September 11, 2010

Hearty Black Bean & Sweet Potato Soup

Welcome to another edition of CLEAN OUT YOUR FRIDGE, SOUP!

I threw together this Mexican Inspired Vegetable Soup at the beginning of the week and am quite fond of the results! There’s over 6 different kinds of vegetables up in there! I have a bunch of leftovers in the freezer and am currently devouring a bowl for lunch. I roasted a corn tortilla over an open flame on my stove and crumbled bits of it into the soup! It’s absolutely scrumptious with avocado chunks and hot sauce on top!

Yum.

I should note that this recipe is vegan! I know I have some vegan readers out there, so this one’s for you! My husband who is definitely not vegan really enjoyed it. I got an instant message from him at work yesterday that said:

“Really good soup, honey.”

Hooray! I’m happy that he got his daily requirement of vegetables at lunch. This pleases me.

A huge dose of fiber and an insane amount of hearty vegetables in one bowl?

AUTUMN?!? BRING IT ON!

Hearty Black Bean & Sweet Potato Soup

Makes about 6 servings

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 32 oz. container vegetable stock

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon ground cumin (a heaping one is just fine)

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 medium zucchini, chopped

1 medium sweet potato, peeled & chopped

2 12 oz. cans black beans, rinsed & drained

3 corn tortillas, diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

hot sauce

salt & pepper

In a large pot, heat olive oil with onions on medium heat and cook until onions are transparent. Add the carrots, garlic and cumin to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and canned tomatoes to the pot, raise the heat to medium high. Add the kale, zucchini, red pepper, sweet potatoes and black beans to the pot and bring to a boil. Add in your tortillas, half of your chopped cilantro and a few splashes of hot sauce and stir. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. In that 15 minutes, add the rest of your cilantro and taste the soup every now and then to see if it needs more salt, pepper or hot sauce.

***You might be a little overwhelmed by the ingredient list here. Don’t be! As long as you have the basics (cumin, veggie stock, cilantro,onions, tortillas etc.) you can toss whatever vegetables you have on hand.***

around the home, Uncategorized

September 10, 2010

lessons in gardening…

The other morning Cooper & I were hanging out in the backyard and he kept running up to me saying “Green ones, green ones!” I assumed he was referring to his trucks so I brought them out for him to play with. My assumption was wrong. A few minutes later he turns the corner, runs back to me with a proud look on his face and yells, “GREEN ONES GREEN ONES!” It was then that I realized he was talking about my GREEN TOMATOES waiting patiently to ripen on the vine. Little bubbs then says “Grapes! grapes! grapes!” He proceeds to smoosh them in his hands and then runs away. Whoa. I was stunned. Goodbye green tomatoes. I worked hard all summer for you….I now see why my grandparents were super pissed when my brothers and I would pick off buds from their plants. GAHH!!!

So let’s talk about the current status of my garden…. CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

September 9, 2010

White Chocolate Almond Chunk Cookies

Almost two weeks ago, I was inhaling one of these amazing cookies at the kitchen counter of the most beautiful home in Seattle. With the happy chatter of 5 fellow female food bloggers in the background, I thought to myself…..

“I need to make these cookies. I need to be transported back to this moment. Girls weekend…discussions of cookbooks, family, the internet…A weekend of overeating, learning new things, and taking a break from my routine. I sooo need to get back to this space when I’m at home drowning in my TO DO lists.”

Fortunately our lovely host– Dana thee DANA of Dana Treat has supplied us with the recipe…

Oh these cookies…creamy white chocolate, chunks of crunchy almonds with a subtle oatmeal taste/texture! Your mouth is going to love you. The part in your brain that loves chewy cookies is gonna go nutso. I sandwiched them with vanilla ice cream at a Labor Day BBQ we went to; they were a hit! You are gonna DIE when you taste those almond chunks. I did. Fortunately I was resuscitated just in time to write this post.

So here I am. It’s Thursday morning. I’m chugging coffee while Cooper shoves cupcake wrappers and pens into our printer. I’m working on a TO DO list for the day and I’m transported back to Seattle. I’m eating one of these cookies. My heart is happy. My taste buds sing. I am thankful for the new people in my life who show me different sides of the world and bring out new dimensions of myself. I feel like today is full of hope. I can do what needs to be done. I can handle it all. My kitchen is filled with Dana Treats and I couldn’t be happier.

So thank YOU to Cheryl, Dana, Denise, Joy & Kristina

Because of you and the International Food Blogging Conference in Seattle, I finally feel like myself again.
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

September 7, 2010

Roasted Mangoes & Blueberries

If I was a painter, I’d focus my attention on making abstract paintings with roasted mangoes and blueberries.

Preferred canvas? A big white casserole dish!

My brush strokes would produce bits of fiery orange flesh with rich black dots speckled on top of a deep crimson wash.

Here’s a glimpse at my latest painting.

What do you see?

The juxtaposition of ooey gooey blueberries & baked juicy mangoes masking the reflection of my happy face?

Wow, you’re good! Did you go to art school?

Now that you’ve learned how to make Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Crisps, it’s time to do something with them! I probably know better than anyone they do just fine on their own (hello! who ate a whole batch?!!) but let’s jazz them up with another recipe! So baked mangoes & blueberries? Hmmm. At first your brain tells you I’M EATING PEACHES (cuz that’s what it looks like) and then your taste buds say WAIT! NO! MANGOES! The combination of the blueberries & mangoes creates something almost raspberry like. So peculiar yet fun & totally unexpected. And let’s discuss that color again! Can I just say that I want this as a flavored lip gloss. Hello Stila? You out there? Please help.
CONTINUE READING

recipes, Uncategorized

September 3, 2010

Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Crisps

Dear 7 year old Tracy,

I’m watching you. You’re sitting at Taco Bell with your brothers scarfing down cinnamon crisps. At your age, Taco Bell isn’t a scary place. You always order the Mexican Pizza and there’s only like 10 options on the menu. Today there’s a GAZILLION. You don’t even know about that crazy annoying Chihuahua yet! Consider yourself lucky. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this place as an adult. Your parents did the right thing and only took you out to fast food restaurants sparingly. You won’t understand how important that is until later on in your life but I promise it will be worth it. Sorry for the lecture. Apparently you’ve turned into one of THOSE adults. Have I lost you?

Let’s talk about those cinnamon crisps you like soo much! Taco Bell stopped making them. They went through dozens of incarnations, but never returned to what you are eating now. Don’t fret. The 31 year old version of you JUST made some. If I could go back in time and give you this recipe sooner, I would. Sorry-time travel isn’t a done deal yet.

These cinnamon sugar tortilla crisps are crunchy and ooooh so yummy! Your son Cooper LOVED them and your husband, Casey begged you to make some more. Yes, at 31 you will have a son and a husband. So that little M.A.S.H. game you played was wrong. You don’t live in a shack and you aren’t married to Joey McIntyre with 12 kids. Ok, get back to what you are doing. Enjoy your life and keep up the good work!

Love,

31 year old Tracy

p.s. I served some of these with Baked Mangoes & Blueberries. Don’t worry, you’ll learn to like mangoes!

around the home, favorites, Uncategorized

September 2, 2010

Interview @ B R U N C H!

Happy Thursday, Friends!

Wanna know why I’m obsessed with food? What inspires me? My tips on food blogging? What I love for Brunch?

You can eavesdrop on the conversation I had with my dear friend Christine. She’s got a new blog — Brunch!

I’m pretty sure you’re gonna love her new space. I must tell you it’s soo dreamy for a graphic design admirer like myself!

Please check it out!

And a big thanks to Whitney for taking my action shots!

Here I am working our the Scrambled Egg Turnovers!!

recipes, Uncategorized

August 31, 2010

Monkey Bread Minis

I wish alarm clocks had built-in smell alarms. Why haven’t we figured this out yet?! Imagine the possibilities!! You wouldn’t have a problem getting up for a 6am flight if the smell of these cinnamony Monkey Bread Minis assaulted you. Now to think of it…the 13 year old Tracy would have set my brother’s alarm clock to rotten farts at 4am.

OK we NEED to make this happen.

If you are familiar with monkey bread, then you should know that this recipe doesn’t produce a doughy/yeasty pull apart roll. It’s like a hybrid of a cinnamon roll (taste wise) and an old fashion donut (texturally). Yes. DONUT. The best part is that there’s no yeast stress involved. Yup, yeast stresses me out when I’m not properly caffeinated. There I said it. I think little hands would love dipping dough into butter & cinnamon sugar. When I get over my fears of Cooper’s messy sticky cinnamon fingers on our micro suede couch, I’ll totally do it. For sure!

You’ll enjoy putting every last piece into your mouth hole. I know I did.