Even though it's been snowing (YUCK!) here and I haven't felt too good for the past few days; I made a lot of spring-timey food for the upcoming week. I made Dr. Fuhrman's Tasty Hummus, Whole Wheat Pitas, and Springtime Soup.

The most fun thing that we made (hubby helped) were the pitas. They were also surprisingly easy to make. I got this recipe at AllRecipes and used King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour instead of white flour to keep it whole grain. We also used applesauce instead of oil to make it fat-free. Next time I make these I will cut the salt in half or eliminate it completely. I'll also will experiment with cutting down on the sugar - although I don't think that I can cut it out completely because the yeast needs a little sugar, doesn't it? I also want to experiment with mixing in other types of flour or adding in flax.

But most importantly, the tastiest thing that I made this weekend is the soup. Hubby got Nava Atlas' Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons: Bountiful Vegan Soups and Stews for Every Time of Year for me back at Christmas time and I haven't had a chance to cook anything out of it until now. The soup I made today I adapted from her recipe for Greek-Flavored Spinach and Orzo Soup. I doubled the recipe since soup is an entire meal for me and cut out the oil. I substituted pearl barley for the orzo because I'd rather have a whole grains than the pasta, used (a lot) more spinach than called for in the original recipe and added artichokes. Here's the recipe as I made it:

Springtime Soup

Adapted from Greek-Flavored Spinach and Orzo Soup by Nava Atlas

2 C cleaned & sliced leek
6-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
12 cups water with 4 cubes salt-free vegan bouillon (or equal amount of light flavored veggie broth)
2 cans salt-free tomatoes, briefly buzzed in blender or food processor
2 9oz boxes frozen artichokes
1 cup pearl barley
2 tsp dill
2 1-lb bags frozen spinach
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 C lemon juice

1. Water-sauté leeks, garlic, and red bell pepper until softened; about 5 minutes.
2. Add water, bouillon, tomatoes, barley, dill, and frozen artichokes. Cover and bring to simmer for 30-40 minutes until barley is slightly chewy.
3. When soup is almost done simmering, portion spinach out into containers. (Do this only if making meals ahead, if not stir spinach into soup before serving).
4. Stir in parsley and lemon juice.

Yield: 8 to 10 meal-sized servings