Curried Coconut Tomato Soup

It's been a while... a looong while!  (Good thing I keep this blog for myself, no followers to disappoint!)  Since my last post, I finished my internship, went to Italy, was sick for a couple days, then started a new job.  It's been a rough couple of weeks.  As I am starting to settle in to my new life, I'm cooking more and I'm ready to start posting again.  I've been keeping up with the 101 Cookbooks library, so I have my notes from there which I'll share with their corresponding photos over the next few weeks or so.  Soon our CSA will start up again and I'll be trying to keep up with that too!  There has been some local produce offered at Whole Foods for the last week or two, and since it is conveniently located like 30 seconds from my new job (yay!) I have been stopping in there quite a bit and am ready to really get back in the kitchen.

When I got back from Italy, I was very sick of a few things - namely, pasta and meat.  Wanting to finish out the month strong with the featured author on the 101 Cookbooks Library, I whipped out my home-canned tomatoes from last fall and my copy of Cook This Now and before long, we had this delicious Curried Coconut Tomato Soup - the perfect comfort food to welcome me home, with an exotic twist to remind me of all the places I have yet to see.

Fortunately for me, I had all the ingredients I needed to make this soup, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fast it came together.  Saute some onion in coconut oil (the recipe calls for butter, but I wanted to add coconut at every level of the dish), then it's just tomatoes (home-canned) and some spices.  I opted for a red curry powder, which I thought gave it an interesting flavor.  The soup was good both with and without coconut milk added in, but chopped cilantro and toasted coconut chips were a must.  Some leftover cooked brown rice made it a more substantial meal.  It came together quickly enough for a weeknight and since all the ingredients are usually in my pantry, I will probably be making this again.

Swiss Chard and Smoked Gouda Frittata (Dark Days 5)

I am so behind on the Dark Days Challenge, but I think it's better than not doing it at all!

This week I made a local breakfast!  Using the technique I've picked up from the Frittata recipe in Super Natural Every Day, I made a local frittata.  I used potatoes and garlic I got several weeks ago at the Princeton Farmers' Market, onions labeled local from Whole Foods, Swiss chard (leaves and stems!) from Chickadee Creek farm, picked up at the most recent Princeton Farmers' Market, and a smoked gouda cheese that was labeled local at Whole Foods (I can't seem to remember the name of the farm now, but I believe it was in PA).  The eggs came from Lima Family Farms in Hillsborough via the Princeton Farmers' Market.  I had intended to crumble in some breakfast sausage from Cherry Grove Farm, but didn't remember to take it out of the freezer until after the frittata had been cooked.  The exceptions, as usual, were olive oil, salt and pepper.

The frittata was fabulous, and I especially enjoyed the smoked gouda, which gave the frittata a meaty flavor, probably a connection made due to the smokiness.  I enjoy making up frittatas using whatever I happen to have on hand.  This is a great go-to technique for a local meal that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Slow Cooker Pinto Bean & Veggie Chili (Dark Days 3)

I'm a little behind with the Dark Days Challenge - I think everyone else is on their 4th or 5th post or so?  But anyway, I'm doing my best, and I managed to squeeze in one more local meal in between finals (my last ever!) and Christmas.  This dish was a chili, entirely local (except for the chili powder and cumin, which if I remember correctly are organic, so there you go) and mostly organic.  After my last Dark Days disaster, I was really excited just to have had this idea (which also uses my slow cooker!), and even more so when it came out so good!

Here's the "recipe" along with my specific sources.  All frozen things were defrosted in the refrigerator overnight.  It made a little over 3 quarts.

Beef, Pinto and Veggie Slow-Cooker Chili

THE NIGHT BEFORE: In a skillet, saute 1 lb ground beef (Cherry Grove Farm) until browned.  Set aside.  In the same skillet, cook 2 chopped medium onions (Whole Foods), stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes.  Add 3 diced small carrots (CSA) and 4 chopped giant garlic cloves (Cherry Grove Organic Farm - a different farm than the ground beef) and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to soften.  Add 1 diced red bell pepper (CSA, frozen) and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add 1 1/4 tsp cumin and 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp mild chili powder, stirring evenly to distribute it.  Turn off the heat and stir in the ground beef.  Let it cool for a few minutes, then put it in a container (ideally glass) and refrigerate overnight.  Pick through, rinse, and soak overnight 2 cups pinto beans (Cayuga Pure Organics).

THE NEXT DAY: In your slow cooker, spread the beef mixture to cover the bottom.  Drain your pinto beans and layer those on top of the beef.  Next, layer ~2 cups corn kernels, from 3 ears of corn (Princeton farmers' market, frozen, probably not organic), ~2 cups 1/2-inch cubes kabocha or other winter squash (CSA, frozen), and ~2 cups zucchini, cut in quarter circles about 1/2 inch thick (CSA, from frozen).  On top of this, pour 2 undrained pint jars fire-roasted tomato pieces (CSA, home canned) and 1 drained pint jar tomatillos (CSA, home canned).  Fill each of the tomato jars with water once, and pour over the pile in the slow cooker (about 4 cups).  Cook on HIGH for 8 hours.  When ready to eat, taste and add ~1 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt, ~1 Tbsp + 2 tsp chili powder, and/or as much/whatever spices you want, to taste.  Top with grated Garlic Peppercorn Jack cheese (Cherry Grove Farm) to serve.  You can also top with cilantro, which I did have from a local source (Terhune Orchards), but when I finally got to eat at 9pm I just didn't feel like washing and chopping it.

The final product was just slightly more watery than I am used to having in chili - but I really liked that!  The cheese made it even that much better.  And I usually make vegetarian chilis, so the ground beef was a great touch too.  I think this is a great way to eat meat - a small amount of local, grass fed beef surrounded by a ton of local and mostly organic beans and vegetables.  The meat adds a lot to the texture and flavor for such a small input.  After this recipe, I feel a little more confident in my ability to cook without a recipe.  Maybe my best Dark Days meals in the future will be ones that I make up myself.

Herbed Bean and Sausage Stew (Dark Days 2)

On Thursday, I took a little shopping trip.  I went to Whole Earth Center, the Princeton farmers market (indoors!), and Whole Foods.  The primary goal of this excursion was to supply myself with local foods for the Dark Days challenge.  I was surprised to see so many vegetables at the farmers' market, and one farmer I spoke with said she hopes to have veggies all winter, since she is growing some cold-weather treats in an unheated greenhouse.  I stocked up on pretty much everything, and my refrigerator is stuffed.  I even got a few pounds of potatoes.  I'm looking forward to taking advantage of this local stash for the challenge.  I even got a bottle of wine from Terhune Orchards - I'm looking forward to basically just drinking it because it tastes SO GOOD!  I think it's a bit too sweet to cook with though.

I also stopped at Whole Earth Center, specifically to get whatever beans and grains they carry from Cayuga Pure Organics.  This farm is in New York State - Google says about 212 miles from my house.  I consider this local enough and having beans and grains certainly expands my options for local meals (like today's).  I ended up going home with Jacob's Cattle beans, pinto beans, and hard red winter wheat berries.  I'm sure Whole Earth Center has other local products as well, which I intend to investigate further when I have a little more free time.  I believe I saw some local flour there so maybe we can add some bread or baked goods to the menu.  At Whole Foods, I was able to get some staples like onions and white sweet potatoes.  This will require some exploring as well.

As I get into this challenge and think about it more and more, I'm thinking about what I care about most in this challenge.  I'm trying to do the local thing - but I'm NOT trying to eat bland or unsalted food.  I'm not giving up salt - sorry.  I also believe that globalization has brought us some pretty neat things, like spices from other parts of the world.  So I'm going to aim to make my meals as local as is reasonably possible without sacrificing the taste.  I'll try to choose organic (or sustainable) when local isn't an option.  I'll try to pay more attention to ethics (like fair trade and all that stuff which I don't know much about).  And most importantly I'll learn how I can set myself up to have an easier time next year (dry/freeze herbs, can more, etc.  I'm willing to make a few sacrifices, but enjoying the food I make isn't going to be one of them.

That being said, I chose to tackle this stew for my second Dark Days meal.  The bulk of the elements are local - the sausage are from Cherry Grove and the Jacob's Cattle beans are from Cayuga Pure Organics.  The carrots are from our CSA, the onions were labeled as local at Whole Foods, the garlic came from a farmer at the Princeton market, the rosemary from a pot in my house, the thyme considered local by Whole Foods (it came from Virginia, and I'm OK with that).  The celery isn't local, but it is organic (I think, it's been in the crisper for a while now).  The rest of the ingredients (teaspoons or less of each) are not local.  I got most of them at Whole Foods so I can have a bit more confidence in the ethics than I would from the market around the corner or Shop Rite.  I know this isn't good enough for some people, but I'm just taking it as an opportunity for improvement.

After all this - how did the soup turn out?

Well, I wasn't watching too closely, and so my beans were cooked a bit more than I would have liked.  Some split and released their starchiness into the soup, thickening it up into a goopy mess.  (This is what it's supposed to look like.)  Frankly, the beans I used (which I used because they're local) were the absolute worst type of beans I could have used for this dish - way too starchy, not really intended for soups and stews.  I had a few bites and I don't think I'm going to be able to eat much more of it.  The lesson learned here today is not to make swaps in recipes when you don't know what you're doing, and not all dishes are going to work with the ingredients available to you locally.  I intend to try this recipe again with the originally suggested beans and no regard for local ingredients!

To end on a more positive note, my sister actually loved this soup.  And I think if cooked properly, the beans I used today could be used to make this, which would make it a great option for a Dark Days meal.  I'll have to try cooking them again and give it a shot.

Black Bean & Butternut Chili

The chili recipe below was adapted from another blogger's recipe, which was adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  I didn't want to change much, except for omitting the meat and making it in the slow cooker instead of on the stove.  I looked for instructions on how to adapt a recipe for the slow cooker and then modified the directions so that I could just toss it in the slow cooker.  It came out great - I think one of the reasons I really liked it was the red wine, which gave it a really unique flavor compared to other chili recipes I have made.   I stashed a bit of this in the freezer, but I'll probably make it again.  By the way - you can use any winter squash, and I'm sure different types of beans would work well too.  I'd like to try the original version with meat and red kidney beans sometime this winter.  (Note: do NOT cook dried red kidney beans in the slow cooker or you might die.)

Ingredients:

• A splash of olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic 
• 1 small chipotle pepper in adobo, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ancho chile pepper 
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup dry red wine
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (28-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 
• 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash or other winter squash 
• 1/2 cup water

Method: 

1. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add onion; sauté 8 minutes until the onions are a deep golden brown. Add tomato paste, garlic, chipotle and spices; sauté 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine; bring to a boil, scraping pan. Cook until wine has reduced a little, a few minutes. 

2. Add onion mixture to slow cooker.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, butternut squash, and water.  Cook on high for 4 hours.

Turkey Soup with Lime and Chile

I made this soup with the turkey stock I made from our leftover turkey.  Before we made stock, we salvaged the meat from the bones to include in the soup and got a surprising amount out of it.  The long and short of it is that this soup was awesome - turkey broth flavored with mirepoix and a bit of chile, used to make a soup with turkey, cilantro, scallions, lime, avocado, and some crispy tortilla strips.  (I made these in the oven instead of frying them on the stove.)  Ken brought some to work for lunch and sent me a text saying how amazing it was that turkey soup could be this good - and it wasn't the first time he was eating it.  We froze some turkey and broth to have this soup again later in the winter.  I can get the toppings anytime.  I'm looking forward to it already.

Mediterranean Baked Eggs

These Mediterranean Baked Eggs are in a blue box off to the side of another recipe.  While the recipe takes up a whole page, it's set off to the side, not a featured recipe.  The book is Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, and these baked eggs have no grains in them.  However, they've stuck in my mind since I got the book.  This is funny for a few reasons - one is the sheer number of recipes I see.  For any to stick in my mind means they must be something special.  The second reason?  I'm not big on eggs.  Specifically egg yolks.  But... these were delicious.  Granted, I did not eat my yolk (which cooked too much to be good, anyway), but I still enjoyed the eggs.  The tomato sauce was extremely flavorful, despite my forgetting to "season" it with red wine vinegar and brown sugar.  You can make the sauce ahead, so this makes a perfect brunch recipe - keep an eye on it in the oven, then take it out and let it finish cooking while you're finishing up everything else.  The toast is essential, but you can multitask in the oven and just lay the slices across the racks to toast.  What a great little weekend brunch this was for the two of us, and I expect to be adding it to my spread the next time I host a brunch for friends.

PS: note my Le Creuset Mini-Cocottes.  A birthday present that I absolutely adore.  :)

White Bean and Black Kale Minestra with Farro

This delicious soup recipe is from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen, one of the books I got from the library for the October "featured" thing on 101 Cookbooks Library.  This may just be the Ribollita of 2011.  It's simple and the flavors aren't at all exotic, but it's so comforting and nourishing - just what I wanted after eating tons of cake and pie all weekend!  Kale is my favorite, I love tomato-based soups, and the chewy farro was perfect to give it body.  I used the Rancho Gordo cannellini beans, which are way too huge for the soup - everything else was cut into pieces closer to the size of the farro, and the giant beans disrupted the harmony.  I might try navy beans or flageolet next time.  And yes, there is going to be a next time.  It's a simple soup that could be made at any time of year.  I managed to find a little room in the freezer for this one, but as soon as it's gone, I'm sure I'll be making this again.

Roasted Tomato Soup

I was attracted to this recipe by the "roasted" part.  And the "tomato" part.  And the "soup" part.  It came out a lot different than I expected, but it was delicious.  It was simple to roast all the tomatoes, pepper, onion, and garlic.  I didn't even set the timer.  I think since I used plum tomatoes, it was not as tomato-y as it should be, so I added a bit of tomato paste to amp up the tomato flavor.  I left tiny chunks in the soup, so it had a bit of chew, and added some cooked brown rice, which complemented the texture of the soup.  I also had to add an extra sprinkle of the smoked paprika... very tasty.  This was a small pot of soup, so it's already all gone!  You can see the recipe here, but it's also in Super Natural Cooking.  I think the lack of photo in the book is probably the reason I haven't thought to make it before.

Deborah Madison's Black Bean Chili

This month, the 101 Cookbooks Library is trying something a little different - a featured author instead of a featured book.  October's featured author is Deborah Madison.  I didn't participate in September (I didn't have much interest in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook) but I'm all set for October.  I already own Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and my mom got me a few of her other books from the library: the Greens Cookbook, Vegetable Soups, and Local Flavors.

This Black Bean Chili from the Greens Cookbook was recommended to me when I posted a question on the 101 Cookbooks Library asking for favorite chili recipes.  (I found it on this blog page when I was searching online.)  Since I got the book from the library just for October, I decided to kick it off right by making this chili on October 1st.

In addition to the fact that, well, it's chili! I was attracted to this recipe when I read in the headnotes that it's used in a few other recipes in the book, Black Bean Enchiladas and Black Bean Chilaquiles.  I'm not sure about the chilaquiles yet as I don't exactly know what they are, but the Black Bean Enchiladas sound great!  I've always wanted to make enchiladas and now seems like a great time.  I took a look at the recipe, and besides making the chili, it seems like it can be done fairly easily.  The enchiladas use 3 cups of the Black Bean Chili, so I'm freezing 3 cups just for that.  It will be a good one to try a little later this month when I'm more pressed for time.

The Black Bean Chili itself is a leisurely weekend recipe that took me about 4 hours.  I soaked 2 cups of my Rancho Gordo midnight black beans overnight in the refrigerator.  (I have about 1/2 cup left... what will I do with them?! should have just used the whole pound...)  I drained them and put them on to simmer while I did the rest of the prep for the recipe, as the instructions suggest.  Basically, the rest of the ingredients go into a large skillet to simmer for 15 minutes, before being added to the pot with the beans.  Then it all cooks for another hour at least, until the beans are done.  I used half regular paprika, half smoked paprika.  In hindsight, I should have used all smoked paprika, since the smokiness was not that strong, and this is a chili after all!  (The real reason is because my regular paprika expired in 2009.  Oops.)  I left out the 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper that the recipe called for, because I think it's gross.  Why use that when you can use a delicious and flavorful chile instead?  (I tasted a piece of yellow pepper before adding the mixture to the beans, and it kicked me in the face for just a second, so I definitely won't be missing the heat of the cayenne.)  I also used ancho and chipotle chili powders in place of grinding my own dried chili - just over 2 tbsp total, which is exactly what I had left in each plastic bag.  I added a diced yellow bell pepper, because I like peppers in my chili and I wanted to add a vegetable to this dish.  I used up the last of my fresh tomatoes, including an orangey-yellow heirloom tomato, and some leftover fire-roasted plum tomatoes that didn't fill a jar when I canned them earlier this week. 

This was a lot of work, but the few bites I tasted of the results seemed to be worth it.  With more preparation it could certainly be an easier recipe to make, just needing one eye kept on it as it simmers.  I'm sure I'll try this one again, and I especially look forward to the enchiladas.

Spicy Vegetarian Chili

I love chili.  Now that it's getting cooler, it's pretty much all I want to eat.  I'm looking for recipes to use up the last of the summer produce - this Spicy Vegetarian Chili did the trick.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, though I used a bit less lemon zest/juice, omitted the fennel seeds (yuck) and used two serrano peppers, seeds and all.  That was a bit of a mistake - I should have knocked out a few of the seeds, as it was good but over-spicy.  My mom ended up sending it all home with me.  (I was hoping to share, but I can't say I'm too disappointed...)  For this recipe we cracked open our first jar of home-canned whole tomatoes.  They are super tasty and have a strong and delicious tomato flavor.  I can't wait to use them in more dishes over the winter.  Hopefully I'll get the chance to put up a few more before tomatoes are totally gone.

I can make variations of chili all winter, but I look forward to next summer's produce and revisiting the hearty and healthy chili recipes I've found this year.

Tomato Soup with Cumin and Figs

Sometimes things from recipes stick in my mind.  Little things.  This Tomato Soup with Cumin and Figs from Moro East, a book I haven't looked at in a while, calls for six fresh figs.  I remember this and when I am reminded of it, like when I saw the figs at Nonna's last week, I think of the recipe.  There were three fresh figs that day.  "I need six figs," I told her, "when they are ready."  And a few days later there were twice that many waiting for me.  I knew I needed to make this soup.

It's delicious.  It's sweet, and I taste the fresh tomatoes.  I think it would be reasonable to make a less-fresh version in the winter with canned tomatoes and only the dried figs.  Fortunately, though, I saved a bit for the winter.  :)

Swiss Chard and Onion Frittata

I made this Swiss Chard and Onion Frittata based on the Frittata recipe in Super Natural Every Day.  Chopping all the Swiss chard was time consuming, but the frittata is tasty!  We used 2 eggs and 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon egg whites.  In addition to the Swiss chard and two smallish onions, I tossed in two tiny potatoes, sliced paper thin.  They were good, but not necessary.  We topped the frittata with crumbled feta.  I'm grateful that I found a way to use this week's Swiss chard - I've been throwing it away and I feel really guilty about it.

Spiced Eggplant Stew

If you came into my living room right now, the first thing you would notice is the stack of books on my living room table.  From the bottom up: Heirloom Beans, Cooking from the Farmers' Market, Edible, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Super Natural Cooking, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, and on top of the pile is Tender, open to this Spiced Eggplant Stew.  I've been turning to this book fairly often lately after neglecting it when it was the featured cookbook last month.

This recipe contains the flavors of cardamom, coriander, black pepper, garlic, ginger, turmeric, mint, and cilantro - quite a few flavors, and they all combine with the heat from the chile and the creaminess of the coconut milk to make a really delicious meal.  The tomatoes and eggplant go well together, and the eggplant is smooth and soft.  I served this over brown basmati rice.  The leftovers were delicious as well, and I put some in the freezer to enjoy when the weather cools down.  I'm not certain it will defrost well, but here's hoping.

Fruit and Nut Filling for Baked Zucchini

This is the second recipe I tried from Tender, and it was so much better than the first.  I did run into several issues - my zucchini didn't cook through, for one, even though I was cooking much less of it than the recipe called for - but I was able to overcome them pretty well.  One note for myself for next time is to omit the breadcrumbs.  If this amount of filling is needed, double the couscous instead.  The breadcrumbs, though I had to improvise them using lavash which may have affected their success, did not really add anything to the dish.  The yogurt-dill sauce was delicious and compensated for the slight dryness of the couscous filling.  I would also love to try this with the fat round zucchini that you can actually hollow out and stuff.  Quinoa could make a nice substitute for the couscous and would add protein to the meal.  I could also see turning this into a kind of grain salad... chop up the zucchini (maybe grill it first?) and mix it all together.

Baked Vegetables with an Eggplant Sauce

This is the first recipe I made from Tender.  Too bad I didn't like it very much.  Basically, you roast zucchini, onion, tomato, and red bell pepper, adding harissa and cumin near the end of cooking.  Meanwhile, you also roast eggplant, which you mix with yogurt, olive oil and mint (I used cilantro) to make a sauce for the vegetables.  It wasn't as exciting as it sounded.  My eggplant also didn't roast enough, I think, because I ended up pureeing the eggplant sauce in the food processor.  This is not something I will make again, but at least it exposed me to the book and the way the recipes are written - I thought I'd need a little more guidance than the book provided, but I found myself getting more involved with the cooking and looking at the book a little less.  On the other hand, I didn't like the way the recipe turned out, so maybe I need that extra guidance after all...

Summer Squash Soup

I made this Summer Squash Soup from Super Natural Every Day with last week's zucchini, which were starting to look a little sad.  The squash is supplemented with potatoes and onions to make a pretty close rendition of a Thai red curry dish.  The key difference is that only half of the liquid in this recipe is coconut milk, and light coconut milk at that, while the restaurant dish is entirely coconut milk, presumably full-fat, and therefore has loads of calories.

I like that this dish tasted like takeout, but it did not fill me up at all.  I desperately wanted brown rice to go under it.  I ended up satisfying my afternoon craving for carbs with a terrible granola bar from the cafeteria and a cinnamon sugar donut left over from someone's morning event.  Also, the squash got pretty squishy, so I would love to try this with a heartier winter vegetable like cauliflower.

Red Lentil and Chard Soup

I've had Ottolenghi: The Cookbook sitting on my shelf for a while now.  I like to flip through and look at the pictures.  But the recipes are usually a little too demanding for me.  I've heard only success stories from people who have made recipes from this book, but I just didn't have the time or energy.

We wasted a lot of Swiss chard from the farm last year, so this year I am determined to make better use of it, and this Ottolenghi recipe used the first of the Swiss chard this year.  Red lentils, sauteed onions, Swiss chard, cilantro (coriander, as they call it), plus seasonings with which you can't go wrong - cumin, cinnamon, coriander seed, garlic, a bit of butter, and a squeeze of lemon at the end.  The smell is filling my house right now.  I wish I could send the scent through the internet.

As with most of the recipes in this book, this Red Lentil and Chard Soup is pretty time consuming.  I cooked the red lentils about 36 hours in advance - I didn't have time to do the whole thing right then.  I left that on the back burner while I made something else for dinner, then finished it in the day after next in the morning - it took about 2 hours with all the chopping and such.  Just the delicious scent is worth it though, and the flavors are ones that I tend to love.

Frittata

This beautiful Frittata is from Super Natural Every Day.  I made it as part of a brunch for friends, along with the Baked Oatmeal from the book.  I've never made a frittata before, and it was a bit of work, but it worked out really well in the end and everyone enjoyed it!  Best of all, the recipe is endlessly adaptable - you can use whatever veggies are in season.

Pasta with Summer Veggies and Shrimp

We made this tasty pasta dish from the multitude of veggies in the fridge.  Zucchini and red bell peppers sauteed with onion and garlic, with torn spinach mixed in, plus pieces of shrimp and red pepper flakes, and some canned tomatoes to make it saucy.  Super tasty and full of veggies!