Red lentil and dill soup with mint serves 10

This soup is adapted from a recipe of Kate Sherwood’s in the Nutrition Action newsletter. The red lentils, bits of tomato, and all the greens combine with the mint and dill to give the soup a well-rounded flavor. Nothing beats using fresh mint if you can find it. The 12 ounces of spinach seems like a lot but it vanishes so quickly. Be bold!

INGREDIENTS :

• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups red lentils
• 1 large yam, preferably a garnet yam, peeled, if desired, and cubed
• 1 cup orange juice
• 8 sprigs fresh dill, chopped (about ¼ cup)
• 12 ounces fresh spinach or other greens
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS :

In a soup pot, stir-fry the garlic and green onions in water, wine, or vegetable broth, for about 2 minutes, until they begin to wilt.

Add the diced tomatoes, mint, and oregano and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes more.

Add the broth, lentils, yam, and orange juice and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the yams are tender and the lentils soft but not mushy, about 15 minutes
With an immersion blender, blend the soup to the consistency you like, right in the pot.

Alternatively, carefully transfer half of the soup to a food processor and process it until you have the texture you desire. Try to leave some whole bits of tomato and sweet potato. This soup is nice if it’s a little chunky.

Stir in the dill, spinach, lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper, and vinegar and cook for a few minutes more. Serve hot.

Tip :

If you want to use greens other than spinach, cook them first or add them to the soup earlier as it cooks, so they have time to soften.

Fresh fig and arugula salad serves 2 to 4

This is so delicious! Fresh figs are in season in early summer and then again in late summer through fall. Choose a slightly soft fig. A good balsamic vinegar, especially one that is fig-infused, is great in this salad and all the dressing it needs (www.olivetap.com is a good website for a won¬derful variety of balsamic vinegars, including fig-infused vinegar)! But don’t be deterred from making this if you don’t have fig balsamic vinegar—any balsamic vinegar works.

INGREDIENTS :

• 4 fresh figs
• 6 to 7 cups loosely packed arugula (half of a 5-ounce container)
• 1 orange
• 1 tablespoon fig-infused balsamic vinegar or balsamic vinegar of your
  choice, or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS :

Heat the broiler (it’s also easy to do this step in a toaster oven!). Line a small baking pan with aluminum foil. (A toaster oven pan works well.) Cut the figs in half and place the cut side down on the lined pan. Broil for 2 minutes. Flip and broil for 2 minutes on the other side. Place the figs on a cutting board and cut each fig half in half, then in half again. Place the arugula in a bowl, add the hot figs, and toss. Cut an orange in half. With a sharp knife, remove the sections and squeeze the juice over the bowl of arugula and figs. Add the vinegar and mix. Serve while the figs are warm and receive compliments like, “Oh my, this is so amazing!”

Cucumber and kale open-faced sandwich serves 2

The layer of kale and mustard together in this sandwich is delicious, particularly when you use a great mustard. We love True Natural Taste Sweet and Spicy Creamy White Mustard, available at truenaturaltaste.com.

INGREDIENTS :

• 2 slices whole-grain bread, toasted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons hummus prepared without tahini or oil
• 1 green onion, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 medium kale leaves, chopped into bite-size pieces (about the size of cilantro leaves)
• ½ small cucumber
• Mustard of choice
• Lemon pepper (Mrs. Dash and Frontier brands have no salt)

INSTRUCTIONS :

Spread the toasted bread generously with hummus. Sprinkle the green onion, cilantro, and kale evenly over the hummus.Slice the cucumber into 8 rounds and spread each round with a thin layer of mustard. Place the cucumber rounds, mustard-side down, on top of the cilantro-kale layer and press down, if necessary, so they stay in place.Sprinkle the open-faced sandwich generously with lemon pepper, cut in half or quarters, if desired, and serve.

ALSO SEE:  About the Cookbook | Book Praise

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