I’ve got a small vegetable and herb garden growing outside. It has finally developed to the point where I can go out and harvest some veggies. Day before yesterday I harvested spinach, parsley and broccoli. There should be more before the season is over. Lots more!

Earlier this summer I was hooked on tomato and onion sandwiches. Very addicting! But now I’m diversifying and calling my treats “Garden Sandwiches” and trying to add as many garden goodies as I can.

A few minutes ago I had a sandwich which contained spinach, tomatoes, onions, parsley, and some of my current burrito filling. The burrito filling was made from mashed potatoes, brown rice, and spices… lots of spices. I highly recommend this!

I have a few questions… for those of you who are into creative vegan sandwich making.

1. What do you use instead of mayonnaise?

2. What veggies do you like best in sandwiches?

3. Any other ideas on what to put in there?

Thanks to all who have creative suggestions for me!

I work at the local pizza restaurant during the lunch hour when we usually stay busy serving pizza by the slice, breadsticks, sandwiches, wraps, fajitos, and on Fridays, enchiladas.

This winter, soup was added to the menu. My co-worker is a marvelous cook and prepares these soups a couple times each week, varying between potato soup, chicken noodle, pizza soup, and broccoli soup. Unfortunately none of these soups are intended to be vegetarian so I don’t eat them.

A few weeks ago I took her broccoli soup recipe home and adapted it to my vegetarian diet. I still use milk products so I added whole milk to my soup; if you’re vegan, you can eliminate that and substitute water or broth instead. (Yes, more adaptions, but I’m sure you can handle it.)

Here’s my version of our Broccoli Cream Soup without the chicken broth!

In a large soup pan heat three cups of water while you’re chopping veggies.

Chop one cup of carrots and toss them in the water.
Then chop one cup of celery. Toss it in.
Next, the broccoli. You’ll need four cups of that. Toss it in and let it boil for about three minutes.

Hint: chop the carrots and celery in small pieces, not large chunks.

Next you’re going to drain the water from the veggies. But save the broth! I put the broth back into my four-cup pyrex measuring cup and put the veggies in my strainer which sits in the sink until I need them again.

The next thing you’ll need is an onion. Chop about 3/4 of a cup of onion and put it into the large soup pan with six tablespoons of butter. Heat the onions, stirring, stirring, until they are tender.

Add six tablespoons of flour, and stir until creamy. Work it all in.

Now gently and slowly, add back in your three cups of vegetable broth, stirring it into the floury onion-butter mixture so that everything is even and not lumpy.

Next add two cups of milk if you use milk. If not, stir in two cups of water.

Heat it up! You need for this to boil for at least a minute, and if you’re using milk, you’d better stir constantly.

Next add back in your veggies (remember, the ones you boiled earlier?)

To this mixture add one tablespoon parsley, one and a half teaspoons of salt, and half a teaspoon of garlic powder.

Simmer covered for 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas, quesadillas, buttered french bread, or whatever you have that sounds and tastes good to you!

We get about four servings out of this soup.

I’ve been making variations of this for over thirty years - since the time I lived in San Francisco and was eating fanatically well in order to nurture my first pregnancy.

Two cups of short-grain brown rice
Four cups of water
1 tablespoon salt

Heat the above ingredients until boiling, then stir once with a wooden spoon and cover. Turn the heat down very low. Continue to let this cook for twenty-five or thirty minutes then turn it off but keep it covered so it can steam. Don’t be tempted to look inside for at least ten or fifteen minutes.

While that’s cooking heat a bit of vegetable oil in a skillet and add spices. Typically I’ll add any spices I can find in my cupboard that look like they’ll fit. I smell them to decide if I want them. I always use salt and pepper.

Then chop some onion and garlic and toss that into the pan. Chop some fresh vegetables and toss them in too. I like to use carrots and celery, and whatever else I have on hand that looks good.

Keep stirring and warming these gently on a low to medium heat. If you get impatient like I usually do, add 1/4 cup water and cover the skillet to let the vegetables steam a while. Stir often.

When the vegetables are tender and the rice is cooked, serve by putting the rice on the plate, then veggies on top. If you like cheese, put grated cheddar or monterey jack on top.

This recipe feeds my soul.

Brown Rice Burritos

A way to use leftovers from the recipe above.

Warm up a big flour tortilla. If you have a gas stove just turn on the burner and toss the tortilla onto it… no pan needed. Wait until it wilts a bit then turn it over. Repeat until little air pockets start to rise inside the tortilla.

On the tortilla place some brown rice with your cooked veggies. Add spices, jalapenos, or whatever makes you happy, along with a lot of cheddar cheese. Then wrap it up.

Since I usually get cold rice leftovers out of the fridge I then put this burrito in the microwave and warm it up… or at least I would if it were not for the fact that my microwave broke and my dear boyfriend won’t agree to buying another one - he points out the certain dangers - so now I’m warming these in my cast iron skillet.

My favorite taco sauce is La Victoria Salsa Brava, HOT.

This makes a quick, easy but filling snack so I can get right back into my writing without losing my train of thought too much.