Week 50 -- Garden Vegetable

This is not an exciting soup, but it's a little taste of summer garden on a dark, snowy night.

I used home-canned tomato sauce, but you can substitute canned tomatoes.  The exact measurements aren't super important.

Lunch for the week!

Garden Vegetable Soup

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 yellow squash, quartered and sliced
8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups or 1 can cooked chickpeas
2 cups tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
3 cups water

1. Put all vegetables in crockpot or slow cooker.  Let cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Makes about 5 servings.

Week 43 -- Simple Chili

Fall is definitely the time for a long-simmered chili.  My crockpot is still packed in storage with the rest of my belongings (just a couple weeks until my new house is ready for me -- we're getting there).  So I've put off making chili, because chili that is made and eaten right away just isn't the same as one that's been bubbling for a few hours.

But this week Mom had an afternoon off from work (in exchange for spending a Saturday working -- I helped but didn't realize it would entail hiking in the mud, but we survived and came home that night to the chili leftovers), so she had time to make chili and let it simmer on the stove top for a few hours.

Veggie chili is a simple crowd-pleaser, and it can be served over millet (my favorite), in a bread bowl, over baked potatoes, with tortilla chips, or as a crucial ingredient in plant-based chili "cheese" fries.

You can see my millet peeking out underneath!

Simple Chili

1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans of beans (we use light red kidney, dark red kidney, and pinto)
1 quart of crushed tomatoes
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder (we use a single-ingredient ancho chili powder)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp each sage and thyme
1 tsp miso mixed in a tiny amount of water
(optional: 1/2 tsp lemon juice -- this was in our home-canned tomatoes already and reduces the need for salt)
1 Tbsp carob powder
1/2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp gluten free flour blend mixed in a tiny amount of water

1. Saute onion in a little water.  Add pepper and garlic and continue to saute until soft.
2. Add other ingredients.  Let simmer for several hours until you are ready to enjoy.

Makes about 6 servings.

Week 34 -- Zucchini Stew

This soup is an old family favorite.  It's a great way to use the abundance of zucchini that people in many parts of the US have from their gardens this time of year.  When I was growing up, my mom sometimes added sliced leftover hot dogs from picnics.  We don't eat hot dogs anymore, so I like to add a can of beans for that same chewy heartiness.  We also used to eat this soup with a nice fluffy bread, so if you have a bread you like this is a great time to indulge in a slice or two.

Full disclosure: I made this soup with mostly leftovers.  I'm moving soon, and I had a small going away party.  I used some leftover veggies from the veggie trays to make this soup come together quickly.  I made it in a crock pot and let it cook all day while I was outside with a yard sale (trying to sell off things I don't want to pack).

Zucchini Stew

1 red onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced in half-moons
1 yellow squash, sliced in half-moons
2 bell peppers (I used one red and one green), sliced
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can beans, any kind
Water to cover (about 1 1/2 cups)

1.  Put all ingredients in a slow cooker.  Let cook on low for about 8 hours.

Makes about 8 servings.