Wednesday Night Dinner to warm us up..

was Chili.  Plain, and simple chili with - to Alena's delight - lot's and lot's of beans.  Here it is - nothing special - but so good...

along side I served.  No, let me stop you right there! I know exactly what you are thinking, mixed green salad - the usual boring side.  Oh no, we did not have mixed greens tonight but...

can you tell what it is?  Are you curious?  Maybe just a little bit? - It is a roasted root vegetable salad with reduced balsamic vinegar. It turned out fantastic.  The entire family liked it - however Mia Rosie loved it.  In case you are curious as to how I made it -

1 parsnip
1 sweet Walla Walla onion
1 golden beet
1 yam
several brussel sprouts
Olive Oil, salt, pepper, reduced Balsamic vinegar - or regular balsamic vinegar

- Preheat oven to 350 F -
- Peel, and clean vegetable.  Cut the parsnip, beet, and yam in fairly thin, long slices.  Break the onion up into chunks
- Toss the vegetables with olive oil and spread them in one layer into a baking sheet, or pan (I use Pyrex dish)
- Bake for at least 30 minutes until vegetables are soft, slightly browned, and sweet
- When done take vegetables out of the oven and let them cool down
- Arrange them in a larger shallow dish.  Add salt, pepper, and balsamico to taste
- Serve at room temperature

Nice and sweet plus a nice change of pace at long last :)

Tuesday Night Dinner - leftover

Linsen & Spaetzle a.k.a. lentils & spaetzle.

Another great thing about this meal is, that it is even better on the second day - and makes for a super, super easy dinner night. Nice :) So tonight it was Linsen, Spaetzle, sausages, and mixed greens.  Everyone was was happy...

I just bribed the kids...

...what?!  Yup! We overslept this morning  and woke up at 7:40. The first bell at school rings at 8:35 and the tardy bell at 8:45;I had to be downtown for a meeting by 9:30.  Let me tell you, it was not the most pleasant morning.  Ron and I made breakfast for the ladies and then it was a race against time.  Could we make it to school before the tardy bell rings?  I retreated to a new trick,  I promised the ladies cupcakes if we made it to school on time...yes, I bribed them :)

And guess what?! - Wow! Everybody got their shoes, coats, and backpacks on. The trip to school was a race against time, but I kept reminding them "cupcakes if we get to the classrooms before the tardy bell..." It was a very, very close call.  Mia Rose was in her room on time, and yes, Alena also got to her room just right before the tardy bell rang.  Whoo-hoo - the promise of cupcakes worked...and I also made it downtown in time.

On the way home, I stopped at Saint Cupcake to pick up two delicious Vegan - Galactosemia safe - Cupcakes for our girlies. Chocolate-chocolate, and carrot - I let the pictures tell you the rest

Monday Night after Thanksgiving weekend dinner...

...have you already given up on me?  I am still here - and still up.  So for all practical purposes to me it is still Monday night, even so technically the clock already changed a little while ago.  -  Thanksgiving weekend was all fine and dandy, even so I ended up being under the weather a little.  Oh well, it happens to all of us. - All else is well here in our little house in Portland and the girls were excited to go to school today as they did miss their friends.  I have to say so, that we did have a lot of fun and all of us enjoyed the week off.  As they say, all good things come to an end, so it was back to school for the ladies and work for me today. Then again, we all enjoy what we do...

So dinner tonight - the first meal I made since Thanksgiving - was Linsen, Spaetzle, Wurst (sausages), and green salad.  A favorite of all of us, and cool, dreary weather calls for a nice warm, filling meal like it.

Lentils, spaetzle, and mixed trees for dinner

Oh, and in case you are wondering about the picture.  The centerpiece in the middle is an advents wreath - and we lit the first candle yesterday.  It's a German tradition :)

Have a great day, all!

Friday - the day after Thanksgiving a.k.a. Black Friday

Well,  we did not spend any time in a mall, nor even a second in our car.  Instead we walked - and the girls biked - down to Hawthorne to spend a beautiful sunny late November day.  Lunch at Porque No - and plenty of time at the playground in the sun.

And for dinner we ate the rest of the delicious Vegan Cranberry Apply Pie, and yummy Soy Vanilla Ice Cream....

So many things to be thankful for...

...I know Thanksgiving is over and #Thankful is probably no longer trending on Twitter.  This morning for me is however the perfect time to reflect on what I am thankful for.

There are endless persons and things to be thankful for.  You know, the usual things - all of my family, love, wellness, our health, our home, having plenty of food on the table, being able to travel, the things everyone is thankful for.  So I will not reflect on the know about....So here it goes.

I am thankful - beyond words - for Newborn Screening and all the people that put so much hard work in to have the tests implemented in each State.  It is - as I am sure all of you know - that without Newborn Screening we most likely would not have our wonderful family.  It is only because of the test, because of the lab technicians that worked over the Thanksgiving weekend eight years ago, the physician that tracked us down, the pediatrician who had a gut feeling and not afraid to go by it, and the infectious disease physician that we celebrated Alena's eight Bday this week. Just think about, what could have happened.  Think about what could happen if the test would not be mandatory/opt in for every baby.  The results could be devastating.  I would not have known about the Newborn Screen. - I am thankful for the individuals at www.screenbabies.org who work tirelessly to educate about Newborn Screening. Through Save Babies through Screening organization we learned about additional private newborn screens.  By the way - the positive diagnosis for Classic Galactosemia for Mia Rose was received from the private lab.  I am however heartbroken, when I remember that the organization was started because a baby died of complications from Classic Galactosemia before the Newborn Screen results were processed.  Just heartbreaking....

There is so much more to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving from

our table to yours. - Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy. For dessert vegan cranberry apple streusel pie with vanilla soy ice cream...now rest and then we will be watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving...I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Eve Dinner...

...no, it cannot be true! Yes, it is :) I made Fish-sticks for dinner. Yup!!! The girls have been begging for it. Really, I do not make this up. How could I?! In any case, fish-sticks, Jasmine rice, mixed green salad with pomegranate.

It has been rainy all day and I admit to enjoying it. Everything quiets down, and we stayed at home the entire day. A walk around the block - but that was it. Alena and I made her new big puzzle while Mia Rose drew, we finished some presents, the girls had piano lessons and yes, there was also tv time for the girls. Mia Rose assisted in cleaning out the pomegranate while Alena played some more piano. Oh, total bliss...Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Look who had a Birthday

Here is our beautiful birthday girl. There is no school this week at the Portland Public School System so we had the day to ourselves to celebrate and have fun.  And fun we had!!!  We started the day with Brownies - not the perfect breakfast food but it's a once a year occasion and Alena loves chocolate. By the way, I admit to making them out of a box.  Yup - not my usual thing but these are so good and free of milk :)  I used the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix and they turned out beautiful and full packed of delicious sweet chocolate flavor.

Next the girls were allowed some rare playtime with my iPad before we went for our second breakfast at Alean's favorite restaurant Jam on Hawthorne.  Guess what she ate?

Yup, vegan chai pancakes and a slice of bacon.

The next stop was for a pedicure and manicure before

we headed to Playdate PDX with a couple of friends for some well deserved playing time.  For some reason I did not take any pictures there - what was I thinking! - but here is the link.  So fun,  and they do have Galactosemia friendly foods.  The girls all shared a couple of warm Pretzels which were safe for everyone.  Just in case you like to know more about Playdate PDX - I highly recommend it for a fun time - here is the link http://www.playdatepdx.com/.

Alena chose Bridgeport in Northwest Portland for dinner - both girls enjoyed their Pizza Dogs while their friends had cheese pizza, and quesadilla.

We ended the day as it began.  With chocolate brownies....

Monday Night Dinner is...

...peppers-beef-and-linguine. I know it sounds like an odd combination, but it turned out well. I had bought a family pack of meat a few weeks ago at New Seasons and we had a couple of Top Round Steaks left. As I usually do not cook that much with beef, I looked for option in Epicuirious and found this combination. I did tweak the recipe a little because I marinated the meat in lime juice and Balsamico before hand as suggested by several commentators. I also left out the olives, and for obvious reasons left out the provolone as well. I served the beef and pepper mixture atop of the pasta which was not ideal. Next time I will mix everything up together before serving...

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It's double post Sunday :)

Pasta for dinner - plain with olive oil for the ladies, and with tomato sauce for the adults. An easy "lazy" meal...just the right thing for this Sunday.

Saturday Night Dinner

...sweet potatoes, and black bean stew served along couscous. It was an impromptu kind of dinner using what we had in the house.

I first sautéed an onion in olive oil, and a finely minced garlic clove as well as a good amount of cumin. Then added some salt and 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste. Next I added a finely diced sweet potato and half of a golden beet (because I had it left over). Finally a can of black beans - drained - and 2 cans of water. I let it simmer for a little under an hour. Turned out fine for an impromptu kind of dish :)

Saturday afternoon diversion...

...Yummy cupcakes from Saint Cupcake because sometimes you just need a treat! Is this Vegan Cookie and Cream cupcake not fantastic looking? Alena assured me that it tasted just as good.
Mia Rose is at a Birthday party this afternoon and I stopped at Saint Cupcake to pick up a treat for her. They are serving vanilla cake at the party so I got a vanilla cupcake for her to match the others. And how can I stop at Saint Cupcake to just get one? There were four different vegan options today. Vanilla with vanilla or chocolate frosting, chocolate with chocolate or vanilla frosting, red velvet, and cookies-and-cream. Each one of them amazing - and there are even more Galactosemia "unsafe" cupcakes. Delicious! Take a look - here is the link http://saintcupcake.com/

Friday is pizza night...

...who does not love pizza? It is even better having a Friday night pizza party with good friends. That is what we did for dinner last night. Can you see how much fun everyone had? Pizza, with sparkling Strawberry juice (that was Mia Rosie's choice), followed by a movie.

Our friend loves cheese pizza while Mia Rose and Alena prefer pepperoni - obviously without cheese. We ordered the pizza half with cheese, and the other half no cheese, but pepperoni. The pizza came just as ordered - perfect! Can you see it in this picture?! Girls sitting side by side - one eating cheese, while the other is eating her Galactosemia safe pizza. Both girls know not to eat pizza with cheese. These are moments that are now so - for lack of better words - normal, and something I would not have thought possible almost eight years ago when Alena was first diagnosed.

Happy Saturday!

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Thursday Night Dinner - is finally Pasta :)

...Orichietti to be exact. The girlies love them, such a fun shape. How did I serve them? Well, I know the picture is by far not as beautiful as yesterday's dinner. It was however just as good and - whoo-Hoo - sucessful. So what is in them? Red onion, garlic, golden beet, purple chard, and basil chicken sausage. That was it! No bread, or salad just pasta.

Please let me Know if you would like me to share how I made it. - It really turned out great, and it is packed with veggies. Who does not love greens...

Wednesday Night Lauchkuchen - Leak Tart

...what a productive morning! The girls ate their breakfast, the mothership made their lunches, and then made the yeast dough for the tart. We left - in time - for school, all showered and ready for the day. Felt like quite an accomplishment :)

In any case, we had leak tart for dinner, along a mixed green salad with Pomegranate. And who knew, that the pomegranate was the absolute winner of the night? Well, actually everyone like the tart but Mia Rose declared her love for pomegranate. So delicious...

Tuesday Lunch and Dinner...

...ha, so I jinxed the girlies lunches with my lunch post the other day.  That surely must be it because I had packed Mia Rose a turkey sandwich, and turkey roll-ups for Alena. And guess what?  Yup,  neither of them ate it.  Mia Rose declared "it is dead and I do not want to eat it", while Alena claimed that she did not like it.  Truthfully, it was honey roasted turkey and not the usual pepper turkey - so maybe that is it.  Let's see and fingers crossed that there will be turkey sandwiches, and roll-ups eaten in the near future.

So what about dinner.  I made homemade chicken fingers - drenched in egg, and breaded with Panko - French Fries, and Broccoli.  The girls were thrilled - OK they were thrilled about the fries -,

and so was Ron.  Yay! Much better dinner success than Monday night.

Homemade chicken fingers, oven fries, and broccoli

Monday Night Dinner - White Chili

Well, at least that is what I intended to make. Certainly not one of my finer creations...

I made the chili right before the girls started to work on their homework and let it simmer for a couple of hours. When I then checked it I was so disappointed. It did not meet my expectations at all - so I tried to fix it. Added salt, pepper, Tofutti sour cream, and brought it all to a slow boil. It did somehow do the trick - it then was OK. Ron liked it, and Alena - of course - loved all of the beans. The bread - Ron got it at Grand Central - was amazing, New Seasons Baguette is good, but this one! Oh, and the salad was also good. I added dried cherries for a little twist, and added mustard as well as red wine vinegar - instead of Balsamico - for a change. Mia Rosie by the way favored the salad and bread, just like me :)

So here you have it - the not so perfect dinner :) I just hope tonight's dinner will be more successful...

Lunches...

I seem to get a little more creative as the year goes on; I have to break the habit of  packing the same foods.  Most likely there are some foods the girls could eat in the school cafeteria. I have however not yet taken up the effort in setting up meetings, to determine which foods are safe.  And quite frankly,  school lunches are not so much to be missed.  So it is up to me - and the girls :)

Our girls have such different taste buds.  Mia Rosie loves sandwiches, and she is also happy to eat a PBJ sandwich once in a while.  Alena on the other hand, will only eat turkey, ham roll-ups. Never on a sandwich and once in a great while rolled on a tortilla.  She needs variety and get quickly bored.  Staples are Z-Bars.  Alena loves anything chocolate - which Mia Rose on the other hand does not like, she likes the new crunchy Peanutbutter ZBars. Fruit roll-ups, crackers, tortilla chips, pretzels, carrots, soy yoghurt, and soy pudding - chocolate of course.

I just added Star Vegetable Soup to the repertoire, left over soup from dinner, and fruit salad.  Last year I thought, that it would be more stressful to pack to lunches everyday.  That however has proven - luckily - not to be true...yay...OK enough for now...happy day!

Sunday crafty Sunday...

...another of those lazy weekend days.  After a visit to the craft store we spent the rest of the day crafting, and painting.  And now guess, what we or better said I did not do?  Yup,  exactly - I admit with shame...I did not even once turn on the stove.  I guess that is what happens on girls weekend in our house....We had way to much fun so I could never get myself to even start thinking about cooking.  Yes, I completely admit to that! So by the time Ron got back, we ended up - do I dare say it?! - going to Pho Van on 82nd for a very late lunch-early dinner.  Now I am all recharged - at least I hope so - for this week :)

Have a great day all!

Saturday...

time is flying - already mid November and another week is over.  The girls were both at the German Saturday School again.  At the end of the day all classes performed pieces from different fairy tales.  So super cute and - believe it or not - I forgot to bring along my camera today.  Out of all days, I forgot my camera today.  Surely there will be other performances, this one was however too cute....

Today was rainy so we went back home for a cozy afternoon. I roasted chestnuts, warmed up cider on the stove while the girls and I were working on crafts.  A wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

 Oh, and what about dinner?  Yes, we ate more than the chestnuts, which by the way were super hard to peel.  But dinner?  Ah yes, dinner...we are having a girls only weekend so it was nothing special.  No, we did not go out - the three of us talked about it decided on pasta.  Plain pasta with olive oil for Alena, pasta with olive oil and a little bit of sauce for Mia Rosie, and pasta with lots of sauce for the mothership. Let's see what we will have for Sunday dinner...

Friday and no school...

...11/11/11 - what a fun date and I got to spend the entire day with my girlies.  We started the day off with a visit to the dentist for Mia Rose.  This was actually her third appointment within two months, as she has had some cavities.  This is in fact quite shocking to us as our youngest daughter never goes to bed without brushing her teeth.  Well, in any case - she did have cavities and they are now all fixed.  Mia Rose - unlike me - loves going to her dentist.  She gets to pick a flavor for her laughing gas, pick out fun sunglasses, and pick out the movie she is going to watch for the procedure.  You should have seen her Thursday night!  "Yes, I get to go to the dentist tomorrow..." Yup, it is true...presents, laughing gas, and tv will do the trick.  I just hope that she will always be so fond of the dentist.

After the dentist's office we went up to the Oregon Zoo.  It was a very foggy day - chilly, cold, dim, and no rain.  Perfect day to be outside, get some fresh air, and admire the beautiful animals.  I love those days.  The skies are foggy, and dim, but the leaves on the trees are shining with their fall colors.  There is something very magical about it.

Alena riding the lion...

Mia Rose pushing our friend's stroller...

So, I have to disappoint in one respect today as there will be no dinner post.  It is just us girls today so we had some soup at New Seasons for an early dinner.  We may still roast some chestnuts in the oven,  or maybe leave that for tomorrow....Happy Weekend all :)

Thursday Dinner

there was no school, so the day felt like a Saturday to us.  A slow morning, followed by a day on the playground in the sun.  Ron was at work, but it was a perfect night to go out which is what we did.  We went to Bridgeport on Hawthorne, and both ladies ordered their own food.  "Pizza with pepperoni and no cheese.  Neither me nor my sister can have any milk products" Alena ordered, and Mia Rosie ordered "chicken with no cows milk - we can have no milk".  The waitress was amazed and I was so proud of my two loves :)

Alena and her pizza at Bridgeport on Hawthorne

Wednesday - afternoon & dinner...

...another beautiful fall day and the last school day for this week.  It is somewhat like a little fall vacation.  Nice :) Wednesday however was spent at the usual venues.  Both girls at school, and both parental units at work. Wednesday is also the day of piano lessons for both girls which is a favorite for the ladies. By the time piano lesson comes around, it is usually time for me to start making dinner.

Mia Rosie the little silly girl with her pink vampire teeth - right before helping in the kitchen :)

Alena's lesson was first yesterday, and Mia Rose wanted to help me in the kitchen.  Yay - she first worked on taking dishes out of the dishwasher, and then she was my assistant extraordinaire in putting together the salad dressing.  Onions, salt, pepper, paprika, some mustard - she mixed it all together until it was a paste; I added olive oil and balsamico to complete the dressing while she kept stirring.  Mia Rose of course had to taste it before she left the kitchen for her lesson...Alena also wanted to help, and she assisted in peeling carrots for our mixed green salad for dinner.

Alena peeling carrots...

Oh, and what you ask was dinner?  Well, it was cheater dinner of sorts.  Yes, that is what I will call it.  I chopped an onion, sautéed it in a little bit of olive oil added bulk mild Italian sausage I got at  New Seasons Market.  Once the sausage was nice and crumbly I added - yes, I admit to it - a jar of Newman's Own Sockaroni Pastasauce -> http://www.newmansown.com/product_detail.aspx?productid=26 . It is so good - also just on it's own with pasta. Served it atop of pasta, parmesiano regiano and a side of mixed green salad with carrots. 

Wednesday November 9th, 2011 dinner

Tuesday Night Dinner...

...another week of wonderful fall weather. Crisp, chilly, clear days, and early nights. It is quite comforting to spend an after school afternoon cooking while the girlies are working on their homework. A word said here and there, comforting scents coming out of the kitchen, and the enjoyment of spending time together....OK, ok I got a little carried away - now back to the topic dinner. I made Butternut Squash Risotto, with a side of mixed baby green salad. - are those colors not beautiful? Orange like the fall - and deep green like the woods surrounding us :) Butternut Squash Risotto was a first for me and it turned out fantastic. I made the risotto As usual, and while it was baking the small dices of peeled Butternut Squash at 400 degrees in the oven. It took about 40 minutes until the Squash was nicely roasted, and soft. I mixed the cooked cubes under the Risotto just about 10 minutes before it was done. Delicious!!!

Do you know about Newborn Screening

Did you know that our girls are only alive and well because of the Newborn Screen.  Please read our story on the blog of the Association of Public Health Laboratories.  http://blog.aphl.org/2011/11/how-newborn-screening-saved-two-little-girls/ and spread the word about Newborn Screening.  I cannot imagine where we would be without Newborn Screening.

Please share and encourage all expecting parents, as well as others to learn about the Newborn Screen.  www.savebabies.org educates about Newborn Screening, and where to get supplemental testing.  Did you know that the Foundation was started by parents who lost their baby to Galactosemia? It is a heartbreaking story - but with education about Newborn Screening and parents not opting out it will not need to happen again.

Monday Night Dinner...

...yes,  I made dinner.  Both girls however helped after school....Dinner tonight was - three bean beef chili with side of cornbread, and brownies for desert.  Today was the rare day, where we did not have salad as a side dish.  Well, sometimes it does happen. - Mia Rose helped make the corn bread,  and Alena helped with the Brownies.  For the Corn Bread I admit to using a box.  I have used the mix from Trader Joe's before.  Today however I used Jiffy brand corn bread mix.  We added plain soy milk, instead of the cow milk and voila/  It turned out great!

Easy, comfort food of homemade three bean beef chili tonight for dinner. Let me tell you,  both girls loved it.  Remember how much Alena loves beans?

Three Bean - Pinto, Navey, and Kidney - Beef Chili

Sunday...

...aha, no dinner picture - again!  What is going on?  Well, today was the last day of the New German Cinema and it did keep us a little busy.  It caused me to be a lazy cook this today - again - and we therefore took the girlies to Burgerville tonight.  They have also asked to go to Burgerville now for a while, so you can probably imagine just how excited they were.  Both had a Hamburger Kids Meal, and a very rare soda...

Alena and Mia Rose hanging out at the Portland Art Museum today

Mia Rosie made a Laterne at the Saturday School

Here she is Mia Rose with her helper Steffi and the Laterne that they made for the Laternenlauf this coming Tuesday.  The Laterne is a "Maus" on one side and an "Elefant" on the other side.  Super, super cute...Oh, and if you would like to find out who the "Maus" is check out this link ->  www.wdrmaus.de  Even so it is all in German I am sure you can see what a great character and show it is...

What happened to Friday Dinner and Saturday's Dinner

...yes,  you are right, there is no post for Friday night dinner.  I am trying - very hard - to get back on schedule for the posts :)  Yesterday,  the girls had pasta, with olive oil, and paremsiano regiano as well as a side of salad for dinner.  Ron and I actually went out.  We went to see the first move at the inaugural New German Cinema festival in downtown Portland.  Let me tell you,  everyone had a good time.  The girlies with their sitter,  and us enjoying a great movie...

Today the girls were in Saturday School from late morning until 12:30 and by the time we were back home it was time for an early dinner/late lunch.  Our meal today was...

Pork in cream sauce, with white rice, baked root vegetable medley, and green salad

Pork in "cream" sauce, with plain rice, baked root vegetable medley - golden beets, carrots, and onion - and a mixed salad.  For desert the girls enjoyed a couple of scoops of Purely Decadent Turtle Ice "Cream" - dairy free - by Turtle Mountain...Yummy!!!

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Thursday Night Dinner...

Alena is ready for dinner...

yes, we went out.  The girls have asked to go to Hopworks ever since we have been back in town. http://hopworksbeer.com/.  For starters we always get the "Pint O Pretzels" which are pretzel sticks.

 They are delicious.  If you go, and need them to be Galactosemia safe be sure to let them know not to brush them with butter which is usually done. They brush them right at the end before they bring it out,  and we always double check when we get it.  The first order yesterday actually was brushed with butter and we saw it right away because the pretzel was glistening...Do get them so!

Ron and I enjoyed an adult beverage while the girls happily played in the fantastic play corner.  For food the ladies ordered "Hot Dogs" with you know what a.k.a. French Fries.  Of course there were lot's of condiments added especially Mia Rose who is our condiment lover...

Mia Rose enjoying her pretzel!

Wendesday Night Dinner...

 ...the weather is getting chilly and time is perfect for comfort food.  Such perfect weather for hearty, filling soup with warm delicious homemade bread. Is that the give away for what we ate?  Yup, delicious yummy vegetable bean soup with meatballs, severed along side homemade bread.  It sounds a lot more elaborate than it is. The only only thing it needs is plenty of preparation time.  The beans need to be soaked,  and the dough for the "no knead" has to be started the night before.  But that is all - after that it's a breeze.  Really!

Oh, look at the result of the "no knead" bread.  And yes,  it is just as yummy as it looks and only has four ingredients.  Flour, yeast, salt, and water.

"No knead" bread

The soup was just as easy - and it was a huge dinner success in our little house in Southeast Portland

To recreate it you need:

• one cup of soaked, dried beans  (I use a 12 dried bean mix from New Season's Market)
• splash of Olive Oil
• medium onion diced
• 2-3 carrots diced
• large can of diced tomatoes
• 32 oz of chicken or veggie broth (I use Pacific Foods)
• one small yam cut into cubes
• two medium potatoes cut into cubes
• a couple of bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound of bulk italian sausage (I use mild)

To prepare:

• soak the beans the night before you plan to make the soup
• in a large pot heat up the olive oil.  When hot, add the onion, and carrots as well as a sprinkling of salt.  Sautee until onions are soft, and carrots begin to show yellow center.
• add can of diced tomatoes, and the vegetable broth
• next add the soaked beans (drained - do not add the soaking liquid)
• then add 
• Yam,
• Potatoes, and
• Bay Leaf
• Bring soup to a slow simmer and cover.

     While soup is simmering

• form small meatballs from the bulk sausage, and
• carefully fry them until browned in a pan
•      Let soup simmer for about an hour - while "no knead" bread is baking in the oven.  
•     Add salt and pepper to taste

The soup is done once all veggies, and beans are soft.  Add meatballs to the soup right before serving and enjoy!  Please let me know if you try it out, and if so how you liked it :)

Twelve bean, veggie soup with Italian Meatballs