Need-To-Go-Shopping Soup

I don't like to grocery shop, so when the fridge starts emptying out I get creative before I give in and head to Meijer. Usually the ingredients for soup are hiding in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Here are some ideas for a quick, Italian-inspired "need-to-go-shopping soup." These pictures are from some of the soups I've made in the last year.

Happy New Year!/SpinachPizza

After a looong hiatus, due to starting a new job, moving, and misplacing my camera's USB cable, I'm back and ready to blog again. I've been cooking (and taking pictures) for the last 7 months, so I have plenty to write about: my first yeast bread, sweet potato & black bean tostadas, quinoa (hated it at first, love it now), lentils every which way, several soups, lots of cookies, and more.

These are my food-related goals for 2010:

• Try three foods that scare me.
• Shop more at farmers markets, less at Meijer.
  
• Grow tomatoes on my balcony.
• Learn and try some new food preservation techniques (I got this book for Christmas).
  
• Eliminate high-fructose corn syrup from my diet, as much as possible.
• Learn more about local, sustainable eating.
  

In the interest of getting things started again, here's what I made for lunch today:

It looks fancy, and Chris and I felt like we were in a nice restaurant. However, as anyone who has made pita pizza knows, it's really simple: pita, sauce, cheese, bake. If I'm just making one, I'll put it in the toaster oven, but I made two today so I used the big oven. As usual, don't worry about the measurements - I'm guessing.

Veggie Sandwich on Pita

I ate lunch early because I couldn't wait to try this! The recipe is basic, and I think I'll repeat it frequently. To take this to work, I packed the hummus and tomatoes separately so they wouldn't make everything else soggy. I just assembled it at lunchtime. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.

Veggie Sandwich on Pita

Ingredients

• Pita bread cut into pockets
• Hummus
• Sunflower seeds
  
• Thinly sliced cheese (I used Swiss)
• Vegetables in small pieces (I used sliced tomatoes, chopped carrots, and spinach)
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Lightly toast pita.
• Spread inside of pita with hummus.
• Top with seeds, cheese, and vegetables; season with salt and pepper.

Try substituting other vegetables, cheeses, and spreads - turns out my friend Mia had almost the same thing for lunch today, but with herb cream cheese and some other veggies.

On another note: please forgive the inconsistent formatting! I'm having some trouble with Blogger.