How Animals Eat Their Food
- At April 12, 2013
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
I didn’t feel like posting a recipe today because eggs, spinach and goat cheese swirled together in a frying pan isn’t much of a recipe and that’s what I’m making tonight. (Spinach Eggs works with my Wheat Belly diet, on which I’m pleased to report a general shrinkage of my wheat belly. Toast would be awesome with these eggs. Toast would be awesome, period. But I’m all about the shrinkage right now so… no toast. :()
If you don’t think this is hilarious, well… too bad.
Best Ever Minestrone Soup!
- At March 29, 2013
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 0
My husband and I are lowering our intake of starch and simple carbohydrates. Well, bread, mostly. This is a true hardship for me as I dearly love bread. I adore it. Sourdough, focaccia, whole-grain, oatmeal…I love to bake it, smell it, look at it. I love it for breakfast, toasted with peanut butter. I love a slice before bed, with honey. I love to pull the hot crusts off a fresh homemade French loaf and slather it with butter and… you get the drift.
My aim in this wretched soul-sucking endeavour is to get my cholesterol levels down into, well, survivable levels. That means get rid of the belly fat and <huge sigh> for me at least, that means no bread. And without giving anything else up, I’m down a few pounds, so I guess it’s working.
However there are many, many foods that I love that are not bread, and this is what I’m focusing on. I enjoy vegetables and I love soup (though soup is best with – you guessed it – bread!) but vegetable-only soup usually leaves me feeling like something’s missing. Like sausage or chicken or a whole whack of pasta. Recently, my husband had a craving for Olive Garden’s minestrone soup, so I looked up the recipe and figured I’d give it a try, not expecting much.
Holy macaroni, was I ever wrong! Chock-full of vegetables and beans (good carbs!) with only a wee handful of pasta, this fulfills my veggie count for the day, satisfies my appetite completely and is totally delicious. And it’s completely vegetarian, broth and all! I followed the recipe almost exactly. (Hm. Note to self: I might be onto something here.)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small minced white onion
- ½ cup chopped zucchini
- ½ cup Italian green beans
- ½ stalk minced celery
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cans (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained
- 2 cans (15 oz) great northern or small white beans, drained
- 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 cups hot water
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup small shell pasta
- Measure olive oil into a large stock pot and heat on medium.
- Put the onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini into the pot and saute for about 5 minutes or until the onions become translucent.
- Add the vegetable broth, drained tomatoes, beans, carrots, hot water and spices to the pot.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the spinach leaves and the pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Rustic Potato-Leek Soup
- At March 22, 2013
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Roxanne Writes On
- 0
You might already know this, but I’m an extemporaneous cook. Recipes are guidelines. Creativity rules. Therefore, my instructions can be a bit… vague. But really, when it comes to soup, how wrong can you go??
This week, my youngest spawn is lying on the couch with tonsils the size and colour of rotten plums. When they’ve been sitting in the fridge drawer for, I don’t know, a couple of months. Between the pain, and the appetite-killing antibiotics, she’s not eating much. But soup works, so here’s what I did today.
Chop up an onion, a couple of leeks and a bunch of potatoes. Toss them into a pot, where you’ve got a couple of tablespoons of oil heating. Sweat everything until the onions are clear and limp. Add a box of chicken broth. Cook until potatoes are soft. Puree the whole thing with your hand-held mixer-thing. You can use a blender if you’re careful. I have a history of cleaning soup off the ceiling, hence the hand-held device. Add salt and pepper to taste. (I use sea salt. It just tastes better.) Last, add about a cup of cream, half-and-half or evaporated milk. I use evaporated milk, because of, you know, cholesterol. It would taste awesome with heavy cream though.
Garnish with flat-leafed parsley and/or fresh chives. I thought cheese would be a nice addition. My daughter liked it with Gruyere. I liked it with Asiago.
Super-easy soup, especially for the pathetic tonsillitis-afflicted spawn lying on my couch. Warm and smooth on the throat.
As soon as I figure out Windows 8, I’ll add photos.
Don’t hold your breath.