Tag: spinach

Lemon Spinach Soup

December 4, 2015 / Jenny / 12 Comments

In the midst of the wonderful excesses of holiday eating, it feels good to take a break and make a soup made with pure, cleansing ingredients like lemon and spinach. This soup is simple, yet the flavor combination of lemon and spinach is glorious. And we all need the infusion of vitamins and iron that spinach gives, especially at this time of year.

I had some lemons left over from making my daughter’s lemon birthday cake (with lemon frosting!), and was looking for a way to use them. Because I have been craving something deep green and full of nutrients, I came across this delicious recipe for lemon spinach soup, adapted from the charming cookbook “Hollyhocks & Radishes” by Bonnie Stewart Mickelson. The broth in this soup is so good, I could sip it all by itself! The addition of the spinach, carrots, and celery make it even better, and the lemon is just lovely.

Lemons are one of my favorite things to cook and bake with in the colder months, because they are so cheerful and invigorating at a time when we are a little short on sunshine. (I would have done a post with the recipe for my daughter’s lemon cake with lemon frosting, but as I was in the midst of preparing for her birthday party, I was too distracted to take any photos. Maybe I’ll have to make it again!)

Anyway, soup is so good for the soul. It is warming and soothing, infusing the body with physical and spiritual sustenance. Making soup is very relaxing for me, because I love the way each new ingredient changes the mixture, and it is peaceful to have it simmering on the stove as I work. This is such a busy time of year, and it is important to take some time to do something healing and relaxing, so you can calm yourself and not end up driving everyone around you crazy (not that I would know anything about that! :)). I absolutely love holiday baking, and there will be some more of that to come on this blog, but sometimes I crave a good, nutrient-rich meal that offers comfort and a boost of energy.

If you are looking for a refreshing, invigorating way to help balance the excesses of the holidays, I highly recommend this soup. And I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I am joining Angie at Fiesta Friday this week, co-hosted by Johanne @ French Gardener Dishes and Liz @ Spades, Spatulas & Spoons. It has been awhile since I have had a chance to look at what my fellow bloggers have been up to, so I look forward to catching up!

Lemon Spinach Soup

Servings: 8
Time: approximately 20 minutes
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Ingredients:

8 cups of chicken broth
3 small carrots (or 2 medium-sized), peeled and thinly sliced
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
3/4 to 1 pound of fresh spinach
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot, bring 7 of the 8 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add the carrots and celery, and simmer for about 3-5 minutes, or until just tender. While the vegetables are simmering, wash the spinach and tear it into bite-sized pieces. Add the spinach to the soup and simmer gently until just-tender, about 3-5 minutes, trying not to over-cook it.

While the spinach is simmering, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a whisk and cook for one minute. Whisk in the reserved cup of chicken broth, and stir until smooth. Add this to the soup pot when the spinach is ready, and simmer, stirring as the liquid thickens.

In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and lemon juice together. Stir the mixture into the soup pot until well combined.

Heat the soup to the point of almost boiling, then turn it off. (Don’t boil it, or it will curdle). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lasagna

September 11, 2015 / Jenny / 33 Comments

Lasagna is one of the ultimate comfort foods. The rich sauce, the melted cheese, and the velvety noodles all layered and warm…and the smell is divine! Lasagna is a dish I make when I want to give extra comfort to others (or perhaps to myself!). A few months ago, I posted my favorite recipe for classic lasagna with a meat sauce. Today, I am sharing a delicious vegetarian lasagna recipe. With so many fresh vegetables available this time of year, it makes sense to put them to good use. And honestly, this lasagna tastes great and feels really healthy. There are so many vitamins and minerals in it, with the fresh spinach, zucchini, carrot, and walnuts, you just know you are doing something good for your body. The recipe is based on one I found in the cookbook 100 Best Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles. I do change a few things when I make it, such as substituting walnuts for pine nuts, and using fresh instead frozen spinach, among a few other small details. I also like to use whole wheat noodles with milled flax seed with this recipe.

Luckily, the heat wave has broken and we are having some very comfortable, gorgeous weather–perfect for making something warm and cozy in the oven. With my kids going back to school and my husband struggling with a knee injury, I wanted to make something special and nourishing for all of us, to fortify us for the coming challenges. I will say that this lasagna is not a quick meal. It is one of those special recipes you use when you have a chunk of time. But it is so worth the effort, once you find that couple of hours to fit it in. And it tastes just as good warmed up the next day for leftovers!

I am sharing this wonderful, wholesome recipe on a special day–it is my first time co-hosting the Fiesta Friday link party! I am joined by Angie, whose recipes are always inspiring and whose photos are totally incredible, and who made the whole Fiesta Friday phenomenon possible, and Kaila@GF Life 24/7, whose blog has delicious recipes for people who are avoiding gluten or have other food allergies–and even if you don’t have a food allergy, her recipes look amazing. If you are a fellow blogger, I encourage you to add your link to Angie’s Fiesta Friday #85, where you will encounter many talented bloggers with wonderful recipes and photos. The posts do not have to be about food, though most are. Just follow the guidelines, and visit the other blogs you see linked to the fiesta. It’s a great way to learn about blogs you might now otherwise see, and a great way to let others know about your own blog. Although I am relatively new to the scene, I have been participating in Fiesta Friday for almost a year, and the bloggers involved are so welcoming and encouraging. I have learned so much by visiting their blogs, and I feel a real sense of a blogging community with them. Please feel welcome to join if you wish!

I will close with an excerpt of a poem I came across yesterday. We are coming up on the season of fall, with all kinds of stunning natural beauty around us, and I am amazed when I look around me at the mist in the fields in the morning, or the lingering blooms of some of the flowers. But sometimes it can be a challenge to see the beauty when there are difficulties going on in the larger world, or in our own personal worlds. Sometimes people we encounter act in less than beautiful ways, or sometimes we ourselves act in ways we wish we could do over. While we are trying to solve problems and right wrongs, it is important to remember to look for the beauty too. This quote reminds me to seek it in good food, in nature, and in the natural beauty of people. It is from the poem “The Rhodora”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, about a beautiful flowering plant similar to the rhododendron: “Rhodora! If the sages ask thee why/This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,/Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,/Then Beauty is its own excuse for being….”

I just love that quote. If you try this lasagna, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do, and have a beautiful weekend!

Vegetarian Lasagna

Servings: 8-12
Time: approximately 35 minutes prep time, approximately 1 hour baking time
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Ingredients:

For the Sauce: (If you are in a hurry, skip making the sauce from scratch and use four cups of store-bought sauce)

3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup of chopped onions
3 cloves of garlic, minced
14 ounces of canned tomatoes, undrained (if they are not diced, you can break them with a spoon while they are simmering)
3/4 cups of water
1/4 cup of tomato paste
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon of oregano, dried
a few sprinkles of thyme
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper

For the Filling:

1/3 cup of finely chopped walnuts
1 egg
15 ounces of ricotta cheese
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 and 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (either Fontina, Provolone, Asiago, or a combination of the three)
3/4 cups of shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
approximately 5 ounces of fresh spinach, with as much water dried and squeezed out as possible and chopped coarsely
one small or 1/2 of a large zucchini, finely sliced
one large carrot, peeled and finely sliced
12 lasagna noodles

Directions:

For the sauce, in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. About a minute before the onions are soft, add the garlic so it turns golden and fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions.

For the filling, place the walnuts in a small skillet. Cook them over low heat for just a couple of minutes. Remove them from the heat and chop finely. In the same skillet, add a bit of olive oil and sauté the sliced zucchini and carrot until just tender. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the egg. Then stir in the ricotta and walnuts. Add 1 cup of the mozzarella, the other shredded cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and the pepper. Stir well to combine. Then stir in the spinach, zucchini, and carrot.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place 4 of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce in the dish. Spread half of the ricotta filling over the four noodles. Then top with four more noodles. Spread the rest of the ricotta filling on top of the noodles. Top with four more noodles. Spread the remaining sauce over the noodles.

Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. After 30 minutes, pull the lasagna out and sprinkle it with the remaining cup of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Put it back in the oven and continue baking it for another 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it stand for 15 minutes before slicing it. Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from 100 Best Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles

Green Infusion Soup with Potatoes and Miso

February 6, 2015 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 9 Comments

I was at the grocery store several times this week, and I noticed something: I kept gravitating toward green things–deep, dark green spinach, Swiss chard and kale, crunchy celery, bright, leafy parsley, even pistachios. I took this as a sign that my body is craving the many nutrients found in green foods. Though I love green smoothies, I was also craving something warm and cozy. In the last week, we have gotten at least 18 inches of snow and endured very cold temperatures, so soup sounded comforting. I have always loved putting leafy greens in soups, but yesterday, I decided to focus most of the soup on green foods. I also had some miso paste in the refrigerator that has been calling out to be used, so I decided to create a soup with the green vegetables and the miso paste, and add some potatoes to make the soup more filling, therefore hopefully satisfying my eaters who have hearty appetites. Miso is made from fermented soybeans (and in the paste I have, it also contains brown rice), and is often used in Japanese cooking. I love the tangy, rich flavor of miso, in addition to all the health benefits. Miso is full of minerals, protein, and antioxidants, and because it is a fermented food, it also has probiotics, which are good for our digestion. I probably don’t need to go into the health benefits of green foods–we all know they are loaded with nutrients. If you are not a big potato fan, you could also substitute soba or some other kind of thin noodle for the potatoes and sill reap the benefits of this tasty and nutrient-infusing soup. I am going to bring a bowl of this healthy and delicious stuff to Angie’s Fiesta Friday potluck at the Novice Gardener, hosted by Sonal from Simply Vegetarian 777 and Josette from The Brook Cook. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Green Infusion Soup with Potatoes and Miso

Servings: 4-6
Time: about 15 minutes preparation, about 25 minutes cooking time
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Ingredients:

4 medium-sized potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into small cubes
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
6 cups of vegetable broth
2 teaspoons of chives, finely chopped
3 cups of dark, leafy greens (spinach, Swiss chard, and/or kale)
4-5 tablespoons dark miso paste
about 1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (more if desired)
about 1/3 cup shelled pistachios (optional)

Directions:

Wash and chop the potatoes, celery, chives, and parsley. In a large pot, bring the 6 cups of vegetable broth to a boil. Gently tip in the potatoes and celery. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and simmer the potatoes and celery for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are fork-tender. Add the chives. Gradually add the miso paste, one tablespoon at a time, stirring to dissolve the paste in the broth after each addition. Go by your own tastes–you may want more or less miso, but 4-5 tablespoons is a good estimate. Then add the greens, cooking until they just begin to wilt. After you add the miso and greens, do not bring the soup back to a boil; just gently heat. Ladle the soup into bowls, and add the parsley and optional pistachios to garnish. Enjoy!