By popular demand: here are two more of the Soup recipes from the Earth Day Empty Bowls event  - more will be posted as I get them. (There was one recipe in the previous post, and all of them are also currently pinned to the bulletin board in our studio.)
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Deb's Minestrone Soup

Hi there ~ this recipe is so simple it's almost embarrassing... but as requested here you go:

1 lb. Italian sausage cooked and drained of fat, then chopped into small pieces
2 pkgs. dry Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix, with 4 cups water
2 cans diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano
1 pkg. frozen spinach
1 cup wine
1 Tlbsp. white vinegar

optional extra additions:
chopped garlic
any and all vegi's you have in the fridge.
red beans
any cooked pasta (just before serving)

Bring to a boil, then cook at medium high for at least 20 minutes. Ready in approx. 20 minutes.

That's the basic recipe. It's all about the doctoring that makes a difference...

top with parmesan and serve with a good crusty bread and viola' - Enjoy!

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Sandy's White Chili with Chicken

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, or use fresh cooked beans, drained & rinsed
  • (I used White Cannellini Beans – They are white kidney beans)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper  (add more if needed before adding chicken)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 (7 oz.) can diced green chilies  (I used ½ can of the mild chilies)
• 5 c. diced cooked chicken breast
• 1 to 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 small finely chopped jalapeno or serrano pepper (optional)

Optional condiments:

• shredded Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican cheese blend
• sliced black olives
• shredded lettuce
• chunky salsa, purchased or homemade
• sour cream
• guacamole

CROCKPOT METHOD PREPARATION
In slow cooker, combine beans, 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, garlic, onion, white pepper, salt, oregano, cumin, cloves. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours. Stir occasionally.
 
Stir in green chilies, chicken and 1 cup chicken broth. If more broth is desired, add more chicken broth. For hotter taste, add diced jalapeno or serrano pepper. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

STOVE TOP METHOD PREPARATION
Sauté onions.  Add garlic, white pepper, salt, oregano, cumin and cloves. Cook together a couple of minutes. Add beans and chicken broth (about 3-4 cups); cook for about 30 minutes.  
 
Add chicken & green chilies. Cook for about 20 more minutes.      
 
Serve with whatever condiments you like and warmed flour tortillas.  Or serve over brown rice. Serves 4 to 6.

Lots going on.. most recently, the first ever Rossmoor Earth Day celebration last Friday afternoon (April 15). We collected about 85 bowls of all different sizes and shapes, all of them made in our studio by our members, and sold them at prices ranging from $3 to $15. We had 10 different homemade soups (also from CAC members) and let the buyers of the bowls fill them with whatever type they wanted. There was even a batch of matzoh balls, as well as crackers, to go into the soup. People loved it! We sold all but 2 of the bowls and used up almost all of the soup. (People asked for the recipes, so I'm going to post them here -the first one that was sent to me is below, along with photos of the event.) This whole process is an Empty Bowls Project, and by the end we had raised $670 for the Contra Costa Food Bank.

Oh yes - we also had a demonstration of pugging, which is how we recycle clay in the studio. Folks were very interested in that, and lots of clay was processed in the course of the afternoon. Pictures of that are below, too.

Earlier this month we had a new display of CAC members' artwork installed in the Rossmoor Event Center (see the middle row of photos above - also the card showing the artists' names and titles of the work). And we had a lovely demo by Oakland potter Lynne Meade. Last but not least - our people have been very creative! (But that's not unusual.)