Recipes for Recovery

Act V — The Main Event

Marinades & soups

C = cup · T = tablespoon · t = teaspoon. Whisk marinade ingredients together and store in a jar — they keep a week to 10 days in the fridge. Use them in soups, on vegetables, with tofu, beans and lentils, and later on everything, when puréeing is no longer required!

Marinade

Spring / Summer Marinade

  • 1/3 C oil (olive, canola, sunflower or avocado)
  • 1 1/4 T sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
  • 1 1/4 C rice wine vinegar
  • 1 3/4 C tamari (a kind of soy sauce)
  • 1 1/2 C tahini (a seed butter made from sesame seeds)
  • 1 C honey, agave, or rice yinny (your choice)
  • 2 T dried dill or 1/4 C finely chopped fresh dill

Marinade

Autumn / Winter Marinade

  • 1/3 C toasted sesame oil
  • 1 1/4 T sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
  • 1 1/4 C rice wine vinegar
  • 1 3/4 C tamari
  • 1 1/2 C tahini
  • 1 C honey, agave, or rice yinny (your choice)
  • 2 1/2 T cumin
  • 1/2 T chili powder (optional)

Marinade

Another Marinade

  • 1/3 C toasted sesame oil
  • 1 1/4 T sea salt
  • 1/2 C lemon juice (Santa Cruz brand makes a pure lemon juice concentrate)
  • 1/2 C apple cider or rice wine vinegar
  • 1 C tamari
  • 3/4 C sun butter
  • 3/4 C tahini
  • 1/3 C brown sugar (oh so optional)
  • 2 T ginger powder
  • 2 T cumin or 1 t of clove powder

Soup — sweet

Sweet Squash Soup

Cook one medium pumpkin + one medium butternut squash (or use 2 large cans of pumpkin; the butternut still gets baked or microwaved).

  • 2 large cans pumpkin (or the fresh-cooked flesh)
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (or 8 T alternative)
  • 1 carton cashew milk
  • Maple syrup to taste
  • 2 T cinnamon · 1 T cardamom · 2 T ginger · 1 level t clove · 1 t garam masala

Warm the cashew milk (not boiling!), add squash, then butter; stir until melted, add spices, adjust to taste. Eat hot, warm, or cold. Freezes beautifully — yummy for the whole family too.

Soup — savory

Savory Squash Soup

  • Same amounts of pumpkin and butternut squash
  • 1 stick unsalted butter (or 8 T alternative)
  • 1 carton vegetable stock
  • 1 large red onion · 4 stalks celery
  • 2 T garam masala · 1 T ground ginger (or 1/4 C fresh, grated) · 1 level T cinnamon · 1 level T salt · 2 t pepper

Sauté onion and celery until the onion is nearly clear; add stock, squash, and butter. Add water to loosen if desired, add spices, simmer, taste. Then the immersion blender makes it velvet.

Soup — hearty

Mildly Spiced Red Lentil Soup

  • 4 C red lentils (which are actually yellow) · 1 quart water
  • 3 medium red onions · 1 small bunch celery · 4 carrots, thinly sliced
  • Oil of choice (olive is very good)
  • 1 level T salt · 1 level T cumin · 1 T curry · 1 T turmeric (more for a deeper yellow!) · 1 t chili powder (optional)

Rinse the lentils, swishing to release foam, three times; soak until swollen, then cook on medium-low, skimming the foam — that's the cooking hack that minimizes the musical after-effects. Sauté onions and celery in oil, add spices and carrots, then combine with the cooked lentils. Serve with a dollop of yogurt — try blending fresh mint into it. A delightful taste treat.

Any soup can be puréed — the immersion blender is essential — and most freeze well. Soups can be thickened with ground rice (best already cooked). Making healthy, satisfying meals can truly lift our spirits and evoke creativity we didn't know we had. So be bold — and know that soon your eating will be back to normal, or maybe even much better.

Gretchen Targee, author of Recipes for Recovery

A guide that keeps growing

Gretchen keeps discovering new recipes — a breakfast chapter is already in the works — so this guide will grow over time, always in her words. Written by Gretchen Targee; published with her permission and our gratitude. She retains ownership of her work.

Download the printable guide (PDF)

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