Italian Pasta and White Bean Soup

This is a really wonderful hearty soup to have in the winter time. The leftovers only get better with time and it will go for a long time.

Italian Pasta and Bean Soup:

1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrot, diced
3 zucchini, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 16oz cans cannellini/white beans
1 small can tomato pasta (6 oz, I think)
2 cups shell pasta
2 bay leaves
5 cups chicken stock* can substitute vegetable stock
2 cups water
2 tbsp basil/italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is golden. Add the beans, stock and water, zucchini, bay leaves, herbs, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until the zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, cook the pasta al dente. When the soup is hot, add the cooked pasta and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

I like to sprinkle parmesan cheese over sourdough bread slices and broil until the cheese gets browned and then dip these into the soup. Ta~asty!

Serves 6-7

-Jirafa

Quick Vegetarian Chili

Because I was getting bored with my usual rice and beans.

Quick Vegetarian Chili:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp taco seasoning
1 ½ cup vegetable stock
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can black beans
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 15 oz can black eyed peas
1 15 oz can kidney beans
Salt to taste

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium; add remaining ingredients. Let simmer for 8-9 minutes, until heated through. Top with cilantro and plain yogurt.

Serve over rice or alone.

*Worcestershire sauce sometimes has anchovies, which would technically make the dish not vegetarian. If you’re an actual vegetarian, do omit.

Serves...a lot of people. :D

--Jirafa

Spicy Black Beans

My camera hates me. Clearly it does not love black beans as much as I do. But I really really love black beans. I'm eating them as I type this up (honestly). I have cans upon cans in my pantry.

If I had to live off black beans and rice for the rest of my life, I could do it.

Spicy Black Beans

1 15oz can black beans, drained but NOT rinsed
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp taco seasoning
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
¼ cup water

Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and bell pepper, cooking until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic; cook an additional minute. Add beans, taco seasoning, salt, pepper, and water. Cook until beans are heated through.

Serve overtop cilantro lime rice!

Serves 3-4

I Hate Jury Duty Bento

I have to report for jury duty tomorrow and since I have no idea how long they're going to want me to wait, I decided to make a bento just incase.

Presenting my "I Hate Jury Duty" Bento:


Hard-boiled egg surrounded by Italian Orzo Salad
For dessert, a piece of instant cheesecake with strawberry jam and almonds


And a face to express how I feel about having to find a courthouse in a town I'm unfamiliar with.

:)

--Jirafa

Italian Orzo Salad

Clear sign I need to buy groceries: I start making up recipes.

Looking forward to eating this tomorrow though. :)

Italian Orzo Salad

¾ cup orzo pasta
½ large zucchini, diced
¼ yellow onion, diced
2 large mushrooms, sliced
1 cup garbanzo beans
1 tomato, diced
½ cup Newman’s balsamic vinaigrette


Boil orzo until al dente. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, heat 1 tbsp oil and cook zucchini, onion, and mushrooms for ~4-5 minutes. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add in vegetables, followed by the beans, tomato, and balsamic vinaigrette. Mix well; chill.

Best served cold.

Serves 3-4.

--Jirafa

First Post! Red Ashe.

Today is a celebration of both my first post AND my birthday! Yay!

Red Ashe (pronounced “osh”) is my favorite soup ever. Mama Pita learned to cook it by watching Papa Pita’s cousins and I learned to cook it from watching her. (Let it be known that the best way to learn to cook is through observation. And demanding taste tests.) There are many variations of Ashe (“soup” in Farsi) and I’ve only tried a few, but loved them all. I hope to one day visit Iran and taste authentic Ashe for myself; until then, this will have to do.

There is much to be said about the herbs in this soup. I like to fill the sink with cold water and soak them; the smell of cilantro, parsley, and green onion mingling is heavenly. It’s enough to pique even my scent-challenged roommate.



Have you ever seen a more beautiful sight?



The real challenge is separating the cilantro and parsley from the stems. If you’re lazy like my father, you can cut the leaves off before you untie the bunches and soak them. I prefer to do it the hard way and separate them by hand because then I can be sure that no stems will sneak into my soup. It’s really a matter of how much stem you can handle.



After you’ve separated the leaves off the cilantro and parsley, throw them into a large soup pot. Chop the green onions and toss those in too, followed by ½ stick of butter, 6 oz tomato paste, 1 cup of rice, and enough water to just cover the vegetables. It will look like quite a lot in the pot, but it will wilt down as it cooks.



While this is going on, it’s time to prep the saffron. You’ll want a pinch of saffron to about one cup of HOT water. Put the saffron into a mug or a measuring cup and pour one cup of boiling water over it. Cover and let it steep for a few minutes. It will turn from a lovely golden color to a deep and beautiful orange color. Be sure to admire it for a few minutes.

Let the soup boil for about 20 minutes., then turn the temperature down to medium and add the black eyed peas. At this time, salt and pepper it. There’s no good measurement for the amount of salt needed since I’m a salt-a-holic and tend to hold a container of Morton’s over the pot while I yawn. So be sure to taste the soup frequently and adjust to your tastes. At this time you can also add in the saffron and lemon juice. Again, lemon juice somewhat to taste. I am also a lemon-a-holic in addition to being a salt-a-holic and Mama Pita would be cross when she found her soup suddenly saltier and sourer than it had been before she’d left the kitchen.

Sweet Potato Lesson #1: Never leave food unattended if I’m around. I firmly believe there is nothing that can’t be improved with copious amounts of lemon juice.

Let the soup cook for another 5-10 minutes, so the beans can heat through and the saffron and lemon juice have time to share their glorious flavorfulness. Yes. Flavorfulness. Learn it, love it, share it.

At this point, feel free to steal one of your roommate’s photogenic Mikasa bowls and plate the simple, delicious soup. Then promptly trip over your fat cat that snuck under your feet when he saw you had hot food that could burn him.

Devour. Well, let it cool a bit. Then devour!




Red Ashe

½ stick butter
1 cup of basmati rice (long-grain)
6oz of tomato paste
2 bunches each of cilantro, parsley, and green onion
3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
*3 tablespoons saffron-infused water
2 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the vegetables and separate the leaves from the stems. Chop the green onion and add all herbs to a large soup pot. To this add 1 cup of long-grain rice, a 6oz can of tomato paste, and ½ stick of butter. Fill with water until the vegetables are just covered. Turn onto high and let soup boil for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to mix in the tomato paste. After 20 minutes, turn the heat down to medium and add two cans of rinsed black-eyed peas, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and saffron. Heat through for another 5-10 minutes.

*To make saffron-infused water, add 1 cup of boiling water to 1 pinch of saffron threads. (1 pinch being whatever fits between your thumb and forefinger. If you’re using your knuckles to pick up a gumball-sized amount you’ve gone way too far.)

You can find saffron at most grocery stores now, for the low-low price of $1000 per thread. Trader Joe’s sells Spanish saffron for a reasonable price—Spanish saffron will work just as well, although I prefer Iranian-imported saffron. Your best bet is to find a Middle Eastern or International market. Very few markets will keep saffron out because of how much it’s worth so if you don’t see it, ask the cashier.

This soup is good to make when you’re expecting a few people. If you’re making it for one or two, expect to be eating it for at least three days.

-Pita

Next recipe: Apricot Almond Cake (Scheduled post: Tuesday, November 11)