Autumn Garlicky Tomato Soup with Quinoa & Kale

Happy October friends!
It has been a mild and beautiful autumn in Portland. One of our 4 maple trees has shed it's colorful leaves all over the yard. Some days are sunny & warm, and some are foggy, wet with a chill in the air. Its not too cold to harvest fresh herbs, greens, and even tomatoes from the garden. I love this time of year. It is the beginning of soup season!

I love a good tomato soup. Here are links to other soup recipes I've created. Today's recipe is just a variation on these others. Tomato soup is excellent on its own. Even better with a grilled cheese dipped in. I use quinoa and kale in this recipe. These could easily be substituted for barley, rice, couscous, or your favorite small pasta shape. Swiss chard or spinach could stand in for the kale. Garbanzo or cannellini beans would be equally at home in this savory soup.

You can use fresh tomatoes from your garden, your own tomatoes you've canned or frozen, or store bought tomatoes in a can. Fresh herbs from the garden make all the difference in this recipe. The intense fragrant flavors of garden grown & freshly snipped oregano and basil can not be matched by dried herbs.

This delicious soup is simple and quick to make in under 30 minutes. It is a favorite in our house and a staple in my recipe arsenal. I hope you enjoy it!

6 cloves of garlic, minced
extra virgin olive oil
a few sprigs fresh oregano, leaves finely minced
a few sprigs fresh basil, leaves finely minced
4 lacinato kale leaves, de-ribbed and thinly sliced
about 6 cups diced tomatoes (or 2-48oz cans)
1 vegan broth cube
1 cup COOKED quinoa
1 cup water
1 cup unsweetened plain soymilk
honey
optional: shredded parmesan cheese

1. Sauté over medium heat for a few minutes the garlic, basil and oregano in a splash of olive oil. Add the kale and continue to sauté a few minutes more until the leaves are wilted but still bright green.
2. Add the tomatoes, broth cube, quinoa and 1 cup water. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. At boil let cook a few minutes more. Check the flavors. Add honey to taste.
3. Turn off heat. Add the soy milk until consistency you desire. I used about 2 cups.
4. Optional-garnish with shredded parmesan cheese and basil leaves

Mid May Garden Update

It is a beautiful sunshiny May day today. An incredible 80 degrees and sunshine that just won't quit. Usually I would wait until the end of May to plant my heat loving vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and squash. But, the forecast is for day temps in the 80's the next 3 days and the extended forecast has night temps in the 50s for the next 7 days. My soil is super warmed up being in raised beds so I'm going for it! I'll be prepared with my frost blanket just in case the weather takes a turn for the worst next week.

Tomato & Friends Bed: See my other post on tomato tips for planting suggestions. In this bed the slow-poke peas are still not producing and it's time to put the tomatoes in so we just worked around them. We'll see how long I leave them in there if they are taking so long to produce any peas. I planted 5 varieties of tomatoes: green zebra, taxi, oregon spring, yellow pear & sungold. (I also have oregon star & garden peach in a containers.) Along with the tomatoes I planted sweet peppers: orange california wonder, banana, carmen & gypsy. I also planted some eggplant: black beauty, japanese long & listada de gandia. Of course there are also 3 varieties of basil tucked in there: lettuce leaf, genovese & siam queen thai. This bed is companion planted with 'state fair' zinnias and 'cinnamon star' sunflowers.

The Squash Mound: My squash mound is a very fun project I was excited to finally plant in today. In October I sheet mulched a 4'x8' space in the "lawn" (I use the term lawn lightly!). I knew I needed another veggie bed this year and I HATE removing sod to construct beds. So, I experimented for the first time with the sheet mulching technique. Basically you compost in place where you would like to plant 6 months later. I started with a layer of cardboard, which smothers the lawn & weeds and eventually decomposes. I then layered levels of organic material that will decompose and make soil that you can directly plant in. I started with un-composted yard debris, then a layer of un-composted food scraps, then a layer from my compost pile that was about half way composted, then a bag of chicken manure, then a bag of Black Forest compost, then a layer of bark mulch to suppress weed growth on the surface, then a bag of cocoa mulch to keep the neighborhood cats off the pile. Then I let it sit for 6 months. And today when I turned the mound it was the most luscious, soft, loamy, gorgeous soil I've ever planted into. The cardboard on the bottom was totally decomposed. It was amazing. I added my custom vegan fertilizer mix and thoroughly worked in a bag of Bumper Crop compost. Once I planted everything I mulched with a bag of Whitney Farms Garden Mulch. I hope my squash will be so happy in this delicious little mound. It was so warm when I planted--they should just love it! Here's what I planted: 1 zucchini, 1 yellow crookneck squash & 1 sunburst patty pan squash. I space them each about 3 feet apart, added worm compost to their planting holes, and watered in with liquid seaweed. I companion planted with 'rocket red' snapdragons, 'touch of red calendula' and I direct seeded 'bright lights' cosmos and 'starburst lemon aura' sunflowers. Once the calendula & snap dragons are in bloom it's going to look amazing. Here are some before and after planting photos

I'll think I'll wait another week on planting my cucumbers. Or who knows, after my blogging break I might make it back out there for some late afternoon planting! Hope you are all enjoying a blessed & joyful spring in your gardens.

In Health & Happiness,
Miss Jolie Ann

Pasta with Fresh Lemon, Tomato & Basil

Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann
Inspired by my friend Sherrie

My co-worker and friend Sherrie is a ray of sunshine in my life. She is full of smiles, affection, warmth and humor for all who cross her path. She even calmly puts up with me when I can't sit still because I'm so hyper from my otc hayfever medication. Ever since she has found out about my kitchen-garden blog and my desire to complete a cookbook, she's been unconditionally supportive and encouraging.

Sherrie and I share a love of fresh home-grown seasonal produce and homecooking. While sharing telephone switchboard duty at our workplace we often swap stories of garden and recipe favorites. If you doubt Sherrie's influence on me let me share the infamous Giant Red Mustard Greens story. I have never grown mustard greens or had any desire to grow them. I don't think I've ever cooked with them either. In early spring when Sherrie and I were getting to know each other she shared how much she loved eating home-grown Giant Red Mustard Greens. Well, I trusted her completely, no questions asked. How could i have missed out on Giant Red Mustard Greens all this time? I set out to find starter tray packs of this mystery vegetable. Every week I looked for it at work (oh yeah, just a reminder-we work in a plant nursery), has it come in yet? I kept bugging and bugging the veggie chicks Jenn & Lana, until finally it arrived. I planted it, it thrived in my garden and upon harvest and cooking it was delicious.

But, I digress....Last week Sherrie was enthusiastically sharing her current favorite dinner recipe "Boxcar." Which is essentially cooked spaghetti with a raw sauce of fresh tomatoes & basil. She and her husband ate it several days in a row without tiring of it. So, Sherrie's boxcar inspired me to invent this pasta with fresh sauce of lemon, tomato, basil & garbanzo beans. I threw in the optional garbanzo beans to add some protein. This recipe is quick and easy to prepare-throw together the sauce while the pasta boils. Serve at room temperature. Yum!

Love ya Sherrie!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Pasta with Fresh Lemon, Tomato & Basil

1 lb organic spaghetti or linguine --No linguine for Harry! :)

4 ripe fresh organic tomatoes-chopped

2 cloves organic garlic-pressed

Handful of organic basil leaves-cut into thin ribbons

Freshly squeezed juice of 3 organic lemons

1 tsp fresh organic lemon zest
1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

Optional: 14 oz can organic garbanzo beans, drained & rinsed

Sea Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Freshly shredded organic Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. (Usually boil 10 minutes...)

2. While pasta is cooking, combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, and optional garbanzo beans in a large bowl.

3. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, drain again. Place pasta in bowl with lemon tomato mixture. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool and come to room temperature. About 10 minutes. This also allows the pasta to absorb some of the tasty liquids.

4. Top individual servings with shredded Parmesan cheese.