minutes.

2. Gradually pour in the stock or water. Add the beans, carrot, sweet potato, potato, hominy, and sundried tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until beans are tender, about an hour.

3. About 15 minutes before the beans are done, slice and cook the Field Roast sausage until browned.

4. While the Field Roast cooks, make the sofrito. Heat a skillet over medium heat, add oil and paprika and stir. Add red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin, salt, and cilantro. Stir and cook until cilantro softens. Stir the sofrito into the soup. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

5. Place pieces of sausage in each soup bowl, ladle in the soup and sprinkle each serving with fresh parsley leaves.

My Cooking Assistant says if this is a "poor man's dinner" he wants more. For me it could use a bit more heat so I drizzled a little hot salsa over the top but my Cooking Assistant rated this one Four Paws Up.

The Soup Project: Prison Food and Soup Stock

I've been so excited about my "soup project," I tried to sell my family and friends on the idea. That is, until I asked my sister.

"Are you kidding me?" She'd said, shocked at my audacity. "Prisoners eat soup."

I laughed and suddenly remembered that when I visited Alcatraz in San Francisco last fall, I found this magazine in the gift shop.

First thing I did was check out the prison menus. It appears prisoners did indulge in regular meals that often included soup, but they had to eat in 20 minutes, and in solitary confinement though soup was served nearly every day, it was only in half rations.

Half rations? It's enough to deter my Cooking Assistant from the life of crime.

Good thing soup stock really has nothing to do with prison food. And stock enhances flavor so much for vegetarian soup, I can't just throw out recipes every week without covering the basics.

I don't use stock all the time, but it's not hard to make, and it does create layers of flavor, and if you use the same processed soup stock all the time, all your soups will have similar flavors and pretty soon every soup will be flat and boring. I'd rather add soup stock vegetables like carrots, celery and onions to soup rather than buying ready made stocks from a box or can.

Here are a few stock making tips:

• Save vegetable scraps in plastic bags in the freezer, labeled, for easy stock making.
• Produce can be slightly over-the-hill, but nothing moldy or bad should go into a soup stock
• Roughly cut all the vegetables the same size--about 1-inch pieces. This brings out the flavor of the vegetables equally and strengthens stock flavor.
• Always start with cold water. Add all ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes.
• Strain the stock after it has finished cooking. Never let cooked stock sit because the sit may turn bitter, causing the soup to have a slightly off-taste.

Basic Soup Stock

This recipe is similar to one The Northwest Vegetarian Cookbook. You can use it for most soups, and vary the vegetables. Don't go crazy adding lots of onion skins because too many turn the stock bitter, and remember skins turn the stock a dark color. If you're making a light-colored soup like creamy cauliflower, you might want to leave onion skins out. You can stock taste richer by frying mushrooms and garlic in one tablespoon ghee or oil before adding the water and other vegetables. I sometimes roast extra vegetables to add to this basic recipe.

6 cups water

3 stalks celery, cut into pieces

2 carrots, sliced

1 yellow onion, with skin, sliced

Handful parsley

4 mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup lentils

1/4 teaspoon thyme

2 teaspoons basil

5 cloves garlic, sliced

6 to 8 peppercorns

Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Strain, discard cooked vegetables, and cool stock. Use immediately or freeze in plastic containers (glass can break).

Options:

• Add seasonal vegetables such as corn, squash, celeriac, parsley root, leeks, bell peppers, tomatoes, fennel, or pea pods
• Use carrot tops, potato skins, corn cops, mushroom stems, and squash seeds. You can also add leftover cooked potatoes, but becareful some vegetables like cooked sweet potatoes can turn the stock cloudy
• Vary herbs according to your taste
• Add 1/4 cup white, brown, or red miso instead of salt

Tune in next Monday when I make a soup using hominy from Ayers Creek Farm in Gaston, Oregon.

If It's Monday It Must Be Soup: Quinoa Chowder

When I was young Mom knew what foods she'd serve for dinner every week. Monday we might have meatloaf and Tuesday we could expect spaghetti with meatloaf leftovers in the sauce. As a budget conscious cook, she planned for leftovers. I'm planning for soup nights which automatically means leftovers for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

My New Year's resolution got a boost today when I read this post from Lifehacker about how to scaffold your resolutions for lasting change. I've got a set budget and a concrete plan and I may not eat soup twice a week for eternity, but I'm so excited by the possibilities of my food budget soup plan. I'm so excited that if I wasn't doing it, I'd be following the blogger who was to see if that's what works for slashing food budgets.

My only worry is, will I still be hungry for soup come summer? Right now, I'm confident there are enough soup recipes and ideas for main dish soups in the world to keep me going, and by the end of the year, I should have enough recipes for a book.

I've decided to make Mondays the new recipe day of the week and the recipe this week is partly influenced by what I found at the market and partly by this soup article about South American soups that I'm supposed to be writing for Vegetarian Journal.

I found some great spinach at Willie Green's Organic Farm and of course Nash's sweet carrots--I absolutely love them right now and my Cooking Assistant is very excited about them, too.
I had one lonely sweet potato from Ayer's Creek still in my pantry, and I needed to test a recipe derived from a Peruvian soup, so I took a bag of quinoa from my pantry. I'd had never used quinoa in a soup before, and I've got to say, the texture and flavor is amazing. I could easily eat this soup for breakfast lunch or supper.

The original recipe also listed milk, but I added a can of coconut milk and how can you go wrong with coconut milk?

Another bonus is this soup is ready within a half an hour.

Quinoa Chowder

(Serves 6)

This soup has an amazing flavor, but remember leftovers need extra liquid added for the next day. This version isn't exactly authentic Peruvian fare because adding and adapting makes soup more fun. Instead of sundried tomatoes, I used roasted, frozen and thawed tomatoes from Ayers Creek Farm. These are so good and are disappearing so fast, I plan to preserve tomatoes like this again. The red currants were my idea; I don't know they whether currants grow currants in Peru and originally I thought I could use them as a lemon substitute. Now I'm just tossing them into various recipes and they really add character. Many people don't have them, so let this be a reminder--get some currants from your favorite berry or fruit farmer this summer at the market. Stash these treasures in your freezer and use them in soups like this one.

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 1 cup quinoa, rinsed well 1 tablespoon chopped Mama Lil's Peppers, or chopped jalapeno (optional)

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

3 medium carrots or 1 of Nash's Best Organic carrots (above), chopped

1 sweet potato or 2 potatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes

4 to 6 cups water

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

3 cups seasonal greens, rinsed and chopped

1 cup frozen red currants (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup chopped cilantro, for garnish

1. Heat oil in a stock pot. Add onions, cook and stir until onions soften. Add garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Stir in quinoa, then add Mama Lil's peppers, carrots, sweet potato, oregano, tomatoes and 4 cups water.

2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and currants and continue to cook until currants are heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste; garnish with cilantro. Serve it with some warm corn tortillas.

So sad, Cooking Assistant missed the boat for this photo.