Poco-Cocoa

This was one of the “lost” recipes, one that I tried while I was computer-less and unable to post. I’m glad I found this photo, though, because this soup is definitely worth posting about!

I love minestrone…it’s so full of goodness, with its dazzling array of vegetables, protein-rich beans, starchy pasta, and warm, comforting broth. I’ve tried several different recipes for minestrone, and this one is definitely at the top of the list.

The original recipe called for fresh herbs and corn, but I found that the soup was wonderful with dried herbs and frozen corn. I’d like to try a winter version with butternut squash or sweet potato and canned tomatoes instead of fresh.

Garden Minestrone

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups chopped yellow squash
• 3 cups chopped zucchini
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 4 cups chopped tomato, divided
• 3 (14-ounce) cans vegetable broth, divided
• 1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (4 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarsely ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 3 minutes or until softened. Add oregano and garlic; saute 1 minute. Stir in squash, zucchini, carrot, and corn; saute 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.

Place 3 cups tomato and 1 can broth in a blender; process until smooth. Add tomato mixture to pot; return pot to heat. Stir in remaining 1 cup tomato and remaining 2 cans broth; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Add pasta and beans to pot; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Ladle soup into individual bowls; top with cheese. Garnish with coarsely ground black pepper.

Makes 8 servings.

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, September 2005.

Okay, maybe I should preface that by saying that normally, I do NOT like pears. Maybe it’s just awful memories of elementary school cafeteria lunches with horrible mushy enchiladas and a side of canned pears. Yuck! They’re grainy, they’re soft…they’re like apples that have just gone amiss. I’ve always wanted to snack on a fresh pear. It just looks so cool to hold a perfect pear and take a big bite out of it. But ew.

My pear horizons have been widened, though. I remember eating a burgundy-poached pear with some sort of fancy cheese on our honeymoon, and I think I liked it. And my friend Lindsay has made poached pears, I think, and I think I liked those, too. So I decided to bring the pears into my home and poach them myself.

How simple! How fantastic! How yummy! This recipe just amazes me, because it doesn’t call for any special wine, not even any sweetener…it just seems to bring out all the goodness in pears that has been hiding from me until now. The texture is perfect: soft enough to eat with a spoon, but not soft enough to remind me of grade school. I served the pears with a couple of tiny scoops of Stonyfield Farm Vanilla Frozen Yogurt (in itself a great find, with it’s not-too-yogurty-taste and 0 grams of fat), which was lovely. But even better, the next day, I drizzled them with chocolate syrup. What fruit is not made better with a bit of chocolate? What food, for that matter?

At any rate, here is the recipe that changed my life. Well, it changed my attitude toward pears, at least.

Poached Pears

• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 1 (3-inch) piece lemon rind
• 2 large pears, peeled, halved, and cored

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add pear halves; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or unti tender. Remove pear halves with a slotted spoon; discard liquid. Place pears in a large shallow dish; cover and chill.

Makes 4 servings.

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, April 2000.

So here in Austin, we tend to have summer, then a little bit of fall and winter, then summer again. But it’s 57 degrees outside at 10:40 in the morning, so I’m officially calling it Autumn. I love, love, love the fall…I wish we had more of it here.

I bought my first little pumpkin, and a huge gourd to guard the doorway, and I set up orange twinkle lights, jars of candy corn, and numerous pumpkins in the living room to celebrate fall. I knew it was coming! And today, it’s here. I’m wearing socks and shoes. It’s cold enough to wear socks.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this wonderful pumpkin soup recipe with you all. I made it a few days ago as my first autumn recipe, much to the delight of my husband. This is one of his favorite soups. It’s amazingly easy and full of flavor.

Also, an update on the Pantry Project: It was a little difficult to do with our computer down, since my extensive list was saved as a Word document. I was able to use up a few things, but I am realizing that this project is just a good reason for me to trot down to Whole Foods every day and pick out scrumptious foods. Today I plan on looking through my list and poking around in my cabinets to find something to use up in an autumn-y soup or stew or baked dish. Baked dishes! Oh, to have baked dishes again, without heating the house up to unbearable temperatures! Did I mention I love the fall?

And the final part of this autumnal post is a link to my husband’s 4 1/2 minute horror flick, Harvest. He and a few friends had 48 hours to make a horror film, with an assigned sub-genre (Nature Strikes Back), prop (pancakes), line of dialogue (“What does chicken have to do with it?”), and weapon (something very heavy). They were given this information at 7:30 on Friday night, and had until 7:30 on Sunday night to write, film, and edit the movie. They had a lot of fun, and hopefully you’ll have fun watching it!

Anyway, on to the food!

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablepoon butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Coarse salt, to taste

Heat a deep pot over medium heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts, add onion and saute, 5 minutes, until tender. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and stir in cream, curry powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Veggie Meals by Rachael Ray.

I’ve always loved tabbouleh, but I rarely make it because my favorite recipe, from the Lake Austin Spa Resort, calls for fresh mint, fresh parsley, fresh chives…and for someone without an herb garden handy, it means buying all those herbs for one dish.

Enter Cooking Light. I found a tabbouleh recipe in a Cooking Light Annual that incorporates purchased pesto to infuse the bulgur with all that herby goodness, and the only fresh herb I need to add is parsley. How easy is that? It turns out that the pesto adds a really great flavor to the mix, and blends really well with the tomatoes and the feta.

This makes a lot for just two people, but we packaged it up for lunches during the week, so it worked out well. The addition of chickpeas makes this a bit heartier…all you need is a bit of pita bread and you have a delicous lunch.

Tabbouleh with Beans and Feta

• 1 1/4 cups uncooked bulgur or cracked wheat
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup commercial pesto
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 (7-inch) pitas, cut in half

Combine bulgur and boiling water in a large bowl. Cover and let stand 30 minutes, and drain. Combine pesto with lemon juice; stir with a whisk. Combine bulgur, pesto mixture, tomatoes and the next 5 ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently to combine. Serve with pita halves.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Cooking Light magazine, July 2000.