Saturday Lunch

Today has been a fantastic day so far. I took the dogs for a long walk filled with intervals (they get confused by the speed changes but love it nonetheless); I was so sore and tired that my muscles shook at an amazing Karve class; and I had an incredibly treatment with my wonderful acupuncturist, Joshuah Kim. To top off a great morning, I needed a delicious lunch, right?

My Nature's Garden Delivered organic, locally-grown fruits and vegetable box arrived yesterday morning, so I had crisp, fresh spinach and beautiful bell peppers for a salad. Note the sprinkle of goat cheese for some fat and flavor.

If I don't make my own salad dressing, I love to use Bragg's Healthy Vinaigrette or Ginger dressings. They're made with organic olive oil and all healthy ingredients (read: no soy or weird fillers). It's a great option when you want a quick, tasty dressing that is actually real.

The soup is made in the crockpot and is the brainchild of my coworker, Janet. It's so easy and delicious! I sprinkled it with hemp seeds for some extra texture. Here's the recipe:

Crockpot Great Northern Beans

1 lb great northern beans (or any white bean you like)

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped (I use 4-5 carrots)

2 ribs celery, chopped (I use 4-5 ribs)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 heaping tablespoons of vegetable bouillon seasoning (I used Organic Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base from Whole Foods)

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup olive oil

1-2 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Night before: Sort, wash and cover beans with water to soak. Chop onion, carrots, celery & garlic and store them in the fridge until morning. The veggie amounts are suggestions - if you like one more than the other add more.

In the morning: Rinse beans. Add to crockpot with veggies, bay leaf, vegetable seasoning, butter, olive oil. Cover with about an inch of water. (I measure out 6 cups of water total.) Turn crock pot on low and cook all day. You might find that you need to add a little more water toward the end on the cooking process so if you can't get home during the day to check you might want to add a little more water in the beginning. You want it to be a thick soup, but you don't want it to look like a bean side dish!

Just before serving - take out about a cup of beans and puree in a food processor and stir back into crock pot. This process will help thicken the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. Serves 6.

Megan’s version: Place all ingredients in crock pot the night before and refrigerate, covered. In the morning, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Top with parmesan cheese and serve with crusty bread or pan-fried organic polenta.

I'm off to TJ's and Whole Foods to get food for the week, including ingredients for the dishes I'm making at tomorrow's big Sunday brunch. We're having up to 20 people over to our house, and it's going to be a wonderful brunch pot luck! Pictures to come...

*M*