Summer Minestron

Serves 10
(I doubled it and then divided the soup by three families)

1 bunch of Swiss chard, spinach, or other lovely green (I used a bit of all of them)
1 can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, or four of your own fresh tomatoes
2 cans cannelloni beans, rinsed
Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic
2 medium carrots, diced or shredded
2 medium zucchini, diced
Salt
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cabbage, savory or green ( I used green from the CSA)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cups veggie stock (I used homemade)
3-4 inch rind of Parmesan
Shredded Parmesan

Cut stems from chard. Finely chop stems and thinly slice the leaves. Put one can of cannelloni beans in your food processor and add 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth.

In a large pot, heat oil and garlic until it smells great. Add carrots, zucchini, and chard stems. Cook until tender, about 5 mins. Add salt. add wine and cabbage. Cook 2-3 more minutes and stir often.

Add the chard leaves, whole beans, tomatoes, bean puree, chickpeas, rind and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until you cannot stand it any longer - the smell is wonderful. Top with cheese and dive it.

Creamy Italian Dressing

(from Kripalu Cookbook)

1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon dried onions (or large pinch of granulated onion powder)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
Pinch ground cardamom

In a blender or food processor, combine all of the ingredients and blend until creamy smooth. Server immediately or refrigerate. Can be stores covered for 7 to 10 days. Makes 2 cups

Garlicky Spinach Pizza

Basic Pizza Dough recipe - see Pesto Pizza, September 2009

5-6 OZ baby spinach
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large red pepper, roasted (can buy roasted peppers - use about 6 OZ) - cut into strips
1 OZ crumbled feta cheese
6 OZ extra sharp cheddar cheese

Prepare pizza dough - you'll need to plan time to let it rise. I've found that letting it rise on the pizza pan after you stretch it out makes the dough have a really nice texture (an additional 30 minutes once it's stretched out.)

Heat oil in saute pan over low heat and briefly cook garlic. Add spinach and increase heat to medium. Stir spinach until wilted and some liquid cooks off, but leave a little liquid.

Spread spinach evenly around crust, top with red pepper, feta, then cheddar. Bake at 500-525 for about 10-14 minutes - check frequently at the end. It depends how golden you like your cheese.

GREEK SALAD
romaine lettuce
feta cheese
calamata olives
red onion
cucumber
grape or cherry tomatoes
balsamic or Greek vinaigrette

Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

6 green peppers
1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
1 ½ cups black beans
1 ½ cups tomatoes, diced
1 onion, minced
3/4 cup chick peas, chopped
Bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 Tablespoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Feta

Cut off the tops of the green peppers. Remove stems, core and seeds. Steam pepper ‘cups’ for 5 minutes. Combine all remaining ingredients, excluding feta cheese. Stuff peppers half-way with rice/bean mixture. Add a piece of feta cheese to each pepper. Fill the peppers with rice/bean mixture. Top with feta cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until heated through. Enjoy!