Gentle Readers,

It is time to leave the Wolverine State behind for now. Raven and Magpie will get by for the next few days, I am confident, and my intrepid sister Anook of the North will arrive shortly to minister to their needs and give Magpie a break from the constant wear of her partner of 64 summers.

I will be back in the hurly-burly of the nation’s capital once more later today, and will put aside the extraordinary narrative of a once-great city that may be showing signs of revival, and the cruel ravages of an insidious disease for which there is no respite and no cure.

It being a travel day, I will make a last nod to the city on the Detroit River whose Red Wings have clawed back from a three game deficit to the San Jose Sharks in the hunt for Lord Stanley’s Cup, and pray that they can hang on for another victory and advance.

The city can use all the help it can get.

With that, I give you a chapter from the forthcoming block-buster compilation of recipes provided by real-life Spooks: The Cloak and Dagger Cook Book. All the dishes have been personally vetted by real intelligence professionals for quality and goodness.

Standing in today for Vic’s usual rant is Colonel Biff, a much-respected colleague from Pentagon days, who has gone on to build a useful life quite apart from matters of national security. Enjoy the soup- I did. More tomorrow from Washington.

Hi, Vic–

My sister, Miki, made a fabulous vegetable soup recently, which I have tailored a bit.  It’s really a good recipe, so hope you enjoy it–you can use whatever veggies you like.

This picture shows all of the prep work completed and I’m getting ready to sauté the veggies and add liquid.  I make a huge batch that lasts almost a week for Bill and me.

Here are the veggies I have used so far:

– onions (1 big one, I’ve used sweet onions and purple onions so far, and may go to having two onions per batch)
– fresh minced garlic (about 10 cloves, just make sure that you don’t put the garlic directly on the hot pan as the odor will carry for awhile)
– carrots (you’ll see from the picture of the orange bowl, I use a fair amount)
– celery (to include the celery leaves–I chopped up one bunch)
– red, orange, and yellow peppers
– fresh green beans (I chop off the tips and then cut them into about 3/4″ pieces–a fair amount, as shown in the photo)
– leeks (chop bottoms and most of green off, slice lengthwise and rinse, then cut as you would a scallion/green onion)
– zucchini (not shown in the picture as I didn’t use it this batch, but in a prior batch, have cut one large zucc into small pieces)
– mushrooms (I bought one of the 8 oz.  packages and chopped them into small pieces)
– fresh baby spinach (big plastic carton full, chopped into
– kale (one bunch, discarding the hard stems, then cutting the leaves into smaller pieces)
– collard greens (not in this batch, but used previously, chopped into smaller pieces).

You can add all kinds of other veggies–this is truly a “catch all” recipe!

Directions:

Using a small amount of olive oil, I sauté the veggies, pretty much in the order shown, adding one at a time.  Total sauté time is about 8-10 minutes.

Also, I add small amounts of hot water to the mix as needed to keep things from burning.  When I first made this, I used a skillet pan, but quickly outgrew its capacity.  I could probably still sauté everything in it and then transfer the mix to the big pot.  Once all of the veggies are sautéed, I add quite a bit of water.  I also add about 2-3 tablespoons of brewer’s nutritional yeast (yellow powder), which is vitamin B–healthy, healthy!

At this point, I take about 2 cups of roasted, salted cashews and put them in my blender.  Add enough water to cover the cashews and then blend.  Add that mixture to the soup.  Let the soup heat (I keep the burner on high) for about 20 minutes, stirring as needed.

I’ve experimented with adding different mixtures of grains to help the soup “stick to your bones.”  In this week’s batch, I added two packages of Seeds of Change microwavable quinoa and brown rice, plus one package of Seeds of Change microwavable seven grain mixture.  I didn’t microwave them, just threw them in the pot.  However, I think I would go with only two packages next time.  I’ve cooked a mixture of grains separately and then added them to the soup mixture, also.

For the Omnivores: You can also add meat–I’ve added two 12.5 ounce cans of turkey breast or chicken breast in water — drain the water and shred or cut into smaller pieces all of the meat before adding it to the pot.

Salt and pepper to taste (I use McCormick’s Montreal Steak seasonings as well).  I would love any suggestions for adding fresh herbs–that’s another area where I need educating!

Total time including preparation and cooking is about an hour.  That pot is about 2/3 full by the time the soup is ready to serve!

We end up adding a bit of water to the bowls each time we heat the soup up as the mixture does thicken.  You can puree the whole mix if you wish, but it’s really nice in the chunky mode, too.

Enjoy!  Please give me feedback if you find some great adds/alterations.

Cheers,

Biff

Note: Many thanks to my sister, Miki, who would not approve of the meat add at all!!