I’m such a lucky girl! I was at the local farmers market and they had fresh persian cucumbers. It’s December and there’s still tomatoes and cucumbers…unreal! So I had to buy half a dozen cucumbers along with some leeks, garlic, 3 kinds of mushrooms, a loaf of jalapeno bread, a gooey sweet roll for my mom and a loaf of ciabatta for my dad! There is a local baker that sells her bread. I stood there admiring all her wares. Beautiful shapes and types and full of gluten too. Maybe some day someone will invent a pill to allow me and all the other thousands of others who are gluten intolerant to eat freshly baked bread…Hopefully someday…

Usually on one of my days off I Powercook. That is cooking many things all at once so you can enjoy throughout the week or freeze for later. My normal workday including commute is 12-14 hours long. The last thing I want to think of when I get home is what to do for dinner. I heard of Powercooking years ago from some show on TV.

So today I made a couple dishes to use for lunches this week. I love to cook on my days off. It makes me feel accomplished and prepared.

Mushroom, Leek and Kale Soup

Heres the recipe:

• 3 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup Kale, chopped
• 1/2 cup Sherry
• 6 cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Sweat out onions and leeks until tender.

Add mushrooms, saute until tender.

Add sherry cook until liquid is reduced by half.

Add stock, bring to a low boil, reduce heat to simmer.

Cook for 10 minutes.

Add chopped kale, cook for 5-7 minutes until kale wilts slightly

Add pepper to taste. I add a pinch of red pepper flakes…Save half and freeze for a rainy day, serve the rest hot.

*** I forgot to write that after tasting the finished soup I felt it needed to be brightened a bit. I squeezed the juice of a whole lemon into the pot and that made the soup perfectly heaven like…
Enjoy!

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Quinoa with Black Bean, Persimmons, Leeks and Cucumbers

Here’s the recipe:

• 2 cups quinoa, rinsed and cooked (I think quinoa is a great grain. It doesn’t upset my stomach and is full of nutrition. It powered the Mayans for centuries!)
• 1 leeks, chopped and sautéed slightly browned
• 3 small cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, seeded and chopped
• 2 small Fuyu persimmons, chopped
• 1 can Black Beans, rinsed well

Vinaigrette

• Juice from 2 limes
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 4 T red wine vinegar
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4 c cilantro, chopped

Combine quinoa, cooked leek, cucumbers, beans and persimmons. In a separate bowl combine lime juice, garlic, mustard, vinegar, oil and cilantro. Whisk to emulsify. What is emulsify? Click here.

Add to quinoa, combine well and eat!

I make this salad often. I most often add chopped avocado before I eat or to add a greek flair, feta cheese and kalamata olives. It’s easy, healthy and gluten-free.

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