Creamy Pea Soup

This soup is made with goat's milk as an experiment and I think the tang of the goat's milk compliments the other flavors nicely. Regular milk or soy milk could certainly be used instead. It's a fast and easy soup.

1/2 package frozen peas
1/2 onion, diced
1 box Imagine No-Chicken broth
1 t white pepper
1 t dr1ed thyme
1/2 t salt, optional
1/2 c goat milk

Combine all ingredients except milk in a deep saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Let it all cook together for 15 minutes. Then transfer to a blender and process until smooth. Add goat's milk and process until jst incorporated.
Serves 4.

Pecan Pie

I've always loved pecan pie even though it's usually too sweet for my liking. I'd never made it before but J suggested it tonight and I used what I had in the pantry. I've never bought or cooked with corn syrup, and as a rule I avoid eating it. But I think in this case the rice syrup and the date syrup don't just make this pie more healthy, but the give it more of a depth of flavor too. The date syrup I inherited from someone I used to work with and I had never tasted or cooked with it before today. Wow. I love the stuff. I hope it's not too hard to find because I'm going to make it a pantry staple from now on.

1 Whole Foods brand whole wheat frozen pie crust, thawed
1 c chopped pecans
3 T Earth Balance butter substitute, melted
3/4 c date syrup
3/4 c brown rice syrup
3 eggs
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 t salt
1 T flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Add date syrup, rice syrup, spices, Earth Balance and salt, and mix well. Stir in pecans and flour. Place mixture into an unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Bake for 40 minutes or until firm in the center. Cool.

**Added later: WOW. Date syrup. My new best pantry friend. So good over oatmeal and roasted squash. Please let me find you at a Middle Eastern grocery somewhere. Whole Foods does not carry you.

Quick Gumbo

This can easily be vegetarian without the sausage, or by using Boca sausage. In this case I used andouille-flavored chicken sausage.

2 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3/4 onion, chopped
1 package of frozen red, yellow and green pepper strips (365 brand)
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 T cajun spice
4 spicy veg or chicken sausage links, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 c rice (white or quick-cooking brown)
8 oz. frozen cut okra

Heat oil in large, deep pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until fragrant. Add pepper strips and stir. Cook 4 minutes.
Add tomatoes, beans, Cajun spice, and sausage. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add okra and simmer 10 minutes more, or until rice is cooked, but not sticky.

Coq Au Vin

Having very few experiences cooking meat, and even fewer using the slow-cooker, I found this recipe to be an easy success. Good with a baguette and butter, or without to keep it gluten and dairy free.

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (if frozen, be sure they are thawed)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
3 T olive oil
1 12 oz. box white or baby bella mushrooms, quartered
3 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 c broth (veg or chicken)
1 1/2 c dry red wine
2 fresh thyme sprigs

Rinse chicken and arrange on a sheet of wax paper or a plate. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 T olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, smooth side down, and cook 3 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Remove chicken and set aside. Heat remaining 1 T olive oil in same skillet; saute mushrooms 3 to 5 minutes, or until edges begin to brown. Add carrots, onion, and garlic, and season with salt; cook 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften. transfer vegetables and broth to slow cooker. Arrange chicken on top. Add wine and thyme sprigs.
Cover slow cooker and cook on med-low for 6 to 7 hours.

*J liked this dish a lot but I thought it was a little too "dark tasting"

Granola

This proved to be a good way of clearing out my pantry of misc. nuts and seeds so that I can go restock with a fresher supply when it comes to baking and sprinkling on salads and hot cereal. Next time I make this though I've got to get the stuff off of the baking sheet before it cools and turns into concrete. It's a terrible mess scraping it all off of there. Maybe transferring the hot mixture into a bowl or spreading it out onto wax paper will work better.

2 c rolled oats
1 c mixed seeds (flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame)
1 c mixed chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios)
1/2 t salt
1/2 honey
1/3 c sunflower oil
1 T vanilla extract
1 c assorted dried fruit (dried cranberries, raisins, dried blueberries, goji berries)

Prehear oven to 350 F. Combine oats, seeds, nuts, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together honey, oil, and vanilla and stir into dry ingredients. Spread granola on baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray.
Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring once or twice during baking. Cool until dry and crunchy.
Break granola into bite-size pieces and stir in dried fruit. Store in airtight container.