Chickpea dumpling soup

Kale season. I do love my kale and don't even need an excuse to buy it anymore. If it's stocked in the produce aisle, one or two bunches go straight into my kart.

This is a modification of a recipe that I make quite regularly, since I was gifted Homestyle Vegetarian (published by Murdoch Books) for Valentine's Day back in 2009. It's definitely homestyle but has a little bit of kick with some cumin, coriander and chili. This rather simple tomato soup is transformed into a hearty fall meal when chick peas, chick pea dumplings and kale are added.

Another great thing about this recipe, is that you can make it out of basically what you already have in the pantry. I always have flour, onion, garlic, canned tomatoes and various canned and dry beans in my pantry. The addition of anything fresh and a little grated Parmesan go a long way into making this soup presentable for guests as well.

Ingredients: 
olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, diced
cumin, coriander and chili to taste
vegetable bullion
3 cups cooked chick peas
2 cans tomatoes
1 cup of flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
30g cold butter
4 tbs grated parmesan
3 tbs mixed herbs province
3 tbs milk
Optional: Bunch of kale, chopped

Soften the onion, garlic and spices in the olive oil in a saucepan. This should take only a few minutes. You can add the kale and wilt it at this point. Add the chick peas, tomatoes, veggie bullion and 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.

While the broth is heating, make the dumplings. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the butter into cubes and mix together in the dry ingredients with your hands until there is a coarse crumble. Mix the herbs and the Parmesan. Finally, mix in the milk lightly enough to combine the dumpling dough. With your hands, shape the dumplings into small balls, keeping in mind that they will double in size once boiled.

Add the dumplings to the soup to boil for about 5 minutes until puffed. Serve immediately.

Tip: Only add the dumplings you want to eat in that serving and spare the other uncooked dumplings for later. Re-cooked dumplings can turn to mush if boiled multiple times.

Megzican's Black Bean Soup

While it wasn't too long since I was in Mexico for the first time (in May), I miss it already. The quest for the perfect fish tacos brought us to a lot of great digs all around Tulum. We had our fair share of ceviche, calamare, camarones, tacos, empanadas, not to mention salsa. A lot of very spicy salsa.

This soup is just the protein you need. And because black beans help regulate your body's glucose levels, your metabolism will be working as hard as you are. If your transition from summer to fall goes from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye (like mine), you'll be glad for the extra energy. And this recipe is a fast cook, if you're short on time.

You can make this from canned black beans, which will result in a creamier texture. I chose to use the rest of my dried beans, which meant that I decided to make this soup a day in advance, so that I had time to soak the beans over night, rinse them, and set them boiling an hour before I threw in the other ingredients. Yep, I just threw 'em in. Also, feel free to use ground pork, chopped ham cold-cuts, etc. I used sausage because it was leftover from a bbq season... sniff..

Easy Black Bean Soup
2 cans or 1 cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked
1-2 pork sausages, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 carrot, chopped
chicken bouillon cube, oregano, cumin and chili, spiced to taste.

If you feel like fussing a little more, sauteing the onions, garlic and spices in a little olive oil before adding them to the beans, feel free. It will soften the flavour of the garlic, and release the aroma of the spices. If you don't, that's fine too. Boil all ingredients together until the carrot is softened, and then using a hand blender, blend all ingredients together.

Squeeze some lime juice and garnish with an avocado. Serve hot or room temperature.

This soup serves 6, or one greedy chick 3 days worth of cholesterol lowering, gut satisfying soup to keep me going. Perfect for a gal on a budget, too. Yep, I spent all my pesos and Mexico and don't regret it for a minute. I think after this post I'll go for a run and start getting in shape for my next Mexican holiday.

Side note: Lacking a submersion blender, I decided to wait for the soup to cool a bit and then pour it into the regular blender. Ooops, the liquid was still too hot, resulting in a crack down the side of my glass blender. Truly devastating for me, as my precious Kenwood Robot Culinaire is one of my only prized earthly possessions...(along with my Nikon and my passport). A true sign that smoothie making season is just about over for a while....

If you want to prosper in 2011- Black Eyed Peas

Several New Years traditions began with Jewish New Years traditions around Rosh Hashana. The food traditions, with the Shepardi Jews, moved to Georgia in the 1700's and the traditions have been given a good dose of Southern flare and hotsauce.

Of those traditions, black eyed peas and greens symbolize prosperity and money. With that in mind, I decided to modify a recipe from Vegetarian Suppers and use some black eyed peas with spinach and onion.

I start with half a bag of black eyed peas, the day before, because they have to soak in cold water over night and simmer for over an hour before being ready to eat.


To a large non-stick pan I added olive oil and one whole yellow onion, chopped. After the onion has cooked a bit, I added a couple handfuls of fresh parsley leaves, garlic powder, paprika, and a tablespoon of tomato paste. I stirred that a bit until incorporated and fragrant then added the spinach. About a half kilo of fresh spinach should do it. Once that has wilted. I strain most of the liquid from the black eyed peas, and add them to the spinach mixture. Salt and pepper as desired and serve over brown rice or bulgar, as I have in the picture. I heaping dallop of plain rich yogurt really goes well with this, and I've used a thick Turkish yogurt, although sour cream would be a good substitute.

Grilled Polenta with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce, Spinach and White Beans

The best polenta is made slowly over a double boiler, but if you're strapped for options and for time, most will never be able to tell the difference between instant and the slow cooked. While most recipes call for water and a little bit of parmesan cheese, I use vegetable broth and a 'lot bit' of parmesan cheese. If you don't have time to make polenta and let it cool before making this dish, you may skip the grilling of the polenta squares, and serve it soft on a plate, with the vegetables and sauce.

My favorite part of this recipe though is the sauce made of blue cheese and rosemary. This makes the dish rich and delicious and this recipe has made the ranks of my comfort food, up there with pizza, mac 'n cheese, and fried eggs :)

Serves: 4

Takes about 30-40 minutes (depending on the polenta cooling time)

1 cup instant polenta

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup of grated parmesan

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic

100 grams, of fresh or frozen spinach

1 can northern or white beans, drained and  rinsed

5 ounces good quality blue cheese

1/2 cup cream

2 tsp rosemary

salt and pepper

olive oil

flour for dusting

1.) Start by making the polenta in advance, according to the directions on the type of polenta you've bought. Typically there is a 1:4 polenta to liquid ratio, and I like to get the broth boiling and slowly pour in the polenta whilst stirring. If possible, I also try to keep a lid partially on, because boiling polenta that hasn't thickened yet has a tendency to spatter.

2.) Once the polenta has thickened, spread it evenly onto a baking sheet, or in my case, a buttered cake tin.  Allow to cool in this shape so that it will be easier to cut, and later, grill.

3.) In a skillet, heat oil to medium and add the garlic and onions and fry until soft, which should only take a few minutes.

4.) Add the beans and the spinach. Or if using frozen spinach you can add that first and allow to thaw before adding the beans. Heat through, or until spinach has wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5.) Meanwhile, in another saucepan, crumble the cheese and add the cream and rosemary until cheese has melted. Season and remove from heat.

6.) With the polenta, cut squares or triangles and dip them into the flour, if you have semolina flour it's better because of the nice golden hue. Shake off the excess flour and grill the polenta in a small bit of olive oil until golden on either side.

7.) Serve the grilled polenta with the spinach and beans piled on and a generous portion of sauce.

I realize I haven't been labeling servings per recipe, nor cooking time. It's true that sometimes I make very small recipe versions, which renders only 2, or even 1 serving. I live alone and like to cook every day. (I also don't have a microwave, so reheating dishes often takes as much heating and energy as the initial cooking.) As much as I love leftovers, I don't love them the 3rd or 4th day, so I tend to reduce recipes to half. From now on, I'll do my best to make this more apparent!

Other things I realize I often do is switch between metric or European measurements and American measurements. Though I know think in terms of Celcius and kilometers, I still haven't figured out how the heck to cook with deciliters and grams, ounces, etc. Furthermore, I don't even own a measuring cup! My calculations are based on my Muumi coffee mugs, which I believe to hold about 3 deciliters (a little more than a cup) and that's what I 'measure' with. (don't be mad at me). Cooking is not a science, it is an art!

Veggie Burritos

I make burritos like this whenever I have a few tortilla shells and a few fresh bell peppers. The other ingredients are things I always have in the pantry: kidney beans, textured soy, beef bullion and spices. The recipe can be modified to what you have on hand, but I use 'Soya Rouhe' (or soy grains) to make a 'beefy' consistency.

1 cup textured soy

1 cup boiling water

1 cube beef bullion (lihaliemi)

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 tsb chilli powder (or more if you like it spicy)

1 tbs paprika (optional)

1/2 cup pre-cooked, drained beans (kidney or black beans work well)

4 flour tortilla shells

2-3 tbs tomato paste

white cheese, like Manchego or Jack (optional)

1.) Preheat the oven to 175C.

2.) Bring to a boil the water, add the buillion cube and dissolve. Add the soy and combine well. Allow the soy to soak and absorb all the water. Adding water or soy as needed until the consistency is like that of cooked ground beef.

3.) Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the peppers and some chopped garlic and onion if you like. Heat through until soft, but not brown. Add the spices.

4.) Add the vegetables, 1 tbs tomato paste and beans to the soy mixture. Mix well, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

5.) Roll 1/4 of the mixture into each tortilla shell and place in a greased casserole dish.

6.) Mix the remaining 2 tbs tomato paste with 2 tbs water and drizzle or brush the tops of the burritos with this sauce. Sprinkle the grated cheese if using.

7.) Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.

Serve with salsa and avocados, sweet potato hash, or anything else that you like. Remember, this can be modified and customized to your preferences. Sometimes I like to throw in some frozen corn, extra garlic, cilantro, or whatever extra stuff I have around.