Flowfit

Ah the smell of fresh dill… you either love it or hate it.  For me, dill embodies freshness, clean, summery and tangy .  Basil is probably the more sought after summer herb, but don’t leave this dilly dandy herb out!  I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner the other night, and in my fridge I found a wonderful bunch of fresh dill.  Add some veggies to my counter, a frozen bag of tortellini and corn from the freezer…. and a new soup was born!  Don’t worry yourself with precise chopping or exact ingredients for this soup.  Big uneven chunks go great with the casualness of this soup, plus make sense with the size of the tortellini.  If you don’t have something, use something else.  Be creative and surprise yourself with an amazing new soup you can call your own.

Summer Tortellini Soup

• 1/2 package frozen Tortellini
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 carrots, peeled and rough chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, rough chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 6 cups of water
• Vegetable bullion seasonings (I use 2 tbsp Vegeta)
• 1 sweet potato
• 2 large hand fulls spinach (or more – it shrinks alot)
• 1 handful fresh dill, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, add onions, celery and carrots.  Season with salt and pepper.  Saute for 3-5 minutes to sweat out vegetables.  Add garlic, saute for another minute and add water and vegeta seasonings.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and add sweet potatoes and tortellini.  Cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Add red peppers and corn.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Check potatoes  - when potatoes are cooked, add spinach and dill.  Cook for 2 -3 minutes or until spinach is wilted but still bright green.

Serve with crusty whole grain bread and big salad.  YUM!

This is one of those recipes I’ve been making for what seems like my entire life.  It’s a great side that everyone loves.  The taters get all crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  The rest of the root veggies carmelize into their own beautiful sweetness.

Destined to be one of your favs!

Roasted Root Veggies

Serves 4

• 2 yukon gold potatoes, cubed (peel can be left on or off depending on your preferance)
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cubed
• 3 large parsnips, peeled and cubed
• 2 meduim sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large cooking onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or pressed
• Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  

  mix em up and put em in the oven!

Preheat oven to 420 degrees.  Place chopped veggies on large cookie sheet and pour oil over top, add pepper.  Reserve garlic and salt for later. Using your hands (best tools ever!), toss about to ensure everything is well coated with oil.  Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, an flip and mix.  Add garlic and salt.  Return to oven and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes – flipping and mixing once or twice during cooking.  Sprinkle with a little extra salt when finished.

YUM!

TIPS – I used baby purple onions this time instead of regular cooking onion as I had a bunch of them in my Plan B box.  They added a wonderful sweetness!

Don’t let the name fool you… this side is amazingly flavourful and has a very unique texture. It goes great with grilled fish (salmon especially) and is really easy to prepare.
In my quest to find vegetarian/vegan friendly meals more often, I’ve been experimenting with lentils – they are literally packed with protein, dietary fibre, folate, iron and vitamin B1. Not only do lentils help lower cholesterol, they are of special benefit in managing blood sugar disorders since their fibre content is so high.
Lentils fill you up – not out!

Dinner is served! YUM!

Vegetarian Barley and Lentil Hash:

• 1 cup pot barley
• 1 cup split red lentils
• 1 sweet potato (peeled and diced)
• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• 1 zucchini (diced)
• 1 bunch (good handful) kale
• 6 cups water
• 1 tbsp “Vegeta” food seasoning (found in most European markets) – replace with salted seasoning of choice
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp Caribbean style curry powder
• 1 lime, juiced and rinds put in for cooking
• 1 trimmed stalk of lemon grass

Bring water, seasoning, lemon grass, lime juice and rind to a boil. Add barley and cook for 10 minutes. Add lentils, cumin and kale and continue cooking. While Barley and lentils are cooking, sauté sweet potato dice and onion in sauté pan with curry. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes over medium heat until potatoes are browned. Add to barley and lentil mixture. Cover and continue to cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Check for doneness and to see if water has evaporated. If too watery, remove lid and continue to cook on medium low until it thickens. Remove lemon grass and lime before serving.

YUM!

Serve under fish of choice. Try with Maple Soy Glazed Salmon. Add fresh organic greens and The BEST EVER Lemony Dressing. HOO-HA!

Red Split Lentils

TIPS – The lentils are dry and come in a bag. Buy “split” lentils. The red colour cooks into a mellow yellow.