Last week, during the October 13th club Zoom meeting, Director of Public Image Lauren Heinonen challenged our members to take action and support Rotary’s 7th Area of Focus: Protecting the Environment.
One way that she suggested doing this involves food! The World Resources Institute said in 2016, “Reducing consumption of animal-based foods among the world’s wealthier populations could free up significant amounts of land – possibly enabling the world to feed 10 billon people in 2050 without expanding into forests.”
At the end of August, we heard from members from the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North who are part of the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) that they were challenging us to trying to eat more plan-based food for the month of October. Some of our members have signed up. Lauren challenged us again to try it for one day or 15 days. She has offered her help to anyone who would like more information.
To kick off this challenge, member Rob Shiff has shared one of his favorite recipes: vegetable soup! Give it a try, and send in a photo to newsletter@a2rotary.org if you do. Or, submit your own favorite vegetarian or vegan recipe to newsletter@a2rotary.org, and you may see it in next week’s edition of the Ann Arbor Rotarian!
Rob Shiff’s Vegetable Soup
This easy, delicious and nutritious soup can easily be modified to be meat or plant-based. “Sauteing” the vegetables in broth instead of oil adds great flavor and allows the soup to be made with no added fat or calories. The tomato sauce adds good flavor, color and body.
Prep time – 10-15 minutes
Cook time – 15-30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 48 oz box of broth (can be chicken, beef, or vegetable broth — try using vegetable broth to be the most environmentally-friendly)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery ribs, cleaned and chopped
1/3 small onion (we prefer vidalia or sweet), chopped
1 small bag baby spinach
1 15 oz can can of your favorite beans (we prefer red beans, white or cannellini are also very good) drained and rinsed
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce (or a can of chopped tomatoes if preferred)
Directions:
– Place the mirpaux (carrots, celery, onion) in a dutch oven or soup pot
– Add enough broth to cover the vegetables. Season to taste with some fresh pepper and garlic powder. (If using store bought broth, there should already be enough salt.) Bring to a slow boil and then allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes until cooked through
– Add remaining broth
– Add tomato sauce
– Bring the broth back up to a very slow boil. Add the spinach (you may add as whole leaves or if preferred, give them a rough chop) allow to cook down, about 5-10 minutes. Taste and season as preferred (salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil). Stir occasionally.
– Add the beans, cover and simmer. The soup is ready in 5 minutes. However, if you have time to allow it to simmer, covered, for 30+ minutes, the flavors will blend very nicely
This will yield about 4 servings. Serving suggestion to add grated Parmeson cheese and serve with crusty bread. Other variations would be to add 1 cup of cooked pasta (i.e. macaroni) and/or 1/2 lb. of ground meat (beef or turkey) at the time of adding the beans.
