Kitchen Sink Veggie Soup

One night this week, I found myself with lots of veggies in the fridge, no clear idea of what to make for din din, and after a yoga class, and not much time to make it. I threw a whole bunch of veggies in the blender, with some fresh herbs and some spices, and – presto! A tasty, and light yet satisfying veggie soup. I recommend experimenting with whatever you have left over in the fridge, a handful of some fresh herbs if you have them, and enough salt and pepper to bring out the flavors. Don’t forget to add a little water to get things moving in the blender, probably 1-2 cups depending on how watery your veggies are. Here was my “recipe”:

1 ½ cups shredded beets

1 cup carrots

1 cup chopped celery

Couple big handfuls of kale

½ of a big bunch of cilantro

2 green onions (the thick white part – save the thinner greener parts for garnish)

Juice of two limes

¼ teaspoon (or so) cumin

Salt (probably about a teaspoon) & pepper to taste

1 ½ cups of water

Blend until smooth! Garnish with extra green onion or extra herbs. I served mine with some flax crackers, but this would be nice along with a salad, too. The point is, use whatever veggies you have that seem to go together, some herbs and spices, salt & pepper, maybe a squirt of lemon or lime, and you are in business!

Keep the Vampires Away: Greens with Garlic, Raisins and Pine Nuts

I went to Spain in high school on an exchange program, and one dish that sticks in my mind, made by my host mother, is broccoli sautéed with garlic, pine nuts and raisins. I have had a similar dish at Spanish restaurants in the U.S., but with spinach instead of broccoli. So last night, having newly restocked my pine nut supply, I made a raw version of greens with garlic, pine nuts and raisins – this time, with Swiss chard. It would be delicious with spinach too, or even kale, but I had a big bunch of chard that I wanted to use.

2 cloves of garlic (use 1 if you need to go out in public after, or more if you want to keep the vampires away!)

½ cup raisins

3 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons pine nuts

Big bunch of Swiss chard (or other greens)

Salt & pepper

Shave garlic very thin or chop into tiny pieces, and toss with raisins and oil so the garlic and raisins can soften a bit (15 minutes or so). Wash and chop greens. Working in 3 or 4 batches, add greens and some of oil mixture to a big bowl, and toss with salt and pepper. Check seasoning, and repeat with additional portions of greens until all the oil and all the greens are in the bowl (I found it easier to work with the greens in steps to get them all really well coated). Cover bowl, and let marinate for 2-3 hours, tossing occasionally. Add pine nuts, and serve. Raw appétit!

Back to Bloggin'...with Rosemary Garlic Raw Stuffed Mushrooms

I can’t believe it has been so long since I’ve blogged! Believe me, it’s been about that long since I made anything much more complicated than a salad. The holidays were very busy, and also I got engaged, so I’ve been working on the initial, big details of wedding planning.

If that weren’t enough, I’m teaching an Alissa Cohen Living on Live Food class on January 23 (check out www.rawteachers.com/angelasalvucci) and a raw basics workshop at Pure Yoga and Pilates in Wilmington, DE on February 6, and plan to add more classes to my calendar shortly! So it’s a busy time – forgive my lack of attention to the blog!

With all my travels and class and wedding planning, there hasn’t been much time for grocery shopping, so I’m running low on supplies, but tonight I made raw stuffed mushrooms and a broccoli soup for dinner (the soup was to try out my brand new Vita-Mix, QVC version…my first super duper turbo high speed blender!). The broccoli soup was Alissa Cohen’s recipe in Living on Live Food, but the mushroom recipe was mine, based on a) my mom’s cooked stuffed mushrooms, which are delicious and b) what I actually had in the fridge and cabinets! Here goes:

About a dozen large button mushrooms (crimini would also work)

½ cup celery, chopped (about 2 stalks)

½ cup walnuts

1 clove of garlic (less if you don’t want it too zippy)

½ teaspoon onion powder

1 ½ tablespoons (or so) fresh rosemary (use whatever spices you like! I was using the remains of a rosemary Christmas tree that had decorated the kitchen table for the holidays)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt (about ½ teaspoon) & pepper to taste

Wipe any dirt off mushrooms with a damp cloth, and gently remove stems. In a food processor, combine all other ingredients until as smooth or chunky as you like (I did mine quite smooth). With a small spoon, stuff mushroom caps. This recipe will make about a dozen large, very full stuffed mushrooms. Place mushroom caps and dehydrate for an hour or too at 105, to warm them through, or put them in the oven at the lowest temp (and keep checking to make sure they aren’t getting too warm!), or just eat as-is. Raw appétit!