Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

My brain is buzzing with all sorts of happy fall feelings. Warm, fuzzy feelings  about sweaters, socks, and the smell of decomposing leaves. I think that we are  pretty much entering the fall season around here and I couldn't be happier. (about the weather)

Fall means soup. Soup all the time. And yeah, I am a soup person all year round, but soup in the fall just so right and almost taste better because: one, you are not sweating profusely while making and eating it, Two, there is so much fantastic stuff coming from the farm and garden that the ingredients are just aces. And three, pretty leaves and cozy cuddles on the couch make soup a magic treat.

Doesn't that sound about right?

And this soup is one of my go to favorites. Especially this time of year when I have tomatoes coming out of my ears and peppers stuck into every available crevice in the fridge. (Oh what farm people problems I have) I take all of my tomatoes, pick out the best looking ones, stick those back on the tables, and use the leftover ones, the ones that are starting to maybe go a little or are not as pretty as the others. Then I do the same with the peppers, whichever ones are starting to go or looking a little sad, I grab those and use those as well. That's another thing about soup, you can use the veggies that might not be up to snuff for other dishes. Soup is a good way to cut back on any food waste! Soup. Tastes so good and is combating food waste with ever bowl! But yes, you can use the prettiest of your produce too cause if you don't use the pretty up, it will eventually turn into the not so pretty and mold stuff. Anyways..

Roasted red peppers and roasted tomatoes= (in a Mavin Gay voice)  Oh yeah!

Now lets just crank on the oven and make the soup!

The stuff. Tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, a lemon, salt pepper and olive oil.  

Take tomatoes, remove cores and chop into chunks. Remove stem and seeds from peppers and chop into a few chunks as well. Grab the onion and chop that up too.The garlic can go in as whole cloves.. no need for chunks.

Dump it all into a well oiled skilled or dutch oven and sprinkle well with salt and pepper. Place into oven to roast away.

And when everything in the skillet is all roasted soft and falling apart, remove from oven.

And dump the roasted stuff into a pot and add in a few cups of water.

Squeeze in the juice of the lemon and using a hand blender, go to town. Belnd unit la nice creamy smooth. Now I let my soup simmer on the stover for a little longer, like 10-15 minutes, just for it to meld a little more, but really you could go for it right away, or even let it simmer for longer.

When you are ready, ladle into bowl, grab a spoon, maybe a book (soup and a book is my happy place) and eat you until your belly is happy.

Have a super awesome friday!!

-C

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Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

• 6-8 medium tomatoes
• 3-4 big red (yellow or orange work too) peppers
• 1 large onioon
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 lemon
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil.
• 2-3 cups water

Tunn oven on to 450

Core tomatoes and core and remove seeds from peppers. Cut into big chunks along with the onion and toss into a large well oiled oven safe skillet or dutch oven. Add in the cloves of garlic and season with salt and pepper. Stick into oven to roast  for about 45 minutes or until everything is all soft and bubbly and good.

Once everything is roasted all the way, remove from oven and transfer the veggies to a pot (unless already in a pot). Add in the juice of the lemon, about 2 cups of water (more if you want it a bit thinner)  and using a hand blender, blend until smooth and creamy. If you don't have a hand blender, use a regular one.

Place soup in pot on medium low heat and simmer for 1at least 10 minutes (if you can wait, 1/2 is good) or until ready to eat.

Serve with lots of  cracked pepper and a spoon and maybe something crunchy.

Fennel Onion Kale and Carrot Salad

As I sit here writing this, mind you typing is not a terribly labor intestive activity, I am drip drip dripping sweat… It's just not right.

 And today will be as hot as shit fuck. But its support to get so much better tomorrow. So that's it, not more complaining. Everything is all good.

Now lets talk about this salad. This is such a fresh, clean, and full flavor salad made of just a few simple ingredients, the star being the fennel.  Almost licorice-y and sweet, yet still has a crisp earthiness, it pairs so well with onion and kale and dressed with just lemon juice. Simple, easy, and very much satisfying. Kind of the perfect salad to make when you don't want to make anything because the world is a sauna and nothing hurts you soul more then to think of turning on the oven.(full disclosure. Stove burn does go on for a few minutes.. but only a few)

Maybe you have never had fennel or think you don't like it, Well if you haven't had it, you must, and if you think you don't like it, you should try it again. Up until recently, I kind of discarded fennel as a mah veggie. I didn't hate it, but I never really cared for it, and I definitely did not seek it out. But this past year, for some odd reason (I blame/thank old age) I have really gotten into the yummy bulb. I have even gone out of my way to find it.  And last week I was much excited when I went to farm share pick up and found that there was crate of fennel. Woo HOO! 

Sweet fennel+hot weather and no desire to move = Fennel onion carrot salad

The stuff. A bulb of fennel (this was a big one so I use half of it),a medium onion , a big carrot, a bunch of kale, salt, pepper, a little olive oil and a lemon (I ended up using 2 smallish lemons)

Take you fennel and either with a mandolin or a knife, thinly slice the bulb. Do the same with the onion.

Toss the sliced fennel and onion into a lightly oiled skillet and sprinkle with a dash of salt. Place on medium low heat and cook jjust until the veggies are soften and starting to brown.

Cooked to perfection.

Chop the kale into pieces small enough to fit into your mouth and julienne or shred the carrot.

Compile the stuff. Juice the lemon. Kale into a bowl, dump most tot the lemon juice on that and sprinkle with salt and mix around (I used my hands). Dump the sautéed fennel onion onto of that and top with the carrot and the rest of the juice. 

TA DA! Now that's some pretty.

And toss it all around. I like to add a few thinly slices of raw fennel and lots of fresh cracked pepper.

Share with a friend. Or not. (a not for me)

Happy hump de dump day. Stay cool friends!

-C

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Fennel Onion Kale and Carrot Salad

Makes a big salad for one, or a few smaller sized side salads. 

• 1 small or half of a large bulb of fennel
• i medium white or hello onion
• 1 large carrot
• a bunch of kale (like 3-4 cups chopped)
• 1 large juicy lemon (or two small lemons)

With either a mandolin or using a knife, slice up the fennel and onion super thin. Toss into a lightly oiled skillet, sprinkle with salt, and stick on the stove on medium low heat. Stir and let cook down for 5-8 minutes or until the fennel and onion have soften and are starting to brown.

While thats cooking, chop up the kale into small pieces and julienne or shred the carrot. 

Place kale into bowl, juice the lemon and drizzle most of the juice all over the kale and give it a good mix. Dump on the cooked fennel onion and top with the carrots and a the rest of the lemon juice.. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and give it a good toss. Top with a few fresh shaving of fennel.

Share with a friend, or eat it all to your self.

Tomato Basil Watermelon Popsicles

Holy shit is it hot out. My brain is all fizzy, my hair is all frizzy, and my over all being is just blah. I am not a fan of super hot weather (as some of you may know) and am getting more pissy as the days go  by and I continue to be a sweaty mess. I don't want to feel like a big wet slob, I want to feel fresh and clean and wear clothes that are not drenched in sweat. I know, bitch, bitch, bitch, but seriously. Even the world around me is wilting, and in the nice, colorful fall foliage kind of way. It's all crispy and brown.  The garden is barely holding on, the flowers are shriveling in the ground, and a few plants are just plan dead. It's just too hot.

I think that only plus side of this past week of hot crap weather are these popsicles that I made. They were actually suppose to be a treat for the littles, but guess what, me and the mr ate them and didn't share, and no, I feel zero bad about it. They were so good, so refreshing, so cold(if only for a minute) and just so needed.  A few minute reprieve from being miserably hot. And bonus, a great use of all the watermelon and tomatoes that I have taking over the countertops (I have so much watermelon and tomatoes) 

And really, these probably (better freaking be) the last batch of popsicles for the summer so I think I am going to make another batch today, eat them, savor the flavors of summer, and move on from there.

. Maybe I'll even share them this time. 

The stuff. Some watermelon*, a tomato, a handful of basil, and a lime. 

*My watermelon had seeds, but you can use seedless. I also removed the green skin, but kept on as much rind as I could, although this particulate melon had very little white rind.

Dump the melon, tomato (cut in a few pieces, the juice of the lime and the basil into a blender. If your melon has seed, don't worry about removing them.

The stuff all blended up.

. This step is more necessary  if you melon is seeded, straining the mixture pretty much caught most of the seed chunks. You can skip this if your melon is seedless.

Now pour the juice into your molds and stick into freezer to freeze. 

After about 2 ish hours, remove and stick the sticks into the semi harder pops.

And a few more hours later…...Frozen goodness.

And pop one of those suckers out of the mold and savor every frozen delicious bite. 

Happy Tuesday... DON'T MELT!

-C

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Tomato Basil Watermelon Popsicles 

Make six 3.5 oz popsicles

• 1 ish cup watermelon (green skin removed.. rind is good)
• 1 large ripe tomato (about a cups worth)
• a few sprigs of basil
• Juice of 1 lime

Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl or jar and pour into popsicle molds. 

Place in freezer for a few hours. About 2-3 hours in the freezer, take them out and stick in sticks (or fallow you popsicle molds instructions) Place back into freezer

Once completely frozen, remove from molds and eat with your mouth.

Cashew Cheese + A Juicy Tomato Situation

Sometime the best things in life are the simplest things. For example; a walk through the woods, a really pretty smooth rock, a perfectly timed 80's ballad song for the last push during a workout, or falling asleep on the couch and managing to not drool all over the newly washed pillows.(You know what I am talking about). I mean, can one really ask for much more?

Same goes with food. The simplest foods can really the best. Take this cashews cheese for example. All it is is soaked and blended up cashews with a bit of seasoning to cheese it up. Nothing fancy, nothing labor intensive, just straight up and straight out. You can up the greatness by adding thick cuts of fresh, sun kissed, bright and happy tomato, and a chunk of fresh bread…Not much better then that. So simple and yet so good.

 And bonus. No need to turn on any heating units in order to make this cause that would suck, given that we are again having another fucking heat wave. 

Agh stupid hot weather. STUPID!!!! But enough about that..

Cheese time.

The stuff. Cashews that be soakin for a while in some water, nutritional yeast (to give it that cheesy flavor), lemon, garlic, and salt and pepper. That's for the cheese, but you are, and should, want to eat it with a large, so fresh and juicy, tomato and some kind of fresh bread situation. So you need that too!

Simple as can be. Strain cashews from soaking water and dump into a food processor with the garlic, nutritional yeast, juice of the lemon, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a little water.  Turn on processor.

And it's done when its all smooth and creamy .Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Tranfer  the goodness to a lovely jar 

And that's that.. some cheese of the cashew.

But wait, you need to eat it.. Smear all over the bread situation, cut up the tomato, place big fat slabs directly onto cashew butter and spinkle with a salt and pepper.

SImply the best… Better then all the rest!

Happy today! Stay cool my friends…stay cool.

-C

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 Cashew Cheese and a juicy tomato situation 

makes about 1 1/2 cups of creamy, cheesy goodness

• 1 cup of raw unsalted cashew soaked in water for about an hour 
• 1/2 cup fresh water
• 2-4 tablespoons nutrional yeast 
• juice of a lemon
• 2-3 cloves garlic (optional )
• salt and pepper

And not that you have to, but having some freshy tomatoes and some nice bread to eat the cheese on is pretty fantastical. 

After you cashews have been soaking for about an hour, strain water and add them and all of the other ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scoop into a jar.

Eat some right away on a hunk of fresh bread with lots of thick cuts of fresh tomato and place the rest in the fridge.

The cheese will get a bit thicker after being refrigerated for a while.

Use on anything , in anything, or all on it's own. Licking jar clean is encouraged.

Lentil Tacos with Garden Veggie Salsa

HEY Hey Hey… It's Taco TUESDAY, which means that you are obligated as consumer of food to eat some tacos today!

So ok, I am not going to lie, these tacos were not actually made on a Tuesday (GASP) but were made in lu of pizza Friday (another GASP!!) 

But guess what? No one died. People were happy. Food was fantastic, and there was no mention of the pizza that was not.  So sure, taco tuesday is totally a thing around here, but  you know how "Nobady puts baby in a corner"..  well nobody buts tacos in a corner. We don't let the day of the week depict when tacos are eaten cause we think tacos are for everyday!

And these tacos, well, I got down with these. Made with lentils, cause lentils are the best, and topped with a hearty scoop of super fresh, chunky veggie salsa…. Not much is better then that. Easy and fast with lots of pretty in every bite, these tacos are a great addition to any taco dinner rotation!

Now lets get taco-ing!!!

The stuff. First off, you are going to need some type of taco shell.. soft or hard or both , that is entirely up to you.( I made taco shells a little early in the day, but store bought is totally cool.) Also need lentils, water to cook the lentils, a jalapeño (optional), taco seasoning (pre blended or your own blend) and onion. Also needed is a gigantic tomato, some red cabbage, a few kale leaves, a lime, and salt and pepper.

To get this party started, chop up half the onion, the tomato, cabbage ,and kale and toss into a big bowl. Oh, and chop up the cilantro and toss that in as well.

Sprinkle with salt and add the juice of the lime. Mix oh mix and set aside to let all the flavors meld.

Now that the salsa is doing it's thing, chop up the jalapeño and the other half of onion and toss into a big skillet and place on medium heat.

And when the bits start to brown like so...

Dump the lentils in to the pan with water.Bring it all  to a boil then turn heat down to low.. Add in the taco seasoning and sprinkle of salt and pepper and place some type of lid on ithe pan.

And simmered until cooked.

Note. Check the lentils every few minutes while they are cooking. If you think they seems to dry, add in another 1/2 cup of water.

Now it's ssembly time! Lentils in shell, topped with a generous amount of  salsa. That's it! Maybe some guacamole would be nice (I had an avocado saved for guac, but it was rotten on the inside.. I was super pissed) But with or without, these are some freak yeah yummy tacos! I served my next to a bed of some jasmine rice which was nice, but do what you want my friends. 

Happy Taco Tuesday! (or any taco day!)

-C

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Lentils Tacos with Garden Veggie Salsa

Makes about 8 -10 tacos

For the Lentil Filling

• 1 cup dried lentils
• 2 1/2 -3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning*
• 1/2 of an onion
• 1 jalapeño 

Fot the Garden Veggie Salsa

• 2 big tomatoes (or one gigantic tomato)
• 1/4 head of red(or green) cabbage (about 2 cups shredded)
• 1/2  of an onion
• 4-5 kale leaves
• 1 juicy lime (2 if they are not very juicy)
• a bunch of cilantro 
• salt and pepper

And don't forget the taco shells!

*Note. You can use any type of taco seasoning that you like, store bought or home made. I make my own with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little coriander. 

Dice the tomato and 1/2 the onion into small chunks and toss into a big bowl. Finely chop the cabbage an the kale into small shreds and toss that into the bowl. And chop up as much cilantro as you would like and that goes into the bowl as well. Spinkle with some salt and add in the juice of the lime.  Mix everything all around and set aside.

Once the salsa is made and sitting, chop the jalapeño and other half of onion and toss into a large skillet. Place on medium heat for a few minutes until the pepper and onion start to brown. Now dump in dried lentils and 2 1/2 cups of water. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, them back down to low. Seaosn with salt, add in the taco seasoning, and stick a lid (or cover with something), and let simmer for about 20- 25 minutes or until the lentils have absorbed  all the water and are nice and soft. If you find the lentils are still hard and there is no liquid, , add in another 1/2 cup of water. 

Once the lentils are cooked to your liking, remove from heat and get assemble tacos. 

Scoops some lentil mixture into shells. Add on a big scoop of the fresh veggie salsa and eat with you face.

Guacamole, cheese, sour cream, or whatever are optional topping that you may consider adding but are definitely not necessary.  .