Easy, Awesome, Hearty, Healthy, Comforting Tomato and White Bean Soup

This was the second soup I ever made for Jeff. It was disasterously disgusting. I’ve been tinkering with the recipe for two and a half years, and I think I’ve finally got it. This soup is pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

Easy, Awesome, Hearty, Healthy, Comforting Tomato and White Bean Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 can cannellini or other white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 – 3 cups chicken stock or water
• 1/2 cup small pasta
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot on medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook until soft, 3 – 4 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juices, pumpkin, beans, chicken stock, pasta, Italian seasoning, and red pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium-low, and simmer until the pasta is cooked, 15 minutes or so.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve topped with shaved parmesan.

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A New Love Affair

This is what I’ve had for dinner pretty much every night for the past 3 weeks:

• A tablespoon or so of olive oil
• As much minced garlic as I want, usually about 4 cloves
• As much chopped frozen spinach as I want, usually about half a bag (no idea how many ounces that is)
• Kosher salt to taste
• Lemon juice to taste

Directions:

1. Sautee the garlic in the olive oil over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the spinach and sauté for 2 or 3 minutes, until it’s warmed through.
3. Add kosher salt and lemon juice to taste.
4. Enjoy the amazing simplicity.

These are some of the variations I’ve tried and loved:

• With whole wheat bread for a super fast weeknight dinner
• Tossed with whole wheat gnocchi
• Tossed with homemade pumpkin gnocchi (by far the BEST variation — will post a full recipe the next time I make it)
• Tossed with sautéed shrimp
• Tossed with sautéed tofu
• Tossed with pasta
• Tossed with diced tomatoes and pasta
• Tossed with cannellini beans
• As a side dish for grilled salmon
• Straight out of the pan by the forkful

Try it! You won’t be sorry. And if you think of any other variations, please share!

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Pie Virgin No More

In honor of a special man guest this weekend, I made my first fruit lattice-topped pie. It was fun! The recipe is relatively healthy, too. Not too much sugar, but mostly berries. So a slice of pie is really a serving of fruit, right?

Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 2 pre-made pie crust (Pillsbury are very good, almost like homemade)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425.
2. Mix everything but the pie crusts and butter together in a large bowl.
   
3. Fold the berries into the pie crust (which you’ve spread into a pie pan). Sprinkle with bits of butter.
   
4. Cover with the second pie crust, either leaving air holes or doing a lattice design.
   
5. Bake 45 minutes.
   

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