Baked Kale Chips and Croutons

I made both of these to go with my Fennel-Carrot-Daikon Soup

Kale Chips

• 1 bunch of kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (enough to coat each leaf)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. brush kale with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. and set on a cookie sheet. 
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 minutes. (Keep a close eye on them, if you over cook they get ashy)

Croutons

1/2 Loaf of old bread

2 TBS Olive Oil

Pinch of Sea Salt

Pinch of Ground Oregano

Pinch of Fennel Seeds. 

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F
2. Cut the bread into large bite size pieces
3. Place the bread on spaced a part of a cookie sheet
4. Drizzle olive oil on each of the pieces
5. Combine all of the herbs and sprinkle over the bread. 
6. Place in oven and bake for about 10 min. 

Serve as a side to soup and enjoy!

Dinner - Pizzettes

 Pizzettes

• 1 whole grain English muffin
• 2 tbs. Olive oil
• 1 full ring of red onion
• 6 basil leaves
• 2 medium kale leaves
• 2 shitake mushrooms- thinly sliced
•  pinch of Kosher salt

Cut the English muffin in half it is not already.
Place 3 basil leaves on each of the halves. then add the slices of mushrooms, onions, and lastly add the kale.  Drizzle about a tablespoon of oil on each half and sprinkle salt to taste. 

Set your oven to Broil on high.
Set on a baking sheet and broil for about 5 min. You want the kale and the edge of the English muffin to get crispy. 

Serve and enjoy!

Fennel-Carrot- Daikon Vegan Soup

I completely forgot about my blog after the first post.

I have been cooking a ton more an have come up with some great vegan recipes.

Today for dinner I made 

Fennel- Carrot- Daikon  Soup, croutons, and Kale chips... YUM!

Fennel- Carrot- Daikon  Soup

2 TBS Olive Oil

1 Bay leaf

1 Large Daikon- peeled and chopped (If you don't know what Daikon is google it,  because it is amazing)

1 Fennel Bulb- chopped

1lb of Carrots- chopped

1 Clove of Garlic- minced

1 Cup "Chicken" Broth I use Better then Bouillon  No Chicken Base

2 Cups of Vegetable Broth 

In a large stock pot heat the oil on High , add in the garlic until brown (should only take a few seconds) You do not want to burn the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn brown lower the heat to medium high and add in the bay leaf, fennel and Daikon, cook about 5 min. Add in the carrots and stir for another 3-5 min. Add in both broths and bring to a boil. Once  you have a rolling boil simmer covered for about 45 min until all veggies are tender. 

Take off the heat and let cool to room temp, or cool enough to handle. 

Once cool, find and remove the bay leaf. 

Put the soup in a blender and until smooth. You may want to do this in batches. (If you blend in batches make sure you stir all the batches together before servicing.) 

Once pureed, warm and serve. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as me. 

Breakfast

Oatmeal 

For breakfast yesterday I had oatmeal with Strawberries and Banana slices.

You can add so many great things to oatmeal...any and all dried fruit, nuts, and fresh fruit.

• 1/2 cup of dried oats
• 4 strawberries sliced
• 1/2 banana slices

Cook oatmeal per package instructions. Top with strawberry and banana slices. Enjoy!