Fennel and Tomato Soup

3 TBSP olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, diced (4 cups)
3 vegan italian sausages, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 TBSP dry vermouth, white wine, or water
4 cups vegetable broth
28 oz crushed tomatoes
3 TBSP chopped fresh italian parsley

     Saute the fennel for 5 minutes in a large saute pan.  Stir in the sausage and the fennel seeds, then cook for 7 minutes.  Add the vermouth and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits.  Add the broth, tomatoes, and parsley and boil.  Simmer for 20 minutes and season with salt and pepper.  This is a wonderful, warming, winter soup.  Serve with crusty french bread (recipe on the this blog).

     "I cannot exaggerate how many marriages rise and fall on the unfair division of labor in family life....Just keep in mind that nothing erodes intimacy faster than one or both partners harboring a sense of injustice around an unequal division of labor."
      - Harriet Lerner, from her book, Marriage Rules: A Manual for the Married and Coupled Up




"BRISK, CRISP, INVIGORATING--REMEMBER ALL THE POSITIVE SIDES OF WINTER."
                                                                                                             - Terri Trespicio

Comparisons

Rainbow Couscous Shepard's Pie

4 TBSP olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 TBSP ras el hanout or moroccan spice

2, 15-oz cans crushed tomatoes

4 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup green beans, trimmed and chopped

1 turnip, sliced

1 and 1/2 cups chick peas

1 and 1/2 cups rainbow couscous

1 tsp salt

     Saute the onion and add the spice.  Stir in the tomatoes with three cups of water.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 20 minutes, then add the carrots, green beans and turnip and simmer for another 20 minutes.  Add a 3/4 cup of chickpeas to the mixture and cook five more minutes.  Puree the remaining chick peas and mix well with the cooked ingredients.  Pour into a 13x9 baking dish.  

    

    Cook the couscous in a pan with 3 cups water.  Boil, then let stand off of the heat, covered.  Fluff with a fork and place over the vegetable mixture.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.   Serves 6-8.  

Couscous is tiny pasta and should only be cooked for a short amount of time.  

The texture is wonderful if allowed to fluff .

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

                                  - Teddy Roosevelt

Remember

Banana and Peanut Butter Pancakes


1 cup whole wheat flour
1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 and 1/2 cups soy milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 small banana, peeled and chopped

  Combine the dry ingredients.  Mix in the peanut butter just until the texture is thick and chunky.  Stir in the banana pieces and cook on a griddle.  This is my seven year old's favorite breakfast.  This is easy and healthy.  Each serving of two pancakes gives a whopping 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber.

"Remember also the Creator in the days of your youth."

                              - Ecclesiastes 12:1

"Only a life lived for others is a life worth while."

                               - Albert Einstein

Love and Respect

White bean spread
2 cups cooked white navy beans
1 TBSP grainy, spicy mustard
juice of 1 lemon
1/8 cup fresh italian parsley
1/8 cup fresh basil
4 roasted bulbs of garlic
1 tsp dill
salt and pepper to taste

Food process the above and serve as a dip or warmed up on crackers or toasted english muffins.
I warmed the spread up, added a bit of olive oil and spinach and served over english muffins for
dinner last night.  It was a hit with more than half of my tough to please family members!



"Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect."
                                                                     -Wm. Paul Young, taken from the book The Shack

My PB&J Vegan Chili
1 16 oz jar of tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound washed, sliced mushrooms
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
3 TBSP chili seasoning
2 shakes Red Hot sauce
1 TBSP peanut butter
3 TBSP grape jelly
salt and pepper to taste

Add all to a large pot.  Leave uncovered and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 hours.  Serve with diced onions, crackers, and any other topping that you love on chili!  I love this after a great day of skiing.



"Grow a wise heart- you'll do yourself a favor; keep a clear head- you'll find a good life."
                                                                               - Proverbs 19:8

Shoulders

by Naomi Shihab Nye

A man crosses the street in rain,
stepping gently, looking two times north and south,
because his son is asleep on his shoulder.

No car must splash him.
No car drive too near to his shadow.

This man carries the world's most sensitive cargo
but he's not marked.
Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE,
HANDLE WITH  CARE.

His ear fills up with breathing.
He hears the hum of a boy's dream
deep inside him.

We're not going to be able
to live in this world
if we're not willing to do what he's doing
with one another.

The road will only be wide.
The rain will never stop falling.

Pie

Pie We must indulge every once in awhile!

Never Fail Pie Dough: Makes 3, 9" pie shells

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups shortening
1/3 cup cold water
1 TBSP vinegar
1 egg, beaten

Mix the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening.  Combine the remaining ingredients and stir into the shortening mixture.  Let stand for a few minutes.  Roll to desired thickness.

Apple Pie:
Combine:  2 and 1/2 cups peeled and sliced tart apples
                 1/2 cup flour
                 1 and 1/4 cup raw sugar
                 dash of cinnamon
Place apples in the pie shell.  Place a shell on top, or use a crumble topping.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees.


"If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe."
                                                                      - Carl Sagan

"Food fuels friendships and begins to undo prejudices."
                                                                      - Phyllis Pellman Good


                  

You are a miracle

Chickpea Tagine (Moroccan Curry)
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 onions, sliced
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
2 tsp ground tumeric
salt and pepper to taste
large bunch of fresh parsley or cilantro, tied together with cooking string
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup cooked chickpeas

Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in a skillet with a lid.  Add the garlic, onions, tomato, tumeric, and salt and pepper.  ( I frequently add vegetables that I have in the fridge, such as carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, potatoes, or zucchini)
Pour in one quart of water and add the parsley bundle and the cinnamon sticks. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Add the chickpeas, then discard the parsley and cinnamon.  Season with salt and pepper and serve over rice.


     One more day to serve.
     One more hour to love.
     One more minute to praise.
     For this day I am grateful.
     If I awaken to the morning sun,
     I am grateful.
                 - Mary Lou Kownacki


     You have been given the gift of life.
     Appreciate the living, breathing miracle that you are at this very moment.

Just remember this

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins 

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup banana puree
1 large egg white
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups.  In a large mixing bowl, mix 1/2 cup of the brown sugar with the peanut butter, the purees, and the egg white using a wooden spoon.

In a ziplock bag, place the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt,  then seal to shake.  Add to the bowl of peanut butter mixture until just combined.  Add the remaining brown sugar and stir once or twice.

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.  These muffins are perfect for after school treats or packed lunches.


     "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face.   All you need to remember is that God will never let you down, he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it."
                                                                                          - 1 Corinthians 10:13



                                                    

Love more

Winter Wonder Fruits and Vegetables

     Are you wondering what type of greens and fruits to eat during these bleak, winter months?  Thinking that you need to open a can or reach for the freezer to receive a modest amount of nutrition?  Well, there are some delicious alternatives to preserved fruits and veggies:
Plantains:  Cook in some olive oil with cinnamon and honey until browned.
Kiwi:  Throw in smoothies, cut in salads, or just eat!
Fennel:  Thinly slice and toss in salads along with orange sections, bell peppers, and spinach.
Papaya:  Slice and sprinkle with salt and chili powder. Drizzle agave nectar and lime juice over each slice for a refreshing snack.
Kale:  Toss into smoothies, use in pestos, or place in a food dehydrator after coating with olive oil, lemon juice and sesame seeds to make tasty veggie chips!
Parsnips:  Slice, toss with 1 TBSP oil and fresh thyme and cook in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Add to soups like you would a carrot.

     Remember to drink the same amount of water as you weigh in kilograms per day.  During the winter months you may not be thirsty.  But maintaining water consumption helps your body function better, gives you more energy, and helps with weight maintenance.


 
                   Harmony in the Boudoir
                      by Mark Strand
After years of marriage, he stands at the foot of the bed and
tells his wife that she will never know him, that for everything
he says there is more that he does not say, that behind each
word he utters there is another word, and hundreds more behind
that one.  All those unsaid words, he says, contain his true
self, which has been betrayed by the superficial self before her.
"So you see," he says, kicking off his slippers, "I am more than
what I have led you to believe I am." "Oh, you silly man," says
his wife, "of course you are.  I find that just thinking of you
having so many selves receding into nothingness is very exciting.
That you barely exist as you are couldn't please me more."


             "There is no remedy to love but to love more."
                            - Henry David Thoreau

Happy New Year!

Greens and Beans
Start by roasting 4-5 cloves of garlic in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes.  You will know when they are done when they are soft and buttery.  Mash and set to the side

2 TBSP finely diced white onion
4 TBSP olive oil
1 can of white beans
1/2 pound fresh spinach or escarole greens

Place the onions in a pan and cook on low heat until translucent.  Add 2 TBSP of olive oil and allow to cook over low heat for 10 more minutes.  The onions should just begin to brown.  Add the white beans and the rest of the olive oil.  Cook until the beans are heated through.  Add the spinach and cover, allowing the spinach to wilt.  Just before serving, stir in the roasted garlic and mix well.

"God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart"

  - Izaak Walton

Happy New Year!