Pasta e Fagioli

I built my menu for the week and noticed that nearly everything started with the letter "p". My friends helped suggest options to fill out the week and pasta e fagioli was mentioned by the lovely Brian K.

It's a nice easy weeknight meal that comes together in about 30 minutes AND it tastes good.

Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion
6 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
4 cups of vegetable or unchicken broth
1 can (~15 oz) of northern white beans
1 can (~15 oz) of dark kidney beans
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup uncooked ditalini (or other little pasta)

Heat up the olive oil and pan fry the onion until translucent (not browned). Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add all of the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the pasta.

Cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring often.

After 20 minutes, you can use a stick blender (aka immersion blender) to pulverize some of the beans and tomatoes to give it a thicker, creamier consistency. This is optional, but it makes the soup feel more substantial. You can also just add a cup or two to a regular blender, whirr until thick and creamy looking, then add back to the pan.

Add the ditalini and cook for 8 minutes or so. Check the label for cooking time and follow that, but check to make sure it's not crunchy. I had to add 2 minutes to  the suggested time to get it just right!

Serve with warm bread.

Nutrition (per cup - makes 7 cups)

Calories: 231
Fat: 5.1 g
Carbs: 37.2 g
Fiber: 8.5 g (34%)
Sugars: 5.5 g
Protein: 9.6 g
Vitamin A: 14%
Vitamin C: 22%
Iron: 15%
Calcium: 9%

Yeti Spicy Split Pea Soup

Yeti soup? Is that vegan? I decided to call it yeti soup because it is impossible to photograph properly. I do not know why, but cameras go all blurry when attempting to take a picture of it! Any clearer pictures just didn't look...right, much like the famous fuzzy being.

Blurry, but I promise it tastes better than it looks!

Anyway, this soup is SPICY! I wasn't expecting it to be so spicy because dried peppers, especially jalapeno peppers, lose their heat when cooked for long periods. I think the pressure cooker does something special with this. I love it, but it you don't order your Thai food in the neighborhood of medium + to hot, you're going to want to tone it down a bunch! It was excellent and flavorful, which is never really my expectation with split peas, to be honest.

Ingredients
1.75 cups of yellow split peas, picked through for stones
.25 cups of red lentils, picked through for stones
1 large onion, diced
1.5 cups chopped carrots
4 cubes of un-chicken bouillon (or enough to make 8 cups of broth, if that's not 4 for the brand you have)
8 cups of hot water
1.5 TBS minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 TBS jalapeno (if you like it hot!)
1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp Rogan Josh seasoning (a standard curry powder would probably stand in here just fine)
1/4 tsp Berbere (I'm not sure what would be a good stand in here, but in a pinch you could use more Rogan Josh or curry)

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients into the pressure cooker, making sure to stir to get the bouillon cubes to incorporate into the water. Then cook on low pressure for 35 minutes. Release the pressure instantly, stir, and serve. It thickens as it sits, but never gets as thick as traditional split pea soup. Don't add salt before you taste it; it's salty enough.

Nutrition (per 1/5 of the batch, about 2 cups in each serving)

Calories: 256
Carbs: 53 (18%)
Fat: 2.8 g (6%)
Protein: 18.5 g (24%)
Fiber: 20 g (82%)
Sugars: 6 g (16%)
Vitamin A: 160%
Vitamin C: 14%
Calcium: 5%
Iron: 18%

Gobi Matar Palak Masala (Spiced Cauliflower, Peas & Spinach)

I came home with the idea of making something of the baby bok choy in my fridge, but then I spotted the cauliflower and I knew I needed to use it soon. I didn't eat much during the day, so I wanted something that would really fill me up. I decided to make a spicy cauliflower, peas, and spinach concoction. It was very flavorful and made 4 large, vitamin-rich, low-cal portions. It would be just as good without the spinach, so if you don't have any on-hand, you can easily skip it.

Ingredients

2 TBS canola or coconut oil

3 small onions (or 2 medium onions), diced

1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets

1.5 tsp garam masala

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch of ginger, grated/minced

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

2 tsp coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

.5 tsp cumin seed

1 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste - if you don't love spice, start at 1/4 tsp and work your way up!)

1 tsp turmeric

1.5 cups vegetable broth

1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes

1 cup green peas (I used frozen)

3 oz baby spinach

salt to taste (taste it first; I barely needed any)

Method

Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onions and cauliflower and cook for about 10 minutes, or until softened. Add in all of the spices and mix it up. It's going to be all pretty and yellow and dotted with seeds! Add the tomatoes and the broth and simmer for about 30 minutes, covered. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Then add the peas and cook for 5 more minutes and toss in the spinach for a final 5 minutes. You know it's ready when the cauliflower is falling apart or is at least easy to smash with a spoon.

Makes 4 satisfying servings (about 1.5 cups each!) and is tasty over basmati rice.

Nutritional Information (for 1/4 of recipe)

Calories: 198

Fat: 7.3 g

Carbs: 27.6 g

Fiber: 9.5g

Sugars: 11.3 g

Protein: 6.7 g

Vitamin A: 81%

Vitamin C: 171%

Calcium: 9%

Iron: 17%

Springy Orzo

This orzo was a huge hit! It's hearty and flavorful.

Ingredients:
(makes 9 1-cup servings)
12 oz orzo
1 bunch of asparagus, cut into small pieces
1 TBS olive oil
1 small onion
1 leek, cleaned carefully (they get dirt in the layers somehow) and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup of mushrooms, diced
14 oz can of artichoke hearts in brine (drained and rinsed, then torn into smaller bits)
1 lemon, zested and juiced (you'll need about 1.5 teaspoons of zest and about 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil (separated into two 1/4 cup portions)
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional, but it adds a nice cheesiness)
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Salt to taste (if you have mushroom salt, I HIGHLY recommend using it here)
Pepper to taste

Cook the orzo and steam the asparagus while you prepare the other vegetables. When the orzo is fully cooked, stir in 1/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes in oil. This keeps the orzo from clumping.

Place the olive oil in the pan, then add the leek, onion, and pepper. Cook until softened, about 8 minutes, then add the mushrooms, artichokes, garlic, and 1/4 cup of the sun dried tomatoes. Once the asparagus has softened from the steaming, add the asparagus to the pan. Add the cooked orzo to the pan along with the parsley, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and 1.5 teaspoons of zest. Let the flavors blend. Add in nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper, and top with a portion of the pine nuts (scant one tablespoon).

I served with a fun new (to me) green called mache. It's nice and nutty and flavorful. I used a little olive oil, a little of the lemon juice, and a bit of garlic to make a very simple dressing for it, and it turned out great.

Nutrition Facts (for the orzo)

Serving Size 1/9 of the recipe (1 cup)

Calories 249

Total Fat 7.5g

Sodium 496mg

Potassium 156.2mg

Carbohydrates 38.2g

Dietary Fiber 5.5g

Sugars 5.8g

Protein 7.3g

Vitamin A 7% • Vitamin C 56% Calcium 4% • Iron 24%

Pressure Cooker Curry

I love, love, love having a pressure cooker. I never knew what I was really missing until I got one, but it does magical things in very little time. If you don't have one, you're probably thinking you don't need one or shouldn't get one. Maybe you worry it'll take up too much counter space or that it'll get used once a year like your food processor. The one I have ensures that won't happen, because it takes the place of 3 different gadgets: a rice cooker, a slow cooker, and a pressure cooker. It's called the Fagor Multi-Cooker. If you're considering getting a pressure cooker, I highly recommend it!

This dish is tasty, but not photogenic. It doesn't help that it's a primarily yellow food in a yellow bowl. A photographer I am not! It's somewhat spicy, but I like things to be very spicy, so next time I'll add some fresh peppers or more cayenne or something.

We rated it a 4.

Recipe:
1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 TBS olive oil
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 TBS fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
2 dried chili piquin peppers
1 tsp dried jalapenos (optional, if you like it spicy)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, if you like it spicy)
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt to taste

Cook cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic in olive oil for five minutes, stirring frequently. Place in pressure cooker with the rest of the ingredients, and cook on high pressure for 7 minutes. Serve on top of rice. Makes 4 servings (1.5 cups each)

Nutritional Information:

Calories 209
Fat: 5.6 g
Sodium 364 mg
Carbs 35.8 g
Fiber 8 g
Sugars 9.6 g
Protein 6 g
Vitamin A 116%
Vitamin C 174%
Calcium 7%
Iron 13%

Shepherd's Pie

I'll be honest - I've never actually had an actual shepherd's pie. When I was a kid, the whole combination sounded gross and weird. So, when I went to make it myself tonight, I wasn't really sure what recipe to follow. I combined elements from many and added my own special touches. I'm sure it's nothing authentic, but I liked it and Aaron thought it was pretty good and it's hard to beat when it comes to amount you can eat for the calories.

We rated it a 4 out of 5.

Recipe:

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 TBS margarine
1/4 cup plain soymilk
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 package Boca crumbles
1/2 TBS olive oil
1 cup carrots, julienned
1 celery rib, finely diced
1 cup chopped green beans
3/4 cup corn (I used fire roasted corn)
1.5 cups diced roasted tomatoes
1 cup unbeef broth
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp thyme

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp dill
1/2 tsp marjoram

Make mashed potatoes out of the russets either by boiling until they're soft or by pressure cooking on high for 5 minutes with quick release. Mash them with the margarine and soymilk and set them aside. Set the oven to 375.

Heat the olive oil and add the onion, Boca crumbles, carrots, celery, and beans. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then add all of the other ingredients (except the potatoes). Cook until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes. Put the contents of the pan in a deep pie pan, then spread the potatoes on top. Spritz the top lightly with olive oil. Cook for about 30 minutes, until the peaks on the potatoes have browned lightly.

Makes 4 servings. Yeah, a serving is 1/4 of a pie!

Nutritional Information:Calories 270
Total Fat 5.9gSodium 626mgCarbohydrates 40.2g
Fiber 9.9gSugars 8.0gProtein 22.7g

Vitamin A 121%
Vitamin C 39%

Calcium 21% 

Iron 25%