Broccoli and "Cheese" Soup

It's been awhile since I've had broccoli and soup seemed appropriate with the cold weather. I've always thought that yellow split peas taste like cheese, so why not experiment and see how close I could get to broccoli and cheese soup?

Broccoli and "Cheese" Soup

• .5c uncooked yellow split peas
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cubes vegan boullion (sea salt and herbs)
• 3 crowns of broccoli, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup soymilk

Cook split peas and onion in enough water to cover by 1-2 inches, adding water as necessary so there's no less than 1/2 inch of water on top. Meanwhile, steam broccoli until soft.

Once peas are tender, about 25 minutes, add boullion and blend mixture together until smooth. Add broccoli and soymilk and mix well. If it's too runny, mix 2TB flour with a few TB of water, add to soup, and stir continuously until it thickens.

It tasted way better than the canned crap I'm most familiar with, which I guess isn't that hard. This will probably become a go-to dish since it was really easy to make. Next time I might roast the broccoli and onions, too.

Summery Rye Pasta

Since my grocery bill has been low from traveling so much, I decided to splurge a little at the grocery store. I ended up in an aisle I rarely visit and found something amazing- rye pasta. 100% rye. I don't usually eat pasta because it always seems like I get too many calories for not enough filling, but it's nice to have on hand for a quick meal. Today I had some veggies leftover from last week's shopping, so I thought I'd throw most of it together for an easy pasta dish.

Summery Rye Pasta

• .75 c uncooked rye pasta
• 1 small/medium onion, sliced (if you are not a massive onion fan, you may want to use half an onion or a quarter
• 1 small head of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 large tomato
• 3 cloves garlic, 1 peeled and 2 in skin
• .75 TB olive oil plus extra

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut 1 clove garlic into small pieces, add a touch of salt, and make into a paste by smashing with the flat side of a knife. Add to olive oil and set aside. The longer it sits, the better it will be.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook until tender. Spray onion and broccoli with olive oil and toss to coat; spread on baking sheet. Cut tomato in half, spray with olive oil, and place skin down on baking sheet. Add rest of garlic. Bake until browned, about 20 minutes, stirring once midway thorough (leave tomatoes whole an flip garlic).

Add everything but tomatoes to a large bowl. Put tomatoes on top and gently tear open with knife to mush it up. Add garlic olive oil and toss to coat. Enjoy!

This was perfect for an oppressively hot afternoon- I didn't have to stand in a sweltering kitchen to long. The only thing I would add is some freshly ground pepper. Yum.

Spicy Garlic Sesame Broccoli with Red Beans and Quinoa

Work was less than ideal today so I had to let off some steam by taking a long walk with the dog. When I got home I wanted something relatively simple so I could eat and go straight to bed. I knew the fresh broccoli in my fridge would do the trick.

Ingredients
.5 cup quinoa
1TB sesame oil
Several medium heads of fresh broccoli cut into trees (I had maybe 6 cups?)
4 cloves of garlic (less if you aren't a garlic lover like me)
1 cup light red beans
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt to taste

Cook quinoa (combine with 1 cup water, bring to the boil, simmer 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed). In a large pan (I wanted to use my wok, but it needs to be retired), heat oil on medium. Add broccoli and garlic. Toss to coat. Cook for 5-7 minutes until broccoli becomes bright green and is your desired level of crispness, stirring regularly. Add beans, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook another minue. Remove from heat.

I ate the broccoli and quinoa side by side, but you could mix them all together or eat the broccoli atop the quinoa. It made 2 large servings (I used a LOT of broccoli). This was so easy and tasty. The sesame oil gave it a nice, unexpected flavor (since I rarely use it). It would have been even better with sesame seeds, but I've never bought them in my life. Maybe next time.