#9 Kale and white bean soup with roasted red pepper

-1 buch kale, leaves removed from tough stalks, chopped

-1 cup cut button or crimini mushrooms

-1 can white beans drained

-1 roasted red pepper chopped

-4 cups vegetable stock

-2 cups water

-1/2 white onion

-1 tablespoon minced garlic

-1 teaspoon thyme

-salt and pepper to taste

-dash of lemon juice

-table spoon olive oil

*heat oil in heavy stock pot, add garlic and onions until tender

*add broth, water, mushrooms, and beans

*add roasted red pepper

*once liquid is to a boil add the kale and let wilt into soup

*add thyme, lemon juice, salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes

*serve as is or sprinkled with shredded cheddar cheese

***** i just realized how much it looks like Christmas in a bowl...random side note

#7 Flourless chocolate cake with Garbanzo beans

Ok, I know you might be thinking there is no way you can make a cake with beans and it be good. Well I hate to tell you but you are dead wrong!!! And then I manage to take it a few step farther and take out the sugar and butter......OH, NOW SHE HAS LOST HER DANG MIND....nope! my brain is still in my head (although some people might still want to argue that fact) Now I do not really want to dispute the joy of a cake baked with flour and sugar and butter, dripping with delicious butter cream frosting...I love cake, and I double love cupcakes...but I have husband who can't eat a lot of things and over the last few years our diet has done a lot of changing mostly out of need. I have sworn I would never cut out gluten claiming it was not hurting anyone in this house but now it seems that might not be true. So instead of being heart broken I figure it is just better adapt and move on. This cake is dense and almost brownie like. It is perfect topped with whip cream or ice cream...rich and but light at the same time! I am not 100% awesome with measurement. I know it should be more accurate with this if I am gonna go making up recipes but if you just do what I say, around about, it will turn out and it will not disappoint... I hope......

Flourless Chocolate cake with garbanzo beans

-4 eggs

-1 can garbanzo beans drained

-10 oz chocolate chips..i use bitter or semi sweet(so not a whole bag maybe like a cup plus an hand full ;)

-1/3 cup coconut oil

-one big heaping table spoon almond butter

-three good squirts of agave nectar

1/2 baking soda

*in a blender of food processor, process beans until smooth

*in a a small pot or double bowler, mix chocolate chips, almond butter and coconut oil over low heat until melted

*add chocolate, eggs, baking soda, and agave to beans in food processor and blend until smooth.

*prepare and 9 to 10 inch round cake pan, add batter and bake on 350 for 30-40 minutes or util center is set and a tooth pick comes out clean when put in center of cake.

*cool and top with whip cream or at our house we top it off with coconut milk vanilla bean ice cream!!! WOOT

*****i failed to take a picture BEFORE we almost destroyed the cake....one slice left and it has my name on it!

#6 Healthy Granola cookies

So I want to eat and I want to eat junk most of the time....but that is not going to get any of us any where....so i decided I needed a cookie that did not make me feel bad. Thus the healthy granola cookie was born. It has only a little brown sugar, whole wheat flour and is perfect with a cup coffee after dinner!

-1 cup whole wheat flour

-1/3 cup coconut oil

-1/3 cup brown sugar

-1 egg

-tspn vanilla

-pinch of salt

-1/3 to 1/2 cup granola of your choosing

-1/4 cup raisins or dark chocolate chips

-squirt of agave nectar or honey

*mix coconut oil brown sugar and vanilla then add egg and mix

*next add the flour, pinch of salt and granola

*squirt in a little agave or honey for a little more sweetness and mix

*fold in raisins or chocolate chips

*i use a small melon sized scoop to form them. bake at 350 until done (10-13 mintues) they stay sort of "mounded" up but are super yummy.

# 5 Leek and Walnut Souffles

So I took an few weeks off from updating the ol blog due to various visitors coming into town but I am back and ready to cook! This said, I have not gotten a delivery since last Tuesday so I did not make something this week from the goods....instead I decided to make this tasty little souffle that is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters (ok, that might be a flat out lie but 3 out of 4 in our house gladly eat it and the littlest one eats it with only a little bit of urging and desert bribery). My husband claims it reminds him of thanksgiving but i think that is because I use rosemary and thyme to season....but I guess if you were in the mood for some holiday goodness and it is just June you could give this a whirl and see if it hits the spot!

LEEK AND WALNUT SOUFFLES

(adapted and tweaked from the Vegetarian Bible cook book)

makes 4 souffles

2 leeks

-olive oil

-1/2 cup vegetable stock

-1/2 cup walnuts ( almonds would work if thats all you have on hand)

-2 eggs, separated

-2 tablespoons of mixed herbs (i use thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper)

-2 tbsp plain greek yogurt

* chop leeks (i don't use the tough dark green ends) and drop them in a bowl of cold water and swirl them around with hands...this cleans all the dirt and sand off, it just falls to the bottom and the leeks float to the top!

*heat pan with few table spoons of olive oil (I like to use coconut oil but i always have it on hand)

saute leeks for a few minutes then add veg. stock and simmer a few more minutes, until tender.

*in a food processor, process nuts until fine then add leek mixture and process until you form a puree.

*mix egg yokes, herbs, and yogurt until combined. pour egg mixture into leek puree. season with salt and pepper to taste.

*in a separate bowl whisk egg whites until firm peaks form ( i do this in my stand up mixer)

*gently fold egg whites into the leek mixture. spoon mixture into 4 prepared souffle dishes or into one 1 quart dish.

*place on preheated baking sheet and cook on 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until well set, risen and golden brown!

I served these tonight with dill carrots, roasted kobocha squashed , and a salad with stone ground mustard and honey vinaigrette

Recipe #4 Sweet Potato Quesadillas

4 sweet potatoes

1 medium yellow onion

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup salsa (or more if you like)

1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt( can be omitted and replaces with one mashed avocado for a vegan version)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 package tortillas

(if the mixture is too lumpy or just not to your liking then add more salsa or sour cream..depends on the size of you potatoes... measuring is not my thing so these are rough estimates )

*thinly slice onions, chop garlic and saute until translucent(set aside)

*cube sweet potatoes and boil until tender, drain and mash

*add onions, sour cream (or avocado) salsa and spice to the mashed potatoes and stir

*put scoop of mixture in tortilla, fold in half and heat in frying pan until golden.

you can add cheese but i am not missing it when i eat these so i figure why add the calories if they taste fine without...i would add it to the mix and let it melt in before putting it in the tort.

nommy nommy ENJOY!

#3 chard pesto lasagna with zucchini and peppers

Chard pesto lasagna with zucchini and peppers :

i made this lasagna for my husband who can not have tomato based foods. i love all things pasta and missed making lasagna. i figured why not give pesto a whirl. turned out pretty good! i did add some marinara to each layer on half but honestly i enjoyed it better without. the pesto was pretty tasty and i have a decent amount left over for another pasta dish later this week.

1 zucchini

1 large carrot

3 or 4 sweet peppers or 1 large red bell pepper

1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles

1 small container of ricotta cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 egg

a few leaves of chopped chard

olive oil

(pesto recipe)

1 large bunch of chard

a few sprigs of basil

1 cup almonds or walnuts

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup Gorgonzola

3 cloves garlic

olive oil and lemon juice

*start by combining all pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender. alternate streaming in olive oil and little dashes of lemon juice until desired constancy(creamy paste) more olive oil than lemon juice ( i taste as i go to make sure i have not gone overboard) set aside

* slice zucchini length wise into thin strips a quarter of an inch thick and peppers into strips. brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. put in oven on 400 until just tender.

*cook pasta according to package direction, drain and set aside

*mix ricotta and egg in a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste

*shred carrot

*to build lasagna spread some pesto on bottom of a 9x13 pan. lay down first layer of noodles.

-spread more pesto on noodles and some of cheese mixture, half the shredded carrot then sprinkle some of the motz. cheese on top.

-next instead of noodles, layer the zucchini then spread more pesto, cheese mix, 1/2 chopped chard ,the peppers and the rest of the shredded carrots.

-one more layer of noodles, more pesto, remaining cheese mix, remaining chard and shredded motz.

bake at 350 for 30-45 min or bubbly and golden brown on top.

recipe #2 (what to do with all that leftover matzo)

ok, so i don't get matzo in my produce delivery but I thought i would add this recipe in case you got some extra from passover....and this recipe DOES NOT taste like cardboard. just sayin

Recipe #2

praline, chocolate and marshmallow matzo

oven 350

5 pieces matzo

bag chocolate chips

bag mini marshmallow

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup plus an extra teaspoon butter

dash of salt

*melt butter and brown sugar in sauce pan with a dash or two of salt

*line baking sheet with matzo and smear the melted sugar mixture on top, bake for 5 minutes

*remove and evenly sprinkle top with chocolate chips

* put desired amount of marshmallows on top of chocolate chips, place back in oven for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is melted

*place on rack to cool and break into pieces like brittle..

IT'S SOOOO YUMMY you will not care that you are still eating matzo even after passover has already ended!

#`1 carrot and parsnip soup

Delivery List

Carrots

Chard

Sweet Potatoes

Corn

Asparagus

Parsnips

PackhamPears

Fuji Apples

Zucchini

mango

Recipe #1

Carrot and Parsnip soup

4 or so cups carrots and parsnips

1 sweet potato

1 whole yellow onion

3 cloves garlic chopped

1 box veggie stock

half cup almond milk

teaspoon dried rosemary

dash of dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

dash of red wine vinegar

*chop onion and garlic and saute with some butter and olive oil in a heavy pot or dutch oven until translucent

*next add stock. chopped carrots , parsnips, sweet potato, rosemary and thyme to pot and bring to boil. cook veggies until tender.

*In small batches add veggies and stock to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.(careful blending...I normally add as little stock as I can when blending to avoid splatter and getting burned)

*Add all the blended contents back to pot and add almond milk. Bring soup to a simmer for 20 minutes or so. If the soup is too thick add more veggie stock until desired thickness. salt and pepper to taste .

It can be a little sweet so I added a dash of red wine vinegar to my pot to cut the sweet a little.

Hope you like it..We did!

Plan B

So I started this blog in an attempt to save money by not eating out for a whole year...needless to say I BIG FAT FAILED. well, actually we had our third child and I soon realized there was no way I could cook three meals a day on the new sleep deprivation I am finally growing a custom to...blah blah..but I say that while we did manage to stop eating out, we did save a LOAD of money and I often find myself toying with the idea once again... mind you on a much smaller, less inane scale.

So here I am again, but this time I got something new up my sleeve...About 4 or 5 months ago we signed up for a bi-weekly produce delivery. The deal is that I get an email on Friday of the goods that I am gonna get and they are deliver right to my door on Tuesday morning....now is the part where i pause for a moment and sing praises to PALMETTO ORGANICS. If you live in Jax and eat organic produce and don't use these guys then you are nuts. plain and simple...ok, so here I am with all these veggies, some of which I have never seen nor heard of in my life and I gotta cook em or we have just wasted hard earned money and that is not something I am in to..money wasting. So I have some friends that use this service and even blog about what they cook so I figured I could do the same. I will post my bi-weekly list of produce and then the recipes I make to use the stuff up...can't promise it will all be amazing and wonderful and your new favorite thing to eat, but I am sure gonna try!