Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Cut 4 red bell peppers into 1-2 inch pieces. Toss in a little olive oil. Put in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 450 until they begin to look "roasted"!
While they cook, saute some finely chopped onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. until tender. Add 4-ish cups of chicken broth and a large can of crushed tomatoes. Add basil (any other "Italianish" spices you like), bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer.
Add the peppers when they're done and simmer more. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in a splash of half-and-half before serving. (Adding cream, milk, or 1/2 & 1/2to boiling liquid makes it curdle!)
(Adding a can of cannelini beans with the broth and tomatoes adds protein and makes it creamy. Adding finley chopped spinach with the broth and tomatoes makes it pretty!)
Sprinkle with parmesan or any other Italian cheese before serving.
Wheatberry Salad
Cook 1 cup of wheatberries in about 3 cups of salted water for about 2 hours. Drain. Stir in some balsamic vinagrette. Refrigerate overnight.
Add: 1/4-1/3 cup of each FINELY chopped purple onion and yellow, red, or orange bell pepper; a small chopped pear; 1/2 a small chopped apple; sliced almonds or chopped pecans. Add more vinagrette to taste...maybe even a dash of basil.
To serve: place some wheatberry salad on a bed of torn dark green lettuce (mixed greens, green leaf lettuce, romaine leaves...). Make a "curl" from a long thin piece of the bell pepper for the top. Place 5 clementine segments around the edges of the plate (facing the same way...like a pinwheel.)
Bread
Get Joe Bush to make a small round loaf of his "special" bread. Slice in half, then make smaller slices crossways. Put a little butter in the slices. Wrap tightly in foil and bake on 350 for about 20 minutes (or until hot all the way through.) Yum.
For the rest of the day, scramble to make up for lost time so you can play Quiddler or Killer Bunnies with your family later!
