Organic Dill Pickles
Creamy Tomato Alphabet Soup
The wintry weather has finally arrived in Los Angeles! Along with my excitement over wearing sweaters three days a year (bah doomp boomp) I hanker for thick and creamy soups. The sudden drop in temperature also signals flu season at school, so time to ramp up the vitamin-packed soups to keep the doctor visits away! This recipe epitomizes my love for fresh food fast: quick and easy, and best of all nutritious. Enjoy! Creamy Alphabet Tomato Soup 1 cup alphabet pasta 1 onion diced 3 cloves garlic, mincedx 1 cup carrots, chopped 2 stalks celery, diced 4 cups vegetable broth 2 x 28-ounce cans of diced plum tomatoes 2 teaspoons dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried parsley tablespoon of parmesan cheese (optional) 1/2 teaspoon of unbleached sugar (optional) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season 1. Cook the pasta, rinse in cool water, and set aside. 2. Using a soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic for 3 minutes until soft. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for 4 minutes. 3. Add the vegetable broth, tomatoes, basil, oregano, and parsley and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 [...]
Vegetables au Gratin
Back to basics! For the last two weeks I’ve pressed the rewind button, going back to the classics that work, albeit with an update of healthy ingredients. We all remember Vegetables au Gratin swimming in “cheese” sauce as kids, but it’s time to reclaim our taste buds (and waistlines) for real flavor without all the funky additives. There’s another reason why I’m turning back the years: kids love vegetables with cheese, and I tell ya, I’ll do almost anything (within reason) to get my kid to eat more vegetables. Oh yes, I’ve heard all those stories of the Bombastic Supa Dupa Magnificent Moms that drop out of the sky, sprinkling fairy dust here and there, getting their kids to do or eat anything they want, but hey, It Ain’t Me Babe, N0-Ho-Ho, it ain’t me babe! Dang, there’s goes my Mommy Medal of Honor. Bummer Dude. So back on track, like that, in a rub a dub stylee…Man, I just lurve being imperfect, don’t you? Life is just so much more interesting. William Blake once said that ” Improvement makes straight roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement are the roads of Genius.” Now I’m not sayin’ I’m a flipping Genius [...]
