When cookbook author Nava Atlas offered to send copies of her new cookbooks awhile back, I was happy to accept! One great accident of blogging has been the discovery that Nava is a real person, not just some name on the cover of the one vegetarian cookbook that still appeals to me after returning to meat. (Well, of course she's a real person. But you know what I mean!) (Would you like a personally autographed copy of Nava's new Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons ? To throw your name in the (soup) pot, just submit a favorite soup recipe to Soup's On , this month's soup-happy event at A Veggie Venture. Interested? Here are all the details .) This is a recipe that Nava especially recommends from Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons . Now I know why! It's a winner, especially if given a chance to sit a bit so the ginger and curry can move front-ward. It thickens a bit, too. This is one of recipes to play with, based on what's in season, what's on hand, what you ha

Ever wish you had a nutritious breakfast to make ahead of time and eat in the car? Say hello to on-the-run breakfast bars , this week's recipe in Kitchen Parade. It's a recipe I've made and shared for years. My Dad's a special fan, he especially likes the really cheesy batches. But wait, there's more! This week's column features a traditional family recipe but it also shares a special Lenten tradition. SPECIAL TRADITION FOR LENT If you're considering how to observe Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday on February 21st -- especially in a hands-on way with children -- consider planting a dish of Lenten grass. It's an old Finnish tradition, one which I've practiced since living in Finland for a year as a Rotary International exchange student. Read about it in this week's column , including a photo essay .

A special welcome to new e-mail subscribers, many fellow fans of vegetarian cookbook author Nava Atlas, who is generously providing an autographed copy to a lucky participant in this month's Soup's On! Welcome! Feel free to look around and especially, explore the Recipe Box. There are nearly two years of vegetable recipes, many simple side dishes, vegetable salads, soups, a few vegetarian suppers. Be sure to poke around in Kitchen Parade, too, my published food column. It's not vegetarian but all the vegetarian and vegan recipes are easy to find in its Recipe Box. Now on to today's recipe. Cold day. Hot Soup. Perfection. The inspiration for this curry-spiked soup is from Field to Feast , a fascinating blog from Zimbabwe. The base is slow-roasted tomatoes with carrots, sweet potatoes and green peas added. It didn't make the photo but I loved this with a dollop of Greek yogurt stirred in. FROM THE ARCHIVES For other soup recipes, see here in the Recipe Box . A YEAR

Please welcome to the latest in an occasional series of St. Louis restaurant reviews from my friend, the Foodie Patootie. It's an A+ recommendation for Brio's at Plaza Frontenac. Enjoy ... ... ... ... 8:20am update: Some times timing is everything! A quote from today's New York Times (after a week, viewing may require membership) about blogs covering restaurants, "Bloggers are now a very important part of the media landscape because a lot of diners get their information from them." Congratulations to all the NYC bloggers featured in the story. Now here's the latest St. Louis restaurant review ... Brio's. When Brio’s Tuscan Grille first opened, it was standing room only and three people deep at the bar with an hour-long wait to be seated. My Dear Husband and I tried to get reservations but the only times available were 4:30 pm or 9:45 pm. Since my ‘beauty bedtime’ is 9:30, we passed. Finally, after the restaurant’s first anniversary, we hoped that

Today's simple cabbage soup recipe: Just onion, cabbage, tomato, a touch of sugar and hot sauce but very, very satisfying. Just 15 minutes to make, just 30 minutes to put onto the table! Weight Watchers friendly! Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly. And, when made with vegetable broth or water, not just vegan, " Vegan Done Real ". Skip Straight to the Recipe Perfectly simple = simple and perfect. This sweet 'n' sour cabbage soup hits just the spot, say, after a frosty walk and a too-big lunch. And it makes up in minutes, another plus. And it's pretty, that broth has a lovely cast of tomato-y color. So many good things about this simple soup! Yes, yes: perfect, simple and perfectly simple. If this is peasant food, then royalty should eat so well. Is it just me who finds a certain elegance in such simplicity? All these years of cooking and it still stuns me how much a few ingredients can deliver. You WANT to make this!

In February, the shivers of hard winter give way to the winds of early spring. Both, for sure, call for soup to soothe the soul and warm the innards. So I dubbed February 2007 the month of Soup, Glorious Soup . I cooked soup all month and invited soup enthusiasts from all over the world to cook soup too. And so they did, in droves. Just like a good potluck, somehow our collection of soup recipes offers a soup for every taste and circumstance. The soups that take hours to simmer stove-top, the ones that toss together in minutes. The soups made from pantry staples, the ones with hard-to-find ingredients. Newly discovered soup recipes and the long-time family favorites. Recipes carefully followed and others invented with what was on hand. I was moved by many of the soup stories, cross-continental stock-making , surviving a first cold winter , falling in love with winter , a first-time soup-maker , the saving grace of soup for a soon-to-be-Mom , a soup passed from one generation to anothe

[Hello All ... If you're reading this via an e-mail subscription or in an RSS reader and haven't visited the site recently, the Recipe Box is getting a facelift, check Weight Watchers and Favorites for examples of more to come! As always, many thanks for sharing in this crazy odyssey of vegetables ... it means much to me, your making A Veggie Venture part of your day. Now, on to today's recipe, another good one for Brussels sprouts!] I grew up on Brussels sprouts so it's no surprise that they often make their way onto my table. Once, they made their way across the room, too: my first time cooking dinner for now-dear friends, the Brussels sprouts were so undercooked that one baby-cabbage missile went flyyyyying as we tried to cut into them. Oops. Ever since, I've been extra cautious about making sure Brussels sprouts are well-cooked. And honestly, I think they taste better when cooked til soft in the center, rather than al dente, as is the current trend. But: you