Well it’s about time to make groceries!  We were craving a veggie dish and the fridge was a little light, so I thought I might try a stew.  When I started I was leaning towards something very tomatoey and decided some type of garlic bread would be good.  I was struggling with how to do it without oil or butter.  Here is what I did…

Garlic Crisps:

• 2 whole wheat pita bread
• 1 cup veggie broth
• 4 tsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt to taste

I added the broth, finely chopped garlic, nutritional yeast and salt to a pan and heated it up, blending well.  Once I had a nice garlic flavor, I brushed the mixture over the pita and placed the pita into a 425 degree oven until it was crispy.  While it was baking, I worked on the main part of the dinner.

Spring Stew:

• 4 cups veggie broth
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 medium onion
• 3 medium carrots
• 1 large crown of broccoli
• 1 small red pepper
• 3 medium zucchini
• 4 red potatoes
• 1 16oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• salt to taste

When chopping the vegetables, keep them large enough to give this soup a hearty feel.  I started by adding 1 cup of broth to the pan with my garlic sauce remnants from the garlic crisps.  To this I added chopped onion, chopped carrots, quartered small red potatoes and 2 tbsp minced garlic. I cooked this until the onions became translucent.  Next I added the red pepper, broccoli, zucchini and 2 cups of broth.  Special note on the broccoli: I cooked the stems and crown.  To prepare the stems I removed the tough outer layer and cut them into bite sized pieces.  I added the spices, vinegar, tomatoes and another cup of broth. Cook until vegetables are al dente. Serve with garlic crisps.