2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced leek
3 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced celery
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds split peas
1 whole ham bone with meat attached
4 quarts Awesome Veggie Broth

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and sauté leek, carrot and celery for 10-12 minutes, until softened and just starting to brown. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

Add split peas, ham bone and veggie broth, raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, skim any foam and fat from the surface, and simmer for 60-90 minutes (peas should be tender and soft, but not completely disintegrated). Remove ham bone and let cool enough to handle. Pull off meat in chunks as large as you want and stir into soup. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 3-4 quarts of soup

* This soup freezes very well. Bring to room temperature, then ladle into freezer safe zip top bags and lay flat in the freezer.

8 chicken thighs, skinned
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
¼ cup minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
¼ cup dry red wine
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
¼ cup honey
1 bay leaf

Season chicken with salt and pepper, and heat olive oil in a wide, deep-sided pan over medium-high heat. Sear chicken thoroughly on all sides until it is a deep, golden color, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Add shallots and thyme to the pot and sauté 3-4 minutes, until soft and golden. Pour wine into pan, and scrape up any bits left from the chicken. Cook 1-2 minutes, until nearly all liquid has evaporated.

Add vinegar, broth, honey, bay leaf, and chicken to the pot, and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly reduce heat to low. Cook 20 minutes, turning once, until chicken is cooked through.

Transfer chicken to a plate. Remove bay leaf, and skim off and discard any fat floating on the surface of the sauce. Cook sauce uncovered on a burner over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes to reduce liquid by half, until the consistency of syrup. Reduce heat to medium-low, add chicken back to pan, spoon sauce over top, and cook for 2 minutes to reheat. Serve hot.

Serves 4

2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon chile flakes
1 tablespoon sesame oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound baby bok choy

Trim bottoms off of bok choy and cut leaves crosswise into 3/4-inch slices. Fill a large bowl with cold water. Swish the bok choy around in the bowl to remove any grit, then transfer the bok choy to a salad spinner and spin dry.

Wipe the bowl out and whisk together garlic, chile flakes, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Toss bok choy with dressing.

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Saute bok choy for 10 minutes, tossing fairly frequently with tongs, until tender. Transfer back to bowl and toss with any remaining dressing.

Serves 4

2 lemons, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1-½ pounds haddock, or Pacific halibut or line-caught cod (cut into 6, 4-ounce fillets)
1 medium fennel bulb, very thinly sliced crosswise

Preheat oven to 450.

Cover the bottom of a 9×12 inch baking pan with lemon slices.

In a small bowl, mix together coriander, cumin, garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper and the olive oil. Rub the fish fillets with half of the spice mixture and arrange fish on top of the lemons. Toss the fennel with the remaining mixture and spread over top of fish. Sprinkle with another small pinch of salt and pepper.

Place on rack in center of the oven and roast for 12-15 minutes, until fish flakes easily.

Serves 4

1 pound spinach
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ lemon

Wilt the spinach in a wide, covered sauté pan over medium heat, for about 4 minutes, and pour off liquid. Remove spinach from pan, turn up heat and let any remaining liquid burn off. Swirl in olive oil and add the garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes, until golden. Add spinach back to pan and sauté for another 2 minutes, until completely wilted. Turn into a serving bowl and squeeze lemon juice over top.

Serves 4

4 cups cooked white beans
1 quart chicken broth (here’s our recipe for homemade)
½ teaspoon red chile flakes, (optional)
2 links fresh Italian sausage, removed from casing
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
12 cups Swiss chard, zipped, cleaned and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Stir together beans and broth in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Mash beans slightly with a potato masher.

Brown sausage, breaking it apart into small bits with the edge of a stiff spatula.

While soup is heating and sausage browning, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the chard and toss to coat. Cook for 5 minutes, until chard is well wilted.

Pour in remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil. Grate the garlic onto the chard, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss several times to distribute the garlic and coat the leaves evenly. Cook for 2-3 minutes more, until chard is wilted and garlic is fragrant.

When soup is heated and sausage is browned, stir sausage and chard into soup and serve.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups onion, finely chopped
2 cups fennel bulbs, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, slightly crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 ounces lean ground pork
¼ cup dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
(1) 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
8 ounces rigatoni, preferably whole grain

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Heat a large non nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in olive oil and add onion, fennel and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes, until onion is translucent.

Add fennel seeds, oregano, pepper flakes, a pinch of salt and pepper, and pork to pan with onions and fennel. Stir to combine and brown pork for 3-4 minutes, chopping it up with the edge of a stiff spatula. Pour in wine and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan while wine evaporates.

Add tomato and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes (or more if you have time), stirring occasionally. While sauce is simmering, boil pasta, drain and return to pot. Scrape sauce into pot with pasta and toss to coat well.

Serves 4

1 cup wheat berries (soaked overnight and drained)
3 cups water
sea salt
1 large (2 pound) acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
nonstick cooking spray
freshly ground black pepper
6 cups green leaf lettuce, cleaned and dried
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Go-To Vinaigrette
¼ cup pecans, toasted
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup dried cranberries

Combine wheat berries and water with a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside.

While wheat berries are cooking, preheat oven to 400. Place squash halves flesh side down in a microwave safe dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 12 minutes (if your microwave doesn’t have a rotating dish, rotate the plate every 2 minutes). Remove squash (be careful of steam) to a cutting board and let cool flesh side up until cool enough to handle (1-2 minutes). Carefully cut into 1/2-inch wedges and peel off skin. Microwave the butter and syrup in a bowl for 30 seconds and stir to mix.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the squash wedges down, brush with maple glaze and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat on the other side. Bake for 5 minutes. Carefully flip wedges over and bake another 5-6 minutes.

While squash is cooking, mix together lettuce, scallions and drained wheat berries and toss with vinaigrette. Divide evenly onto four plates. Top with squash wedges, pecans, crumbled blue cheese, cranberries and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 thick slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 links italian sausage, cut diagonally into 4 pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
¼ cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken, vegetable or turkey stock
14-ounce can tomato puree
4 cups leftover turkey, duck or dark-meat chicken, shredded
(2) 15-ounce cans white beans, drained
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups course bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven and saute bacon and onion over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, until bacon is semi-crisp and onion is browned. Add sausages and 1/2 of the garlic and saute for 4 minutes, until slightly browned.

Add wine and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add stock, tomato puree, turkey, beans, bay leaf and thyme. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Bake in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes, adding additional stock  if necessary to keep moist.

Mix bread crumbs with remaining garlic, minced parsley, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Toss with melted butter until moistened evenly and sprinkle on top of cassoulet. Bake for another 20 minutes. Push down breadcrumbs so they are slightly moistened and bake another 20 minutes, until top crisps.

Serves 8

2 ounces prosciutto
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 slices whole grain sandwich bread
1 medium Anjou pear, halved, cored, and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 ounces creamy goat cheese
Cooking spray

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook prosciutto 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside on paper towel.
Spread mustard on one side of all 4 slices of bread. Spread goat cheese on 2 slices. Add a layer of pear and prosciutto on top of the goat cheese and top with the other slices of bread (mustard-side down). Press down lightly with your palm to seal sandwiches.

Lightly coat both sides of sandwiches with cooking spray.

Wipe out the skillet you used for the prosciutto and heat over medium heat. Toast sandwiches 4 to 5 minutes per side, pressing down with the spatula, until golden brown on both sides and cheese is melted.

Slice sandwiches in half and serve.

Serves 4