Sometimes things don’t turn out as planned. And sometimes they turn out even better! Cooking can be one of those adventures.
I started with the idea of zucchini for soup...
chopped up Mizuna and onions for flavoring...
The other day, I was set on making a favorite soup a friend an I had made years ago when we were just “learning to cook” – Those summer days when we’d head out to the Farmer’s Market and then spend all day reading through recipes (and dessert ideas) and preparing a meal until it was Sundown, and we were starving! I guess you could say we weren’t so efficient with our time. But we did enjoy it, and the meal was worth the wait (we were sure to do everything to a T). The Soup was a delicious blend of dairy-free Creamy Squash with basil and sautéed onions pureed into the mix.
Several years later, I’ve learned to be creative with my cooking and often substitute similar items (alternating from a variety of leafy greens or using quinoa instead of rice). I didn’t have basil and thought my soup would taste good with Mizuna. And, it probably would’ve. But I was missing one key ingredient – the broth. And I didn’t feel like making my own from scratch.
I had Red Onions, Mizuna, Zucchini squash all cut up, olive oil… and had already begun the process of sweating the onions, softening the zucchini and barely wilting the Mizuna – the flavors were wonderful and the look of the purple with the green a nice contrasting appeal. And thought, why not enjoy as is…(and add a little pizzazz)!
So I IX-Nayed the soup idea all together: Instead I tossed it all into a bowl, drizzled with balsamic, added some quartered fresh figs (from my abundant tree) and topped with a bit of feta (for my husband — I’m dairy free) and finally some lightly toasted garbanzos with a bit of crushed pecan (I used the same pan so no additional oil). I had some basil microgreens from my CSA so I used that for a little more flavor and garnish. Sorry no pic of the final creation because we ATE IT ALL UP! But this too, was delish! : )
What’s in your creative dish?
Filed under: healthy lifestyles, Nutri-Savvy
