Recipe: Garden Vegetable Marinara

vegetable-marinaraOverwhelmed with too many veggies in the garden? Try this recipe for enjoying a marinara today… and freeze to enjoy later in the year.

Ingredients:
2 lb. fresh garden tomatoes rough chop – I used yellow pear, cherry, Roma, early girls and heirloom varieties
2 bell peppers, diced
4 clove garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 zucchini, cubed
2 yellow crook neck squash, cubed (Note: Use any squash variety)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon no-salt seasoning
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (Note: Omit if you don’t like spice)
Alternate ingredient: Add veggie sausage cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 cup water (Note: You may want to add more water. I prefer a chunkier marinara)

Directions:
On medium high heat, water  sauté garlic and onion for 3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, add veggies, 1 cup water and spices and cook for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves and use high-powered blender to rough chop 1/2 the marinara mixture. Return blended mixture to pot with bay leaves. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Serve immediately over your favorite pasta – I used a rice quinoa pasta.

For freezing: Allow mixture to cool on stove top. On one-gallon sized bags, use marker to write down the marinara and date. (Note: Allow ink to dry before moving bags.) Fill bags half way and freeze. Defrost in fridge when ready… it’ll be a little bit of summer in winter later on and a great way to use the garden bounty today!

Recipe: Eat To Live: Tomato Bisque Soup

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We really enjoyed this Eat To Live soup recipe and will definitely have again!

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
3 cups carrot juice
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, no-salt-added or low-sodium (San Marzano variety is best; lower acid and sweeter)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (omitted)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped (omitted)
1 large shallot, chopped (we used green onion)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small bay leaf
Pinch saffron
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
2 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman’s MatoZest or other no-salt seasoning
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (1 tablespoon dried basil)
5 ounces baby spinach

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the cashews, basil, and spinach. Simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Remove 2 cups of the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside. Puree the remaining soup and cashews in a food processor or high-powered blender until smooth. Return the reserved vegetables to the pot. Stir in the basil and spinach and let the spinach wilt.