• Place a large soup pot, 3 to 4 quart on the stove over medium heat.
• Cut the steak up into bite size pieces and brown in a large skillet with one tablespoon of the oil, seasoning with some of the spices. Transfer into the warmed pot.
• Cut up the vegetables and sauté in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook until the veggies begin to soften. Add the remaining spices tossing to coat. Cook for another minute or two, then add the vegetables to the pot with the steak. Mix well to combine.
• Drain the beans and add to the pot. Add the tomato products and stir well. Add enough stock to just cover all of the beans. Stir in the beef base.
• Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer covered for an hour, stirring occasionally. At the end of the hour give the chili a good stir and taste. Add more stock if too thick and more spices if desired. Allow chili to cook for another half an hour or so with the lid partially covering to allow to thicken.
• Serve with diced onions, shredded cheese and a chunk of cornbread or flour tortilla.

• In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-hing heat. Season the ribs with salt and add to the pan cooking until the ribs are browned on all sides. Remove the ribs from the pan and discard all but about a quarter of a cup of the rendered fat from the pot. If the fat doesn't yield a quarter of a cup supplement with more canola.
• Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the onions. Cook, stirring often until the onions begin to turn golden and are tender. Add the garlic and cook for several more minutes.
• Add the stock to the pot along with the beets, tomatoes (liquid and all), carrot, and browned short ribs. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and reduce to a simmer. Allow to cook for about 3 hours stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• When the ribs are tender and falling off the bone, remove them from the pan with tongs. Using an emulsion blender, wand the soup until mostly smooth. Be sure that you have removed all of the bones in the pot before blending.
• Pull the short rib meat from the bones and cut into bite size pieces. Return rib meat to the pot. Soup should be the consistency of a thick stew. Simmer uncovered to thicken if necessary.
• To garnish, mix together the sour cream, dill, and horseradish in a small bowl. Top bowl with a dollop of the sour cream mixture and chopped scallion. Serve with Pampushki or a dark rye roll.

• Place beans in a colander and rinse well. Remove any rocks, broken, or shriveled beans. Place the beans in a 4 to 5 quart pot with a lid and fill with water so the beans are covered by a couple of inches. Allow to soak overnight.
• When ready to prepare, drain the beans and refill the pot with fresh water so that they are covered by about one inch of water.
• Add everything except the vinegar.
• Bring to a boil and skim off any white foam if present. Cover and reduce to low and simmer for 4 to 5 hours stirring occasionally.
• Check the soup after a couple of hours to make sure there is enough liquid. Add water a cup at a time if needed.
• Simmer the covered soup until the beans start to break down and create a creamy smooth liquid that will coat the back of a spoon.
• To finish the soup, stir in the vinegar and simmer uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the ham bone from the soup and pull any remaining meat from the bone and add it back in to the pot.

Serve

• Top the soup with a dollop of sour cream, onion, pepper, and avocado and cilantro if desired.
• Serve with a side of cornbread and some fried pineapple or plantain.

• Heat oven to 400 °F. Cut cauliflower into bite sized pieces. Place cauliflower into a baking dish with garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle with half of the garam masala, curry powder, cumin, and chili powder tossing to mix. Place in oven and roast until golden brown and just tender, but not mushy, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare the rest of the soup.
• Heat a large stockpot over medium high heat. Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the onion (add more garlic if desired). Add bay leaves and cook onions until translucent.
• Add stock and bring sweet potato, onion, and garlic and water to a boil. Add about 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Add roasted cauliflower and garlic and the remaining spices. Simmer until cauliflower is heated through.
• Using a slotted spoon remove about half of the cauliflower and yams and hold aside.
• Using an immersion blender puree the contents of the stock pot in to a smooth consistency.
• If using a regular blender use extreme caution. Hot liquids expand when blended so work in batches being sure to only fill the blender jar half full of the hot liquid at a time.
• Return the yams and cauliflower that you held aside to the pureed soup. Add lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with diced jalapeno and cilantro.

• Place the beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Soak the beans for at least 8 hours (Beans will expand as they rehydrate so be sure to use a large container with plenty of water. Also do not add any salt to beans as they soak, it will make them chewy)
• Drain the beans and place them in a stock pot with the chicken stock and bay leaves (again do not add any salt to the beans). Bring the pot to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
• Prepare your leek by thoroughly washing.
• Thinly slice the halved leek. Finely dice the shallot and garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly sauté the leek, shallot, and garlic until tender. Add to the pot of cooking beans. Add the diced ham and continue to simmer.
• Test the beans by squashing one between your fingers. When the beans are mostly done, add the carrot (I like to add these towards the end of the cooking time to keep them from disappearing).
• Thin the beans with additional stock if needed. Taste the soup and season accordingly with salt and pepper. (Remember when adding salt to a soup, only add a small amount at a time, allow the salt a few minutes to work its way through the soup before tasting again).

• Heat oven to 400° F. Halve and seed the squash. Lightly oil the bottom of a baking dish. Position the squash cut side up in the baking dish, and place the garlic in the middle of the squash. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the squash uncovered for about 40 – 50 minutes or until fork tender.
• When cool enough to handle, peel the squash and place it in a sauce pan with the garlic.
• Add the chicken stock and thyme to the squash and garlic mixture. Bring to a simmer. Puree with an immersion blender, or transfer into a food processor, blending until smooth.
• Continue to simmer, allowing soup to thicken slightly. Whisk cream into soup and bring back to a simmer. (For lower calorie soup do not add cream).
• Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a small sauté pan over medium high heat. When butter begins to bubble, add sage leaves.
• Crisp the leaves in the butter. Turn carefully to avoid breaking the leaves. When the butter stops foaming, carefully remove the leaves and place on a paper towel to drain.
• Fill a bowl with the soup, and arrange a few of the crisp sage leaves on top. Using a teaspoon drizzle a few drops of the browned sage butter on the dish.

• In a large non-reactive mixing bowl place the tomato, cucumber, onions, avocado, peppers, cilantro, and juices. Using a wooden spoon, toss gently to coat all ingredients with the lemon and lime (This will prevent the avocado from turning brown).
• Add the V-8 juice, cumin, and shrimp. Stir to combine and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
• Garnish with the large shrimp.

• Cut tips from about 12 asparagus 1½ inches from top and reserve for garnish. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Cook onion with 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy 4-quart pot over moderately low heat, until translucent. Add asparagus pieces and dash of salt and pepper, sauté about 5 minutes.
• Add 5 cups chicken stock, cover and cook until asparagus until it is very tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.
• While the soup simmers, blanch reserved asparagus tips in lightly salted boiling water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain. Shock tips in cold water to stop cooking and preserve color.
• Purée the soup in several small batches with an immersion blender or in a regular blender. Use caution if using a standard blender. Fill the blender no more than half full, and hold the lid on tight using a towel! Hot liquids will expand when blended.
• Strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove any remaining fibers. Return soup to pan over medium heat . Stir in creme, then add more broth to thin soup to desired consistency.
• Bring soup to a boil and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter. Add lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with asparagus tips.