1/2 lb crusty white bread, crusts removed
4 oz raw peeled almonds*
2 cloves garlic
7 cups water
1 cup olive oil
Red wine vinegar, to taste

Possible garnishes: Seedless grapes, apple slices, melon, shrimp, or sliced roasted almonds.

Soak the bread in water. In a powerful blender or food processor, grind the almonds with the garlic and a little salt, as fine as you can (the finer they are ground, the creamier the result will be). Then add the soaked bread and blend until you get a white homogeneous paste. Still blending, slowly add the oil in a thread, as you would in a mayonnaise. Then combine the vinegar and water and very slowly add them in a thin stream while blending.

Serve very cold with the garnish of your choice.

*I’ve never tried to peel an almond. But evidently, you can dip them in boiling water for a few seconds, and then the dark skins will pop off.

1 T olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes (not drained)
1 14-oz can of garbanzo beans (drained)
Juice of 2 limes
1 C large black olives, halved
1/2 C pimiento-stuffed green olives, sliced
1 C TVP, toasted in a dry skillet until golden brown
2-3 C water

In a Dutch oven, saute the onions and peppers until soft. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds, then add the tomatoes and beans and a couple of cups of water. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the lime juice, olives, and TVP. This is when you might want to adjust the water and add more for soup or less for stew. Simmer until the TVP is cooked and serve.

Optional: Garnish with grated co-jack cheese and cilantro.

You can also pressure cook this for about 5 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.

3/4 C dried black beans, soaked overnight
3/4 C dried Great Northern beans, soaked overnight
2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t thyme
8 C broth or bouillon
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t sage
Roasted Pepper Cream
Cilantro, flat leaf parsley, or chopped green onions, for garnish

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Saute onion, poblano, and celery until soft. Add the garlic and thyme and transfer half of the veggies to a second pressure cooker.

To the first pot, add 4 C broth, the drained black beans, chili powder, and cumin. Bring up to pressure and cook for 6 minutes, then turn off the stove and let the pressure come down naturally for about 20 minutes. Without a pressure cooker, you can simmer these for an hour and a half.

To the second pot, add 4 C broth, the drained Great Northern beans, and the sage. Bring up to pressure and cook for 8 minutes, then turn off the stove and let the pressure come down naturally for about 20 minutes. Without a pressure cooker, you can simmer these for an hour.

To serve, ladle a cup of black bean soup into a bowl. Tilt the bowl and ladle a cup of white bean soup on the other side. Top with the bright red Roasted Pepper Cream and garnish with bits of green cilantro, parsley, or onion.

4 T butter
2 C chopped onions
1-1/2 to 2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
4 C stock
1 C OJ
Salt, pepper
Grated fresh orange zest

Melt butter and saute onions until soft, about 25 minutes. Add carrots and stock and simmer 30 minutes. Strain/blend, reheat gently and add OJ. Season and garnish.

Saute the onion in the oil until soft. Add the peas and stock and cook for 4 minutes. Puree with the mint. Stir in the buttermilk, salt, and pepper, and chill.

Toast the nuts in a dry skillet and set aside.

Toss the carrots with lime juice, sesame oil, salt, and pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into chilled bowls, top with carrot salad and garnish with toasted nuts.

Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and garlic and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the half and half before serving.

Saute the onion in the oil, then add the garlic. Saute briefly and add the tomato, cooking to taste. Stir in the turmeric.

Drain the chickpeas and add them and the coconut milk. Heat through. Season to taste with salt and cayenne.

Serve as a stew or over rice. You can also add a few spoonfuls of instant rice or couscous to thicken the dish and keep it a one-pot meal.

Saute the onion in the oil until soft, add the garbanzo beans, rice, and stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, lemon juice, and turmeric and simmer until the rice is cooked, 10-30 minutes. Add salt to taste. If desired, you can mash the beans a bit with a potato masher before serving the soup.

1 large can tomato puree
4 bananas, peeled and sliced
2 C chicken or vegetable stock
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t salt
1/4 C half & half
2 T oil
1/8 t white pepper
2 onions, diced
2 T coconut, grated (optional)

In large saucepan, combine tomatoes, stock and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Saute onions in oil until transparent. Add banana slices. Saute, crushing slightly. Stir puree into onion mixture.
In bowl, combine cornstarch and half & half. Stir in about 1/4 cup hot tomato soup. Stir cornstarch mixture into remaining soup.
Stir constantly over low heat until soups thickens slightly. Season with white pepper.
To serve, top each serving with coconut.

1 large cucumber
1 large red pepper
1 large tomato
1/2 small red onion
1/8 cup packed parsley sprigs
2 cups tomato juice
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

Coarsely chop 1/4 cup cucumber for garnish. Peel and cut remainder into chunks.
Cut red pepper, tomato and onion into bite sized chunks. One vegetable at a
time, chop finely by hand or food processor (careful not to puree). Cut up
sprigs of parsley with each veggie. Place veggies and parsley in large bowl,
stir in tomato juice, vinegar, salt, and hot pepper sauce. Cover and
refrigerate 1 hour to blend flavors.

About 45 calories per serving.

2 slices hearty white bread
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
2 C watercress leaves
1/2 C cilantro
1/4 C flat-leaf parsley
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut in pieces
3 scallions, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1/2 C celery leaves
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
4 C vegetable broth
2 T olive oil
1/4 C white wine vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
Soak the bread in enough cold water to cover in a bowl for about 5 minutes. Squeeze out and discard water. Combine with cucumbers, watercress, cilantro, parsley, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until it’s almost a puree. Transfer to a large bowl.
Combine the bell pepper, scallions, celery leaves, and jalapeno in the food processor. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add to cucumber mixture. Stir in broth, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Serves 8, 75 calories per serving.

12 oz sliced mushrooms
2 C chopped onions
2 T butter
3 T flour
1-2 t dill weed
1 T Hungarian paprika
1 C milk
1 T tamari
1 t salt
2 C stock or water
2 t lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 C sour cream or yogurt, room temperature
Saute onions in butter. Salt lightly. A few minutes later, add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes. Add flour, dill, and paprika and cook for about 5 minutes. Gradually add the milk and cook, stirring frequently, until thick. Add the tamari and the stock or water. Cover and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Just before serving, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and some extra dill if desired. Serve each bowl with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt in the middle.

You saute up 4 cloves of garlic and a half pound of bread slices in olive oil. Then you add water and simmer it for a while, until the bread breaks down. With the soup boiling, you add an egg, but it’s unclear whether it’s a beaten egg, which would make something like Chinese egg-drop soup, or a whole egg poached on top. You can also garnish it with grapes or sausage. There also seem to be versions that include tomatoes.

“I’m known to be a bit of a disaster in the kitchen….. but if I do the translating and you do the cooking we should be good to go. Your English version looks pretty right on, but there are a few small changes: Fist, remember that the recipe calls for half a kg. of bread, not half a pound (but it really shouldnt matter too much… just might be a little more garlicky with less bread to soak up the flavor). Make sure you cut the bread thinly in strips.The egg is beaten first, then dropped in the soup to cook quickly (when the soup is prepared and nearly finished simmering). It says to serve really hot….don’t burn your tongue. I tend to get really excited about soup (as it is one of my FAVE foods) and forget to let it cool down. Not so enjoyable with a stinging tongue!

The must-have ingredients are the beans, tomatoes, at least 3 other vegetables, garlic, oregano, and macaroni. Otherwise, play around with it.

3 T olive oil
2 onions, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 large carrots, diced
1 small potato, diced (optional)
1 C frozen peas
1 can garbanzo beans or kidney beans
1 C chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 T salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 t oregano
2 t basil
28-oz can chopped tomatoes (not drained)
3 C water or stock (can use bouillon cubes)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C dry macaroni
Splash of red wine
Fresh grated parmesan

In a large dutch oven, saute the onion, celery, and bell pepper in the oil until soft. Stir in the carrot, optional potato, mushrooms, salt, pepper, oregano, 1/2 C of parsley, and basil, saute for another minute, then add the tomatoes, stock, and beans (you may drain them or not, your choice). Simmer until the carrots are tender. Add the macaroni, peas, wine, and garlic and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the macaroni is cooked. Adjust the salt to taste.

Serve garnished with parsley and parmesan and sprinkle cracked black pepper over the top.

4 C cold water
4 small (1-1/2-inch long) dried fish
1/2 C bonito flakes (dried fish flakes)
1/3 to /2 C light miso
3 to 4 T C dark miso
4 to 6 oz soft tofu (such as Mori-Nu Silken), cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2-3 green onions, sliced
Optional: Enoki mushrooms, radish sprouts, kim chee
Dash cooking sake

Bring water and dried fish to a boil. Add bonito flakes and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Strain stock and keep warm. In a small bowl, very slowly stir some of the stock into the miso until you have something with a runny consistency and no lumps. Stir this back into the remainder of the stock, but do not bring it to a boil, or it will become bitter.

To serve, put tofu, enoki mushrooms, and kim chee, if using, in each bowl and ladle the hot soup over. Garnish with green onions and radish sprouts.

4 potatoes
2 carrots
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1-2 T oil or butter
3 C milk
1/2 to 1 C grated sharp cheddar
2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 T chopped parsley

Cook potatoes and carrots in water to cover in a large, heavy pan. Remove potato skins. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in the oil or butter until tender. Combine with the potatoes, carrots, and cooking water. Puree in batches.

Return puree to pan and add milk, cheese, and seasonings. Heat until cheese is melted and soup is piping hot, but do not let it boil.

Makes 8 to 10 cups.

1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 T butter, olive oil, or a combination of the two
4 large carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
6 stalks of rhubarb, sliced into 1-inch chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced fine
2 C vegetable or chicken broth
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t powdered cloves
1 T arrowroot powder dissolved in 1/2 C cold water
Salt to taste
Optional: A little cream and some fresh-grated nutmeg

Saute the onions in the oil or butter for a minute or two, then add the carrots, rhubarb, garlic, broth, cinnamon, and cloves. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the rhubarb breaks down and the carrots become soft. Stir in the dissolved arrowroot powder and cook for a minute or two until it thickens. Season to taste with salt, and garnish with some fresh-grated nutmeg and a little spoonful of cream.