Green Swamp SoupKid, Earth and Time Friendly Recipes

I first tasted this new twist on an old favorite at — where else — school! To be specific, the Grass Roots Cafe at the Malcolm Price Laboratory School. As a kid, I was never a fan of ground-beef-with-tomato-sauce “slopped” on top of a soggy white bun. But “Snobby Joes” were a whole ‘nother story. This version is made with lentils and a spicy-sweet, thick sauce (featuring maple syrup and mustard) that won’t leave your bun soggy, in part because you’ll gobble it up too quickly.

Now, you might be thinking, “What in the world is a school doing serving a vegetarian option called Snobby Joes?” Good question! The Grass Roots Cafe is part of a new pilot food program to promote healthier and more environmentally friendly eating at school. The school’s food service director, Rob Stanley, threw out the old way of making school lunches from pre-packaged and/or frozen foods and now makes everything from scratch — using locally grown and produced food where possible. His goal is to serve healthier foods, support the local economy and reduce waste.

Both of my kids go to school at Price Lab, and needless to say I’m ecstatic about this healthy new approach to school food. But when I tried the “Snobby Joes” when having lunch there recently, even I was surprised at how delicious the food was! This sandwich reminded me of the bistro-style veggie sandwiches in my favorite vegetarian restaurant in Kansas City, Eden Alley.

Needless to say, I had to figure out how make these yummy, kid-friendly sandwiches myself. An online search yielded this recipe from the ultra-cool vegan chefs at Post Punk Kitchen. I’d never heard of the PPK before, but after trying this recipe and reading their website, I’m an instant fan!

A quick glance at the comments on the site told me I’d need to modify this recipe slightly so it wouldn’t be too spicy for kiddie palates (even though my kids do have a high tolerance for spice). Someone had written in and asked if the THREE tablespoons of chili powder was a typo. It wasn’t. (We veggie peeps do love our heat.) If you want to make this spicy, I’d suggest adding a red chile pepper (I made this half spicy, half mild). The sauce itself is very thick, so it won’t soak right through a bun. However, I made doubly sure this wouldn’t happen by toasting my whole wheat buns in the oven first. Top with lettuce, tomato, pickle and a little extra mustard for good measure.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups uncooked lentils
4 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1/2 green pepper, diced small
1/2 red pepper, diced small
1 carrot, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 15- oz can tomato sauce
1 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. yellow mustard (wet mustard)

4 to 6 whole wheat buns, toasted

Directions:

1. Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

2. About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion, carrot and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.

3. Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder and oregano and mix. Add the tomato sauce and ketchup. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.

Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can’t wait. (I let it sit on low heat for half an hour before I served it to make sure everything was extra thick … again, trying to avoid the soggy bun syndrome.)

Serving Alternative: Snobby Nachos

I came up with this idea when eating up my leftover Joes, but you can serve the Joes like this in the first place (I think this will convert the more finicky eaters who might be used to regular old meaty Joes). Just plunk a few scoops of Snobby Joes on a microwave-safe plate, layer with low-fat colby jack and whole grain tortilla chips, then microwave on high for about one minute. Pile melted chips and cheese high with your favorite nacho toppings — lettuce, tomato, jalapeno, black olives, guacamole and low-fat sour cream — and you’ve got a yummy meal or hearty snack.

Squash seeds can be roasted just like pumpkin seeds and used as a garnish or delicious snack.

Ingredients:

1 cup squash seeds
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

2. Pull squash seeds out of the squash with your fingers so that minimal flesh/strings remain on the seeds.

3. Put seeds in a strainer and rinse.

4. Drop rinsed seeds into a bowl or plastic container and soak for a few minutes.

5. Separate squash seeds from squash flesh/strings.

6. Dry on paper towels.

7. Mix spices, seeds and olive oil.

8. Spread seeds on lined baking sheet.

9. Bake for 15 minutes, or until seeds start to pop. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet before serving.

These corn waffles are inspired by my visit to Memphis for my cousin Ginny’s wedding in October. We went to a local BBQ joint called Corky’s where they served jalapeno hush puppies. These were the most delicious hush puppies I’d ever had in my life! I decided immediately that a healthier version could be created, and thus, we have these non-fried corn waffles. You will need a Belgian waffle maker in order to make the waffles, but you can just as easily make this recipe into corn muffins.

Ingredients:

2 packages corn muffin mix
1 jalapeno, minced without seeds
1/4 onion, minced
2 eggs
2 tbsp. vegetable shortening, melted
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron or oven if making muffins.

2. Stir all ingredients together.

3. Pour mix into middle of waffle iron about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

4. Lower iron and cook for about two minutes.

5. Serve hot with real maple syrup, butter, salsa or cilantro!

Just in time for Thanksgiving — this yummy, flavorful soup makes a uniquely healthy appetizer, or a post-Thanksgiving-leftover-dinner main dish. And, it’s insanely simple to make, so it won’t take much time at all to whip up. I served this soup with Jalapeno corn waffles topped with spicy toasted squash seeds, but it’s also nice with just a little plain sour cream or yogurt.

The following recipe for this soup is slightly modified from this recipe by Annie B. Bond.

Ingredients:
2 acorn squash, cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 Granny Smith or other tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2/3 cup sherry (optional)
5 vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Pinch cayenne (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Lay the squash halves cut side down on baking sheets, and roast them for 45 minutes or until the flesh is soft. When the squash has cooled a little, scoop out the seeds and discard them. Then, with a large spoon, scoop out the flesh of the squash into a bowl.

2. Heat the butter or oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion softens. Add the garlic, ginger, and curry powder, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the apples and the sherry, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the apples soften.

3. Puree the squash flesh with the water or stock in batches in a blender or food processor. Transfer the squash puree to a large saucepan, then puree the apple-sherry mixture, and add this to the pureed squash.

4. Heat the soup, and season it with the salt, pepper, and, if you like, cayenne. Ladle the hot soup into bowls, and serve.

Feast your eyes on the feasting table.

Middle Eastern food is one of my absolute favorite cuisines, so it was important to me to make sure my kids liked it from day one. We make homemade hummus here on a fairly regular basis and use pitas for everything from pizzas to sandwiches. However, this post is focused on several recipes and ideas that you can use to create a full-on Middle Eastern feast!

The basis of this particular feast is chickpeas, of course! I received some sprouted chickpeas, a.k.a. garbanzo beans, from my friend, Cara Ullrich. Cara works at Roots Market, and is a bona fide food guru. She explained to me that sprouted garbanzos contain much more protein and nutrients than your average canned variety, and are also much more flavorful — and she was absolutely right! These beans made some of the tastiest hummus I’ve had to date! NOTE: If you can sprout your own garbanzos, I highly encourage it. However, you can used dried or canned garbanzo beans to make the hummus included in this post.

The next item on the feast menu is falafel. I’m seriously CRAZY about falafel. In fact, I had some leftover from the feast and I ate with some Sriracha sauce for breakfast (but I seriously never eat anything considered “normal” for breakfast).

Unfried falafel patty.

Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from spiced chickpeas and/or fava beans. Wikipedia tells us this is a popular fast food in the Middle East and I so wish this were the case here (although they do serve some great falafel at the Pita King in Waterloo). You can make your own homemade falafel, but this takes time.

Instant falafel -- just add water!

For my personal feast, I opted to use the Fantastic Foods boxed mix, simply because it’s easy and delicious. If you want to make your own falafel from scratch, here’s an excellent recipe from Epicurious.

Now, onto the fun part — the tzatziki sauce! My version of this is probably not technically tzatziki, but I’ve found a combination of flavors and textures that everyone in the family, especially Chris, loves. My sauce is pretty simple — just Fage Greek yogurt, green onions, fresh lemon juice and a little garlic powder. Chris literally ate every bite of the batch I made and practically liked the serving dish!

So, how do we serve all of this stuff? Creatively. I will be blatantly honest right now and say that the kids aren’t big fans of falafel. This is really frustrating to me, since it IS a version of fast food, is brown and fried and very nearly resembles a chicken nugget. So, I tuck these little critters neatly inside a warm pita, add some fresh spinach and slather lots of tzatziki and hummus all over it. The kids can have more hummus, tzatziki and pitas after they try their sandwiches.

As for mom and dad, we make several different types of mini sandwiches out of our pitas — falafel/tzatziki, hummus/chili garlic sauce, falafel/tzatziki/hummus/chili garlic sauce.

Because this post contains so many recipes, I have created individual pages for each and linked to them below. For the falafel, either follow the recipe above or buy the Fantastic Foods mix! Even if you don’t make the feast all at once, I encourage you to try at least one of these recipes and introduce this delicious and nutritious cuisine to your family.

Our friends, falafel and pita, waiting to be slathered in tzatziki and hummus.

Middle East Feast Menu

1 package whole wheat pita (you can make these into pita chips as well)
1 package Fantastic Foods falafel mix
1 large bunch or bag of fresh spinach
kalmata hummus recipe
tzatziki sauce recipe
Sriracha or chili garlic sauce to taste

Baked pita chips

These low-fat, baked pita chips are so easy and take just minutes to prepare and bake. Follow these directions and you’ll even save energy when baking them!

NOTE: Serve this is part of the Middle East Feast menu.

Ingredients:

1 package whole-wheat pitas
kosher salt
garlic powder

Directions:

1. Cut one package of pitas in half.

2. Cut the halves into thirds to make little pita triangles.

3. Unfold your pita triangles and tear them into two pieces so you have two little pita triangles.

4. Set your oven to bake at 350.

5. Put pita chips on two baking sheets. Spray with Pam cooking spray or olive oil spray.

6. Sprinkle with kosher salt and garlic powder.

7. While oven is still heating, put the chips in the oven. This will allow them to slow bake and become very crispy.

8. When oven reaches 350, turn it off. Let the chips bake for about 10 minutes total or until golden brown.

9. Serve with kalmata hummus.

Our friends, hummus and falafel, await a good slathering in tzatziki.

This is tzatziki sauce is not a traditional recipe, but is simple and geared toward younger tastes. Serve as part of the Middle East feast.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. green onions, diced
2 cups Fage Greek-style yogurt
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor.

2. Pulse until smooth and creamy.

3. Chill for at least one hour before serving.

If you love olives, you will love this hummus recipe, plain and simple. This is my newest spicy/salty creation, taste tested by coworkers to rave reviews!

I’ve been making hummus for 15 years and I never make it the same way twice. However, this recipe was inspired by my hubby’s cousin, Margaret Buckton, who uses kalmata olives in her hummus to utmost deliciousness. So, I followed her basic recipe and added some fresh cilantro and parsley for good measure. Tahini is an absolute must in any hummus recipe and can be found in local natural or organic food stores everywhere. I always buy mine organic and unsalted, but any old tahini will do!

Tip: My kids love hummus (eat it with a spoon) but it’s an acquired taste. Skip the pepper in this recipe if making it for the kiddos.

NOTE: Serve this hummus as part of the Middle East Feast!

Ingredients:

1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup kalmata olives (seedless)
1 clove garlic
1 tsp. cumin
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 red chile pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. fresh parsley
Sea or kosher salt to taste
1 glug olive oil

For “Plain” Hummus:

Omit the kalmata olives, chile,  pepper, cilantro and parsley above.

Directions:

1. Drain beans and save the “juice.”

2. Measure above ingredients into food processor, with the exception of the garbanzo bean juice, salt and olive oil.

3. Process and add garbanzo bean juice a little at a time, until you reach a smooth consistency.

4. Add olive oil.

5. Taste and then add sea salt to taste, 1/4 tsp. at a time.

6. Chill and serve with veggies, pita chips, tortilla chips and possibly even a little plain goat cheese or feta!

I made this dish for my book club last week. Our book was The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. This book is about the way Americans eat and the food chains that sustain us, from industrial down to organic. This dish is in the hyper-local organic category (my terminology) because it features veggies from my neighbor, Kristin’s,  garden and the farmer’s market. The cheeses come from our local dairy outlet, Hansen’s Dairy.

During our discussion, we talked about the difficulties of cooking and eating the hyper-local, organic way. It’s true — this is time consuming and not what most of us are used to. However, the benefits to the environment, our health and our culture outweigh the monetary costs, especially in the long-term. So head out to your garden or farmer’s market and enjoy a dilemma-free meal with your loved ones while these great veggies are still in season!

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini (approx. 8” each, or 3 medium), thinly sliced
1 small onion, sliced into thin rings
3 fresh tomatoes, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 to 3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup feta cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180 ºC). Spray a deep 8 x 8 baking dish (2 quarts) with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil.

2. In a medium bowl, combine cheeses.

3. Layer the veggies and cheese like this: zucchini rings first, then garlic, then tomatoes, then onions, then basil, then cheese. Repeat until you’ve filled your dish and the last layer is cheese. Top with dried basil or rosemary.

4. Cover and bake until zucchini is tender; about 45 minutes.

5. Uncover and bake until cheese is melted and golden, about 10 more minutes.

NOTE: This recipe will be “juicy” from the veggies, there’s no getting around it. The book club members didn’t seem to mind, and I saved the “juice” to use in a soup later.

With fresh basil, tomato and mozzarella, this cucumber salad is a twist on those fabulous sandwiches served at old-school Italian delis.  I served this up with homemade pizza, but it will go great with any late summer/early fall dinner. It also stays fresh for several days, so it’s great to pack leftovers into kids’ and parents’ lunches.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tbsp. organic sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
1 clove garlic, minced
10 fresh basil leaves
3 small fresh cucumbers, chopped (pickling or thin slicing)
10 cherry tomatoes
3 tomatillos
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella, cubed
3 garlic or regular chives, minced
Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

1. Slice cukes in half, turn them onto their bellies and cut them into thirds. Cross-cut the thirds to make cubes.

2. Slice tomatoes in half.

3. Mince garlic and add it to a large liquid measuring cup.

4. Pour 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil into the measuring cup.

5. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar.

6. Whisk the above ingredients together until well combined. Add water and whisk again.

7. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic chives over the cukes and tomatoes in a large bowl. Add mozzarella, then pour vinegar/oil mixture over the veggies/cheese.

8. Stir all ingredients until well combined. Do a taste test and add salt and/or pepper to taste.