simple soup, salad and smoothie

our eats at home have been on the simple side lately... lots of fruit, salads, cooked soups and grains, smoothies and juices... while last year saw me a raw gourmet chef in the kitchen, soaking and dehydrating my tail off! (don't fret my raw foodie friends, i foresee more romps with raw cuisine in my future...=)

below are some stand-outs... a particularly scrummy soup, salad and smoothie recipe to guide you in creating your own animal-friendly deliciousness.

feel free to tweak these recipes (or any for that matter) to create a dish suited to your stock of ingredients and taste. don't have/care for turnips? add more potatoes/use parsnips instead! want to swap apple cider for balsamic vinegar? do it! cook intuitively - you may be pleasantly surprised with what you create!

potato-carrot-turnip soup

adapted from this recipe

(serves 4-6)

4 potatoes

3 carrots

2 celery stalks

1 turnip

1 clove garlic

5 1/4 C water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/4 tsp oregano

pinch nutmeg

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper, to taste

splash of vinegar (optional)

dice veggies. in a large pot, saute first 6 ingredients with olive oil and allow to cook about 5 minutes, stirring often. add water and remaining ingredients. bring to boil, cover and simmer about 10 minutes. carefully pour hot soup into blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  

maple-balsamic-dijon vinaigrette

over a bed of mixed greens with green apple and pecans

2 T olive oil

1 T balsamic vinegar

2 tsp maple syrup

2 tsp dijon mustard 

1 or more garlic clove, minced

mix well and enjoy the yummiest dressing ever.=)

carrot-ginger super smoothie

serves 2

2 bananas

1 apple

1 large carrot

1 celery stalk

1 T chia seeds 

1/4 of one cucumber

small handful goji berries

fresh ginger root, to taste

blend all with filtered water until smooth.

happy 1/1/11!

♥