Category: Recipes

Ingredients: 

-About 1¾ cups vegetable broth 
-1 clove garlic 
-1 green onion 
-About 1 cup of fresh mushrooms 
-1 cup Irish oats 
-About 1½ cups frozen or fresh green vegetable (or a mix)  
-soy sauce, liquid aminos, or tamari 

Directions: 

Dice the garlic and green onion. Place a cooking pot on the stove and turn heat to medium. Add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth, plus the garlic and onion. Chop the mushrooms and add them to the pot. (Add a tablespoon of broth at a time as needed, to keep ingredients from sticking to the pan.) Cook until everything in the pot has softened and starts turning brown. Add 1½ cups vegetable broth, plus 1½ cups water. Bring to a boil. Add the Irish oats. Turn heat to low. Stir now and then. Cook until oats are soft and have expanded (just like if you were cooking plain oats). While the oats are cooking, steam or boil the green veggies in a separate pot. (I used a frozen Oriental mix with green beans and broccoli for the picture.) When the oats are done, stir in the green veggies. Serve in bowls and add soy sauce or liquid aminos to taste. A twist on traditional oatmeal for when your sweet tooth has gone missing. (Honestly, the food in the photo looks gross even to me, but I can assure you that it tastes better than it looks.)

Ingredients: 

-4 cloves of garlic 
-A 12-ounce bag (about 3 cups) of frozen peas 
-1 ½ cups vegetable broth 
-Salt and pepper 

Directions: 

Chop the garlic. Choose a frying pan or cooking pot big enough to hold all of the ingredients. Put the pan on the stove on medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of the vegetable broth to the pan, along with the garlic. When the garlic starts to brown, add the rest of the vegetable broth and the peas. Cook until the peas turn soft. Transfer everything from the pan into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into bowls. Salt and pepper to taste. Quick and easy. Makes a lighter soup than traditional pea soup that’s made from dried peas. I’ve also substituted water instead of broth, and it’s still good.  

Ingredients: 

-2 eggs 
-Enough sliced mushrooms to fill the bottom of a small frying pan 
-3 handfuls of fresh spinach 
-A handful of black olives 
-A handful of cherry tomatoes (or equivalent amount of a bigger tomato) 
-A few slices of avocado 
-salt & pepper 

Directions: 

Place a small non-stick frying pan on the stove and turn the heat on medium. Pour a tablespoon or two of water in the pan. Line the bottom of the pan with mushrooms. (Keep an eye on them and add extra liquid if it boils off.) While the mushrooms are cooking, choose a bowl or container that will fit the eggs and spinach. Break the eggs into the bowl. Beat the eggs until they are frothy. Tear up the spinach and add it to the bowl. Stir the spinach into the eggs. When the mushrooms have finished cooking on one side, flip them over. Pour the egg and spinach mixture over the top of them. If your pan has a lid, cover the pan. If you don’t have a lid, turn the heat down a little. While the eggs are cooking, chop the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Slice the olives. Cut a few slices of avocado. When the eggs have solidified and turned a paler yellow, flip the omelet. It shouldn’t take long to finish cooking on the second side. When the omelet is done cooking, place it on a plate. Arrange your avocado slices on top. Sprinkle the tomatoes and black olives over everything. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes a big, decadent omelet. A good way to start the weekend! [Note: This can easily be turned into a scramble, either on purpose or by accident, if you stir the eggs around with a spatula before they’ve set. It tastes great either way!]  

Ingredients: 

-A fresh, juicy peach or nectarine (If the fruit is mealy or dry, don’t even make this recipe. The juice from the fruit makes the dressing for the salad.) 
-About a tablespoon of peanut butter (I’d recommend the ‘natural’ stuff that’s just peanuts and salt.) 
-A 12-ounce (or so) bag of your favorite salad greens (spinach, Romaine, spring mix, iceberg, whatever) 
 

Directions: 

Choose a bowl that will fit the whole salad. Place the peach or nectarine inside the bowl. Chop it into small chunks. (Cutting in the bowl retains the juice.) Dip a spoon into a jar of peanut butter, fill it with peanut butter, and thwack the peanut butter into the bowl. Stir until the fruit and peanut butter are well blended. Dump your bag of salad greens into the bowl. Stir everything until all of the greens are coated. Take advantage of summer’s bounty while you can! With a really succulent peach, this is sweet enough to serve as a dessert. 

Ingredients: 

-6 apples (a crisp variety like Jazz, Fuji, Braeburn, or Honeycrisp) 
-6 ribs of celery (or more, if they seem short) 
-About 6 handfuls of walnuts (the kind of handful that looks like you’re making a fist, not the kind where you’re imitating bear claws)
-1 single-serving container of plain Greek yogurt (or fake, vegan yogurt alternative)  
-About 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Directions:  

Chop the apples, celery, and walnuts, and pile it all in a big bowl. Add yogurt and lemon juice. Stir until everything is coated in yogurt. Voila! A refreshing salad for any season. My go-to potluck dish. 
[You can see that this recipe is easy to divide. Try it with one of each ingredient instead of six to taste test it.]