What's Cookin' Wednesday

Fall has definitely arrived and as it gets cooler I find myself wanting warm, cozy, comfort food. Here's a soup that's easy AND tasty. I put it in the crock pot and skip the puree step -- that makes it even easier. Serve with crusty bread. Yum!

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Cheddar Potato Soup

• 4 cups peeled, diced potatoes (about 4 medium)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• seasoned croutons

In a large saucepan combine potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree in small batches in a blender until smooth; return to the pan. Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. Serve garnished with croutons.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Quinoa!

Even though George pronounces it "kih-no-ee," it's pronounced Keen -wah. We discovered it while eating at one of our favorite restaurants in Champaign, Radio Maria.

Quinoa is a grain native to South America and has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years. It has been called a "super grain" because it's protein content is 22% for one cup (compared to 14% for wheat and 7.5% for brown rice), and because it has an adequate quantity of lysine (an amino acid), which most grains lack. That makes it a source of complete protein, the issue many refer to when expressing concern about being vegetarian. It's also higher in other nutrients and minerals than other grains. Here's what it looks like growing, harvested raw, and cooked:



The nutrition aspects of quinoa are important to us but even more important is the ease of preparation and how it tastes. Quinoa is very versatile, is as easy to cook as rice, and tastes really good. It's also becoming more easily found at the regular grocery store and not just at the health food store. I saw it Mierer the last time I shopped there.

Here is one of our favorite recipes for preparing quinoa:

Quinoa and Black Beans

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Every year we've been together, George and I take the muffins to the local orchard, usually around my birthday in early October. Bethany wanted to go before she left for Venezuela so we went early this year. Going early was good for two reasons: 1) we'll go twice this year so we can get pumpkins, and 2) we picked apples which are usually done for the season by the time we go.

The recipe for this week is one George's favorites. You already know he's a big fan of chocolate cake
but this is nearly an equally matched rival. Kind of like, if you put chocolate cake and apple cake in the ring together, apple cake could almost take chocolate cake. I know this because last night I made him a proposition. I said "I'll trade you giving the kids a bath and putting them to bed (it was my turn) for apple cake." He actually seriously considered it.....for about 2 minutes. I'm not sure what he would have done if I'd offered chocolate cake. Maybe I should try it and find out.

Apple Cake

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups chopped apple

Topping
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts
½ cup coconut

In a large bowl, cream butter. Add sugar, brown sugar, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, flour, and cinnamon; mix well.

Stir in apples. Pour batter into a greased 13X9 baking pan and sprinkle with topping.

Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Occasionally it comes up in conversation that we're vegetarians. People ask questions like "don't you miss meat?" (no) and "how do you get enough protein?" (quite easily, actually) and "what exactly do you eat, then?" The answer to that question will be featured in these weekly posts.

Today we're celebrating Bethany's birthday as she will be in Venezuela for her real birthday (September 10). We have a family tradition that on your birthday you get to have whatever you want for your birthday meal. My chosen meal for about 5 years in a row was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and green beans. Since mom was a nurse, it wasn't often that we got fried chicken, and of course you had to have 2 vegetables in your meal (although she insisted that corn wasn't really a vegetable -- it was a "starch").

Bethany usually chooses Lentil Soup for her birthday meal. She surprised me today by asking for Split Pea Soup and a potato/cheese/squash casserole, which I will make for her, of course. But in the interest of time and simplicity, I'm going to share the Lentil Soup recipe.

Lentil Soup

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 1/2 cups brown lentils
8 cups water
1 small dried red chili (optional)
juice of 1/2 lemon or more to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a heavy stockpot or soup kettle, saute onion, garlic and carrot in olive oil until soft. Stir in cumin and fennel and add lentils and water. Add the chili if desired.

Cook until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chili. Add lemon juice and taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired.

Serve this over brown rice and with some whole wheat bread you have 22 grams of protein, nearly half the RDA for most women (45 grams).