Summer Soup

This is a cold vegetable soup recipe I came upon, changed a bit, and served to two different sets of guests.  All requested the recipe.  It takes about 30 minutes to prepare but can be made a day or two ahead.  Nice way to use all that great produce that's on it's way.  Keeps well in the fridge. 
Serves 8 to 10. 

Place in a blender:
  6 Roma tomatoes
  1/2 red onion, peeled and chopped
  4 cloves of garlic
  fresh basil and dill to taste
  2 T lemon juice
  2 t salt or to taste
  2 T olive oil
  1/4 cup raisins
  1 red bell pepper, chopped
  pickled jalapeno to taste (optional)

Blend well on medium speed.
Slowly add 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes while blender is running.

In a large bowl combine:
  5 more Roma tomatoes, diced
  another 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, diced
  1 avocado, peeled and diced
  3/4 cup frozen corn
  1/2 sweet yellow pepper, diced

Poured blended mixture over the chopped vegetables in the bowl and stir well.  Chill and serve garnished with finely chopped parsley. 

Enjoy!

Two Questions

The other day I stopped at my favorite yarn shop.  After purchasing a few skeins of yarn for projects that were skittering around in my brain I stopped at the counter up front to get a coffee drink to take with me.  Behind the counter was a quiet young man wearing a top hat and stripped apron.  He is the question man.

Regular or decaf, milk or soy, hot or iced, here or to go.  I thought that was the about the extent of his questions.  Then, while concocting my iced decaf latte with soy to-go he asked, "So, what have you done so far today that was fun?"  Silence.  Think, think.  Then I told him that I had just played my accordion at the nursing home for my dad.  Then I thought, did I really have fun, or was it simply on my Friday morning to-do list?  What can I do to make sure that it's fun?

He seemed satisfied with my answer and we talked about the resurgence of the accordion, and I taught him the definition of perfect pitch.  Perfect pitch is when you toss an accordion into a dumpster and it hits a banjo.  Some people actually think that that's funny.

But he wasn't finished.  Next he asked, "What do you have planned for later today that you're really excited about doing?"  I didn't have an answer.  I just never thought of planning my days with those questions in mind.  What have I done that's been fun, and what's in my plan for the rest of the day that has me excited.  It seems I've been coasting through my days guided by a to-do list.  It seems that I'm sinking into the state of becoming a human doing instead of a human being.  Silence.  More silence. 

How about if I start every day with those two questions.  Maybe check up on my progress at lunch.  I think I'll give it a shot.  I'll let you know what happens.

Summer Sandwich

It came to my attention that I did not share a recipe last month, which is inexcusable as I have been trying new recipes right and left.  This month there will be extra recipes that are just perfect for the warm weather that is now creeping across the country.

This particular sandwich is made in a pita pocket bread and can contain almost any vegetable that can be cut into thin strips.  I've included my favorites in the recipe below, but don't be afraid to experiment.

Ingredients:
Beets, carrots, peppers, and/or radishes cut into thin strips
Sprouts - alfalfa or mung bean or your favorite
Pita bread
Magic sauce, which consists of a mixture of:
  1 t honey
  1 t mustard
  1 T mayo
Play around with the ingredients of the sauce until it's to your liking.  

Warm the pita over an open flame or in a hot oven to make it pliable.  Cut it in half if need be and gently open each half.  Insert the veggies of your choice.  Top with sprouts.  Drizzle on some sauce.  Absolutely delicious.

Confession -   For those of you who have not caught on yet, I am a vegetarian and so all of the recipes I'm sharing are vegetarian recipes.   Also, I was out of beets so the sandwiches in the picture contain daikon, tomato, sprouts and sauce.   Still delicious.