Springtime Crockpot Minestrone

I recently made this dish while we had dear friends visiting. This was an incredible hit for the entire table of eight, which included my six, four, and two-year-old sons and our three-year-old friend. They all gobbled it up! I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it comes from how sweet it is. I made some changes due to what I had on hand, and it was absolutely fantastic.

Here are my edits to the recipe:
- Upped the garlic to 6 cloves...I always up the garlic.
- Rather than 28oz can of diced tomoates, I roasted 4 cups of baby tomatoes until they were soft and had burst. To do that, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 for 20-40 mins. Depends on how roasted you like them. I also crushed all 6 garlic cloves and roasted them with the tomatoes.
- Upped the asparagus to about 18 spears. I just chopped the entire bunch I bought at the co-op.
-Kale rather than spinach.
-Cut the cheese, ha, ha. I just placed grated parmesan on the table for those that wanted it.

I've never used ditalini pasta but went to Target to get this specifically (it looked so great in the pictures, and we don't have it at our co-op). Glad I did. It was a fun, thick noodle that held up well.

Enjoy!

White Bean and Tomato Soup

We've got a cool, rainy day, and it looks like the weekend will be much the same. This White Bean and Tomato Soup comes from cucina nicolina, and it has become a standard in our kitchen. It comes together incredibly fast and with so few ingredients - most you may have stashed in your cupboard right now and the rest you can grab from your garden or the farmer's market.

If I'm going to be gone during the afternoon and will not have time to make dinner, I will throw this in the crock pot right after lunch. When going this route, I use kale instead of spinach, because it sits much better in the heat. When I am whipping this together and wanting to have it on the table in thirty minutes or less, I use beautiful fresh spinach.

Make a quick loaf of beer bread or Irish soda bread, if you're in the mood to turn on the oven. This summer, you may just want to have a wonderful fresh salad on the side. Enjoy!

Feeding The Whole Family

One of my hobbies is to constantly check out cookbooks at the library. I feel the urge to buy a new cookbook at least everything six months (cookbook budget is unfortunately quite limited.) I am thankful for living in a city so large that it has an enormous cookbook selection and is willing to purchase most every book I ask them too. Yea for libraries!!!

Feeding The Whole Family by Cynthia Lair is so wonderful to me that it is a definite "buy" by my standards. It is a fantastic resource on wholesome family eating, and I believe the recipes are easy for the less-advanced or least-interested cooks. Yet, the tastes have proven to be great for those more-advanced and very-interested tastebuds.

I cook and bake our family meals strictly vegan, and this book has a wide variety of recipes to accommodate. There are recipes that call for meat, but there are very few. The recipes that include dairy seem easy to translate into vegan.

Recipes we've come to love: French Lentil and Potato Stew, Split Pea Soup with Fresh Peas and Potatoes (minus the ham bone), and Pumpkin Pecan Muffins (vegan style).

Here are some of her recipes published on mothering.com and also included in the book, as well as an article she wrote:

Winter Fruit Compote with Nut Cream
Becky's Braised Greens
In The Kitchen with Baby
Summer Fruit Ambrosia with Vanilla Nut Cream
Golden Mushroom Basil Soup
Luscious Beet Green Salad

Potato Leek Soup

The first batch of soup of the season! It has really cooled down outside, and soup sounded perfect. This soup is SUPER easy, and it is deeply loved by my three year-old. He asked for seconds last night which rarely happens these days. He's too eager to talk or play (or eat ice cream).

This recipe was inspired by Cucina Nicolina's Potato Leek Soup with Bay Leaves. I've altered it just a bit. Serve with a baguette and a simple fall salad. Makes 6-8 servings.

INGREDIENTS:
2 leeks, sliced and rinsed in a colander
5-6 yellow potatoes, scrubbed then thinly sliced
small head of garlic, minced (5-6 medium cloves)
5-6 cups of water, depending on how thin you like your soup
2 vegetarian bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste (set on table for adults to load on the pepper - super good)

Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a soup pot. Add leeks. Saute until soft. Add potato slices. Cook for two minutes or so, stirring occasionally to coat with oil. Add a bit of water to prevent scorching, if needed. Add garlic and stir. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Put on the lid and bring to a gentle boil. Lower heat to a simmer. Cook about 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender. With a hand blender, blend the soup just a bit. You can serve right away. Yesterday I mad this mid-afternoon while the dudes were still napping. I then added it to the crock-pot and set to low, so the flavor deepened. Then you can also forget about dinner until just before you eat!

Super easy to make with local ingredients right now!