Gazpacho Verde

Gazpacho is a cold, tomato-based, Spanish soup, originating in Andalucia... however different variations are made throughout Spain. My Gazpacho Verde (Green Gazpacho) gets its color from spinach. This is a really refreshing recipe and is great if you need to clean out your fridge!

Gazpacho Verde

2 1/2 - 3 cups tomatoes (I used Gourmet Medley colorful cherry tomatoes)

1 yellow bell pepper (seeded, stemmed and chopped into sq. inch pieces)

4 ribs of celery (chopped into 1 inch pieces)

1 scallion (chopped)

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 - 2 cups spinach

Fresh cilantro or 2 frozen cilantro cubes (from Trader Joe's)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1. Add tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, celery, scallion, cilantro cubes and water to blender. Blend until smooth. 

2. Add in spinach and olive oil and blend until smooth. 

3. Taste! Add salt, pepper and lemon juice as needed. (I used just a pinch of salt and pepper and ~ 1 Tbs of lemon juice). 

4. Serve! (Garnish with a little salt and olive oil... also great with garlic bread).

Homemade Chinese Take-Out

On the menu: Hot and Sour Soup, Crispy Tofu and Mini Sesame Bok Choy.

Preface: My soup final product didn't have the classic texture/viscosity that I had expected, so I modified the recipe... this should work better, and if not, it still tastes great. Also, I didn't add egg to this batch, but next time I warm up a serving, I'll add some egg and update this post.

The preparation of all three recipes can be simultaneous... Each recipe is listed in its entirety, see notes in the soup recipe to aid in timing. The bok choy, Chinese garlic chives and Fried Tofu Puffs were purchased from Pacific Rim Foods (Kalamazoo, MI).

Mini Sesame Bok Choy

Mini bok choy 

Toasted Sesame Oil

Low-sodium soy sauce

1. Wash mini bok choy well. (I soaked them in cold water and then separated the bok choy leaves under a stream of water cold water).

2. Place bok choy in steaming basket.

3. Steam for 5 minutes.

4. Toss with a light dressing of toasted sesame oil and soy sauce. 

Crispy Tofu

Fried Tofu Puff (12 per package, I made 3)
2 tsp Hoisin sauce
2 tsp Sweet chili sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350˚.
2. Mix Hoisin and sweet chili sauce.

3. Dip Tofu Puff into sauce mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with foil sprayed with oil.

4. Bake 3 minutes.

Hot and Sour Soup

6 oz white button mushrooms

1/2 cup Chinese garlic chives

1 package Nasoya silken tofu

2 Tbs rice wine vinegar

2 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbs Sriracha 

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup cold water

1 Tbs corn starch

**Soak mini bok choy**

**Preheat oven to 350˚**

1. Slice mushrooms thinly and chop Chinese garlic chives into ~1cm long pieces.

2. In a pot over medium-high heat, add in: broth, Sriracha, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Chinese garlic chives and mushrooms.

3. Bring contents of pot to a simmer. 

**Finish washing mini bok choy and place in steamer**

4. Cut silken tofu horizontally through the side and lengthwise. (You'll end up with with 4 thin, long rectangles). Cut again into strips 1 cm wide.

5. Add tofu to soup.

**Place steaming basket w/ bok choy over pot**

6. Simmer soup for about 8-10 minutes. 

**Remove steaming basket**

7. Mix cold water and corn starch, add to soup and stir. Return to simmer, turn off burner. 

**Place prepared Fried Tofu Puffs in oven, bake for 3 minutes**

**Dress mini bok choy**

8. Serve soup.

Garnish tofu and soup with scallion. 

Hummus "Pizza"

This is a quick and healthy recipe courtesy of Chris Snider and the Snider family kitchen!

Hummus Pizza

Whole wheat pita bread

Hummus (original or garlic)

Mixed fresh vegetables (carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, or anything else desired)

Dried parsley 

1. Toast the pita lightly (in a toaster oven or oven) 350˚ for 3-5 minutes. 

2. Chop the vegetables into pizza-topping-size pieces.

3. Spread a layer of hummus over the whole pita.

4. Top with chopped vegetables and a sprinkle of dried parsley. 

5. Cut and serve.

"Steam-fried" Eggplant

This is my mom's method for an easy, zero-calorie cooking method for eggplant... which when sautéed, can absorb a lot of oil. Also, with eggplants, I've noticed that the large ones have more seeds... so I pick the small/baby eggplants that come individually packaged (when they're on sale).

"Steam-Fried" Eggplant

1 small/baby eggplant

cooking spray

sauce of your choice (I used low-sodium soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil)

1. Heat a large pan (that has a lid) over high heat. 

2. Cut eggplant into 1 cm thick disks. 

3. Spray with cooking spray on one side of the eggplant slices. 

4. Place eggplant "sprayed" side down into the pan, cook until dark brown/blackened.

5. Flip eggplant, turn off the burner and cover the pan with the lid.

6. Let the covered eggplant steam for 3-5 minutes. 

7. Serve and add your choice of sauce.

White Asparagus Soup

This recipe doesn't make a huge pot of soup, but that's one of the things I like about it! It's light and delicious, and you won't have to spend the next two weeks trying to finish the leftovers.

White Asparagus Soup

1 lb white asparagus

2 shallots

1/2 cup dry cooking sherry

1 cup water

1 cup low sodium vegetable broth

1 Tbs yogurt butter (butter substitute)

1 Tbs Original Philly Cooking Cream

dried sage

salt

pepper

olive oil

1. Drizzle a little olive oil into the pan, over med-high heat.

2. Drop in chopped shallot, sauté. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and cook until translucent.

3. Cut off the woody stems of the white asparagus. Chop remaining asparagus into 2 inch pieces and toss in with the shallots.

4. Deglaze the pan with the cooking sherry and cook down until it reduces.

5. Turn up the heat to high and add in broth and water. 

6. Bring soup up to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 15-20 minutes with lid askew.

7. Take soup off the heat and purée with a blender or an immersion blender

8. Add in butter substitute and Original Philly Cooking Cream. Purée. 

9. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Tofu Salad Sandwich

A tofu based (vegan or vegetarian) version of egg salad! Try serving with sweet potato fries!

Tofu Salad Sandwich

1 package Extra Firm Cubed Tofu

1/2 cup light mayo or Nasoya Original Nayonaise

2 Tbs rice vinegar

1 Tbs honey

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 cup shredded carrot (a generous 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion (rinsed in cold water)

1/8 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

salt and pepper to taste

toasted bread

shredded mozzarella cheese 

1. Drain tofu and press with paper towel.

2. Using a fork, break up the tofu in a bowl.

3. Mix in mayonaise, salt, pepper, curry powder, paprika, rice vinegar, honey, carrot and scallion.

4. Fold in parsley lightly so it doesn't bruise. 

5. Spread tofu salad on a pre-toasted piece of bread and sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese on top. 

6. Toast in oven for 5 min on 350˚ or in the toaster oven. Serve open faced.

Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

dried age

cooking spray oil

1. Preheat oven to 450˚

2. Peel sweet potato and cut into fry shapes. (Cut in half vertically, and cut each half into 2 pieces of equal width. Slice into fry shapes.)

3. Spray fries with cooking oil spray and toss until coated on all sides. 

4. Sprinkle with Lawry's and dried sage, toss.

5. Bake for 20 minutes (or until toasty brown), turning half-way through cooking.