Honoring the "Meaty" Pinto bean..Lentil, split yellow pea soup; Yam and pumpkin bisque; Pinto bean chili; Lentil and squash pasta sauce served 2 ways; Chunky Vegetable Ratatouille; Buttered Apple Crisp; Whole wheat oatmeal, coconut-walnut-peanut "Nuggets"; Fresh peach and Strawberry sauce for whole wheat blintzes..photos of prep for Vegan and Vegetarian Menu delivery tomorrow

Fantastic, Diverse, Pinto Beans slowly cooking having been soaked overnight

The cooked Pinto Beans..the flavor and nourishment is also in the cooking liquor, which makes a great base for soups and stews.

Split Yellow Pea, Lentil and vegetable soup

Halve the squash and remove seeds and membranes then bake for 3o mins in a pan of water, scrape out the flesh and chop for the pasta sauce and disregard the skin

The pasta sauce with just the vegetables and chopped baked squash, this  will be added in layers between cooked pasta and cheese to be baked at client's home..below is the same mix with cooked lentils added, and chopped fresh celery and tomato, this will be a  warmed sauce to which cooked pasta will be added, sort of a Vegan Bolognaise.

The Yam and Pumpkin bisque

Peaches and strawberries from last summer now made into a sauce for whole wheat cheese blintzes..photos of same in last week's blog..now I can't seem to make enough of them

Twice baked potatoes with mashed pumpkin

Chunky Vegetable Ratatouille stew, yes I am still picking own grown basil from my garden

The cooked "meaty" Pinto beans with onions, peppers, red wine and smoked paprika..will be cooked for 1 hour, this is going to be the topping for corn tortilla chips, and topped again with the red cabbage salad (below), cheese is optional

The cooked pinto beans finished with chopped cilantro for the nacho chips

The Corello Squash

Whole wheat low sugar walnut, coconut, peanut, oatmeal "nuggets"

We are headed for a mini heatwave, it's already quite mild and tomorrow it is going to be mid 70f's.
LA is getting as unpredictable as London weatherwise.

Tomorrow's BIG menu is due to several clients who have just returned to LA and others' who are celebrating birthdays; as I KNOW all my client's dietary requirements I can alter recipes to suit them and all my dishes as you know are NOT one size fits all.
The cookies are low sugar and high fiber, the pasta sauces are low salt and oil, everything is low salt.
Also love them or hate them, Pinto Beans are stars in my kitchen.
If you prepare them correctly ( see my first recipe book "Recipes for Success", not only are they a good substitute for meat, the actually DO reduce bad cholesterol and ARE easy to digest).

Have a great weekend and see you all next week, when we may have some more rain, fingers crossed.