When Your Fridge is Overloaded with Veggies, Make Soup - Serves 4 plus more for freezing

Aside from vegetables growing in my own garden, I have become a fan of Greenling, which delivers local, organic vegetables to your front door.  Before they really got geared up in Dallas, I was their guinea pig, helping out by sampling certain in season vegetables from local farmers.  Lucky me!  So within a few months, they are thriving and the goods are too.  That being said, we've eaten our share of turnips and rutabagas,  adding them to everything like salads (great roasted), pizzas, soups and potatoes.  I've had so many vegetables on hand that I needed to get rid of them so I could make room for more.  Therefore, I came up with this fabulous soup that literally had my entire produce drawer/some of my garden in it.  What you see in the pic above is everything, including the kitchen sink (ha!). The only thing I didn't throw in there were the beets.  I just used their leaves (beet pizza later with goat cheese and arugula!).  Seriously, this is the BEST way to clean out your vegetable drawer.  Throw everything into water , add garlic, salt, herbs... bring to a boil then simmer for about 45 minutes. Now, you have a fabulous vegetable broth and a terrific vegetable soup.  You can freeze the leftovers and whip it out on a later date and be proud of yourself all over again.

Garden Vegetable Soup

Ingredients


Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Everything in your vegetable drawer (except lettuce, which is saved for last), washed and diced, cubed, chopped if necessary
Herbs of your choice (I like Herbs de Provence, thyme, oregano)
Sea or Kosher Salt
Fresh ground pepper
4-8 cups water (or more depending on how many veggies)

Add about 2-3 tbs olive oil to large pot.  Heat until shimmering and add garlic.  Saute for about 30 seconds and add chopped veggies (not lettuce, yet).  Add herbs, salt and pepper, mixing well to coat.  Saute veggies for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add water and stir to mix.  Bring to boil, cover then simmer for about 30-45 minutes or until vegetables are soft (especially potatoes).  Add lettuce, cover, letting lettuce wilt for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Using either a hand puree or pureeing in batches, puree vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve either warm or cold with a drizzle of your favorite olive oil.

Udon Noodle Soup with Vegetables - serves 4

In case you haven't noticed, I love food.  One of my favorite things to do, other than cook, is to visit ethnic grocery stores, maybe meet some people that speak English and learn how to cook different types of foods.  A couple of weeks ago, we dined at Jeng Chi (jengchirestaurant.com), located in Richardson, on Greenville Ave., between Spring Valley and Beltline.  People, let me tell you... if you love Chinese food without all the MSG and soy sauce, you have to eat here.  As my husband would say, "it's like being a cowboy in Indian country" when I tell you it is an Asian hotspot.  We often have to go with my Taiwanese girlfriend just so she can order for us.  That and the fact my kids love to mimic her and try to take on the language themselves.  There's nothing there that isn't good and it's as fresh as you can get as well as BYOB.  The strip center is lined with restaurants as well as an ice cream shop and grocery store.  Have you ever been to an Asian grocery store?  I was warned the first time I entered that I would encounter a stiff fist of fish slamming into my face.  After about 10 paces into the store, it hit.  I might as well been slapped by the tail of a red fish it was so strong.  This store is a foodie's dream.  Fresh vegetables, handmade noodles and fish swimming in tanks for customers to pick out, have butchered and take home.  Now there are rather odd things in the store as well, not something I would like to take home and put on the dinner table, but if you're someone who likes chicken hearts, feet and sea cucumbers, this place is for you.  My kids have grown to love this place as it's taught them to embrace the different cultures within our city.  I highly recommend a trip here, if not Jeng Chi to test out your inner Confucius.

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork or turkey
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs sesame oil, plus more for drizzling
8oz shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
1 small head of bok choy, washed and sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (get the authentic, thick kind)
1 pound fresh, Udon noodles

Directions

In a large sauce pot, heat sesame oil until shimmering.  Add garlic, stirring for 30 seconds, then add meat and brown until cooked through, crumbling as you cook.  Remove meat from pan and set aside.  Add a drizzle of oil and add vegetables, stirring to coat.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add vegetable broth and teriyaki sauce, stirring to incorporate.  Bring to a simmer then add Udon noodles, cooking according to package directions. Add meat to soup, stirring to mix.  Ladle into bowls and serve.

Southern Living's Strawberry Mousse Cake - serves, well, I wouldn't know....

It's official.  I will never attempt to bake again.  The picture you see above is what the cake should have looked like.  What I concocted was something different.  Oh, what plans I had to bake this wonderful cake for Easter!  I even traveled with a friend to a dilapidated farmhouse outside of Dallas looking for only the freshest ingredients.  We arrived only to my friend being scolded by the lady farmer/owner for not knowing how hard it was to get organic farmers to come sell at her farm. (We knew the reason, but obviously she did not.  The place was pretty scary.)  Not to be discouraged, we headed for the Farmers Market where my sweet Anna, who never lets me down, sold me some goods.  I then went and purchased organic strawberries, 3 pints worth, per the recipe directions along with organic eggs.  Arriving home, I began my quest for the Southern Living look-a-like Strawberry Mousse Cake.  I would not fail.  Well, that's exactly what I did.  After 3 LONG hours of mixing, chilling, stirring, waiting, chilling, stirring, waiting, I did EXACTLY what the recipe called for.  I layered each tier, adding mousse in between each, then applying the icing.  What happened you ask?  The (cuss word) tiers started sliding out from the cake plate.  My fingers where dripping with icing all the while I'm trying to slide the (cuss word) cakes back into place.  My daughter is looking at me (she was supposed to help) asking "Mom, why are you gritting your teeth?".  This is one of those moments where I could be a good mom or a bad mom.  "Go outside".  My next thought was to quickly put the (cuss word) cake into the fridge where hopefully the (cuss word) icing and mousse would harden enough to stay put.  Good idea, right?  This is a four tiered cake, just to give you an idea that has about 4-5 cups of strawberry mousse and icing.  After 30 minutes, I stand before the fridge hoping that my idea was in fact genius, when I opened the door.  Not only did my idea not work, but one of the tiers had completely rocketed itself to the other side of my fridge splattering about 2-3 cups of mousse and (cuss word) icing ALL OVER THE INSIDE OF THE FRIDGE.  I sat there stunned.  A few tears came.  It was then that I made the realization that although I can prepare an amazing meal, baking cakes is not something I can do.  I said it.  I can not do it.  So instead of throwing a tantrum like the last time, I called my daughter and 4 of her friends to the fridge, handed them forks and told them to dig in.  Yes, in the fridge.  One kid thought I was the coolest mom ever for letting him do it. My daughter thought I was high.  They all commented on how good it was, which it should have been for all that went in it. And if it wasn't, they weren't going to tell me if they knew what was good for them. My husband later came home with me waiting on the porch, bees hovering above as they likened to the smell of sugar that coated me head to toe, beer in hand.  "Honey, next time I get the novel idea to bake, please (cuss word) tell me I can't."  End of story.  If you you'd like the recipe, let me know because I'd like to to see the finished result.  In fact, I'll hire you to bake for me.

The Freezer is Full of Venison, Sauteed Corn - serves 4 with Leftovers

I know what some of you are thinking as I've already been asked several times, "are you still doing your blog", "when are you going to post another recipe?", "are you cooking anymore?".  And the answers were, "been busy", "been busy", "been busy cooking".  I'm sorry to those I left hanging after my last post opting to challenge myself to clean out and cook everything in my freezer so that I could hope for some venison.  Well, it came, all 135 pounds of it after it had been field dressed by my husband.  He didn't want my readers to think he couldn't fulfill the dream so he delivered.  The only thing that instead of taking it to Kuby's to have them butcher it, he brought it home to me, legs practically coming out of the cooler she came home in.  This deer was so big, especially her behind.  She definitely had "junk in her trunk" if you know what I mean and it actually made me feel a lot better about mine.  My poor neighbors must have thought I was someone out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre the way I was slaying away, white apron covered in deer goo.  It was back-breaking labor that I have just now been able to sit up straight.  But, with that came about 65+ pounds of deer meat, vacuum sealed and put in the freezer. Some women watch sports and that makes men crazy.  I butcher deer and watch sports and my husband just beams from ear to ear.  At any rate, I was so sick of looking at all this meat I opted to go vegetarian.  At least for this post.

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
4 Italian zucchini, sliced 1/4' thick
2 bags frozen corn (fresh in the summer!)
1/2 tbs fresh, chopped oregano
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Cilantro, chopped (optional)
Queso Fresco (optional)

Directions

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sized pan.  Add onions and saute until translucent, almost turning brown.  Add garlic and saute 30 seconds.  Add cumin, chili powder and stir to incorporate.  Saute for about 2 minutes.  Add zucchini, stir and cook for 5 minutes.  Add corn and mix well, cooking 3-4 minutes.  Stir in oregano, salt and pepper and simmer additional 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cilantro and sprinkle with queso fresco and serve.

Chili Rubbed Mahi Mahi with Brown Rice and Beans - serves 4

My husband says he's a hunter.  Well, I've been waiting for him to get invited to go deer hunting (he's been asked a couple of times but due to work, he's unable to go.  Which this is an official "shout-out" to all my friends to please continue to ask their husbands to call Tim.  If it gets him out of the house for 1 - however many days, I'm just a happier person.) so that I can restock my freezer.  This weekend, I decided to go through both my freezer and pantry, challenging myself to use everything before I went to the store.  If I can clean out the freezer, then I will have more room for venison.  At least that's my hope.  I realized one thing...  I have only 2 pounds of venison left but ample amounts of rice and  dried beans.  Good grief. I could feed a third world country. I'm either losing my memory or I've become obsessive over both.  So, last night I fixed dinner using both, plus some Mahi Mahi I had recently frozen.  Everything turned out great except I had leftover beans.  To freeze or not to freeze?  Next recipe forthcoming.

Ingredients

4 6oz filets Mahi Mahi
1 tsp (each) Kosher salt, pepper, chili powder
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 jalapeno, slit cut down length of pepper
1/2 cup water
2 cups brown rice, cooked to package directions
1 avocado, diced
1/4 cup queso fresco
Lime for garnish


Directions

Season Mahi Mahi with spice mix, coating both sides.  Heat a medium skillet for about 1 minute.  Place fish in pan and sear, about 3 minutes, then flip.  Sear for additional 2-3 minutes and remove from skillet.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place beans in medium saucepan.  Add onion, garlic, bay leaf, cumin and jalapeno.  Add 1/2 cup water and mix well over medium heat.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Spoon rice on plate and top with beans and fish.  Garnish with avocado, queso fresco and a squeeze of lime.

*I used dried beans, soaked/brined over night, then slow cooked using the ingredients above.

Nana's Koogle - serves 4 with leftovers

Today marks the anniversary that my beloved grandmother, Nana, passed away.  I thought about posting a Christmas or New Year's recipe, but figured January 5th would be a good way to start off the year.  Nana was my best friend.  A day doesn't go by that I don't think of her.  Each day that I cook I wonder what she would think of my final product.  I can only imagine what she would have thought over my cheesecakes that nearly burned down my house.  I have such fond memories of her.  She is one of the reasons I began to have a passion for cooking as well as learning to drive sitting on phone books.  She was, without a doubt, one of the best cooks on the planet.  I only wish I could bake like she did.  As a little girl, I would help in the kitchen, any way I could, just to be near her.  We cried over onions and coughed over pillows of powdered sugar all the while making every moment together count. I spent endless summers working at her grocery store learning to make cheese balls, packaging meat and playing in the freezer.  She would work for hours on end and then come home and prepare an amazing meal.  Just being outside with the smells of wonderful Jewish cooking would permeate the neighborhood.  I can remember when I prepared my first Cornish game hens, which she loved, using an elaborate recipe.  I cooked all day and once we sat down for dinner, she couldn't stop with the compliments.  She even did so after pulling out the plastic bag in the carcass that was filled with the neck, liver and gizzards.  That's a true grandmother.  That was my Nana.  With every chop of my knife and every meal that I serve, she's there.  Always. And I never forget to remove that plastic bag.

Ingredients


1 12 oz package of extra wide noodles, cooked to package instructions
2 tbs butter
1 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease, with Pam, a 9x13 baking dish.  Add 2 tbs butter and place in oven to melt.  Meanwhile, mix cottage cheese, eggs, milk, pepper and salt in a medium bowl.  Add prepared noodles combine, mixing well.  Remove baking dish from oven (with gloves!) and add noodle mixture.  Place back into oven, uncovered, and bake for 45 minutes.  Serve hot.  Great with a salad, pot roast or roasted chicken.

Beets with Goat Cheese and Microgreen Salad - serves 4

Wow!  Two days in a row!  Well, yes.  And, don't get to comfy because I may be disappearing again, but only until after the holidays.

I had a friend of mine ask me today what would be a good and different salad to serve for holiday gatherings using seasonal vegetables.  Lucky for her, I had concocted one of my favorites for a client just recently.  She was in a rut, and wanted to break away from the traditional "blah" of typical salads and wanted hers to "jump off the plate".  If you're a fan of beets, which are fabulous when roasted, this is the salad is for you.  Now, I know what you're thinking... these beets aren't what your mother used to make.  They aren't boiled and they aren't pickled.  When paired with goat cheese they are simply wonderful.  And, as you can see, quite festive.  Layer as stacks and side them up with this simple salad, using microgreens (available at Central Market, Whole Foods or any specialty grocer) and toss with walnuts and pears, also in season.  Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and fresh lemon juice and yes, your salad with not only "jump off the plate" but your taste buds will be singing with joy.

Ingredients

4 beets, stem/greens removed & washed
6oz goat cheese
1 pkg microgreens (there are all kinds, arugula, kale, radish...just choose)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 pear, diced
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil and sea salt for drizzling/seasoning

Preheat oven to 400.  Individually wrap the beets in foil and bake in oven for about 30-45 minutes or until soft.  Remove from oven and unwrap.  Let cool and peel skin from beets. (Be careful... juice will stain!)  Slice beets about 1/4 in thick.  Making a stack, smear goat cheese between each layer.  For salad:  toss greens with walnuts and pear.  Toss with lemon juice, salt and olive oil.  Mound salad next to beet towers and serve.