ASPARAGUS SALAD

I was thinking about some recipes over the these holidays to make ahead prior to the supper meal in order to pace myself and to ease the load of trying to have everything ready at once to serve.  This asparagus salad can be made during the afternoon.  I cooked the asparagus and added all of the chopped vegetables but didn't add the dressing until the salad was ready to be served.  I covered the salad with plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge for the few hours before supper.  It is a great salad and is an option to consider if you are looking for a non-lettuce option.

Asparagus added to medium size pot.

Before the salad was mixed, the peppers, tomatoes and avocado are layered over the asparagus.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs asparagus, trimmed and chopped into small chunks

1 to 1/2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes

1 coloured pepper, seeded and chopped

1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Add asparagus to a pot of water and boil for about two minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Into a large serving bowl, add asparagus with remaining ingredients and combine to mix the vegetables with the dressing.  Serves 6.

MUESLI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I buy a number of products made by Bob's Red Mill.  I have never counted the number of products that the company sells but they cover the gamete from flour to cereal to grains and beans.  Bob Moore started his first company milling flour in the 1960s in California.  The current company, located in Oregon, got started in the late 1970's and Bob sold it to his employees when he decided to retire years later.

On one of my grocery trips, I bought a large bag of muesli made by Bob's Red Mill.  I add the muesli to my porridge instead of chia seed or hemp seed to have some variety.  On the back of the package is a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  I decided to make a double batch as I wanted to bring cookies to work and I can't take all of the cookies and not leave the DH any morsels so a double batch was made.  I used Splenda instead of brown sugar and used a mixture of unbleached flour and multigrain flour.  I also used butter in the recipe.  I made the cookies small in size and they are what I call a two bite cookie.  They are delicious.  

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar or 1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli
1 cup chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium size bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.   In a separate bowl blend the butter, sugar and vanilla.  Beat in the egg.  Add the flour mixture and mix.  Add the muesli and chocolate chips.  Combine.  Drop by a teaspoon onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  Makes about 24 cookies.

recipe adapted from the Bob's Red Mill Muesli

CABBAGE VEGETABLE SOUP

The DH asked one recent weekend if I could make cabbage soup.  He had suggested cabbage soup as one of his coffee cronies talked about making this soup.  When making vegetable soup, I will usually add cabbage but thought I could focus the soup more on cabbage than other vegetables.  I also like to add sauerkraut to give a little zest to the soup when making a borscht style soup.   I use sauerkraut made with just cabbage and salt.  I used my electric pressure cooker to make the soup and cooked it for 16 minutes on medium pressure.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped small
2 stalks celery, chopped small
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped small
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium size potato, peeled and chopped small
1/2 to 3/4 medium size green cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sauerkraut
6 to 7 cups of stock
3 tbsp fresh dill. chopped
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large soup pot, heat the oil on medium high heat.  Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic, reduce the heat to medium and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add the rest of the ingredients, heat the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 60 to 70 minutes.   Serves 9.