January 2003

Happy New Yah! For most of us, the beginning of a New Year is a time to make commitments to better health habits. This year one of my resolutions is to cook healthier meals! Last year, I had the opportunity to listen to Deepak Chopra talk about food and present his book 'The Chopra Center Cookbook'. (Note his autograph 'To Kokum') I'll admit I bought the cookbook for my mom but I was surprised when I leafed through it and found so many good recipes. One of them I'd like to share with you is a hearty vegetable soup. It would be perfect served with lots of bannock and rather than beans you could sauté chicken or moose meat and add it to the soup. It's a wonderful blend of spices and it's a perfect meal to warm up your tummy on a cold winter day.

*1 cup white beans, sorted, rinsed, and soaked
    overnight in water
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup chopped leeks, shallots, or onions
1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari soya sauce
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon basil, dried
1 teaspoon marjoram, dried
1 teaspoon dill, dried
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup cauliflower florets
5 cups vegetable stock
1 cup zucchini, halved lengthwise, then sliced
1 cup coarsely torn greens: mixed spinach, kale,
   Swiss chard
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Drain the beans and place in a large soup pot. Fill the pot with water to a level that is 2 inches above the beans and add 2 of the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and cook until the beans are soft, about 1 to 1 ½ hours. Replenish the water as needed to maintain a rolling boil. Drain the beans and set aside. Discard the liquid.

In the same large soup pot, heat the oil and add the leeks, aminos, herbs and spices, and carrots. Sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the celery and cauliflower. Add ½ cup vegetable stock if the mixture begins to dry out. Continue to sauté for 4 or 5 minutes, then add the white beans and zucchini. Stir frequently and combine well with the herbs and spices. Add the greens and simmer for 3 minutes, then add the remaining vegetable stock to just cover the mixture. Add the 2 remaining bay leaves and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and simmer another 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves before serving. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh basil and parsley.

I hope you try out this delicious recipe. I would also strongly suggest that you buy the 'Bragg' all-purpose seasoning. It's natural and does not have the high concentration of wheat that regular soya sauce does.

I would also enjoy emails sent to me with your favorite nutritional recipes and your secret bannock recipes! If we use it on our web site, we'll send you an oven mitt from our "Kitchen and Home" department in the products section.

Once again, I would like to thank all our customers for their orders and their encouraging comments about our web site. Next time I'm going to tell you about something HOT! Bikram's Yoga is called the 'hot yoga'. I've been going since January 1st and next month I'll tell you all about it!

My2cents

Denise Brillon Hill

*Recipe page - 150 "The Chopra Center Cookbook" by Deepak Chopra, M.D., David Simon, M.D. and Leanne Backer ISBN 0-471-26604-3
The nutritional facts are: Per 1 ¼ cup serving Calories 268, Total fat 2.1 g, Saturated fat .4g, carbohydrates 46.3 g, Protein 15.9 g. If you add a different protein as I suggest these statistics will change.

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