Hardy Minestrone

Are cold fronts or blizzards getting to you?  How about a bowl of fresh, hot homemade soup to chase the chills away?

My soup is not only easy, better for you than any corporate garbage, but most importantly, it taste great!  With fresh vegetables, herbs and some basic pantry items you can make this for dinner in just one hour.  This is a thick soup so if you want more broth then increase your liquid portion with water or more beef broth.

Notes: I cut up all vegetables to a size where they fit on a soup spoon.  For the meat, any left over steak will do or in a pinch, a 12 ounce can of Harvest Creek roast beef (I get mine from the China OverSeas Transport COpany).

Part One:
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup red cabbage
1 – 2 large garlic cloves minced
a large pinch of coarse sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine above ingredients in a large stock pot and sauté for 10 – 15 minutes.

Part Two:
Add 1/4 cup of red wine
3 oz. tomato paste (1/2 of a 6 oz can)
2 Tablespoons Oregano
2 Tablespoons Basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
meat choice

Add all of the above to pot and use a whisk to mix the tomato paste into the wine and oil.

Gradually add 1 quart of beef broth (I like Pacific Natural Foods organic booth) to the pot and make sure to whisk the paste until it is smooth and blended in.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Part Three:
Add 1 cup of mini pasta and bring back to a boil.  Lower to a simmer and cook another 10 minutes uncovered.  Stir every few minutes to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Part Four:
Add 1 cup green beans or peas (fresh, frozen or can)
Add 1 can of kidney beans (15 oz.)

Simmer at least 10 minutes.

Part Five:
Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese, a warm loaf of Italian bread and sweet butter.  Don’t forget the side salad and a nice glass of White Zinfandel wine.

Prickly Pear Jelly

The vivid magenta color of this jelly goes great with any light colored cheese.

For 6 – 8 ounce jars of cactus jelly….

3 cup of cactus juice (add water if needed)
5 cups sugar
½ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon butter
1 package pectin 

Mix the juices, butter and pectin in a pot and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Add the sugar quickly and bring back to a full rolling boil for 2 minutes, continue to stir. 

Fill sterilized jelly jars to within ¼ inch from the top and seal.  Process for 5 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Prickly Pear Concentrate

The juice of the prickly pear cactus has a unique flavor, not to mention a vibrant magenta color.  The tunas ripen in late summer, August – September.

A little juice can be added to sun-tea, lemonade, margarita, or any other light colored drink to add a wonderful color and make a bold statement.  The juice is also a base for homemade syrup and jelly.  So if you have access to a prickly pear cactus, go see if there are tunas waiting to be harvested. 

The Process…. 

Collect about 30 very dark tunas from a prickly pear cactus.  Tongs and a knife work great to do this but be careful not to pierce the plump fruit. 

Rinse tunas in the sink and then place in a large pot with 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil and then allow it to simmer for 15 minutes.  If you want to take the time to scrape off the fine needles first go ahead, but it is very time consuming.  You can also burn them off over an open flame, again very time consuming.  The easiest option is to allow the straining process to catch them all. 

After 15 – 30 minutes, mash the tunas with a potato masher. 

Strain through a colander to remove the larger seeds and pulp.  You can allow the fruit to drain and cool off at the same time.  When ready to move on to the next step, put on a pair of latex gloves to keep your hands from getting stained. 

Run the tuna concentrate through a fine wire strainer multiple times, at least twice. 

Next run through a coarse cheese cloth, but also use the wire strainer over your bowl as an extra measure.  You can help the juice by squeezing the cloth. 

Change to a fine cheese cloth and continue to strain the concentrate (again also using the wire strainer over your bowl) a few times to get the juice as clear as possible. 

Your concentrate is now ready for: making jelly, syrup, freezing for later use, chilling for late that day.

Pepper Soup

The basic soup recipe was past down from my Texas Mom Eva, she got it from a very old cookbook and I have since tweaked it into a chunky, bowl-licking meal.   The summer heat down here in Texas has slowed down or done in most of the vegetable garden, but my pepper plants are thriving in the 100+ degree days.  The original recipe called for green peppers, but I prefer to use red peppers for a deeper flavor and colorful presentation.

4 cups sweet peppers (or more)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter 

2 tablespoon flour
4 cup chicken broth 

1 cup half & half
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or ½ fresh clove)
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cumin 

1 pre-cooked chicken breast
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup pre-cooked rice 

¼ teaspoon or more of red pepper flacks if you want some heat
garnish which chopped fresh cilantro or sorrel

 

Chop up peppers into chunks (remove seeds and veins) and place into a deep pot with oil and butter.  Sauté until peppers a soft. 

Add flour and stir constantly while it cooks for a minute or two. 

Slowly add the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat so it simmers for 5 minutes.

Use a stainless steel hand mixer to puree together the pepper/broth mixture. 

Once soup is smooth, add the cream, spices, chicken, corn and rice.  Cook over a low heat for a half hour or more to throughly heat all ingredients.  Any leftovers are just as tasty the next day.

After making this addictive soup, you’ll be out planting additional pepper plants in order to dehydrate the surplus crop so you can make a pot or two in the winter.

Basil Pesto

What to do with all that basil you have growing next to your tomatoes?  Pesto alla Genovese! 

This raw sauce comes from Genoa, Italy where they used a mortar and pestle to pound basil and other ingredients together.  This classic spread is wonderful on Italian bread, tossed into a pasta dish or stirred into minestrone soup. 

2 cups fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon pine nuts
½ clove chopped garlic
1 pinch coarse sea salt
½ cup olive oil 

In a small food processor, blend the basil, cheese, pine nuts, garlic and salt into a paste.  Gradually add the olive oil and blend well.  For a thicker pesto cut back on the oil and for a thinner pesto just add more. 

Tip:  pesto can be made with other herbs like cilantro or mint, but I stick to the classic recipe above.  Also other nuts can be used in place of the pine nuts like, pecans with cinnamon basil or walnuts with lemon basil. 

Pesto can also be frozen for later use, but make sure to leave out the nuts and cheese (they should be added once the pesto has defrosted).  Ice cube trays make good molds for small dollops of this spicy sauce, or a glass mason jar for full batches.   

Ice Box Pickles

I love this picklie recipe because it not only keeps the crunch factor that I grow the small cucumbers for, and it’s easy.  Now if you are looking for a long shelf life then you have to do the standard canning water bath procedure.  But if you like eating fresh food and can’t help from devouring these sweet & sour delights quickly, then give this recipe a try.

Garden fresh cucumbers, sliced 1/4 inch think
Glass jar with rubber seal

Place sliced cucumbers into a glass jar.  1 to 3 cucumbers will fill a 1 quart jar.

1 ½ cups vinegar
1 ½ cups organic sugar
½ teaspoon each: sea salt, mustard seed, turmeric
¼ teaspoon each: red chile flakes, clove, coriander

Combine above ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil so the sugar dissolves.  Pour this over the cucumbers and allow this to sit uncovered for 30 minutes.  When time is up, seal jar with lid and refrigerate at least 48 hours before eating.

These pickles should store in the refiderator for up to a month.  Any unused liquid can be saved (in the fridge of course) and used for your next batch of ice box pickles.

3-Happiness Bean Salad

I make this recipe when there is an abundant of green beans producing and I don’t want to go through the steaming process of canning them.  It’s not only easy, but delicious too! 

1 lb fresh green beans

1 15 oz can of kidney beans (or 1 cup fresh cooked)

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans (or 1 cup fresh cooked)

2 garden peppers (any kind)

 

1 ½ cup vinegar

1 ½ cup un-refined sugar

1 ½ cup olive oil (any oil except canola/rapeseed oil)

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tsp sea salt

1 ½ tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsp basil

1 ½ tsp red pepper flakes 

Clean and cook green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes or until tender.  Drain and let cool while preparing vinaigrette. 

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar into vinegar.  Add all the herbs and spices.  Lastly add the oil and mix well.  Place the legumes and peppers into the vinaigrette and toss.  Transfer bean salad into a large glass jar, cover and refrigerate at least 24 hours before eating. 

Because I use oil that hardens when chilled, I take out the salad at least 20 minutes before serving to allow the oil to liquefy so all the yummy flavors are swimming happily together again.

Little Red Hen Salsa

This salsa is quick, easy and goes great with eggs to tacos. It adds a zest at breakfast time thru to a midnight snack. This is my recipe that I have been making since coming to Texas, but I must confess I never measure any of the herbs or spices.

1 -15 oz canned whole tomatoes
2 – 4 pickled jalapenos, sliced
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pinch coarse sea salt
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves (no stems please)

Place all ingredients into a small food processor and mix for 20 to 30 seconds.
Taste test with corn chips and adjust herb & spices for your taste buds.
For thicker salsa drain some of the liquid from the tomatoes.