Category: Recipe

I made a lovely pot of vegetable soup this week, and we have enjoyed it so much.  Since the weather has been chilly, we find ourselves craving warm, yummy things for supper.

This is how I make my soup:

• I start with one large bottle of tomato juice
• Add 2-5 T of Better-Than-Bouillon vegetable base (according to your taste)
• Add 1/2 head of cabbage, shredded (do not skip this step…it adds SO MUCH flavor!)
• Add diced veggies of your choice (I do an entire onion and 3 or 4 potatoes)
• Add canned veggies of your choice (I put in organic carrots, baby peas, large butter beans & great northern beans)
• Add any frozen veggie of your choice (I add 1/2 bag of yellow corn)
• Salt to taste
• Simmer all day

That's it!  You can put in whatever veggies your family likes, and add any seasonings you prefer.  It really is important to add that cabbage, though; and if your family doesn't like cabbage very much, don't worry, it cooks down to almost nothing.  But the flavor it adds — YUMMO! :o)

Now, for you meat eaters (hehehe) I will tell you this:  this is Doug's grandma's recipe, minus two ingredients. 

• She browns a roast, then cooks it until tender; shreds it; and adds the beef and all the drippings to the soup.
• She adds a small amount of sugar to taste.

We thought we would really miss the meat, but we don't.  We love this soup with just the veggies, because, really, who needs more sugar in their diet?

I'd love to hear from you if you give it a try!

One of the dishes that Doug and I have really learned to enjoy on our Hallelujah Diet is hummus.  We have tried the store bought varieties and made a few batches with canned chick peas. 

However, when I found this recipe and tried it, we decided to never eat those other dishes again.  We are hooked on this stuff.  It is so good, and so good for us.

I took a dish of it to a potluck dinner the other night, and folks seemed to enjoy it.  They asked for my recipe, so here it is.  It is not original with me.  I found it while scouring the internet.  But I have changed it into my own words.  I didn't want to plagiarize someone's recipe. 

Hummus Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas (the smallest you can find, NOT from Mexico)
1/2 cup tahini
juice from 1 squeezed lemon
1-2 garlic cloves (I actually use 3-4)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
salt (I use less than a teaspoon)

Directions

1. Sort the chickpeas and look for
damaged grains, small stones, or any other thing you need to discard.

2. Wash the chickpeas several times, until the
water runs clear. Soak them in clean water over night with 1
tablespoon of baking soda, at least 12-24 hours.

3. Wash the chickpeas well and put them in a large
pot. Cover with water, add the rest of the baking soda.  Do not add salt at this time. Cook until
the chickpeas are very easily smashed when pressed between two fingers. I cook them for 45 minutes, then drain, rinse and cover with clean water, then cook an additional 45 minutes, or until done. 

4.You can remove any of the skins that come off the chickpeas and the foam which floats over
the cooking water. (You do not have to remove all the skin from all the chickpeas.)  When done, drain the chickpeas and this is VERY IMPORTANT – keep the cooking
water.

5. Put the chickpeas into a food processor and grind well.

6. Add the tahini, lemon, garlic, cumin and salt to the chickpea mixture and process with the
food processor until you get the desired texture. If the Humus is too
thick, add some of the cooking water. It should be thinner than the
actual desired texture.

Then if you want to really kick your hummus experience into high gear, serve your hummus with a side of homemade Tahini Sauce.  I've included the recipe I use.  It only takes about 5 minutes to make.

Tahini Sauce Ingredients
1/3 cup raw tahini (tahini is sesame seed paste.  you should be able to find it in your local grocery store, although our Wally World does not carry it.)
1/3 cup cool water
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 small garlic clove
3-5 stalks of fresh parsley
salt (about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)

Preparation
1. Put the tahini in a small bowl and pour in a little of the water.
2. Stir slowly until the texture starts to become thicker, then add
more water and stir. Repeat a few times, stirring until smooth each time.
3. Add the lemon juice. Chop the garlic and the parsley
well, and add them while stirring. If the tahini is too thick, add a
little more water. Add the salt.
4. Serve with some chopped parsley on top.

Traditionally, hummus is eaten on a pita.  We don't particularly care for the taste of the pita, nor do we enjoy the calories they hold.  We eat our hummus with the new Nut-Thins crackers by Blue Diamond.  The pecan ones are especially yummy.  You can also serve fresh veggies with your hummus dip:  peppers, onions, radishes, cucumbers…just use your imagination.

Be sure to let me know if you try this recipe!  I'd love to hear what you think of it! 🙂

Blessings,

Alesha

It's decaf…

It's non-dairy…

It's non-fat and sugar-free…

It's tedious…

But it's worth it for my cup o' java every morning!

6 oz. water

3 level T. freshly ground decaf coffee

1/2 c. rice milk

1/2 T. agave nectar

a few drops each, vanilla and almond extract

: )

Alesha