d Constitutional Cooking: A Carrot Special

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A Carrot Special

Here is a soup and a chili featuring our winter vegetable friend, the carrot. I'm hooked on both.
Carrot, Chickpea, and Barley Soup
  • 3 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 C carrot juice
  • 1/4 C barley, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 2 C carrots, diced
  • 1 t balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 t ground pepper
  • 3 T chopped parsley
  • 2 T grated parmesean
  • optional: whole grain rolls or 2 C cooked pasta

In a medium saucepan, combine broth, carrot juice, barley and chickpeas. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 mins.
Add carrots and return to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and continue to simmer for 15 mins. Remove from heat.
Break out your immersion blender and pulse it in the soup for three seconds. Alternatively, scoop out about 1 1/2 C of the solids and mash them with a fork. Return mashed stuff to the pan. Stir in vinegar, pepper and parsley. If you're using pasta, put 1/2 C into four bowls. Divide the soup into the bowls. Top with parmesean.
One bowl of this goodness gives you your entire daily requirement of Vitamin A!

Firehouse Turkey Chili

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 large clove of garlic, smashed
  • 1/2 C chopped scallions, divided
  • 1/2 pound ground turkey
  • 2 T chili powder
  • 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 med. red pepper, diced
  • 1 C carrot, diced
  • 1/2 t brown sugar (I inadvertently left this out and the chili was still phenomenal)
  • salt to taste

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat until hot but not smoking. Toss in garlic and all but 2 T of the scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, for 1 min.
Add turkey and continue to cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon until browned, about 2 to 3 mins. Stir in chili powder and cook for 1 more min. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 mins. Divide into four bowls, garnish with remaining scallions. Add a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Also: dear friend BJL turned me on to this site: www.sparkpeople.com. It's an online community where you can track your eating and exercise habits for healthy living. I'm not looking to lose any weight, but I'm very interested in the nutritional content of what I put in my body, so I'm on the site! It's pretty comprehensive, so if you're interested, check it out.

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posted by ek at 8:48 AM

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