Idgie's recipes

[Idgie]

Three-bean salad

For the salad, combine green beans (I used fresh, blanched, then rinsed in cold water whole/trimmed beans, but canned are fine if you do canned), drained garbanzos (for this batch, I used organic no-salt), and drained kidney beans (I used regular canned).

For the dressing, heat 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup white vinegar, and a couple tablespoons of salt to just boiling. Toss in a chopped onion and then pour that whole thing over the green beans.

The plated pic is blurry, but it shows the salad better.

[Idgie]

Enchilada Soup
1 can (1.5 cups or so) fat-free green enchilada sauce (or homemade)
2 cups low-sodium veggie broth
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
1/2 bell pepper, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic (or roasted garlic)
1 cilantro cube, optional
1 can (1.75 cups) black beans, drained and rinsed
3-6 corn tortillas, optional

Place first 6 ingredients in saucepan and bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Meanwhile, heat tortillas (if using) on a flame or skillet until they're all cooked, then cut into strips. Let soup simmer until onions are cooked. Add tortillas and beans to soup and heat through.

Makes about 6 cups

[Idgie]

This soup was so good I ended up eating the whole batch over the course of an hour or two, minus the bowl I spilled on myself and the sofa. It would be MWL friendly if you don't eat the whole darn thing in one meal. It's sooooo easy.

Yellow split pea soup with vegetables

1 cup yellow split peas or chana dal, rinsed and drained
1 quart vegetable stock or water
2 small potatoes (I used one white and one red), diced (I didn't peel them; peel if you prefer)
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced green beans or other green vegetable
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp salt, optional
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Place everything except the lemon juice into a medium stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Serve immediately.

(If I had cilantro, I would have tossed some on top at the end to finish it, but it was really good without it.)

[bunsofaluminum]

This soup was so good I ended up eating the whole batch over the course of an hour or two, minus the bowl I spilled on myself and the sofa. It would be MWL friendly if you don't eat the whole darn thing in one meal. It's sooooo easy.

Yellow split pea soup with vegetables

1 cup yellow split peas or chana dal, rinsed and drained
1 quart vegetable stock or water
2 small potatoes (I used one white and one red), diced (I didn't peel them; peel if you prefer)
1/2 large onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced green beans or other green vegetable
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp salt, optional
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Place everything except the lemon juice into a medium stockpot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Serve immediately.

(If I had cilantro, I would have tossed some on top at the end to finish it, but it was really good without it.)

Yahooey Louey! I bought some yellow dal lentils last week! This looks like an amazing way to use them.

[Idgie]

I wouldn't say this is the best soup I've ever had or anything, but I like it a lot and it was beyond easy.

1 pouch dehydrated refried black beans (no fat)
1 quart vegetable broth or water
1 cup jarred salsa

Bring water/stock to a boil, add beans and salsa, bring back to a boil, then turn down and simmer on low 5 minutes. Done.

[Idgie]

My background is New-York-Jewish (in part) and I'm much more likely to eat cold Manischewitz borscht from a jar than to make what I think of as Russian-style borscht -- the hot kind with cabbage and potatoes (and, traditionally, beef stock) but I made some today and it's really good. I made it in the Instant Pot (10 minutes on pressure, 10 minutes slow release), but it's fine on top of the stove. When I do it on the stove, I cook it for about an hour, with the cabbage going in in the last 15 minutes or so.

I do try to make everything roughly the same size dice for this, so it's a tiny bit more fiddly than my usual cooking, but it's certainly not difficult at all. I have successfully used canned beets, but it's much better with fresh.

Borscht
Makes roughly a gallon of soup

1 large or 2 small onions, peeled and diced
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
6 small or 3 large beets, peeled and diced
2 small or 1 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 small or 1/2 large head cabbage, diced
1 quart vegetable stock
1 tablespoon mushroom powder, optional (tomato paste also works here for the umami hit)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried dillweed (or 1 tablespoon fresh), optional

See Instant Pot or stove directions above. Basically, it just needs to be cooked until everything's a good texture.

[Becky]

That looks and sounds really good, Idgie! Yum!

[patty]

Three-bean salad

For the salad, combine green beans (I used fresh, blanched, then rinsed in cold water whole/trimmed beans, but canned are fine if you do canned), drained garbanzos (for this batch, I used organic no-salt), and drained kidney beans (I used regular canned).

For the dressing, heat 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup white vinegar, and a couple tablespoons of salt to just boiling. Toss in a chopped onion and then pour that whole thing over the green beans.

The plated pic is blurry, but it shows the salad better.

Looks delicious. I will have to try it. It is great to be able to control the sugar.

Aloha, patty