Creamy Vegetable Chowder

We had a fun but cold day playing in the rain today for our Nature Awareness Class. We had a dear friend missing from that community today. We miss him dearly. Hopefully this chowder will help warm our bones and our spirits.

This recipe is adapted from a chowder in my favorite cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.

Creamy Vegetable Chowder:

saute one onion in

1 Tsp evoo

add 4 celery stalks, chopped

4 large carrots

5 red potatoes

4 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until tender

use immersion blender to puree half until creamy

add one red bell pepper

one bag TJ's organic foursome frozen veggies(peas, corn, carrots, green beans)

or chopped zucchini and peas if in season

cook for a couple of minutes

lower heat and add

1 cup milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 oz cream cheese

heat gently and serve with a zippy salad like arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette

Simple Supper :: Baked Chicken

She ate it. She ate ALL of it! A clear plate. Dressing is the key I guess.

preheat oven to 400 degrees

toss chicken breast tenders in olive oil or marinade (we used island teriyaki tonight)
place in baking dish

toss veggies in olive oil (quartered zucchini and squash tonight)
place in separate baking dish

bake for 30 minutes

place baby spinach leaves, tomato and feta on plates
dress lightly with olive oil and balsamic

I made a seperate ramekin with extra evoo and vinegar for Gracie to dip veggies and chicken in.
"Mama, I really love this dressing!"

15 Minute Tuscan Bean Soup

We are spending more and more time at the garden now that it is planting season. That means I have less and less time to cook wholesome, healthy meals for the family. I am also trying to plan for the days to come when I will have even less time to spend on food. Inspired by Simple Lovely's posts about her family's favorite meal of white navy beans (but without a recipe to work with)  and my favorite cookbook (thanks mom!) Moosewood's Daily Specials...here is how today panned out for us. 

In the morning:

I threw 3 cups of navy beans and 6 cups of water into the slow cooker on low.

We spent the morning planting in the garden. Heaven.

We came  home to cooked beans and to take a nap.

As Gracie napped I sauteed:

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

half a bag of carrots (1 1/2 cups+/-)

s+p

I added that to the slow cooker with:

1 capful (2 tsps?) sage

Now it is cooking (warm setting) until Ryan gets home and we are ready to eat. Maybe with sliced tomatoes, crusty bread and TJ's new batch of California Estate Olive Oil. Buon appetito!

Salmon, Beans, Sweet Potatoes and Quinoa

Finally, I am feeling well enough to cook again. I am so tired of eating out so we are cooking lots of things tonight. Baked salmon, roasting sweet potatoes (diced and tossed in evoo), Bean so green from trader Joe's (cooking time 15 min on stovetop, quinoa with veg broth, pine nuts and raisins.
A very quick and easy meal I must say. I am not sure why I don't make it more often. Once the potatoes are cut it takes 30 minutes.

DIY: It would be a good idea to freeze the Bean so Green yourself in a ziploc (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, peas, butter, garlic, shallots) TJ's is light on everything but beans.