Black-Eyed Pea and Turnip Soup {Gluten Free}

We got some white turnips in our box this week and had fun cooking with them. My hubby came up with this soup recipe which also used some black-eyed peas we were wanting to try. If you decide to use dried beans you'll want to make them the day before or overnight. The soup turned out to be very tasty. The turnips were mild and really tasted similar to a potato and the broth was delicious! On one of these oddly cool summer evenings why not make some tasty soup!

Recipe: Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
3 pieces of uncured bacon, diced
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
1 medium onion, diced
5 celery stalks, chopped
5 carrots, chopped
5 turnips, chopped
3 cups of black-eyed peas (cooked)
4 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
1. If you have pre-cooked black-eyed peas then skip this step. I started with dried peas so I cooked them per the instructions on the bag which was boil for a couple minutes and let soak for 4 hrs. Then drain and rinse with water to wash off the peas. At this point I noticed that the peas weren't fully cooked so I put them back in the water for another couple hours with the heat on low. They still were a little al dente but I decided to finish them off in the soup.

2. In a large soup pot over medium high heat brown the diced bacon ~3min. Add the butter (or olive oil) and the diced onions. Cook until onions are slightly caramelized 3-5min.

3. Add the celery, carrots, and turnips and sauté for about 5 min. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a medium boil. Simmer for 20-30 min or until beans and other veggies are fully cooked and fork tender. Remove bay leaf.

Serve hot with corn bread. ...click here for the recipe!

Coconut Macaroon Cookies {Gluten Free}

Well you may have noticed that I have neglected this little food blog of ours over the past two months. We are thrilled to be pregnant with our third child and with that has come some pretty severe morning sickness (more like all day sickness). Anyway, I will blog when I can and hopefully be back up soon.

My sweet hubby made these cookies after I mentioned that they sounded good. What a man, and so so helpful while I've been sick! They were delicious. Enjoy!

Recipe: (Makes 12 cookies)
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups (loosely packed) shredded, sweetened coconut*
2 tablespoons Pamela's Gluten Free baking mix (or 2 tablespoons of All Purpose flour)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300'F. Mix the egg whites, honey and vanilla together in a bowl with a fork.
2. To the wet mixture, add the coconut and GF baking mix (or AP flour if you're using that), stir to combine.
3. Using a small cookie scoop (or two spoons) place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake at 300'F for 20-25 min. Cookies should be well browned on the bottom and tops but still be a little soft to the touch.

*Edited to add: be sure to use sweetened, shredded coconut that is intended for baking, such as Baker's brand ...click here for the recipe!