Broccoli + Sweet Potato Soup

It's been a while since I've made a new soup recipe. I love chunky stews and chili, which is why I make those varieties far more often than slurpable stuff of this sort. But . . . there I was in my kitchen looking into a sad drawer of limp, forgotten broccoli. The whole USE IT UP! automatic healthy eating tip was screaming in my head.

I just couldn't stomach another stir-fry.

So . . .

BROCCOLI + SWEET POTATO SOUP
with coconut milk for vegan richness!

What you'll need . . .

• 2 large heads of broccoli, chopped small
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled + chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 2-3 cups (low sodium) vegetable broth
• Salt + pepper, to taste
• Olive or Chili oil (optional)

Method . . . 

1. Prepare all your veggies, then in a stock pot over medium heat, saute your onion in some olive oil until soft. Then add in potatoes and broccoli and cook for a few minutes.
2. Add the broth (start with two cups) and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Then lower to a simmer for around 15 minutes, until veggies/potatoes are soft/blendable. 
3. Let cool slightly before blending* until smooth. Add more broth as necessary to reach desired consistency. Then return to the stovetop to season with the salt, pepper, and optionally kick up the heat with a little chili oil.

* I use my Ninja Blender, a.k.a. my poor woman's Vitamix, to blend the tough broccoli.


Yes. The soup does turn a light brown color, depending on your specific ratio of sweet potatoes to broccoli. If you're looking for a more appetizing presentation, you could always sub in a white potato. But then you'd be missing out on the extra dimension of flavor + nutrition the sweet potato adds. It's a delicate balance.

You could also add in some cayenne. I love hot + spicy soups!

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Green Curry Tofu Stir-Fry

I'm discovering that the easiest gluten-free dinners to prepare don't revolve around specific gluten replacements or fancy flours and baking methods at all. Instead, they require me to look outside the bread box and redefine what dinner means to our family. We used to eat a ton of stir-fries.

I think we fell out of practice when I was pregnant and many veggies turned my stomach. I got in the habit of eating lots of bread-centric foods  because they went down the easiest. They also continued being a favorite when we were busy with a newborn and they were easy to grab.

Newsflash: We don't have a newborn anymore. So, back to stir-frying!

GREEN CURRY TOFU STIR-FRY

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cake tofu, drained well 
• 1 large head broccoli 
• 1 white onion 
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced 
• 1 red pepper, sliced (we were out, but usually use one) 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons green curry paste 
• 15 ounce can low fat coconut milk
• Juice of half a lime

Method . . .

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the green curry paste and coconut milk until well combined. Set aside.
2. Drain your tofu using this method. Cube and set aside while you warm a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large fry pan. Cook the tofu until well browned on all sides.
3. In another, larger pan over medium-high heat, add your oil and onions and garlic. Cook until glassy + fragrant.
4. Then add in the broccoli and red pepper. Cook until softened, but still a bit crunchy. Then add in the mushrooms and cook a few minutes more.
5. Add the coconut curry mix to your veggie pan. Cook for a few minutes, until bubbly.
6. Add the tofu to the veggie/curry pan . . . then cook covered over low heat for another 15 to 30 minutes. Then squirt in the lime and stir.
7. Serve over rice (should make two large servings) and add basil or another garnish as desired. 

I'd say coconut curry stir-fries are our favorite. They aren't quite as authentic as ordering out, but the flavor is more interesting than our other go-to, which is mostly soy sauce mixed with sesame oil. We pretty much go back and fourth between the two.

Here's a Red Curry Stir-Fry recipe we made a while back (with photos taken in the day! sorry about that . . . ). And we sometimes make this tasty marinade, bake the tofu, and serve with roasted veggies. Just another way of making a similar meal.

If you've gone gluten-free or have been trying to eat less gluten, do you try to replace those bread-y foods you used to enjoy or do you shift to eating entirely different sorts of meals? Or maybe a mix?

Enjoy!

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Lazy Woman's Stir-Fry

Wow. First: THANK YOU! We've had quite a lot of feedback on our reader survey from this morning's post. As always, I appreciate the (sometimes brutal) honesty. We want to make this site as great and useful as it can be for you all. And I'm seeing that the new site design isn't well received. It isn't totally hot over here either, but it's difficult to change quickly, unfortunately.

I was frustrated that the new template had the whole "read more" and click option (some of you mentioned I might be trying to get more clicks -- which isn't actually the case, I just wasn't savvy enough to tool around with the template). Anyway, I was able to somewhat remedy it (still a few kinks) with some crafty trial-and-error editing this afternoon. But I'm still 50/50 on if I want to keep the slider with the featured sections.

Oh, yeah. I want my old banner back, too. I need to figure out HOW to get the header section to take an image of that same size. None of this is your concern. I just want you to know I'm listening. Keep those survey comments coming!

Onto more exciting things. Like this stir-fry.

I call it the "Lazy Woman's Stir-Fry" because despite how much I love to play with sauces and spreads, the secret ingredient that makes this dinner great is this:


Now that we're on a super tight budget (hell, when HAVEN'T we been?), I make almost everything from scratch. Everything. It gets ridiculous when I've whipped up some hummus for lunch and have to "quickly" get a batch of naan going so I have something to eat it with. Or when guests come to our house only to find raw ingredients, no snacks.

My mom told me the other day that the one critique she has of this blog is that my recipes are often too involved for the "normal" cook. I can completely see where she's coming from.

Truth is -- full-time worker or not -- I love to cook. I often whipped up elaborate meals for dinner when I worked a 9-to-5 because I love time in the kitchen. It helps me relax. I love the creation process. It gave me time to think. Now that I'm home all day, you'd think I'd have tons of time. Well, I'm home all day with a baby . . . a baby who's starting to get into everything, all that "time" I have is segmented. I'm discovering I need to find time-saving measures and clever shortcuts more than ever.


LAZY BUSY WOMAN'S STIR-FRY

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cake tofu, drained well and cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 2 small heads of broccoli, chopped
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 1 cup white mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or stir-fry oil, if you have it)
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

Method . . . 

1. In a fry pan over high heat, toss in the sesame oil and heat until sizzling. Then lower heat just a bit and add tofu. 
2. Cook, stirring often to get all sides, until well browned. Set aside. 
3. In another, larger frying pan or wok -- toss in the olive or stir-fry oil. Then add the onions and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until glassy. 
4. Add the broccoli and green pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, then add the mushrooms, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce. 
5. Stir well and cover for 5 to 7 minutes. Until broccoli is softened, but still slightly crisp. 
6. Stir in the tofu and cook until warmed. 
7. Serve immediately. With brown rice!

Some lazy busy woman tricks for this dinner:

• Cut veggies into chunks on Sunday afternoon. Toss everything you plan to use for a meal in a large zippered bag. Date and label for the week. 
• Or even consider buying a few pre-sliced and cleaned items -- like mushrooms -- so you can just toss them in. (With mushrooms, I still give them another quick rinse.) 
• Drain tofu early in the day so it's ready and dry at cooking time. Or just deal with tofu that's slightly soggy. I did the latter. 
• Cook double so you can enjoy the next night or night after. I'm not a huge leftovers fan, so I wouldn't go beyond the next evening. 
• As already mentioned -- use a store-bought sauce to flavor. More expensive, yes. But sometimes well worth the extra pennies because you only need very little to flavor an entire meal.

How do you find time to cook yourself/your family quality meals mid-week? I'd love to add to these tips. Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com.

And don't forget to fill out our reader survey! (And if you have comments on how I changed the main page, send those along, too!)

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Tri-Colored Veggie "Pasta"

I have a weird foodie confession to make: I hate pasta. Let me write that again: I hate pasta. I don't exactly know why . . . but even if I'm starving and someone offers me a dish of pasta, I'd rather just wait to eat something else.

Maybe this dislike is routed in my childhood? Yeah. That's likely it.

Of course, being the only vegetarian in my family (since age 12) means eating a lot of spaghetti with red sauce. For holidays, lasagna with cheese and veggies or stuffed shells. Pasta salads at BBQs. Chef's "special" pasta dishes at restaurants with no vegetarian options (which is usually just thrown together from whatever noodles, sauce, and veggies happen to be on the menu that night).

Ick.

Just thinking about all those meals makes me cringe. There is one exception to this rule: Gnocchi. I never really ate gnocchi growing up, so -- at least to me -- it seems like another animal of a dish. Well, Asian noodles, too, are OK by me. Anyway, none of this is the point. Last night, I was craving pasta for some reason. But I wanted to make it out of some of my favorite vegetables.


A few flicks of the wrist later, and THIS was what I had to work with. Beautiful "noodles" made of zucchini, parsnips, and carrots. Of course, we could have topped it off with some red pasta sauce. But I just couldn't drown them like that. Instead, we kept with the whole pumpkin-is-the-new-everything thing we have going here and made a pumpkin-coconut sauce.

TRI-COLORED VEGGIE "PASTA"

What you'll need for the "noodles" . . .

• 1 medium to large zucchini
• 2 to 3 carrots
• 2 to 3 parsnips

Method . . .

1. Wash/scrub your veggies.
2. Then simply use a vegetable peeler to shave them into noodles. A simple back-and-forth motion will do. Try to make them long.
3. Chop and save leftover veggies (which will end up looking almost like bones) to throw into salads. Or just eat raw.

MAKE IT A MEAL

What you'll need . . .

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Method . . .

1. In a large pan over medium-high heat, warm some olive oil and throw in the garlic. Let cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Toss in the chopped broccoli. Cook for five minutes until it is softened, but not soggy.
3. Whisk together the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, ground cloves, and garlic powder . . . and pour into the pan. Lower the heat so it's truly on medium. Continue cooking for a couple minutes.
4. Throw in the "noodles" and let cook until warmed.
5. Serve onto plates or into bowls.
6. With a fork, whisk together the maple syrup and soy sauce. Divide evenly among servings -- which you should get get huge ones out of this recipe.

We are ours with a generous serving of red quinoa and avocado on the side. Of course, it isn't traditional pasta -- hardly. But, let me write this one more time: I HATE pasta. Likely, you won't find a ton of recipes for the "normal" stuff on our site. Unless I'm cooking it for Stephen :)

Do you have any weird food aversions? Any specific ingredients that gross you out? Or maybe you're like me, and you're just plain sick of a certain dish. Tell us all about it! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Black-Eyed Pea Stew

It's easy in fall and winter to devote early Sunday afternoons to chopping veggies to throw into the crock pot. When it's super sunny and 80+ degrees F, however, the last thing on my mind is slow cooking. The heat emanating from the pot isn't comforting and cozy. No, it's just plain awful. And usually the recipes I make in my crock pot and heavy and thick. Just the kind of food I try to steer clear of on a hot day in May.

But this past weekend, I decided to deal with it. To spend some time gathering unused ingredients from the refrigerator and putting them together to make something edible. We had so much yard work to do, so I didn't worry about the heat from the pot bothering me. I'd be outside -- far, far away. I used fresh veggies and a light broth to get over my notion that all slow cooker food must be dense.

You know what? I'm ever-so thankful I got over my slow-cooker-is-only-good-in-cold-weather attitude. Because at the end of the day, we dined on this divine black-eyed pea stew. We used up all the almost-past-their-prime veggies . . . and even had some stew left over for lunches this week.


What you'll need . . .

• 1-1/2 cups dry black-eyed peas (BOOM BOOM POW!) -- plus water for prep.
• 1 can vegetable broth
• 2 cans of water (just fill up the empty veggie broth can to measure)
• 1 can of unsalted corn, drained
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 medium to large head of broccoli, each floret quartered (like above)
• 1/2 a medium white onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method . . .

1. Soak the black-eyed peas (BOOM BOOM POW!) overnight. Or, if you don't plan for these sorts of things (like me), fill a medium pot with about 2 to 3 inches of water and bring to a boil. Throw in the dry peas and let cook for 2 minutes. Take off heat and let sit while you prepare everything else.
2. Pour the vegetable broth, water, corn, broccoli, and onion in the crock pot. Mix and then turn to high and let cook for half an hour to an hour.
3. Then add the black-eyed peas (BOOM BOOM POW!) spices, salt, etc. Stir and go do something outside! Simply let cook until the peas are soft. Which is around 3 hours (stirring occasionally -- also checking on seasonings).
4. Enjoy with pumpkin garlic knots.

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Unexpected Good Finds: Walnut Oil

TJ Max is one of my favorite stores. It seems to have a little of everything -- from scarves and bags . . . to sneakers and skirts . . . to dutch ovens and bedsheets. There's food, too, but I rarely venture down that aisle. I mean, really? Food? I'm sure it's all just super old castoffs from grocery and specialty store shelves across the country. And that's just gross. Most of it is processed like crazy, too.

Moose munch? Chocolate covered cherries? Powdered margarita mix? Please.

The food aisle at our TJ Max must have been moved recently. For, when I made a quick trip there after work the other day, I somehow found myself elbow deep in oils and spices. There was indeed some cool stuff there, and I sort of wish I had given the place a chance sooner. Half off fancy, organic oils -- sunflower, grapeseed, and walnut -- is definitely a deal.


Walnut oil is my favorite of the three. As the name suggests, it is a light and nutty oil most suitable for using in dressings and dips. It's an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids (without the fish gelatin added in, thank you!), which we all know is essential to our nutrition. However, if you plan to rush out an get some of your own, be careful. We learned last night that using walnut oil at high temps doesn't work (think pops-up-and-burns-you-in-the-face doesn't work). Instead, stick to using it at room temperature or for a medium heat saute. It not only loses its flavor when exposed to high heat, its nutrients and antioxidants break down, too.

There's a great recipe on this particular bottle for a French Walnut Oil Vinaigrette we just can't wait to try out.


We used some of it to make a succulent sauce for a stir-fry. It's simple and healthy. Fancy and free. OK. Not free, the oil did set us back about $6 a pop. However, I'm used to seeing prices double that amount on like products. It's well worth a little cash.

To make this dish, just use a bit of olive oil to stir-fry some veggies (here we're used broccoli, onion, mushroom, and tofu). Then in another bowl, mix together equal parts walnut oil and balsamic vinegar. Add some garlic powder, mix, and spoon over veggies. Oh, yeah. We added some freshly chopped basil for an extra punch. I'd highly suggest including that in your own version.


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Curried Tofu Scramble: A Stephen-Favorite

I'm sure you've noticed the (painfully obvious) pattern emerging in my cooking/baking posts versus those recipes designated as Stephen-favorites. Mine are full of fat and sugar -- cookies and cupcakes mostly. Some apples sparkling with sugar. Veggies bathed in coconut milk. Stephen's, however, are teeming with veggies and lean protein.

He is truly the yin to my yang.

Despite your dietary preferences, curried tofu scramble works for any meal. Stephen enjoys it as a hearty post-run breakfast on Sundays . . . while I most enjoy it at night. With several slices of buttery french-bread toast.

What you'll need . . .

• 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup broccoli, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method . . .

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat and add onion. Saute until glassy.
2. Add mushrooms and broccoli. Saute for another 5 minutes (or so) until broccoli is softened.
3. Now add the garlic, soy sauce, spices, and salt.
4. Crumble the tofu (with your hands) and throw into the pan as well. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes -- stirring often -- until the flavors are well mingled.

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