Vegetarian Udon Noodle Soup

I love many cuisines from Mexican to Italian to Spanish to good old fashioned American, but if I were really honest with myself I’d have to confess that my absolute favorite is Asian. I say “Asian” because I cannot commit to any particular aspect of the breadth of Asian foods. I’m in love with Indian breads, samosas, and papadum, I salivate over Korean kimchi and bibimbap, and I crave Japanese sushi rolls and inari for weeks at a time – and that’s just scratching the surface.

While I do prepare some Asian foods at home on occasion, I admit that I am still a little wary that I don’t understand how to cook it well enough. That said, I am really fortunate to live so close to multiple Asian markets, and I feel that I am slowly stretching my culinary wings. It’s easy to go into one of these stores, discover an ingredient remembered from a restaurant and have the impulse to buy it and try replicating the dish at home. This is what happened last week as I was wandering down the pasta aisle and came upon some Japanese style udon noodles. As soon as I saw them, I realized that I needed to learn how to make udon noodle soup.

After researching various recipes I have come to realize that udon noodle soup is less about recipe and more about what you have on hand. In many ways, it is very similar to how I am used to throwing together a hearty vegetable soup without wondering if I have added too many or not enough potatoes or carrots, or worrying if I have a specific ingredient on hand or not. It doesn’t really matter, because the end result will still be delicious. What I found is that most udon noodle recipes call for a broth, noodles, some vegetables and mushrooms, and a protein. It’s my opinion that the key is to get the broth down, and then experiment, experiment and experiment. Luckily my first try had me wanting to recreate it the next day, so this recipe I’m sharing with you is a winner in my book.

Vegetarian Udon Noodle Soup
Roughly based upon the Easy Udon Noodle Snack Recipe found on The Messy Vegetarian Cook
Makes 2 servings

• 3 cups water
• 1/2 to 1 cup mushrooms (you can use most any mushroom you like, but I used king oyster and the original recipe calls for shiitake)
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 2 teaspoons mirin or rice vinegar
• 4 teaspoons tamari, soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos (if you do not have any of these on hand, you may also substitute 2 heaping teaspoons miso)
• 1/2 teaspoon vegan sugar
• 1 sheet nori, cut into small pieces or strips
• 2 dry red chili peppers, optional
• 1/4 cup tofu or another vegetable or wheat protein, optional
• 1/4 cup carrots, julienned
• Dry udon noodles (enough for two servings – this is usually one or two individually separated bunches of noodles)
• Salt
• Sesame oil (optional, but so divine – I highly recommend not skipping this ingredient)
• Green onions or chives (optional)

First prepare your broth. I used about half of a king oyster mushroom, and diced it into bite-sized pieces.

King oyster mushrooms are said to taste similar to abalone

Mince your ginger by first cutting off a small amount from the main part of the root, then peeling away the outer skin. You can also crush it like garlic.

Dicing fresh ginger

Julienne your carrots. “Julienne” just means that you’re cutting your veggie into little strips.

Julienned carrots

Place the water, mushrooms, ginger, carrots, mirin, tamari (or soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos), sugar and nori into the broth. If you are using chili peppers, you can add those in now, too.

Tip: If you are going to use miso as a substitute for the tamari, you will need to add that at the end after the broth has finished cooking.

Dried red chili peppers

If you don’t want your carrots to overcook, add them after the broth has boiled.

Bring your pan of ingredients to boil, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down to medium low or low.

Udon noodle soup broth

Add in your protein now so it will warm up.

Vegetarian Mock Abalone a.k.a. wheat gluten (and oops - this had MSG in it!)

Allow the broth to steep for about twenty minutes.

If you are using miso, you may add it after the broth has finished cooking and has been removed from the heat. Miso takes a few moments to dissolve, so be sure to stir the broth a few times.

Adding the miso to the broth

Cook the noodles as instructed with a little salt. These cook fast, so be sure you are giving these guys your full attention. Once they are done cooking, drain and rinse under cold water.

Japanese style udon noodles

Once the broth is done, add some noodles to a bowl, then ladle the broth over the noodles.

Almost ready!

Drizzle a small amount of sesame oil over the soup, add some sliced green onions as a garnish.

Tip: Be sure to rinse the green onions really well to get rid of any specks of dirt that may have gotten stuck inside the onion as it was growing.

Sliced green onion

Serve.

So so good!

I loved this soup. It was full of flavor, had tons of texture and really hit the spot. Plus it makes me want to come up more variations. Remember, if you don’t have a particular ingredient on hand, don’t fret – you can experiment and discover your own unique soup, too!

What is your favorite Asian cuisine or dish – or can you even decide?

Pasta with vegan cheese sauce

I’ve been using the same vegan cheese recipe for at least four or five years now. It’s very quick and easy to make, and I love using it in burritos and with tortilla chips. But I’ve never really enjoyed it with pasta – it’s much too thick and the flavor seems just an odd pairing with pasta. I’m always curious about finding a new creamy vegan cheese sauce to use with pasta, so when I saw Amber’s comment (hi Amber!) the other day about one of her favorite recipes on my Teese Cheese Review I knew I had to experiment.

One of the things that caught my attention first was the fact that it contains potatoes and carrots. All of the other ingredients I’ve seen in vegan cheese recipes, but never anything like vegetables. Of course, I realized right away that this could be a fantastic recipe for those of you who follow a gluten-free diet. My other recipe that I’ve relied on for years uses white flour to thicken it, but in this recipe potatoes help to thicken this up a little bit, but only just enough to be a creamy sauce.

Vegan Cheese Sauce
This is based on the VegYum Mac & Cheeze recipe posted on VeganYumYum

• 1 package vegan and/or gluten-free pasta
• 1 cup potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon miso (can omit if gluten-free, or use a clearly labeled gluten-free miso)
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup vegan butter (and gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper to taste

Prepare your pasta according to package directions.

Chop your potatoes and carrots and cover them with 1 cup water (or a little more if needed), bring to a boil, then cover and turn down to low heat and allow to simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes, or until they are tender.

Cooking potatoes and carrots

Meanwhile, in a blender, proceed to add your remaining ingredients: cashews, miso, tahini, lemon juice, mustard, vegan butter, nutritional yeast, salt and black pepper.

Putting ingredients for vegan cheese sauce in blender

Once the potatoes and carrots are done cooking, add both the vegetables and their water to the blender.

Adding the cooked potatoes and carrots

Cover and blend until very smooth, about five minutes. You want to be sure that it’s not grainy, so you may want to check about halfway through or after the five minutes is up to see how smooth it is.

Vegan cheese sauce

It should be warm enough to go ahead and serve with your pasta, but if not, you can heat it up on the stove for a few minutes while constantly stirring. Then serve!

Pasta with vegan cheese sauce

This turned out pretty well, although it was a little bit of an unusual flavor and seemed to be a little salty. I may experiment in the future and reduce the amount of tahini and salt, or increase the potatoes a little bit. I also think it might be a little more balanced if peas or another vegetable were mixed into the sauce.

What is your favorite vegan cheese sauce – or have you found one yet?

Learn more about Vegan MoFo.

Asparague Pesto

For the past eight years, I have loathed buying too many groceries at once because of how heavy they can get to carry. When you’re a full-time pedestrian it’s hard to realistically shop at places like Costco or Sam’s Club. If it makes sense, you’ll have your own little push cart, often known as a “granny cart”, but even then, it’s best to keep the groceries to a minimum. But ever since we moved to suburbia and have had a car, we have been able to go back to places like Costco and fill up our cart with lots and lots of things (which, let me tell you, is an enormous novelty when you’re so used to tiny little grocery stores).

When it comes to big stores like Costco, you’re not only buying a lot of different things, you’re buying a lot of each individual item. It can be great, but it can also make you wonder how two people can eat that much lettuce or that many potatoes. It’s easy to not keep up with food at home and wind up with an extra pound of something going bad. I hate being wasteful, though, so lately I have tried to get a little more creative with the surplus. One such food item is asparagus. It comes in two-pound bags, which is quite a bit for one person to chew on, let alone two. After scratching my head and wondering what I’d make, I finally realized that the perfect solution would be pesto.

Fresh asparagus

What I’ve learned over the last few years is that pesto can be made out of pretty much anything. Basil, dill, green beans, spinach – you name it, you can probably create a pesto out of it. Because asparagus has such a unique and strong flavor on its own, I had assumed that it would turn out a flavorful pesto. I’m afraid I was quite wrong. What resulted was an extremely mild-tasting pesto that really needed a handful or two of basil or spinach. In the recipe that follows, I am going to include a recommendation to add basil or spinach, but just be aware that I did not do this, so I do not know how it would turn out if you added one of those. Still, this is the exciting part of cooking – experiment until you wind up with a dish that you love. And if you shop at Costco, you’ll wind up with a lot of that dish, too. ;)

Asparagus Pesto
Makes enough for two or three pounds of pasta. Suggestion – reserve some of the pesto to use for dipping chips or raw veggies.

• 2 pounds asparagus, washed with ends trimmed
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Handful of fresh spinach or basil (optional, but should add additional flavor)
• 1 package of your preferred pasta (add an additional package if you wish to use all of your pesto in one dish)

Boil your pasta according to package directions.

Wash the asparagus and trim the ends, then steam or boil for a few minutes until just tender.

Preparing and steaming the asparagus

When the asparagus has finished cooking, reserve some of the spears for garnish, and place the rest in a food processor. Add to the food processor the pine nuts and garlic, as well as the basil and spinach if you are using those. As the processor is blending the ingredients together, slowly pour in the olive oil.

Making asparagus pesto

Once the pesto has mixed, add the salt and blend more. At this point taste test. Does it have enough salt? Does the pesto have enough flavor? Ask yourself if something is missing.

When you feel it is ready, add the pesto to your cooked, drained and rinsed pasta and mix well.

Mixing the pesto with the pasta

Garnish with some asparagus spears and serve.

Penne Pasta with Asparagus Pesto

What is your favorite way to prepare pesto?

Pasta with a kick

Remember almost a year ago how I wrote a post about the woes of moving? Remember how I wrote about how disappointing it was to have to pack away your kitchen and become severely limited in what you could bake or cook? Remember how I wrote later how nice it was to finally get more settled into our new apartment? Those were the days, weren’t they? I think I am remembering it all too fondly because …drumroll… we’re doing it again. Except this time we aren’t moving around the corner – we’re moving to the other side of the country.

Look! We saved boxes from our last move!

Yep – after eight years, we’re saying good bye to the Big Apple and saying hello to the Emerald City (translation: Seattle, WA) or at least one of its neighboring towns. This is something that we have wanted to do for a few years now, but circumstances were never really in our favor to do it. Then we realized a few months ago that the circumstances would never be in our favor. We’d always have an excuse to stay in New York – the work, the food, the restaurants, the familiarity, et cetera, et cetera. We’re grown ups, though, and we finally decided that we couldn’t let any of that get in the way of living a life we’ve been dying to try for a long time.

At this point we’re in the final stages of packing which means our kitchen is reduced to memories of baking cookies and rolling out hand made tortillas. I am in that quandary of “what can I make that’s already in my cupboard?”, also known as a science experiment that could go horribly awry.

Lucky for me, though, I still had the right ingredients to make a pasta dish based upon a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, called Enraged Penne – except I had rigatoni, so I am calling this one Enraged Rigatoni. It’s a simple dish, but has a nice kick to it which you can increase or decrease as you like. The original recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, but if you don’t have them the canned variety works well.

Enraged Rigatoni

• 1 package rigatoni or penne pasta (I used whole wheat pasta)
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• ½ to 1 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes (do not drain unless you want a drier pasta dish)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Boil the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is boiling, put your olive oil in a hot pan then add the chopped garlic. Continuously stir the garlic around until it starts looking slightly toasted.

Freshly prepared garlic

Stir in the chili flakes, and stir around for another minute or so.

Add as much or as little kick as you like

Pour in the diced tomatoes and salt, then stir. Let the liquid reduce somewhat because you do not want the pasta to be too soupy. You should have a nice balance between pasta and sauce.

Canned tomatoes are a fine stand in for fresh tomatoes in this dish

Once the sauce is done, stir in the drained pasta and then serve with chili peppers and/or basil as a garnish.

Stir the rigatoni and the tomato sauce together

I really love the simplicity of this dish, but if you like yours with a little extra flavor I’d suggest trying any or all of the following variations.

How about frying up onions with your garlic and pepper? You could also add mushrooms, but to avoid the sauce becoming too soupy I would saute the mushrooms in a separate pan first, then drain the water off, and then add the cooked mushrooms at any point in the cooking. I’d also recommend adding chopped basil to the dish just after the heat is turned off, so that it will wilt, but not be overcooked. A final suggestion would be to add a little bit of red cooking wine (about ¼ cup) for your garlic to soak up before adding in the tomatoes.

A nice, spicy pasta

When you move, what do you do for food? Do you try to use up what is in your cupboards or is it take out all the way?

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

Years ago, when I was living in a dorm, I came up with my own staples of food that I could either easily make in a shared kitchen or in my own microwave that I had in my room. Aside from the typical ramen noodles and popcorn, I tried to make things that I could put together quickly and still taste pretty good. By no means are these dishes gourmet, and to the average person, they may taste bland, but from time to time I still make them and remember that period in my life when I was a little less responsible and a lot more poor. Surprisingly, too, many of these bachelorette foods were vegan, which may have been an indication of culinary times ahead.

One such dish is this pasta salad. It’s not exactly pasta salad, but I am not sure what else to call it. It takes only minutes to prepare, and once done is completely satisfying. This basic recipe is not for those who tend towards more ingredients or eye-popping flavors, but you could also use this as a base recipe and add other ingredients if you have them. I have never added anything else other than what you see here, but you could probably add things like chopped black olives, fresh or dried dill or pepperoncinis (banana peppers, for those of you who know them by this name). I will also point out that I just throw this dish together based upon taste, so the measurements are approximations.

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. package rotini or farfalle pasta
• 1 medium or large onion, chopped according to personal preference
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice or the juice of one lemon
• 2 – 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Boil pasta according to package directions. I prefer using a tri-color pasta like this Hodgson Mill Veggie Rotini, but you can use whatever you prefer.

Tri-color rotini pasta

About 3 to 5 minutes before the pasta is done, stir your chopped onion into the boiling pasta.

Adding chopped onion into boiling pasta

When the pasta is done, drain and rinse the pasta and onion in a colander under cold water. Put the pasta and onion in your serving dish or back in the pan in which it was cooked, then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Adding the lemon juice and red wine vinegar

Taste test and adjust ingredients according to your personal taste preferences. Note that the liquid ingredients will fall to the bottom of the pan, so make sure you mix the pasta well before you serve.

You may chill this pasta, but you can also eat it immediately as rinsing it under cold water will cool it down considerably.

Quick and easy pasta salad

What was – or is – your staple food(s) when you were in college or single?

Ah, we’re finally beginning to get settled in our new apartment. It’s not been fun, and if you’re considering moving I’d suggest thinking about it for a bit more before you do it. Your life gets turned upside down, and you start navigating 60+ boxes (we have been anyway), and before you know it you’ve completely forgotten what box contains that vital thing you were using every day pre-move.

One of my sole consolations with this move is the kitchen. That has made these last few weeks and months mostly worth the stress and frustration. If you have ever been to New York or seen a New York City kitchen at least in pictures or on TV, you’ll know that they are tiny. Some are reminiscent of a kitchen with barely a stove, refrigerator and at least one square foot of counter top space, and unless you pay an arm and a leg you’ll not find kitchens that are much larger than this. Ours was a railroad style and for four years my husband heard me complain constantly about how much I loathed the space. Until now.

Our kitchen is still not huge, but it is definitely bigger. We’ve got more counter top space, a full-sized stove (woo hoo!), a full-sized dishwasher (yay!), and several drawers and cabinets (before we had TWO drawers).

Anyway, we are still in unpacking mode, but I’ve managed to still churn out a few meals in the last week. Today, I decided to finally foray back into the “try something new that I can post on my blog” mode. So hooray – here I am!

Soba noodles, like whole wheat pasta, have a stronger flavor than your basic white pasta. Also known as buckwheat noodles, soba noodles can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store or in Asian food markets. They come in packages that look similar to this:

Each bunch is wrapped in paper or ribbon (not sure why – maybe to allow you to control portions more easily?), so if you plan to cook the whole package (as I did today) I’d suggest unwrapping each bunch before you put them in otherwise you’ll have noodles in varying degrees of doneness.

Soba Noodles and Asparagus in Peanut Sauce
Inspired by Ginger Peanut Soba Noodles on theppk.com

• One package soba noodles
• 1/3 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped onion

Boil or steam the asparagus until tender, then drain and cool.

Prepare the soba noodles according to package directions. If the soba noodles do not have English-language directions, you can boil them in salted water until done which is about 8-10 minutes. Note that the water will get cloudy – this is okay. Once the soba noodles are done, drain them under cold water and add a little oil to make sure they don’t stick together.

In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, peanut butter, water, oil and garlic powder. Stir in the onion.

Add the sauce to the noodles in a large bowl and toss thoroughly to coat.

Add the cooked asparagus and toss again.

We both enjoyed this, and would love to have it again. I wouldn’t mind trying this with Chinese cabbage or broccoli instead of asparagus, and using fresh garlic next time (didn’t have fresh on hand today). I also would be interested in trying this with cashew butter and toasted cashews as a topper. The possibilities are truly endless!

BTW – If you want it a little spicy you can add hot chili paste, which we both love (although if you’re like me and you don’t want it too hot add a TINY amount first to see how much you can handle).

A few weeks ago I made a batch of orzo with basil pesto. The recipe had originally been inspired by a recipe in a food magazine that used dill instead of basil. The recipe continued to eat at me because I was terribly curious if dill pesto would be as tasty and satisfying as basil pesto.

One day at the grocery store I grabbed one bunch of dill and decided I’d find out, for better or worse, if dill pesto is all that magazine cracked it up to be. The recipe from a few weeks ago remains the same, just the dill is different.

Dill Pesto

• 1 cup fresh dill, washed
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 package pasta

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, prepare your pesto ingredients.

Put fresh dill, pine nuts, garlic cloves, and salt into a food processor or blender, and as it is blending pour olive oil into the blender. Once it is done blending it should look similar to this (and yes this is the basil, but same concept).

When the pasta has finished cooking, drain and rinse it under cold water, then mix the pesto and pasta together.

Verdict? I was surprised, but the dill was not as overpowering as I thought it might be. In fact, I realized how much the other ingredients really influence the taste of pesto. I have tended to believe that the primary flavor has been the basil, but the truth of the matter is that you’re tasting the pine nuts, olive oil and garlic just as much.

You can still taste the dill, but honestly, it didn’t taste tremendously different than the basil pesto. I’m sure if you were to put the two side by side and do a taste test you’d see – ah yes, that is basil, this is dill. But the dill did quite well as a pesto, and I’d recommend it to those of you who haven’t forayed into the realm of other herb pesto possibilities.

Hmmm… Now this makes me wonder what other herb pestos I should try. Any recommendations?

For the last three years or so we have done container gardening. It isn’t quite the same as doing regular gardening where you have your own land, but it is a decent substitute. We usually grow about a million tomatoes (slight exaggeration), and a few other random items. This year we’re trying to grow artichokes, have successfully grown radishes and turnips (more on that in a future post), and strawberries.

Another thing we grow, but never manage to use all of, is basil. It is probably one of the absolute easiest things to grow, but we rarely take full advantage of it since there is so much of it.

A couple of weeks ago when I was looking through a food magazine I ran across a recipe for an orzo dish with dill pesto. Since it has been a while since I’ve had orzo, and since we had all that basil growing on our back porch, I decided to try to make it with our basil.

Orzo, if you have never heard of it, is a pasta that looks similar to rice.

It tastes like other pasta, so the only real difference is its shape.

Orzo with Basil Pesto

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 pkg. orzo pasta
• 1 lb. fresh or frozen asparagus spears

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, prepare your pesto ingredients.

Put basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic cloves, and salt into a food processor or blender.

And start your blender.

As it is blending, pour olive oil into the blender.

Once it is done, it should look something like this.

When the orzo has finished cooking, drain and rinse it under cold water.

Cut the asparagus into one-inch pieces and steam or cook for a few minutes until the desired tenderness. Put the orzo, pesto, and asparagus into a large bowl and stir it all together.

I am usually not big on pesto, but I liked how this turned out. The pesto wasn’t too overpowering and the asparagus was a nice touch. I also liked the orzo. Its size and shape give this dish a nice texture.

I will say though that I probably should have increased the amount of basil or cut down on the olive oil. It was still quite good, but the ratio of oil to basil was a little off.

I also think that this is a dish that can most certainly be played around with. Instead of pine nuts you could most certainly use walnuts or even possibly pecans. Instead of basil, you can use fresh spinach, green beans, or dill. You could also use other oils, but I would probably leave that the same. Olive oil gives such a rich and smooth flavor that I wouldn’t trade that for a lighter oil.

Have any of you used dill as a base for pesto? I am really curious to know if the dill is too strong of a flavor or if it is similar in intensity to basil. I may try it at some point, but would love to know your experiences with it in the meantime.

Ah, summer. It seems that we’ve finally gotten there. With 100+ degree days in spring, it kind of makes wonder what to expect for the next few months. If it’s anything hotter than what we’ve had so far, I am not sure that I want to be turning on the stove – or at least for very long.

One of my favorite things to have during the summer is pasta salad. It’s both flavorful and filling, plus if you stick it in the freezer for a few minutes it can be really refreshing. We used to make it all the time, but somehow got out of the habit. I knew I had to revisit it, and now we’re both saying that we have to have some more.

Summer Pasta Salad

• 1 pkg. of pasta (I used tricolore farfalle, or three color bow-tie pasta)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 – 3 large cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 – 2 pickles, diced
• 1 can black olives, chopped or sliced
• 1 small jar artichoke hearts, chopped
• 5 pieces sundried tomatoes, diced
• 1 small can mushrooms, diced
• 3 – 5 Tbsp. Vegenaise
• 1 Tbsp. mustard (I used horseradish mustard)
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dill
• 1 tsp. salt

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking revert back to your childhood and throw some olives on your fingers.

Unfortunately, now that I am slightly bigger than a small child it doesn’t work so well. I probably should have put this one on my pinky.

Go back to being an adult, and prepare your other ingredients.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and rinse it with cold water, and put it back into the pan you cooked it in or a large bowl. I personally like to not dirty extra dishes so I usually just put it back in the pan.

Dump the rest of the ingredients on top of the pasta and mix. Taste test it and adjust the seasonings and other ingredients like Vegenaise.

Once it is at a good combination of flavors, put it in the refrigerator for at least a half hour or more and then serve.

The nice thing about this recipe is that you can pretty much dump whatever you want into it. We like ours with these ingredients, but we also like to play around a bit. Sometimes it is nice to add an extra kick with diced banana peppers (or pepperoncini), add green olives, or try other spices.

Happy summer…gotta go come up with some other recipe ideas now that it looks like it might start heating up again.