CSA inspired, Vegan, No Oil, Minestrone soup

I had a few leftover items from week ones bag of goodies.  I needed to figure out how to use the kohlrabi,   green peas, garlic scapes, and tomatoes.  I also had a bag of baby carrots and celery in the fridge that were nearly their expiration date.  I decided to make a vegetable soup.   Having never made a vegetable soup, I seriously just chopped veggies and tossed them in a pot, I figured I would taste test along the way.  


Ingredients
1 box of low sodium vegetable broth and
1 box of low sodium vegetable stock
(I honestly have no idea if there is any difference in the products other than brand name, feel free to drop a comment if you know)
3 Garlic scapes chopped small
2 cups of fresh green peas  (canned would be fine)
1/2 a white onion diced
1/2 a kohlrabi  sliced into small chunks
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery (2 bunches)
1 can of red beans rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes with basil oregano and thyme
a added a pinch or two of the following spices
thyme
basil
oregano
rosemary

Toss everything in a big pot and let it simmer for a couple of hours on low heat, covered.   I cooked about half a box of whole wheat elbow macaroni and tossed it into the pot about 20 minutes before serving.

Remy would be proud

Ratatouille!

Surprisingly simple to make!
your favorite red sauce
your favorite veggie combination for example
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 red pepper
1 eggplant
1 tomato
Just pick as many as you want, and slice them up into similar sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 350
Get a baking dish, layer the bottom with an inch or so of your red sauce and start laying out your veggies as seen in the photo.  Place a piece of parchment on top and bake 45-50 minutes or until your veggies are soft and the red sauce is bubbling

sneaking in some exercise

The kids are on vacation from school and have been bugging me about going to the park every day!   I finally caved in today and we went.  I drove to the 1 mile fitness trail and made them walk the rest of the way to the park.   They were so excited on the way there, walking quickly through the trail, focused on getting to the playground, the walk home wasn't nearly as energized.   I may or may not have bribed them with a trip to Sheetz...  

Almond milk monster

Ahhhhhh run!!!!  It's the Chocolate Almond Milk Monster!!!!  

I guess I can't really complain, at least it's healthier than dairy milk!  

CSA meal # 2

A bed of fresh, crisp romain and spinach leaves with a few chopped strawberries from the CSA.  I added a scoop of Vegan chicken salad from Whole Foods Market and a couple walnut halves.  No dressing, it didn't really need it.  Delish!

Community Supported Agriculture CSA

Even before the DH and I started the Engine 2 plant strong challenge, we saw an advertisement for a CSA in the local newspaper.  It sounded like a great way to ensure that we eat more fresh produce, almost a way of forcing it!  We hate to pay for things, especially food and let them go to waste.   So we bit the bullet and signed up for the 22 week Vegan Summer plan.   Our first pick up was last night, here is what we got:

1 head kohlrabi
1 bunch collard greens
2 quarts strawberries
1 bunch red russian kale
1 bunch garlic scapes
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 bunch radishes
1 quarter lb bag pea tendrils

2 bunches spinach
1 head broccoli
1 lb sweet peas  

1 lb rhubarb
2 lbs hoophouse tomatoes

I should have taken a picture of the overflowing bag of goodies before I washed, chopped, prepped, and stored everything.  Next week, I'll try to remember!   I have never tried a few of these things i.e. kohlrabi, garlic scapes, pea tendrils, rhubarb, collard greens....    You get the picture, right?  I went on a massive Google search trying to figure out what to do with these new treasures.   First up, Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.

I am not big on exact measurements, I like to wing it so here is a close approximation of what I did.

Filling

3 cups of hulled and quartered strawberries

3 cups of sliced rhubarb

1/3 of agave 

tbsp of corn starch

Topping

1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup of rolled oats

2 tbsp of brown sugar Splenda

a couple shakes of cinnamon

a splash of unsweetened almond milk (2tbsp?)

3 tbsp of chia goo  (I make this ahead of time and use as an egg alternative for baking,  2 tbsp of chia seeds mixed with about a cup of water, when you let it sit, it become a 'goo'  )

handful of sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 350

mix the strawberries, rhubarb, agave and corn starch in a large bowl

I poured out some of the excess liquid out before pouring the mixture into an 8x8 ungreased pan

In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the milk and chia goo,

mix with your hands until everything feels damp and is clumping together. 

Then sprinkle it over the strawberries and rhubarb mixture,  topping with the almonds.

Bake it for aprox 45 minutes.

Baked Apple Chips

So easy, so healthy and so yummy!  I made 2 batches, so 4 apples the other day and the DH ate every last chip during one 8 hour shift of work.  LOL, I suppose I can't really be mad.  I am glad he likes them so much, and considering the alternatives... I think I'll just get to work on making another batch.

Ingredients:
2 firm apples, I like Galas
cinnamon powder
you can add a little sugar or splenda, but I don't think you really need it

Preheat the oven to 200F
Cut the apples into thin slices, by hand or use a mandolin.
Try to keep the thickness uniform so they cook evenly.
Place the slices on a baking sheet, no need to grease the pan, the apples should peel off as long as they are not sliced too thin.  You could probably use parchment paper, but I have not experimented with it.
Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon (and sugar if you like) and pop them in the oven for an hour.  
Flip the apple slices, add a little more cinnamon and bake another hour.
They will feel a little floppy or limp when you first pull them out, but will crisp up in just a few minutes.
I store mine in a zip lock bag, not sure how long they would stay fresh, they never last longer than 2-3 days in our house.