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.

Pinto Bean chili; Vegan "Irish " Stew; Cheese and Onion Quiche; Sourdough whole wheat caraway breads; Oatmeal Raisin cookies; Veggie rice stuffed yellow bell peppers; Roasted winter vegetables with chopped tomato; Carrot and yam bisque with live yogurt..photos of Prep for tomrrow's Vegan-Vegetarian Deliveries

Spicy Pinto bean chili simmering

Cooking the bell peppers before filling with veggies, sauce and rice

Kale packed, chickpea and vegetable "Irish" Stew

Roasted Winter vegetables sprinkled with lemon juice and added chopped raw tomato

Turmeric steamed Jasmine rice for the peppers

Caramelized onions for the quiche

Previous 2 the rice & veggie filling for the peppers and topped with grated Parmesan cheese

Whole wheat quiche with cheese, onions and baby greens will be covered in an egg and yogurt custard, scented with ground nutmeg

Oatmeal-raisin-whole wheat cookies

Yam and carrot bisque finished with live yogurt

Baked sourdough breads

Baked quiche

 

 

 

Our weather is "all over the place" lately...warm rain showers giving way to high winds, high surf and more rain coming in next week, Hopefully.
Trying to make menus for any season is tricky at the best of times..this is why this menu is also "all over the place". Enjoy more FRESH veggies folks.

 

TOMATO, CHEESE AND BABY SPINACH TART WITH HASH BROWN CRUST; BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH PIE WITH CHEESE; RATATOUILLE OF WINTER VEGETABLES; MINESTRONE SOUP WITH BROCCOLI; MASHED ROASTED YAMS; CHEESE BLINTZES WITH BERRY SAUCE; ROASTED YELLOW BELL PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP: BLACK OLIVE AND BROCCOLI BRUSCHETTA; CREATING WONDERFUL TARTS THAT ARE GLUTEN FREE..ALL PHOTOS

GRATED RAW POTATOES SOAKING IN SALTED WATER TO RELEASE THEIR STARCH FOR ONE OF THE TARTS

SAUTEED ONIONS, GARLIC AND FRESH TOMATOES, ADDING WHITE WINE AND BABY KALE, SPINACH AND CHARD FOR THE POTATO TART, CLIENT WILL ADD CHEESE AND BAKE IN THEIR OVEN..SEASONED WITH FRESH BASIL AND ROSEMARY

THE BASE FOR THE WINTER VEGETABLE "RATATOUILLE" THIS WILL BE SERVED WITH TWICE BAKED POTATOES

THE TOMATO-SPINACH TOPPING FOR THE POTATO CRUST

STRAINED COTTAGE  CHEESE ( STRAIN OVERNIGHT), CREAM CHEESE, EGGS, HONEY AND VANILLA EXTRACT  FILLING FOR THE BLINTZES

COOKING THE POTATO BASE

BASIL TOPPED WINTER RATATOUILLE

BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH, WILL FORM THE BASE FOR ANOTHER TART

LAYERS OF SPAGHETTI SQUASH, GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE AND CHUNKY MARINARA SAUCE FOR THE OTHER TART

WINTER VEGETABLE "MINESTRONE" SOUP WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND BROCCOLI

 SUMMER STRAWBERRIES & RASPBERRIES IN A WONDERFUL BERRY SAUCE, THE FRUIT IS FROM LAST SUMMER SO IT  NICE AND RIPE..THIS WILL BE SERVED WITH THE BLINTZES.

THE BAKED HASH BROWN BASE FOR THE SPINACH AND TOMATO TART

PREVIOUS 2 OWN MADE WHOLE WHEAT CREPES FOR THE BLINTZES

MASHED ROASTED YAMS

PREVIOUS 4 MAKING THE BLINTZES, LAYERING ON WAXED PAPER MEANS THEY WILL NOT STICK TOGETHER AND THEY WILL BE SAUTEED SEAM SIDE DOWN IN BUTTER AND OIL AT CLIENT'S HOME AND SERVED WITH THE BERRY SAUCE, WARMED

A BRUSCHETTA STYLE STARTER TO BE SERVED ON TOASTED FRENCH BREAD, EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, AVOCADO, BROCCOLI, LEMON JUICE, YELLOW BELL PEPPERS, PURPLE ONION, TOMATOES.

The weather is getting cooler now and we have been promised more rain towards the end of this week and next week.
This menu uses a lot of winter squashes and vegetables to produce some very tasty tarts that are gluten free.
For summer tarts use more roasted vegetables.
For Vegan omit the cheese and use chopped raw nuts.

Roasted yellow bell pepper and tomato soup