Broccoli Cheese Soup

Growing up one of my fav restaurants served the best broccoli cheese soup. Every year, when I return to Houston,  I eat there...Until now - because the recipe below BLOWS my hometown's soup out of the kettle!

I added cauliflower because I am trying to eat more non-diary forms of calcium. I swear even the most suspicious children will not be able to taste it if you puree it finely enough.

Hope you enjoy and let me know your thoughts!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Serves 5

Ingredients
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup yellow onions
* ½ teaspoon salt
* ½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
* ½ teaspoon minced garlic
* ½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
* 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 4 cups veggie broth
* 1 cup pureed cauliflower (steam, puree until fine/smooth)
* 1 head of fresh broccoli (finely diced)
* ¼ cup heavy cream
* ½ cup reduced fat milk
* 1 ¼ cups shredded sharp Cheddar
* Croutons, for garnish
   

Directions
In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, thyme, onions, salt and pepper, stirring, until soft, 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring until the mixture is well blended and smells fragrant, 2 minutes.

Slowly add the veggie stock, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil.

Add pureed cauliflower

Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Add the broccoli and cook, stirring, until tender, for 10 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and puree with a hand-held immersion blender. (Alternatively, in batches, puree in a blender or food processor and return to the pot.)

Add the milk and cream. Bring to bare simmer to heat through. Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted.

Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle croutons over the top of the soup and serve immediately.



Croutons:

* 1 cup 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubed olive bagette
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons finely diced parsely and basil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the bread in a medium bowl and toss with oil, garlic, and herbs. Spread evenly on a small baking sheet and bake, stirring twice, until light golden brown on top, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.

Yield: 2 cups

Kale Pita Pizza

Last week, at our Radical Homemakers Reading Group, I shared my easy, 30 minute Kale Pita Pizza Recipe. Although I love to cook dinner for my family, there are some nights when dinner is best when its made in under 30 minutes. Rather than reverting back to my college days and making a frozen pizza, these kale pita pizzas are made from fresh ingredients and I promise - the whole family will love them.

I've made the receipe as a CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. for the picky toddlers, take the pureed route. Kids love dipping, so if you're open to a bit of a mess, let them dip in their own little dish of baba ganoush.

Ingredients:

4 Whole wheat pitas
Mozzarella cheese – 2 cups
Feta or Ricotta Salata – ½ cup
Kale – 1 cup
Garlic – one clove
¼ cup finely diced onion
Cherry or Grape tomatoes – ½ cup cut in half, lengthwise
Salt pepper
Olive oil

Prep time: 15 minutes.

Baba Ganoush – Locally, Olive Tree Café in Kahala has the BEST baba ganoush – but if you’re looking to make your own, its easy.

Preheat Oven to 350.
Rub pita with olive oil. Set aside.

Sautee garlic and onion in olive oil on medium heat until slightly browned. Add in kale and ricotta salata until kale is semi-wilted (2 minutes).

FOR KIDS: Once kale is sautéed, puree in blender. This way they won’t be able to pick out the kale chunks. Spread the kale puree on the pita as though it were pesto or pizza sauce. If your child is notoriously anti-greens, start with less.)

FOR ADULTS: Layer mozzarella cheese, kale/ricotta salata, and tomatoes on top of pita.

Bake for 20 minutes until browned.

Now a recipe usually ends with a pic of the finished product - but in this case - the product was too delicious to take a photo!

The Art of Menu Planning

by Ashley Lukens

I love to cook. I try to cook 4-5 nights a week, as schedule permits. Over the past 2 years, since my daughter was born, I have realized that in order to balance my busy schedule and ensure that my family gets the full range of fruits and vegetables into their diet, I MUST plan my menus out.

Menu planning, for me, is a deal maker.

If I don’t plan my meals out, I find myself feeling stressed and overwhelmed at the thought of making dinner. I am scrambling for ingredients, going to the grocery multiple times a week – wasting both my time and my money. I also find that I’m wasting money on ingredients that I can’t effectively use – and that I rely more on processed and preserved foods rather than fresh produce.

Menu planning requires that we re-orient ourselves toward eating and cooking. With menu planning we have to de-couple convenience and spontaneity. While menu planning can increase the convenience of eating – it takes away that spontaneous, “I want tacos tonight” moment. Convenience and spontaneity are the touchstones of industrial eating.

In order to get me and my family back to eating healthy, real food,  I had to take a well thought-out, proactive approach towards our weekly meals.

So what does a meal planning session look like for my family?

Our goal is to eat at home as a family 5 nights a week. Four nights I plan, the 5th we enjoy with our friends and extended family. By prioritizing a community meal, we check in with our support system – we share a meal, build memories, and help relieve the stress of cooking and childrearing.

On Sunday morning over breakfast and everyone picks a meal for the week. We keep our respective schedules in mind – as well as any events that we might have that week.

This is a sample shopping list that my 2 year old turned into her canvas.

I write the meals on a top of a piece of paper and then organize my shopping list according to the sections of my grocery store: Produce, Dairy, Bulk, Frozen, Prepared foods, and finally processed. Having your meals and their ingredients organized in this way allows you to take a step back and look at what you’re feeding your family. If your shopping list is weighted in processed and not produce – think about how you can change that. If a recipe calls for canned tomatoes – try fresh. Canned Mushrooms? Try dehydrated. Canned beans? Go for the bulk aisle.

If anything requires a special trip to a specialty store, create a box for it.

Feeling uninspired? My favorite thing is to google a delicious ingredient and see the recipes that appear. My favorite website for recipes is the Food Network, but I also read cooking blogs, watch cooking shows, and read cook books for inspiration.

We strive to eat leafy greens multiple times a week.
We have 2 easy 30-minute meals and 2 or 3 that are more complex.
We cook enough so that we have leftovers for lunch.

We also make sure that the recipes make sense when taken together and that ingredients don’t go to waste. For example, if Monday’s meal calls for ½ a container of spinach, I make sure we can use the rest of the container before it spoils.

Meal planning is a skill we’ve lost over the generations as industrial food has crept in and alienated us from our kitchens. Give meal planning a try for a month – if it doesn’t make your life more livable – call me a liar and let me know.

Hope to see you all at our radical homemakers reading group Thursday, March 24th. We’ll be reading the second half of Radical Homemakers and the skill share will be a 30-minute meal prepared 3 ways.

Kale Applesauce

The key to good applesauce, a wise auntie once told me, is lots of different apples. The key to a healthy diet, a wise macrobiotic chef told me, is variety variety variety. This yummy and easy to make kale applesauce does both.

7-10 Apples of all kinds. Buy organic. Its better for baby and the environment. If you're feelin' kind crazy - add a pear or two!

Peal ½ the apples and cube. Leave the skin on the rest for fiber’s-sake.

Cover apples with water. Boil in sauce pan until soft. As apples cook, you might need to add more water.

WHEN APPLES ARE SOFT, turn heat off and add 10 leaves of stemmed kale (to remove the stems, just rip leaves off).

Turn off Heat.

Mix in kale. Cover until wilted.

Put in blender and blend for 3 minutes.

 

Freeze in ice cube trays and add to all smoothies, yogurt, and oatmeal. Add water to make popsicles.

Our NEXT Super Baby Foods class is 2/13 @11am. Come learn how to make kale applesauce and more!

Leafy Green Recipe #003

Spinach Ricotta Pancakes
by Ashley Lukens

I make a MEAN spinach/butternut squash lasagna (which I will share at a later date) but I always have leftover spinach/ricotta/herb filling. So today I developed a recipe for spinach ricotta pancakes. My daughter LOVES a nice bread-like snack. Hope you do, too!

Prep time – 15 mins (MAX)
Serves: 4 adults or 6 keiki

8 oz Ricotta
1 (9-oz) bag spinach
Palm-full of fresh herbs (thyme, oregano, basil)
Palm-full of parmesan cheese
Clove of garlic
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
3 eggs, divided


Blend ricotta, spinach, herbs, parm and garlic in blender until smooth.

Mix ricotta filling with milk, egg yolks, in a bowl.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.

Beat the egg whites in an electric mixer until stiff. Add the dry ingredients to the ricotta and milk mixture, stirring gently until just combined. Whisk in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter, then fold in the remaining whites.

Heat griddle to medium, spray with light oil, and voila! Delicious healthy pancakes the keiki will love.

Instead of maple syrup, try butter and honey.

For an adult-a-fied meal, mix with a white bean/fresh mozz salad.

Leafy Green Recipe #002

Savory Spinach Cheese Muffins
by Ashley Lukens

I've told you before why I love me some leafy greens.

Here is a recipe that is all sorts of delicious!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (a mixture of white, wheat, or soy flour
can be used instead)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup whole milk (2% works fine)
1/2 - 1 cup fresh steamed chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
4 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 small onion, chopped finely

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 cup
muffin cups. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
together in a mixing bowl. Stir the melted butter, egg, milk, spinach,
and Cheddar cheese together in a large mixing bowl until evenly
blended. Slowly stir in the flour mixture to form a batter. Spoon
about 2 tablespoons into each muffin cup. Bake in preheated oven until
a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean,
about 35 minutes. Serve warm with a buttery spread. To store: place in
a freezer tight ziplock, defrost for 40-45 seconds, and serve with
butter.

Leafy Green Recipe #001

Kale and Ricotta Salata Bruschetta
by Ashley Lukens

Leafy Green vegetables like Kale, Swiss Chard, Mustard Greens, or Collards are a vital part of your family's diet.They are good sources of many vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy, such as vitamins A, C, and K, folate, iron and calcium. They are also great sources of fiber. Research suggests that the nutrients found in dark green vegetables may prevent certain types of cancers and promote heart health. It is recommended that we eat 3 cups of dark green vegetables per week, or about ½ a cup every day.

Hawaii's climate is well suited for growing leafy greens year round, and buying these locally grown greens are better for the environment, great for Hawaii's local economy, and easy on your wallet. Ma'o Farms, for example, features serveral varieties at their KCC Farmers market stand:

• Mizuna and Mustard Greens
• Tat Soi and Pak Choy
• Collard Greens
• Kale - Red Russian, Lacinato (Toscano), Blue Curly
• Swiss Chard - Rainbow, Fordhook, Ruby

For such an important part of our diet, and such an integral part of Hawaii's local agriculture, leafy greens remain difficult to prepare, particularly in ways that are palatable to the whole family. This leafy green recipe series is an attempt to offer quick, easy and delicious ways to integrate leafy greens into your diet and your cooking repetoire. The specific recipe is inspired by Town Restaurant, that always has delicious locally grown food on their menu (including bruschetta) and a Wilted Greens Recipe I found on the Food Network website. I made it tonight and it was DELISH!

Ingredients

• 1 Olive baguette
• 1 large bunch Kale
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ounces ricotta salata cheese

Directions
Slice Olive bread into this slices, drizzle with olive oil and broil until crisp. Set aside.
Wash the greens, but do not dry. Trim the large stems and coarsely chop. Set aside.
Warm 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and garlic and saute for 4 minutes.
Add the greens, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the greens have wilted and become tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Transfer the cooked greens to a serving bowl and crumble the ricotta salata cheese over the top. Mix and pile atop toasted Olive Bread slices.