Category Archives: wwme

Meatball Soup

by recipes, soup, wwme,

I'm not one of those people who cooks the same recipe every time.  I prefer to tinker with my food.  Sometimes it's successful, sometimes it's not so great.  This delicious recipe came out of a combination of ingredients on hand in the fridge:  

  • chicken soup made from the bones of the roasted chicken two days ago
  • the outer leaves set aside from making fermented cabbage
  • the tops of celery
  • an onion
  • the leftover bits of sweet bell pepper

Needing to come up with something for dinner I decided that soup was the order of the day. Quick, easy and versatile soups are always a great way to use up leftovers for a delicious meal. It's like my own version of a kitchen chef contest, what-can-I-make-with-these-ingredients.  I

often joke that instead of the kitchen shows where the chef-contestants have access to a kitchen with every ingredient imaginable, there needs to be a cooking show where you have a refrigerator full of leftovers and a traditionally stocked pantry.

While I'm not sure what anyone else would have made with my ingredients on hand; this is what I came up with.  In this case a meatball soup seemed like a perfect dinner recipe to me.   It was a hit and this recipe will be making a regular appearance at our table.

Meatball Soup

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup of celery (mostly greens), diced
  • 8 large cabbage leaves, shredded
  • 1/2 sweet bell pepper, diced
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • meatballs (see recipe below)
  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in a large stock pot
  • Saute onion until just starting to wilt
  • Add garlic and saute one more minute
  • Add celery and cabbage greens and saute two minutes
  • Add bell pepper and saute one minute
  • Add broth and water
  • Bring to just under boiling then reduce to a simmer
  • Gently spoon meatballs into soup
  • Cook 20 minutes or until meatballs are done
  • Add rice, salt and pepper and serve

Meatballs

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound organic ground meat
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions
 

  • Mix ingredients together and form into meatballs
  • Bake in 350F oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through

Learn the health benefits of soup plus get 15 delicious recipes to help you celebrate this wonderful food anytime.
avocado substitution

Replacing The Mighty Avocado

by produce, snacks, substitutions, Uncategorized, vegetables, wwme

Whether you have a general aversion to avocados or just an aversion to their cost — the price of avocados increased 125 percent in 2017 — you have plenty of healthy ingredient substitutions that not only save you money but diversify the taste and texture of a variety of dishes, guacamole included.

Guacamole

Don't let an avocado shortage slow down your guac game. For each avocado used in your guacamole recipe, substitute one cup of steamed, blended spring peas, organic edamame or chopped asparagus. Check out our recipe for Sweet Pea Guacamole below.

Sauces, Dips and Spreads

Avocados give sauces and soups a unique, creamy texture few ingredients can replicate. But that doesn't mean you can't get the same consistency without avocados–you just need to apply a little creativity.

  • Create the satisfying freshness of your favorite avocado dressing using Greek yogurt, cilantro, and an optional tablespoon or two of sour cream. For every avocado called for in the dressing recipe, substitute ½ cup Greek yogurt and 1 cup of loosely packed cilantro leaves (minced or processed in).
  • Hummus makes a great substitute for avocado dip on its own, but you can add an avocado-esque touch with a few extra ingredients. To every ½ cup of chickpea hummus, add ½ cup steamed organic edamame, ¼ cup loosely packed parsley leaves, ¼ cup basil or cilantro, 1 teaspoon of lime juice and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.
  • Avocado toast went from fad to foodie staple almost overnight. Take the concept a step further with a clever, spreadable substitution, such as a chunky cashew spread. Soak cashews for a few hours and blend until coarse with a little water or stock and your secondary ingredients of choice, such as pesto, steamed squash, nutritional yeast, fresh herbs or chipotle peppers.

Salads

With their lush consistency and laid-back taste, avocados complement just about any salad. No avocados, no fear! Try sliced peaches (briefly steamed), seared artichoke hearts or farmers cheese (for creaminess) in your next salad for an exciting new texture.

Southwestern Food

Southwestern-style cuisine and avocados go hand-in-hand–they contrast the spiciness and hearty textures of tacos, salsa, corn salads and other rustic dishes beautifully. Next time you need avos in tacos or other Southwestern dishes but come up short, try roasted sweet potatoes, roasted chayote squash, queso fresco, roasted cauliflower or oven-fried plantains instead.

Sweet Pea Guacamole
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Ingredients
  1. • 2 cups (1 pound) shelled spring peas, steamed for 2 minutes and cooled to room temperature
  2. • 1 or 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  3. • ½ cup cilantro leaves, loosely packed
  4. • ¼ cup mint leaves, loosely packed
  5. • 2 ½ tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
  6. • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  7. • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little more, if needed
  8. • ½ jalapeno pepper, seeded
  9. • ½ teaspoon sea or kosher salt, plus more to taste
  10. • Pinch of cumin
  11. • Pinch of crushed red pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and process until nearly smooth.
  2. Adjust the consistency and seasoning as needed with olive oil and kosher salt.
The Ingredient Guru, Mira Dessy https://theingredientguru.com/

 

Indoor Onions

by sprouts, vegetables, wwme

Just a short post today.  I recently found out that a number of my friends didn't know this super simple trick for growing spring onions (some folks call them green onions) indoors.  So I thought I'd share.

Trim off any wilted or slimy bits from the onion.
Cut the ends so that there is at least 1″ of white bulb above the roots.
Place root end down into a glass with a little water at the bottom.
Place in a window where they will get indirect sunlight.
Watch them grow, cut and use as needed.

Here are a couple of pictures to demonstrate:

freshly cut spring onions
spring onions after one day














Isn't that cool?  I find it's best the first time you let them re-grow.  After that it doesn't always work as well and they're not as firm.  But it's a great way to always make sure you have some on hand, especially if you use these onions a lot.  And I do.
So what do I use them for?  Soups, salads, as a garnish, in sauteed greens, in stir fry, they're very useful, high in vitamin K, and a tasty addition to a lot of dishes.

Note:  Thanks to Mike for the reminder.  I forgot to mention in the instructions that you need to change the water daily.  Otherwise the jar gets rather stinky and the onions won't continue to grow.