Coconut Rock Buns

Coconut rock buns, also known as rock cakes in the Caribbean, are similar to scones. They are crunchy on the outside yet chewy inside. Perfect for breakfast or snacks. The recipe calls for Demerara sugar which is a light brown, large sugar crystal with a caramel-like flavor. If you can not find Demerara sugar, which is an optional ingredient to sprinkle on top of the buns before baking them, you could replace it with either turbinado or organic cane sugar. Both sugars have bigger sugar crystals than regular brown or white sugar. 

Photo: Care2

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• ½ cup butter diced
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon grated orange
• ¼ cup raisins
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon grated orange
• ¾ cup shredded coconut
• Demerara sugar to sprinkle (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, grated orange, nutmeg and salt
3. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it’s OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated.
4. Whisk together eggs and vanilla
5. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together (like a ball)
6. Put dough on floured surface, and pat (gently!) with your hands only.
7. Fold dough over on itself about 5 times, and then gently press down.
8. Shape into 8 – 10 rocks or you may use a cookie cutter. Sprinkle with demerara sugar.
9. Place on baking sheet.
10. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned
11. Remove, let it cool and serve

For picture instructions, please visit African Bites

Tempeh Bolognese

Tempeh replaces ground meat in this classic slowly-cooked Italian sauce. If you have never tried tempeh, it tastes similar to tofu but starchy and has a nutty flavor. Tempeh is fermented whole soybeans and is considered a super food. To reap the nutritional benefits of this super food, make sure you read the ingredients label and buy organic tempeh.

Organic tempeh is made from cultured organic soybeans which means that there are beneficial probiotics that's great for your digestive system. Aside from reaping the benefits of probiotics, tempeh is rich in manganese, calcium, fiber, and protein.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. plus 1 ½ tsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped (1 ½ cups)
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped (½ cup)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 Tbs. dried oregano
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
• 1 8-oz. pkg. tempeh
• 1 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 28-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup low-fat evaporated skim milk

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, oregano, and garlic, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until vegetables are browned, stirring often. 

2. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 1/2 tsp. oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add tempeh, and brown 2 minutes on each side. Add soy sauce and 1/2 cup water. Cook tempeh 5 minutes more, or until liquid has absorbed. Break tempeh into small crumbles with spatula.

3. Stir tempeh, tomatoes, wine, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce into onion mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes. Stir in evaporated milk, and simmer 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Recipe by: Vegetarian Times

Boiling Egg Time

Bon Appetit provides a nice visual of how an egg is cooked through by each minute increment. The chart comes in handy if you prefer your eggs cooked a certain way. To achieve a semi-cooked boiled egg, it is recommended that you drop the eggs in boiling water rather than starting in cold water. If you want a hard-boiled egg, then you start in cold water. 

Source:
Yahoo Food

Vegetarian Chili

I've never made chili using beer. I think it is the secret ingredient to this Better Homes and Garden really tasty vegetarian chili recipe. The combination of cumin and allspice really enhance the flavor. No wonder the staff of BHG selected this recipe as one of their best. 

Ingredients

2 Tbs. olive oil or cooking oil
1½ cups chopped celery
1½ cups chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves minced garlic
2 28 oz cans tomatoes, undrained, cut up
3 15 to 16 oz cans beans (such as kidney, black, Great Northern, pinto, or chickpeas aka garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3-4 teaspoon chili powder
1½ teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce
1 bay leaf
1 12 oz can beer
3/4 cup cashews
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack, mozzarella, or sharp cheddar cheese (4 oz)

Instructions
1. In a 4 or 6 quart Dutch oven or big pot with a lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add celery, sweet pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook, covered, about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. 

2. Stir in all the remaining ingredients accept for the beer, cashews, and cheese.

3. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes more or until desired consistency. Discard bay leaf. Stir in cashews. Sprinkle cheese over each serving. 

Makes 8 servings


Recipe by: Better Homes and Gardens

Stir Fried Tomato and Eggs

Stir-fried tomato and eggs is a very fast and delicious dish to make. It takes less than 5 minutes to cook. If you want your eggs to be nice and silky, timing is crucial. The beauty of this dish is nothing can go wrong...really. If your cooked your eggs too long, the dish won't be ruined. As with any stir-fry dishes, make sure your pan or wok is hot before you add oil. I don't mean so hot that the pan starts to smoke. I have seen many people who pour in oil before heating the pan which is a bad idea. This will make the oil too hot as it heats up along with the pan which can lead to intense splattering if you throw in wet ingredients and the food sticking to the pan. The secret to stir-frying successfully is to make sure the pan is hot before you add oil. As soon as you add the oil, you start to add the first set of ingredients to begin stir frying. If your pan isn't well heated, the food will stick which extend the cooking time and a lot of scrubbing to do to clean your pan. Another important tip is to make sure you have all your ingredients ready as timing is essential in any stir-fried dishes.

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs
4 tbsp. canola oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, cored, each cut into 8 wedges
1 tsp. sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
1 scallion or 2 garlic chives, thinly sliced crosswise 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Crack eggs into a medium bowl and beat lightly with a fork or chopsticks.  

2. Heat a 14" wok (or stainless-steel skillet) over high heat until wok begins to smoke. Add 1 tbsp. oil around edge of wok and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. Pour in eggs around edges of wok. Cook, stirring once or twice with chopsticks or a spoon to break eggs into large curds, until eggs are fluffy but not browned, about 60 seconds. 

3. Transfer eggs to a plate and set aside. Wipe out wok, return to high heat until smoking, and add remaining oil around edge of wok, swirling to coat the bottom and sides.   

4. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook, tossing constantly, until tomatoes begin to soften, about 1 minute. Stir in sugar and the reserved eggs and cook, stirring and tossing often, until eggs are heated through, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and garnish with scallions.

SERVES 2–4

Recipe by: Saveur

Black Pepper Tofu

This spicy tofu dish is packed with heat and flavor. The recipe calls for kecap manis  (pronounced KEH-chup MAH-nees), which is sweet soy sauce flavored with garlic, star anise, soybeans, and palm sugar. Kecap Manis has a more thicker consistency than soy sauce because of its high content of palm sugar. They are sold in Asian supermarkets. You can buy also buy it online. 

You can reduce the amount of serrano chiles and black pepper if you prefer to make this dish less spicy. 

SERVES 4–6

INGREDIENTS

2 cups canola oil
1 ¾ lb. firm tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
½ cup cornstarch
11 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. finely chopped ginger
12 small shallots, thinly sliced
12 cloves garlic, crushed
8 red serrano chiles, stemmed and thinly sliced
5 tbsp. coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbsp. kecap manis (available at Amazon)
3 tbsp. light soy sauce
4 tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tbsp. sugar
16 small scallions, cut into 1 ¼″ pieces
Cooked white rice, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. 

2) Toss tofu and cornstarch in a bowl until evenly coated. Fry tofu until browned all over, about 3 minutes. 

3) Drain and set aside; discard oil, and wipe skillet clean. Return skillet to medium heat with butter. 

4) Add ginger, shallots, garlic, and chiles; cook until soft, about 15 minutes. 

5) Stir in pepper, soy sauces, and sugar. 

6) Return tofu to skillet; cook, stirring, until warmed through, about 2 minutes. 

7) Stir in scallions; serve over rice.

Red Chile Enchiladas

Making fresh enchiladas sauce may take a bit of time and you have to take out your food processor but the end result is worth it. You get fresh and healthy sauce because you control the amount of salt that goes in your sauce and no preservative.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

20 dried new mexico chiles
3 tbsp. canola oil, plus more for frying
10 cloves garlic
1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. sugar
Kosher salt, to taste
12 corn tortillas
2 cups grated mozzarella
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
3⁄4 cup finely chopped red onion
1⁄4 cup finely crumbled cotija cheese
3 tbsp. crema or sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soften chiles (see How to Soak Chiles). Transfer chiles and 2 cups soaking water to a food processor; let cool.

2. Heat oven to 450˚. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer garlic to the food processor with the reserved chiles, reserving oil in skillet. Purée chile–garlic mixture; add lime, cumin, sugar, and salt and pulse to combine. Strain through a sieve; discard solids. Transfer chile sauce to reserved skillet; heat sauce over medium heat.

3. Pour oil into a 10" skillet over medium-high heat to a depth of 1⁄2". Using tongs and working with one tortilla at a time, dip tortilla in oil; cook until slightly crisp, about 15 seconds. Drain tortilla. Dip in chile sauce to coat, and transfer to a plate. Sprinkle some of the mozzarella, cheddar, and onions along center of tortilla. Roll up enchilada. Arrange rolled enchiladas on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Divide enchiladas between 4 plates; sprinkle with cotija cheese and drizzle with crema or sour cream. 

Recipe by: Saveur

Easy Peach Cobbler

Some people stay away from baking because of the messy clean up and/or the thought of mixing and blending too many ingredients together. If you are one of those people, I've got a really easy yet terrific peach cobbler recipe. This is one of my family favorites. Come summer when peaches are in season and sweet, I make it every week and we never get sick of it. It's that good! It also goes great with ice cream.

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup whole milk
3 medium peaches

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF, with a rack in the middle. 

Place the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place it in the oven for 5 minutes, or until melted. Remove the dish from the oven, tilting the dish to evenly coat the bottom with the butter.

Whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the milk. Pour the batter evenly over the butter in the baking dish. Do not stir.

Cut the peaches into wedges and place them in the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar over the top of the peaches. Bake the cobbler until it is set and golden on top, 35-40 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.

Serve the cobbler warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by: Ian Knauer

Awesome Banana Bread

Making this moist banana bread has become a monthly routine for me. Great for breakfast when I don't have time to cook up something for the kids. The best thing is you don't have to pull out your electric blender or any fancy baking equipment so clean up is easy. I love this recipe for 2 reasons. Firstly, it is not overwhelmingly sweet. Second, although it is moist, it also has a nice dense balance.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1 cup sugar (Lisa uses 1 1/2 cups, which makes for an even moister loaf)
• 2 eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup milk mixed with
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (not needed if using salted butter)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix sugar into softened butter using a fork.
3. Add eggs; mix well.
4. Mash bananas and add to batter. Add vanilla.
5. Add vinegar to milk; add sour milk to batter.
6. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
7. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix well.
8. Add nuts, if using.
9. Bake for one hour, until toothpick comes out clean. It’s important to do the toothpick test with banana bread, as often it looks nice and brown outside but still needs a few more minutes to cook fully inside.

Recipe by: Chinese Grandma

Alton Brown Garden Vegetable Soup

This soup is tasty and full of vegetables. If you can, use fresh corns as they add a nice sweetness to the soup. You can modify the recipe with whatever vegetables you have at home.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil 
2 cups chopped leeks, white part only (from approximately 3 medium leeks)

2 tablespoons finely minced garlic 
Kosher salt 
2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds (approximately 2 medium) 
2 cups peeled and diced potato 
2 cups fresh green beans, broken or cut into 3/4-inch pieces 
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth 
4 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes 
2 ears corn, kernels removed 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1/4 cup packed, chopped fresh parsley leaves 
1 to 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Directions 

1) Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. 

2) Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. 

3) Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, and pepper. 

4) Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes. 

5) Remove from heat and add the parsley and lemon juice. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. 
Serve immediately.

Recipe by: Alton Brown

Tyler Florence Potato Salad

Tyler Florence Potato Salad is one of my go-to recipes.  The combination of lemon juice and pickles juice provide a nice subtle sourness. I add a bit of sugar to give it some sweetness. This potato salad is the only one that I've seen where you grate hard boiled eggs instead of chopping them.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 bunch sliced scallions, white and green parts
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup finely chopped dill pickles with 1/4 cup juice, about 2 pickles
• 1/2 small red onion, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Instructions:

Put the potatoes and eggs into a big saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to a simmer. After 12 minutes remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let cool. Continue cooking the potatoes until a paring knife poked into them goes in without resistance, about 3 minutes longer. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool.

Reserve some scallion greens and capers for garnish. Meanwhile, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, pickles and their juice, onion, remaining scallions and capers, parsley, and lemon juice in a bowl large enough to hold the potatoes. Peel the cool eggs and grate them into the bowl. Stick a fork into the potatoes and lift them 1 at a time out of the colander. Break up the potatoes by hand into rough chunks, add them to the bowl and toss to coat with the dressing. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.

Recipe by: Tyler Florence

Perfect Blueberry Muffin

For those of you who prefer your blueberry muffin dry, more like biscuit dry, I found this terrific recipe at Smitten Kitten.

Makes 9 to 10 standard muffins

Ingredients

5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces or 71 grams) unsalted butter , softened
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) sugar
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces or 191 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon (7 grams or 1/4 ounce) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon (1 gram) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces or 105 grams) blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, don’t bother defrosting)

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners or spray each cup with a nonstick spray. 

2) Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest. 

3) Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. 

4) Mix until combined. Sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. 

5) Gently fold in your blueberries. The dough will be quite thick (and even thicker, if you used a full-fat Greek-style yogurt), closer to a cookie dough, which is why an ice cream scoop is a great tool to fill your muffin cups. You’re looking for them to be about 3/4 full, nothing more, so you might only need 9 instead of 10 cups. 

6) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean (you know, except for blueberry goo). 

7) Let cool on rack (ha), or you know, serve with a generous pat of butter.

Recipe by: Smitten Kitten

Best Moist Blueberry Muffin

My girls love blueberries. I always buy a big box and add them to waffles, pancakes, and cereals. I found this amazingly moist blueberry muffin recipe by Jacklyn at Cooking Classy. I like my muffins moist and this recipe certainly did not fail! If you prefer your muffin dry, you might like this recipe better.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 7 Tbsp vegetable oil* (the easiest way to measure: measure 1/2 cup remove 1 Tbsp)
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
Crumb Topping
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp chilled butter, diced
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Raw Sugar

Yield: 14 muffins

Directions

• Prepare crumb topping by combining 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar and 2 1/2 Tbsp butter in a food processor. Pulse just a few seconds until combine, it should be very fluffy (if you pulse it too much it will become dense). Pour crumb mixture into a small bowl and whisk in 1 1/2 Tbsp raw sugar (please do not leave this ingredient out, it's the crowning jewel of these muffins, it's a MUST), set aside.
• In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. In a seperate mixing bowl, using a wire hand whisk (no electric mixer allowed here =), mix together 1 cup granulated sugar, buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg and sour cream for 1 minute. Gently whisk in dry mixture just until combine, batter should be slightly lumpy (do not over-mix, key to fluffy muffins). Fold in blueberries with a spatula. Divide mixture evenly among 12 - 14 paper lined muffin tins. Allow muffins to rest at room temperature 10 minutes, meanwhile preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• After muffins have rested, fluff crumb topping with a fork and sprinkle each muffin evenly with 1 Tbsp crumb topping mixture (if doing 14 muffins you will want to do a scant tbsp). Bake muffins 19 - 23 minutes until lightly golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool several minutes in muffin pan before removing to wire rack to cool.

Notes

*If you want the cupcake to be a bit denser, use 3 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil and 3 1/2 Tbsp melted butter. I've tried both ways and love both I just prefer it a bit fluffier so I use all vegetable oil.

Recipe by: Cooking Classy

Kale Quinoa Salad

Some people have a hard time eating raw kale. This Kale Quinoa Salad will make it easier for you to enjoy this super food. I found the key to eating raw kale is to let it sit in the dressing for about 30 minutes. The salt and oil softens the kale, making it less bitter. Another tip is to use dinosaur or lacinato kale which is softer and easier to chew.

Health Benefits of kale: high in folate, iron,  fiber, vitamin K, A, and C and iron, low calorie and zero fat; one cup of kale is filled with 10% of the RDA of omega-3 fatty acids

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale, washed and de-stemmed
1 cup cooked quinoa
2 avocados, diced
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Chiffonade the kale by stacking the leaves, rolling them tightly, and then slicing them perpendicularly to the roll to create long, thin strips.

2. Mix everything together and enjoy!

Recipe by: Womens Health Magazine

Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin

I found this Martha Stewart creamy yet not too heavily creamed zucchini and yellow squash gratin recipe and really liked the simplicity of this great side dish. If you don't like zucchini or squash, you'll learn to enjoy them after trying out this recipe. Panko, which is Japanese bread crumbs, is sprinkled as the final touch before baking. You get this lightly crunch that goes well with the cream and zucchini.

Ingredients:

• • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 medium zucchini (about 7 ounces each), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 medium yellow squash (about 7 ounces each), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

  
  

  • Directions:
  • 
    
  • 1) Preheat oven to 450. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat; add zucchini, yellow squash, shallots, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini and squash are crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.

  2) Add cream, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; stir in 1/2 cup panko and 1/4 cup Parmesan.

  3) Spoon mixture into a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining panko and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Bake until top is golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Recipe by:
• Martha Stewart 

Greek Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is such a versatile grain that you can make a salad using just about any ingredients. This is one Greek version. You can add more ingredients as you wish.

Jen from thescrumptiouspumpkin.com provided beautifully pictured instructions for this recipe. To get her Greek Quinoa Salad recipe, please click here.

Here's what you will need to make this gorgeous salad:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• ½ orange bell pepper, diced
• ½ cucumber, diced
• ½ cup feta cheese crumbles
• 3 tablespoons chives, chopped
• 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chunky Roasted Vegetable Soup

Using only a few simple and fresh ingredients, this low calorie and gluten free chunky roasted vegetable soup is so delicious and satisfying. Great with pita bread or crackers.

For this recipe, you will need:

1 head garlic

3 pt. cherry tomatoes

2 large bell peppers, cut into ½-inch chunks

2 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch chunks

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp. smoked paprika

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

4 Tbs. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Rub papery skin off garlic, and cut off top of head to expose clove tips. Place on square of foil, and drizzle with 1 Tbs. water. Wrap garlic, and roast 35 to 40 minutes, or until soft.

3. Toss tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and oil with paprika in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread on 2 baking sheets, and roast 35 to 40 minutes, or until vegetables are browned and tender, stirring once. Cool 10 minutes.

4. Squeeze roasted garlic cloves into bowl of food processor; add half of roasted vegetables and 1 cup water. Blend until smooth, then transfer to large bowl or saucepan. Pulse remaining vegetables in food processor until chopped, then stir into puréed soup with corn and vinegar. Warm, if necessary.

STORE/SERVE Refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator overnight. Serve hot or cold.

Recipe by: Vegetarian Times