Cleansing Diet, Day 4: Vegetable and Quinoa Pasta Soup

Green Girl Goodies, September 2011

Serves 4 to 6

2 tb Garlic, minced
1 ¾ c Yellow or Sweet Onion, small dice
1 1/3 c Celery, small dice
1 c Carrots, small dice
3 c Spinach, hand torn *
2 c Tomatoes, small dice
1 ½ c Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 1” sticks
1 tb Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tb Lemon Juice
1 qt + 2 c Purified Water
3 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
8 oz (1 box) Quinoa Pasta, preferably Rotelle
1 c Fresh Basil, hand torn **

- Cook Pasta according to package instructions. Drain and cool quickly with an ice bath.***
- Heat large soup pot and add oil first then garlic, onions, celery and carrots. Sweat ingredients until fragrant over medium high heat, deglaze with lemon juice and add water. Return to high heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat to maintain a simmer and add tomatoes, spinach and green beans.
- Return to a simmer and add salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 – 7 minutes or until beans are tender.
- Place desired amount of noodles in each bowl and top with hot soup.
- Add basil just before serving.

*Tightly Packed Cup
**Loosely Packed Cup
***Ice Bath: An effective way to quickly cool vegetables and pasta to prevent over cooking. Place cold water and ice (2/3 water and 1/3 ice) in a bowl large enough to cover whatever is being cooled. Drain hot water and immediately place hot item into the cold water. Once chilled, drain and set aside until ready to use the item. With pasta, add a small amount of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together.