Easy stuffed fresh mozzarella caprese from anitalianinmykitchen.com

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1 large and 1 medium fresh mozzarella (I used 2 medium and had a lot of caprese left over)**
12 cherry tomatoes or 2 or 3 medium to large ripe but firm tomatoes (seeded and chopped)
1/4 small onion chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
3/4 teaspoon oregano (3/4 gram)
1/4 teaspoon salt (1.35 grams)
4-5 fresh basil leaves chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil (54 grams)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (14 grams)

Place the fresh mozzarella in a sieve over a bowl for approximately 20 minutes. Carefully hollow out the mozzarella, chop the excess mozzarella.

In a medium bowl combine, chopped excess mozzarella, chopped tomatoes, onion and celery, oregano,salt, chopped basil, 3 tablespoons olive oil and balsamic vinegar, toss gently together.

Fill the hollowed out fresh mozzarella with the caprese mixture, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and serve the extra caprese mixture on the side. Enjoy!

 

Carrot, Potato, and Cabbage Soup

  1. Combine the carrots, onion, cabbage, garlic, chicken stock, olive oil, thyme, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper in a stock pot over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Add potatoes and cook until done.  Serve

Vegetable bolognese, Mario

Vegetarian-Bolognese-from-Cearas-Kitchen

    • 2 pounds mushrooms (such as cremini)
    • 3 medium carrots (peeled and roughly chopped)
    • 3 ribs celery (roughly chopped)
    • 5 cloves garlic
    • 1 cup milk
    • 4 ounces tomato paste
    • 1 cup dry white wine
    • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, add the mushrooms. Pulse to finely chop. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

In the same food processor, add the onions and pulse to finely chop. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside. Repeat with the carrots, celery and garlic, and add to the bowl with the onions. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, add olive oil and place over medium heat.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, season with salt, and cook until the vegetables are translucent, about 5 more minutes.

Add the tomato paste, stir to combine and cook for 2 minutes. Add the milk and wine, and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.

Helpful Tip: make the Vegetable Bolognese ahead of time and freeze up to a month!

Quinoa Chili from Nettie Cronish

Use organic diced tomatoes for best flavour. The crunch from celery compliments sautéed thinly sliced purple eggplant. Great cabbage roll filling. Delicious hot or cold.

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1 cup quinoa, rinsed
¼ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced or sweet mini peppers
2 Japanese eggplant, chopped (about 2 cups) OR 2 c. regular eggplant
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 tbsp. chili powder & dried oregano
1 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. salt & pepper
2 x 28 fl.oz. diced tomatoes USE 1 can rotel and 1 can crushed
2 green onions, sliced

  1. In a skillet over medium heat, roast the rinsed quinoa for 5 minutes or until fragrant and the quinoa begins to pop. In a small pot bring 2 cups water and salt to boil. Add roasted quinoa . Cover and simmer over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, until water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat, stir and let stand covered 5 minutes.
  2. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic 5 minutes or until softened Stir in green pepper, eggplant, celery, chili,oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring often.
  3. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Stir in the quinoa and green onions.  Serves: 6

Cashew Shrimp Stir-fry from thewoksoflife.com/

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8 oz. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/4 teaspoon sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and white pepper
4 stalks celery, sliced at a 45 degree angle
1/2 of a red bell pepper, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
2 slices ginger, minced
1 scallion, chopped
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
3/4 cup roasted cashews

First, prepare the shrimp. Toss the shrimp with 1 teaspoon sugar, baking soda, and 1/4 cup water, gently mixing everything together for a couple minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours and then rinse under cold running water for 5 minutes to wash away any sugar and baking soda. Pat the shrimp dry thoroughly with a paper towel. Marinate the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pinch of white pepper and set aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Now, since the dish comes together very quickly, and you want to avoid overcooking the shrimp, it’s time to blanch the celery and red bell pepper. Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the celery and red bell pepper in. After 30 seconds, drain the vegetables and shock them in ice water. Drain completely and set aside.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the minced ginger and chopped scallion and cook for 1 minute. Then turn up the heat to high and add the shrimp. Once the shrimp have just begun to turn pink, add the blanched celery and red bell pepper, along with the last 1/4 teaspoon sugar, the oyster sauce, and the cashews. Mix everything well, and season to taste with salt and white pepper. Serve.

Note: It’s ideal to use roasted cashews for this recipe, but I only had raw cashews, so I just wok-roasted them for about 10 minutes. I’ve learned that cashews burn easily, so when roasting, start with a cold wok and medium low heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and then the cashews. Toast the cashews for about 10 minutes, stirring often and taking care not to burn them. Then spread them out and let cool until they’re ready to go into the dish.

Jane Grigson’s Celery Soup from food52.com

  • 4fc5fbd0-b1b7-44ee-8bc7-7df3b3140ad6--2014-0107_genius_simple-soup-0161/2 pound celery, chopped (outside stalks or celeriac — about 2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup diced potato
  • tablespoons butter
  • cups veggie stock
  • 1/2 to 1cups milk (optional)
  • About 1teaspoons dill weed (2 teaspoons for fresh dill)
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons cream
  1. Stew celery, onion, and potato gently in the butter in a covered pan for 10 minutes. Don’t let the vegetables brown. Add stock or water and 1/2 teaspoon of dill weed. Simmer for 20 minutes if you have a blender, 40 minutes if you use a food mill.
  2. Blend or purée the soup. Pour through a strainer into a clean pan (to remove the last few threads of celery), adding a little milk if too thick. Bring slowly to just under the boil, seasoning with salt, pepper and more dill weed if required.
  3. Put the cream into the soup dish, and pour the soup in on top. Swirl round with the ladle before serving, to mix in the cream.

 

Italian orzo tomato spinach soup from littlespicejar.com

This soup is loaded with classic Italian flavors and it’s simple to make! Orzo tomato spinach soup is completely vegetarian friendly and it’s so warm and comforting! The perfect soup so serve on a chilly day.
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  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1//2 cups chopped onions
  • 1¼ cup carrots, sliced into ½ inch rounds
  • 1 cup celery
  • 6 cloves of roasted garlic (see notes)
  • 6½ cups of vegetable stock
  • 2 (14.5 oz) cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1½ tablespoons pesto
  • 1½ cups orzo (whole wheat or regular)
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • 3 cups baby spinach, packed
  • salt and black pepper, to taste
  1. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté them for 4-5 minutes until they get soft. Add the carrots, celery, and roasted garlic and continue to sauté for an additional 3 minutes. Add the stock, along with the tomatoes, pesto, orzo, thyme, Italian seasoning, and oregano, stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium and let the orzo pasta cook to al-dente, about 10 minutes, stir occasionally.
  2. Just before serving, add the baby spinach and continue to cook for 1 minutes or until the spinach gets nice and bright green and wilts down. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
To roast your own garlic: Heat an oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Peel off most of the paper from the garlic, leaving the head intact with the cloves attached. Trim the top off the head of garlic by ¼ inch. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of olive oil over the exposed surface, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Wrap in foil and bake for 40 minutes. Check the garlic, it is done when the center clove is completely soft with pierced with a paring knife. Continue roasting for an additional 5 -10 minutes to help deepen the golden color and caramelize further. Exact roasting time may vary due to size. Garlic can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and frozen for up to 3 months.

Lentil Soup with Coriander and Cumin by fatfreevegan.com

  • 2 cups brown or green lentils, uncooked
  • 8 cups water or vegetable broth
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 large carrots, thickly sliced
  • 1 rib celery, chopped
  • 2 large gold or red potatoes, cut into large cubes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 vegetable bouillon cubes (use if water is used instead of broth)
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Additional seasonings: 1/4 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 2 cloves minced garlic
  • salt, to taste
  • 4 ounces fresh spinach (chopped if large leaves)
  • 2 teaspoons Red wine vinegar or lemon juice
  • chopped parsley
Instructions
  1. Pick over the lentils and rinse well.
  2. Start the water or broth heating in the pressure cooker while you chop the vegetables. Add all ingredients except the additional seasonings, salt, spinach, and vinegar into the pan and bring to a boil.
  3. Add more water if it seems too thick. Remove the bay leaves, and add the additional seasonings, salt, and spinach. Check the seasonings, adding more cumin and coriander as needed. Cook for just a few minutes to wilt the spinach. Stir in the vinegar or lemon juice and serve. Serves: 8

fat flush soup from skinnyms.com

12065603_10153231590538111_2931130283495035989_nThe soup is packed with nutritional powerhouses such as sweet potato, spinach, garlic, carrots, and tomatoes, this soup truly flushes the fat away by restoring acid-alkaline and sodium-potassium balance to the body’s organs and glands. It is a warming and deliciously comforting treat that has the added bonus of detoxing your body and adding much needed nutrients.

The superfoods in this soup are packed with antioxidants and fiber and aid with flushing toxins and, subsequently, fat from the body.

 

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of Kosher or sea salt, more or less to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp marjoram
2 tbsp. chopped parsley
2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional, navy beans)
6 cups vegetable broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes (no salt added), *this is an optional ingredient
4 cups baby spinach or kale, loosely packed or use kale

Stovetop Method: prep veggies add to large pot, cover, and simmer until veggies are tender, approximately 45 min – 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes to prevent sticking. Add spinach or kale at the end of cooking time, remove from heat, cover and allow spinach to wilt before serving. If using kale cook for 10 min more or until tender.  I waited 20 to add potatoes as I didn’t want them to be mushy.

Ginger Vegetable Congee

  • congee1 cup raw long-grain white rice, rinsed
  • 7 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus more for seasoning
  • Two-inch knob of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1/2 cup diced carrots
  • Sliced green onion, for garnish
  1. In large pot add stock, rice, salt and ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Stir occasionally so that the rice doesn’t clump or stick at the bottom.
  2. While the congee is simmering prep the celery, broccoli and carrots: peeling, cutting, and dicing, as needed.
  3. Simmer the congee for about 30 minutes then add the celery, broccoli and carrots.
  4. Continue to simmer until the congee is thickened and creamy and the vegetables are tender and soft. Add salt to taste. Garnish with the sliced green onion and serve hot.

NOTES

As the congee cools, it will become thicker. Add additional stock or water if necessary to make the congee to your desired thickness.