Easy Peasy Split Pea Soup

Soups are a good way to use leftovers and prevent waste.

 Coincidentally, Tara Parker-Pope in The New York Times writes about wasting food just as I'm on a kick to use up leftovers instead of forgetting them.

Now that we have a preschool tuition to pay that we didn't last year, I've had to be much more conscious of our expenses, including groceries. It's easy to underestimate the cost of food, especially if you buy a little here and there throughout the week without keeping track. When you're paying attention, you realize how much the costs add up.

It isn't as though I suddenly realized wasting food was ... well, wasteful. I always peel and eat broccoli stalks, use celery leaves in a soup or stew, and cook beet greens and other veggie parts that some people throw away. I'm the only one in the house who'll eat toast made from the heel of a loaf, so I turn the ends into homemade breadcrumbs, which go into meatloaf that also incorporates leftover chopped spinach. Leftover sausage gets cut into small pieces and tossed with pasta, olive oil and broccoli rabe or beet greens. Even so, all too often I rediscover — too late — a forgotten container or a bunch of leeks in the vegetable drawer that have mushified. (Yes, I know it's not a real word, but it's a real problem.) It's easy to grab bunches of things that look amazing at the farmers market and then have no time that week to get to it all.

And that was usually my problem. I had no plan for many of my food purchases, and once they got stored at home — in the produce drawer, the pantry, etc. — it was "out of sight, out of mind." For the past couple weeks, I've been working harder on changing my habits, making sure to plan ahead what I'd prepare during the week and write my shopping list accordingly. If something I hadn't planned to buy was irresistible, I made sure to think what I'd make with it and when to do so. If something tempted me, but I couldn't think of what to make or when during the week I'd have time to get to it, then I resisted the urge to take it home.

Along those lines, I made a pea soup this past week, partly because the weather turned cold and partly because I had impulsively (old habits die hard) bought big bags of organic carrots and potatoes. Hey, they were on sale. I started out pretty well by prepping and roasting the potatoes and carrots the day I got them home. For me half the battle is not putting them in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and losing track of them. That evening we had the veggies with roast chicken for dinner.

The next day we ate some of the leftover veggies. A couple days after that, I noticed the container of potatoes and carrots starting to migrate farther back into the fridge, getting ready to disappear behind a wall of yogurt containers.

Extra veggies can go into almost anything. I like to use them in pasta, omelets and quiches, and soups. A couple soups that take little effort and time are pumpkin-red lentil soup (to use up extra pureed pumpkin or other cooked squash) and split pea soup (to finish off potatoes, carrots and ham, if you eat meat).

Vegetarian Split Pea Soup
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped (about half to three-quarters of a cup)
2 small cloves or 1 large clove garlic, chopped (about a Tablespoon)
pinch of salt
1 bag dried split peas (1 pound, or about 2 cups)
2 quarts (8 cups) vegetable stock*
leftover cooked carrots (I had about a cup, but more or less doesn't matter)
leftover roasted potatoes (again, as much as you have or want)
salt

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium (about 4 quart) pot over medium heat, stir together oil, onion, garlic and pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent. Lower heat if it starts to brown or burn.

2. Inspect peas, discarding any stones or bad-looking peas. Put peas and broth into the pot of onion, bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat and continue to simmer until peas break down and become soft, about 45 minutes.** Add carrots and potatoes, and heat about 5 minutes more. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.***
 
NOTES:
* Normally I'd use water and simmer the soup with a ham hock or pieces of leftover ham, but when I don't have ham or just want a vegetarian version, I like to use vegetable stock or broth for the flavor. Use vegetable scraps to make broth and freeze ahead of time. I also keep on hand vegetable bouillon cubes. Chicken broth makes a good substitute if you aren't vegetarian or vegan.
** I think most recipes call for half or all the soup to be blended with an immersion (stick) blender or in a traditional blender. I like my soups to have some texture, so usually I don't blend.
*** Other seasonings you could use include a teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme leaves added with the carrots and potatoes, or a bay leaf added with the broth, or a teaspoon of curry powder added to the onions about a minute before the broth and peas are added. Experiment with what you like. My roasted carrots often are tossed with lemon zest and a lemon vinaigrette after coming out of the oven. If I were using plain carrots, I'd probably also add a little lemon to the soup.

One Potato, Two Potato ...

Potato latkes, the edges still shatteringly crisp.

 I was making a gratin Dauphinois and realized I had cleaned and peeled too many potatoes. I couldn't just slice and pile them into the baking dish; that would make the gratin too deep.

What to do if you have too many potatoes? Or should I say, what not to do with extra spuds? Celery root and potato mash? Fries? Wedges? Gnocchi? Potato leek soup? Lemon bacon potato salad?

This time I wanted latkes. I love the light crisp edges that shatter as you bite into them. This version of latkes does not use flour, so it's great for anyone with wheat allergies or gluten intolerance. If you don't want to eat them right away, you can cool them and freeze them until you need them. They're great as an appetizer with sour cream and applesauce (or even better, creme fraiche and smoked salmon or caviar), as a side dish with eggs for brunch or dinner, or as a midnight snack.

Potato Latkes
makes 6 potato pancakes

INGREDIENTS
3 medium-large yukon gold potatos or 2 smaller russets*
1 shallot
2 (3-inch) sprigs thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, beaten
canola oil (enough to pour 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch deep in a skillet)

DIRECTIONS
1. Peel and grate potatoes into a bowl or quart-size measuring cup of cold water (to prevent discoloration).

A little shredded carrot added to the mix.

2. While potato sits in water, finely chop shallot and place in a larger (2- or 3-quart) bowl.

3. Remove leaves from thyme stems and put into bowl with shallots.

4. Drain potato and place in a clean, dry kitchen towel. Roll and squeeze as much moisture** out of potato as possible. Place potato into the large bowl with the shallot, thyme, salt and pepper, then mix with just enough of the egg to coat the potato shreds.

5. Heat about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet until it gets hot (not smoking) and place a forkful of the potato mixture into the oil and gently flatten to make a roughly 3-inch pancake. You can cook just one smaller latke to test the oil before making the rest, if you want. Cook until the edges are deep golden brown, then turn over the latke and cook the other side. If the edges turn dark or black too fast, lower the heat a bit.

6. Remove latke to a rack and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Serve immediately, or cool the latkes, then freeze them, separated by parchment paper, in an airtight container. They can be reheated in a 400 degree oven on a cooling rack set on a baking sheet.

NOTES: * Variations include mixing grated carrot or sweet potato together with the potato. You could also incorporate another vegetable such as shredded zucchini; just make sure to lightly salt and drain it and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. In place of the shallot, you can add leek chiffonade, grated onion or chopped scallion.
** If you have a salad spinner (I don't), then you can try using that to take out excess moisture. If more liquid collects at the bottom of the bowl while you're cooking, scrape the remaining potato mixture out of the puddle and up onto the sides of the bowl.

Watermelon Strawberry Smoothie

When I was studying in Aix-en-Provence, France, there was a little hole in the wall called Crepes a Go Go where I'd regularly stop to pick up my lunch, usually an egg and spinach filled crepe with a smoothie on the side. What I liked best about it was that I could choose the fruit and they would take my chosen fruits, a whole kiwi or pear or peach, and peel and cut it right in front of me before tossing the pieces together with some strawberries and ice into a blender. It didn't get fresher or tastier than that.

For some reason, it took me several years to make my own smoothies. I don't know why. They were easy to throw together and I'd seen it done a hundred times. But I guess it just wasn't part of my repertoire until I got together with my now-husband. He was a runner who made his own smoothies, and suddenly something clicked. I decided I'd make my own blended drinks too.

The usual was simply banana with a little yogurt, soy milk and honey (plus sometimes a spoonful of protein powder). But whenever there was some extra fruit lying around, into the blender it would go, along with a few ice cubes and juice too.

Now I deliberately buy more fruit than we can eat right away so I can blend the extra into a drink.


Watermelon Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Serves 2 adults or up to 4 children

INGREDIENTS
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen watermelon (watermelon cut into 1 inch pieces, then frozen)
 1 small banana
1 cup juice (any kind you like)
1 cup vanilla soy milk

DIRECTIONS
Place all ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. If mixture is too thick to blend, add a 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more juice or soy milk.

Pour into glasses or cups and serve immediately

Egg-Free, Make that Dairy-Free and Fat-Free Too, Vegan Banana Ice Cream

Just as the chicken shit was hitting the fan and hundreds of millions of eggs were being recalled, I was playing around with an egg-free, fat-free, dairy-free "ice cream" recipe I had seen bouncing around the Internet for a while.

To be precise, I probably shouldn't call it a "recipe" because it's just one ingredient. But really, this frozen banana whip does taste like ice cream -- even my picky 7 year old thinks so.
The best part is that I haven't met a kid who doesn't like it and it's great for everyone -- meat eaters to vegans -- unless you're a banana hater. (Do they exist? Like unicorns, I've heard about them but come on ...)

No sugar is added, which is great for diabetics. Like most ice cream, it's wheat free, soy free and gluten free, so fine for celiacs. There is no cream or milk, thus no dairy for anybody who has a milk allergy or intolerance, and did I mention no fat? And there are no eggs, which is perfect right now, unless you WANT that side of salmonella with your dessert. All right, I concede that tomorrow, I'll probably use eggs in my next dessert. But I'll be checking the latest details on that growing egg recall first and making sure the dish is cooked fully.

Eggless Banana Ice Cream Recipe
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
4 to 5 ripe bananas, depending on size

DIRECTIONS
1. Peel bananas, making sure to remove all strings. Cut into pieces (mine were from half inch to an inch), put them in a gallon-size freezer bag (or lay them on a layer of parchment on a cookie sheet or place in a non-stick 9 x 13 cake pan) and freeze the banana chunks at least an hour.

2. Put banana chunks into a food processor and whiz. At first the pieces will be rough chopped. Then they will be more finely chopped, and often resemble couscous. Keep processing (stop and scrape banana down from sides of processor as needed) and eventually the banana will become smooth and whipped, much like a soft serve ice cream or a churned ice cream that hasn't fully set.

That's it. Serve in a cone or in a bowl. You can top it with chocolate syrup, chopped peanuts or with hot fudge and whipped cream.

NOTE: The first time I made this, there was a distinct bitter aftertaste. When I made this again, it was fine. The second time I used organic bananas that were fully ripe (no green tinge, lots of brown freckling, but not black and mushy), and I was particularly careful not to allow the little strings to go in with the banana chunks.

Some people add a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to their banana ice cream. Some also like to make it chocolaty with a little cocoa powder. I personally think that Nutella would be fab.

Related: The Cornucopia Institute's Organic Egg Scorecard

Dip-Snackin' Good Hummus Recipe

I still love dips, even if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned us of the danger potentially lurking in salsa and guacamole, especially in restaurants.

I'll take a homemade salsa of roasted tomatillos, onions and other goodies any day. And don't even ask me about guacamole. I could support the California avocado industry single-handed.

But my new favorite is hummus. It works as a snack (a dip) and as a vegetarian entree (a filling for sandwiches or served with a salad). All three of my picky kids will eat it. I repeat: ALL THREE. KIDS.

I can't say the same for most other foods. My daughter loves avocados as I do. Her two brothers act as though it were slug slime. My hubby loves the tomatillo salsa. Kids, blech. I can't even get all three kids to be happy with grilled cheese sandwiches or macaroni and cheese all at the same time. I usually say, "You get what you get, and you don't get upset."

Occasionally I just want everyone to eat and be happy without my becoming a short order cook or setting up a big buffet or letting someone go hungry. That's when I throw together something they all like, such as Korean-style beef strips or Thai cucumber salad and hummus.

Chickpea Hummus

INGREDIENTS
2 (14 ounce) cans chickpeas (about 3 cups total)
3 tsp chopped garlic (or 5 cloves of roasted garlic)
2 tsp sesame oil*
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt (taste and add more, if needed)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil**

DIRECTIONS
Put chickpeas, garlic, sesame oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor and start to puree. With machine running, drizzle in olive oil until mixture is smooth. Stop machine and scrape down sides if needed.

Serve hummus with pita wedges, shredded-wheat crackers or chips, or spread hummus on soft, thin flatbread and roll to eat.

NOTES:
*Traditional hummus recipes use sesame tahini (paste), but I don't typically keep on hand a container of tahini, and I never want to run out to get it just for a small batch of hummus. I find that the sesame oil is a substitute that I really like.
**You could use water or chicken stock/broth instead of oil, if you want to lower the fat content the way my husband does, but I always use olive oil.
***Other things I frequently like to add to the recipe include a Tablespoon of chopped flat leaf parsley and a half teaspoon to a teaspoon of cumin. Another tasty addition would be some pureed roasted red bell pepper.