Confession Time: Healthy Foods

First things first. When I went to check the mail this afternoon, I saw a package sticking out of the mailbox. My first thought was, “Oh no! They delivered this to the wrong person!” Because my last name is not Cookie. I wish it was.

This is a much unexpected shipment from The Shenandoah Vegan, which was a reward for correctly identify some orange flowers. What’s inside? I’ll show you when I use it. Thanks, Shen!

I had originally planned a post about one-dish meals and healthy food. I quickly tire of both. One of my goals recently has been to cook quicker, cheaper meals. You may think I’m rich, the way I post about traveling, but I’m not. It’s time to buckle down, especially with more airfare already purchased. I also want to get dinners together more quickly, so I have time for other things, and reduce the temptation to just grab take-out.

This meal was quick and easy.

This meal was healthy.

I think it would make a tasty side dish for something a little more salty, and a little more filling. I get bored eating a big old helping of one thing. This is the Sweet & Sour Lentils recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook.

The lentils are cooked in apple juice and ginger, and then combined with onion, garlic, zucchini, red bell pepper, carrot, tomato, and rice vinegar and soy sauce. The serving suggestion mentioned brown rice and scallions, and I followed that direction. Between the apple juice and vinegar, the sweet & sour flavor was perfect, and the veggie/lentil/rice combination was really enjoyable. I’d make this again, but as a side dish.

What are your favorite quick and easy meals? I need suggestions.

Still Spring Soup

April is almost over, and I’m not sure it feels like spring yet. It seems like for the past two weeks, it’s been both rainy and stormy every day. And it’s been cold. So I took the opportunity to make soup. I considered making cookies, but soup won out.

I pieced together a few recipes for minestrone, and of course I did not measure. But this soup was perfectly delicious. Besides all the goodies in it, I think it’s the broth (Better Than Bouillon and pesto). This soup is made of:

• Onion, Carrot, and Celery
• Potatoes
• Green beans
• Cannellini beans
• Spinach
• Macaroni
• Diced tomatoes in sauce
• Better than Bouillon
• Amore Pesto Paste
• Maybe some other stuff I forgot to mention

Part of what I’ve been doing lately is kind of a pantry challenge, using up stuff I’ve had on hand for way too long. Sometimes those are interesting to read about, but mine seems a little scary.

The green beans were the last of a bag of frozen beans I’ve had a while, and I think the pesto paste was a Christmas gift year before last. Thanks to blog, I can tell you the macaroni was left over from November when I made mac and cheeze. I have been eating this soup for a week and I haven’t been sick. I think I have pretty good judgment when it comes to expired food.

I’m in spring cleaning mode – I’m also clearing out my closets. Cleaning out the pantry is more fun, though. I am too young to have so much junk I don’t want to think about. Have a great weekend, everyone!

My Thanksgiving

This is a typical Thanksgiving, for me. For the past seven years or so, I’ve pretty much done small Thanksgivings, either by myself (yes, really) or just with a few other people. This year, there were four of us - my parents, Alex, and me, at my house in my tiny kitchen.

It’s good when the plate is loaded with a variety of tasty eats, and this is one time of year that I don't mind my foods touching. I made many of the things my family typically enjoys, with a few changes to accommodate Alex’s requests, and of course everything was vegan. Clockwise, starting at 12:00 on the plate, we had:

• Cornbread dressing, made with cornbread, biscuits, celery, and onion
• Paula Deen’s corn casserole with vegan analogs (Better Than Sour Cream, Earth Balance, no cheese)
• Broccoli Casserole with a Daiya cheeze sauce similar to what I used as the macaroni and cheeze base, with cashew cream in place of soymilk
• Roasted sweet potatoes with maple and pecans
• Roasted Brussles sprouts
• Tofurkey with vegetables accompanying it during the roast (onion, carrot, celery)
• Cranberry relish
• Mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and mushroom gravy

All four of us enjoyed the meal. My parents even enjoyed the Tofurkey – my dad went back for seconds! I had offered to get some (pre-cooked) turkey for them, and thankfully they declined.

The cats are not enjoying the company; they’ve hidden themselves out of sight and are keeping each other warm in a bed built for one and have only come back into the open now that my folks have returned to their hotel:

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving, or a wonderful Thursday. I’ll share the details on the Derby Pie tomorrow – it was delicious! Right now, I have a lot to be thankful for, but on a lighter note - I’m thankful I’m not a Bengals fan. Cincinnati sports teams have broken my heart one too many times.

Current Love: Oven Roasted Veggies

Sunday round-up style, here’s some dishes I didn’t share as I ate them, but I’ve taken these photos over the past two weeks.

Brussels Sprouts

Green beans and parsnips; acorn squash stuffed with turnip, carrots, and apple from Passionate Vegetarian.

Yellow and green squash and onions over couscous and tofu with Trader Joe’s Mango Chutney.

Buttercup squash with cinnamon and maple; rainbow chard; Field Roast Celebration Roast. (Thanksgiving trial.)

Failure Friday: Mushroom Barley Soup

This doesn’t look too bad, does it? I actually enjoyed my first heaping bowlful when I first made this soup from a tried-and-true cookbook, Robin Robertson’s Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

What went wrong? Too much barley. My leftovers turned into an inedible gelatinous blob of goop. What a disappointment, especially after I enjoyed my first bowl and used the last of my dried mushrooms.

How can this be fixed? Use less barley. Of course, it seems so obvious now. But I was following the recipe! (Actually, maybe I was not following it correctly. I’m don’t always measure.) The mushrooms were good, the carrots were good, the broth was good – I loved the touch of smoke paprika and chives. There was just too much barley.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Chilly First of November

I’ve just returned from a whirlwind weekend trip to sunny California, so now the below-60 degree temperature in Cincinnati feels extra cold. This was one of those trips were I probably tried to do too much in too little time, and this was a trip that leaves me hungry rather than stuffed with good food. Hungry and cold, it was an easy choice to have soup full of vegetables for my first meal back at home.

I rehydrated dried mushrooms in hot water that forms the stock for the soup, and then I toss in the rest of my vegetables. This time I had fresh mushrooms, celery, carrots, cabbage, snap peas, green onions, and soba noodles and white miso. I tried not to put in too many vegetables because I’ve had so many soup pots and stir fries grow out of control when I keep adding everything I like. I managed to keep this to two really hearty servings.

Served with a side of baby bok choy, sauteed and seasoned with garlic and soy sauce, I feel like I’m caught up on my need for green vegetables. I’m warm and happy and just hoping I can adjust back to eastern time, get to bed early enough, and wake up and go back to work tomorrow.

Yeah, the trip? I was going to a football game with my brother and sister-in-law. We geared up in Titans wear and saw them fight it out but ultimately lose. By now, that’s nothing new as I generally choose the losing side. It’s different though, taking flack from the sore winners.

Here we are slightly sunburned but smiling after the game.

I’m also excited to participate in Vegan MoFo! Last year, I read lots of blogs but did not participate. Before that, I had no idea it existed. But I’ll be showing lots of stuff I make for myself that I don’t usually consider blog-worthy, just to show a more complete picture of regular life. I’m also going to try lots of new recipes and do something completely new at least once a week. I’m setting the bar low to guarantee success; it might be more often than that. Right now, I’m excited to see my reader fill up with great posts from other bloggers! I’ve said it repeatedly: reading blogs has been most helpful to me in finding new foods to eat and new ways to cook.

Thank you, Rachael Ray: Mushroom-Kale Shepherd’s Pie

There are a few recipes that are in the rotation, as Alex puts it. These are things we make repeatedly as tried-and-true favorites. There are many, many other things that are on the list. I find daily inspiration on blogs, in my cookbooks, and from seeing ingredients I want to use. There so many things I want to try. And there’s the third category, which (oddly enough) I can’t think of an appropriate name for. These are recipes that I am compelled to make as soon as I hear of them.

I recently came across one such recipes in the most unexpected place: on 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray. I was channel surfing and caught the beginning of an episode with her talking about making a vegetarian entree. She had my attention. Full disclosure: she had my attention because she was scraping the gills from some portabellas. I watched to see why she was doing that. In the end, she said she normally leaves them alone but some finicky eaters may want their ‘bellas gill-less.

She was making meatless shepherd’s pie with a base of portabella mushrooms and kale. Also in the soupy base is carrot, onion, garlic, and stock, plus rosemary, nutmeg, and Worcestershire. I used my Bourbon Barrel vegan worcestershire and some fresh rosemary left over from the scones I made.

The original recipe tops this with mashed starchy potatoes along with parsnips, horseradish, and sharp cheese. I gladly omitted the cheese and reluctantly omitted the horseradish. The only vegan horseradish I could find was in mustard, which might not have been that bad. All the prepared horseradish was in a mayo-style base. Does anyone have any advice on horseradish for me? In defiance, I considered using wasabi powder but restrained myself.

Horseradish or not, this was a tasty, tasty meal. We made a full 13x9 pan and ate it all. The soupiness you see in the mushroom-kale mixture was a great accompaniment to my tater topping. This dish has earned a spot in the rotation.

My own end of summer rolls

Summer roll? Spring roll? I’m not about to get into a debate about authenticity, because I think the only authentic thing I can make is banana pudding and I don’t want to. Okay, I want to, but I’m not going to. Yet.

So, the last time I was at Loving Cafe (new review coming soon, I hope) they ran out of summer rolls just before I ordered. As in, they had three left and the people in front of me ordered all three. I saw them flash before my eyes.

But I’ve seen people all over making their own, so I figured I should, too.

How difficult could it be?

I think I can work on my technique, but I started to get the hang of it as I went along.

You may already know, but for all the beginners out there, the wrappers are stiff and you soak them in warm water and they become sticky and pliable.

In these guys, I put:

• broiled tofu slices, marinated in soy sauce and ginger
• rice noodles, tossed with sushi vinegar
• thinly sliced cucumbers
• thinly sliced carrots
• romaine
• shredded basil and mint

And I made a quick sauce of almond butter and hoisin, whisked together with a little water to thin it slightly and some sambal oelek for heat.

Easy enough, and delicious. Who cares if Loving Cafe sold their last three right in front of me? I can do for myself.

Do you try to make things you have in restaurants? Do you have success?

Soupy Soba and Broccoli Stems

Is there any reason that the tastiest foods don’t make for good photos? Maybe cupcakes and pizza and fresh whole fruit pose well, but soups and pastas just don’t.

I might be making several soups in the next few days while Alex is recovering from having his wisdom teeth extracted. This soup, though, was something I wanted to do for me. (I’ve already made a big batch of mashed potatoes for him.) Plus it feels healthy after a bad week for food so far. Last night for Alex’s last meal before the oral surgery, he chose Mac’s Pizza Pub so I enjoyed another delicious vegan pizza and some Magic Hat #9.

This soup is made from dried mushrooms and the soaking liquid, plus all my favorite soup vegetables, like cremini slices, carrots, celery, nappa cabbage, and broccoli.

I even used the broccoli stems, which I’ve never done before. I peeled them and sliced them like carrots – they were perfect and not too tough as I had always thought. I finished off the soup with some white miso, bean sprouts, and sriracha.

How did I forget to mention the soba noodles? I was worried that these noodles would soak up all my broth and become mushy, but they were perfect soup noodes.

I wanted to make this quick as I’m headed into work for a half day today, but I’m honored to have received a Most Versatile Blogger award from Bianca and Vegan Crunk. Super! I’ll think of a few things to share about myself and a few bloggers to pass this along to soon. Can you handle the suspense?

Falafel Feast and Quinoa Tabouli

The other day, I was having a serious craving for tabouli. This traditionally Middle Eastern salad is something I’ve only recently come to enjoy. I think I had a bad first experience with tabouli in a Lebanese restaurant where it was nearly entirely parsley and was just too much to chew.

Falafel feast with dilly tzatziki, hummus, quinoa tabouli, whole wheat pita, and fresh sliced cucumber, carrots, and celery.

Alex and I talked about going to Myra’s for dinner to enjoy some tabouli, but after having seen several bloggers making falafel recently, I decided to try this at home and make my own feast of falafel, hummus, and tabouli.

The first thing I did was to make tzatziki, and I adapted a recipe so much that I am putting my on tzatziki recipe below. This is something I came up with on my own that was good, though. Really good. I used dill, and I’m not sure that’s entirely authentic, but that’s a whole ’nother question about whether I can make any authentic food. Let me tell you, though, I bought a big bunch of fresh dill and I loved the smell. I think I’ll have to try growing dill next year.

I’ve made falafel before, but only from a boxed mix. The reason I tried making it myself again was because I figured I could bake it instead of frying it. I’m not against fried food, but it’s too much trouble for me at home, and it’s probably best it’s a special treat for eating out.

This was my first attempt in making “real” falafel, and I used a recipe I saw recently on Vegan Epicurean. This turned out wonderfully. I used a mix of garbanzo beans and soybeans and for green herbs I used both dill and cilantro, and I did use her suggestion to include raw sesame seeds. I mixed all the ingredients in my teeny-weeny food processor and it wasn’t too terribly difficult. Alex rolled them for me. He wants to make sure he gets credit.

Vegan Tzatziki

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan mayo, I use Vegenaise
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• dash cayenne
• 1/2 cup chopped cucumber
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method:

Place Vegenaise, garlic, lemon juice, dill, paprika, and cayenne in blender. Blend until smooth. Just before serving, mix in cucumber and parsley.

Tzatziki is usually made with yogurt, and this is one of those things that gets stronger as it ages. I made this in the morning when I realized we would be having falafel, and it was just perfect by suppertime.

I also made hummus in the food processor. Actually, I made that right before I made the falafel and I didn’t worry too much about cleaning it in between.

The final component of this feast was the tabouli. Even though I was craving tabouli and I had bulgur on hand, I decided to veer from the tradition and make mine with quinoa. I used a recipe I found online, and I used red quinoa. Even though I only used one cup of dry quinoa, this made so much tabouli that we will be eating it for days. But hey, that’s what it might take to satisfy this craving.

My biggest mixing bowl, nearly full with quinoa tabouli. I’m adding the tomato a serving at a time, though, to keep it fresh.

Even though all these components were a lot of work, the ingredients went with each other (a few lemons, a bunch of parsley, a bunch of dill, cucumbers all over the place, sesame in the falafel and tahini in the hummus, and so forth). And I’m not going to pretend that this is authentic by any means, but it’s good. Good, good food, and that is the reward for all this work.

Oh my, I feel like I’ve fallen to peer pressure. Again. Do you get cravings just by seeing what someone else is eating?

Lentil and Garbanzo Soup

After my trip, the last thing I wanted to do was eat out or eat tofu. I was ready for a lighter home-cooked meal, and I’d seen several photos of lentil soup. Maybe this is one of those times when whatever I’m looking for becomes more apparent. Either way, I was ready for some lentils.

I used a recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker using ingredients I had on hand, including lentils, garbanzo beans, carrots, onion, ginger, and tomatoes. This soup was thin and chunky and perfect to enjoy on the patio. I don’t know how it is where you are, but it’s cooler here and we’ve been keeping the windows open. I have spent so much time recently sweating in the summer heat and then freezing in overly air conditioned buildings, it’s a nice change.

Horizons at Home

Have you all voted for the VegNews 2010 Veggie Awards yet? I went through all the categories and was really impressed with how much stuff I knew about or have tried – as well as all the awesome stuff I haven’t tried (yet). I’m proud to say Cincinnati’s own Park + Vine is nominated for best storefront. I’ve also tried two of the best restaurant nominees, Chicago Diner and Horizons.

I lived in Philadelphia for several years as a student, and Horizons was a special place I loved to go. After we moved away, Alex gave me a Horizons cookbook. At the time, I scoffed, thinking he was asking me to cook him a Horizons-quality meal. There were also many, many ingredients I wasn’t familiar with. Back then, I cooked much simpler foods, repeated menus a lot, and we also ate out more often. I had less time to cook at home, too, working two jobs, finding my way around a new city, and getting ready for our wedding.

Now, though, I figured it was time to revisit the cookbook. I made oven-roasted tofu with a pesto made of basil, cilantro, garlic, ginger, and macadamia nuts. The tofu is marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and a “Latin” spice blend. I cut the tofu into three large pieces because I like the way it looks. The marinade and pesto are so flavorful that even the middle of the big piece of tofu is seasoned, and it’s nice to have the more bland center bites along with the super-coated edge bites. I also like some crunchy macadamia pieces on top, too. Those beauties aren’t just for show!

For sides, I actually took the recommendations in the cookbook and made coconut rice with brown basmati and a marinated tomato salad. The tomato salad is also from the Horizons cookbook and is a nice twist on the cucumber tomato salad. Actually, the recipe features the cucumbers over the tomatoes, but I switched the ratio because I only like cucumbers a little bit. The salad also includes scallions and basil.

The dressing for this salad is unlike anything I’ve seen before, but it was sweet and delicious. It’s made with carrots! All those little orange bits you see are from the carrots after going through the food processor. Other dressing ingredients include Vegenaise, lots of ginger, some spices and seasonings, and a little water to thin it out. The only vinegar in this dressing is from a teaspoon of ketchup (I used my Local Folks Foods ketchup). I have to say, I prefer this sweet salad to the vinegar-dressed cucumber salad we’ve had several times this summer.

This is a cookbook I’m glad I pulled back out, and I hope to incorporate a meal at Horizons during my next trip back to Philly. But in the meantime, I’ll be trying more of their recipes at home.

Tempeh not-chicken salad

We’ve been eating a lot of sandwiches lately. Typically we’ll reheat some leftovers for lunch, but now that summer has arrived in full force, I don’t always want something warm in the middle of the day. I also think warm weather encourages lighter eating anyway.

Enter tempeh salad, in the style of chicken salad. There are recipes for this all over the web, but it’s also easy to just throw together whatever you like. What are your top toss-ins for a salad like this?

Start by crumbling or cutting the tempeh. I left mine large, but next time I’ll make it smaller for easier chomping in the sandwiches. Although you can eat tempeh straight from the package, if you steam it will become a little more tender and lose some of the bitter bite. It’ll still be chewy and firm. You can either use a steamer basket for about 15-20 minutes, or do it right in a pan. I put mine in my trusty pan you’ll see in many stovetop photos, put in some water, covered it and let it boil and steam for 5 minutes, then removed the lid and continued to boil until the water all evaporates.

Important step: let the tempeh cool! I made this on Sunday afternoon and had no problem just letting it sit while I did other things. I love cooking that has true downtime when you don’t have to worry about anything possibly burning.

Prepare your dressing and any goodies you want in your salad. Then toss it together and have it on hand to eat cold, whenever you’re ready. I used carrot, celery, green onions, walnuts, and dried cranberries. I made the dressing with prepared Vegenaise and added a kick of red wine vinegar and some cayenne pepper. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, I only used the carrot because I had one in the fridge that needed to get eaten.

It’s been so warm recently that my cat has taken to sleeping in the bathroom where the AC vent for the small room and the tile keep things cool. I hope summer is treating you well, wherever you are!

This is my kitty Little Fuzz, or Fuzziweena*, sniffing at the vent blowing cool air.

*spelling of the cat's name is yet to be determined

Speaking of a quick supper… Hurry Up!

I made pasta & veggies with Hurry Up Alfredo from Vegan Yum Yum. I had some broccoli I wanted needed to use and didn’t want to bother grocery shopping, plus I’ve eaten so much broccoli lately I could only think of one way I haven’t had it lately: with alfredo.

I boiled some water and blanched my broccoli and some carrots, then used the same water (gasp!) to boil some Trader Joe’s whole wheat penne. I also sautéed some cremini mushrooms, then tossed them all in a baking dish with the alfredo and some tomato sauce. I like it mixed.

The best part is that while this baked, I could wash the two dishes I used to boil and sauté, plus take a shower, then sit down to this and be ready for my night.

Although the vegan alfredo wasn’t like the Classico jarred stuff I used to eat, it was good in its own way. It’s made from soymilk, cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and a few more ingredients all thrown in a blender. I tried some right from the blender and some mixed with the tomato sauce because I didn’t want to commit to something sub-par. It was go-od. If you’re not convinced yet, I encourage you to click the link above (or here) because the photo over there is so much prettier than my photo.

Cornstarched Tofu & Peanut Sauce

You've got me. I am a copycat.

Tofu, broccoli, carrots, onion, and water chestnuts in peanut sauce, topped with bean sprouts and scallions. Twinkie Weener cat is the window, as usual.

I am not ashamed. Would you be? Look at those golden pieces of fried tofu. Am I the last one on earth to learn how to fry tofu in just a few tablespoons of peanut oil?

Thank you, happyveganface, I used your recipe for peanut sauce and used coconut milk instead of almond milk. And yes, I followed your link to the Post Punk Kitchen for the cornstarch tofu frying.

To quote Alex, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but this was better than I expected it to be.” Seriously better. Wow, wow, wow. Try this. You’ll like it, I promise.

Patty Day: Garbanzo Bean Burgers

Did I ever talk about why I’m working through burger and patty recipes? The biggest reason is simple: popularity. Veggie burgers are visible on menus, at cookouts, and in your grocer’s freezer. They’re easy to serve and somehow less threatening than tofu, seitan, or unfamiliar whole grains. When I talk about my cooking to friends and coworkers, they’re typically most interested in how I made a veggie burger. And, importantly, Alex loves the burgers. This is like an adventure for the semi-adventurous.

I’m beginning to get an idea of how to get patties to hold together, and I’ll work on some flavors next. These garbanzo patties were pretty good. I found several similar, simple, recipes scattered on the web. Alex dressed his up on a bun and was singing its praises. I ate mine by itself, proudly forking solid foods, even if they’re mushed and re-formed foods. It was a little bland on its own, but I guess a patty is really intended to be dressed.

I mixed one can of garbanzo beans, a stalk of chopped celery, a carrot, about a quarter cup of diced onion, about a quarter cup of wheat flour, a few spices, some salt, and a splash of water as it was pretty dry. I actually just mashed the beans with everything else; next time I might puree at least half so some get a finer mash and others are left whole.

I took a tip I learned and put the mix in the fridge for a while before forming them into patties. This really helped them stick together! I formed the whole mix into three large patties. They were probably too large, so I’ll remember that for next time. I cooked them on the stovetop, in a small amount of oil for about 15 minutes, and they browned on the outside and warmed on the inside.

This attempt left me feeling pretty good. I think I’m ready to start thinking about my next patties already!

Mystery Ingredient: Scallions

Sometimes it’s easy to use all the produce in my bi-weekly bin. Sometimes it’s difficult, mostly if it seems like everything is only going to last a few days or if I have plans to go out while I’m overloaded with goodies at home. Other times, though, I’m simply not sure what to do with the veggies I get.

This past week, I got scallions and snow peas. Is the answer obvious? Maybe, but it was tastier than I expected it to be.

We use scallions often enough: in pad thai, on taco night, with frittata or tofu scramble. I typically only use snow peas in stir fries, but for this meal I intentionally kept things simple and made the snow peas central item.

I cooked a few diced carrots and the snow peas and added some fresh ginger and lemongrass from a tube I have on hand in the fridge, plus some soy sauce. Then I added some frozen corn and the leftover brown basmati rice from my dinner earlier in the week. After the corn and rice were warmed, I added the scallions and tossed to cook them slightly. These were such a nice touch of mild onion flavor. Voila! A nice meal from leftovers and orphaned veggies.

Clean out the fridge rice and veggies

After a weekend entertaining a guest and eating out (our favorites: Honey, Melt, Indigo, Loving Cafe) it was time to eat up some of our veggies and get a simple meal at home.

As usual when I do this kind of dish, I end up with way too much if I just put in a little bit of everything. I started with one cup of brown rice, some green bell pepper, red bell pepper, carrot, onion, snow peas, baby corn, and mushroom. Seasoned lightly with soy sauce, and the flavor of the veggies just shines through. I don’t think it’s a problem to have leftovers, though.

A Winter Plate of Veggies

Cooking the all-veggie meal is a summer tradition for me, when so much is fresh: black eyed peas, green beans, corn, eggplant, okra, yellow squash, onion, tomatoes… I did something similar with the winter veggies available from my Farm Fresh bin. I’d already used the cauliflower to make another batch of cauliflower and leek soup, but I used the other veggies and cooked them simply, on their own, and made a 3-veggie plate and served with some seitan crumbles.

Menu:

• Oven-roasted garlic and basil potatoes
• Braised rainbow carrots
• Sautéed cremini mushrooms, with garlic and shallots

First up, the pearl potatoes. These potatoes are small and tender, so I gave them a quick scrub and cut them in half, then baked in the oven with some fresh garlic, olive oil, melted Earth Balance, salt, and fresh basil. (Sidenote: I have a potted basil plant in the house and it’s been wonderful. I’m certainly going to grow more herbs this year!)

Next we have rainbow carrots. I had a bunch of thin, tender carrots, with the green tops still on. There were three colors: the usual orange, as well as bright purple and pale yellow. Now I wish I had tasted them raw, but they all tasted the same after I cooked them in some vegetable broth. The purple carrot was the largest, and it had a thick purple layer surrounding a white inner layer. I peeled it and the purple color got on everything it touched. Thinking about it, I guess orange carrots do the same, but to a lesser degree.

I used this recipe for braised carrots that I found on Epicurious. Looking back at it, I see that it’s adapted from Lynne Rosetto Kasper of The Splendid Table, one of my favorites. I find it both humorous and reassuring that I was drawn to her recipe without knowing at first that it was hers. One change I made was to replace the fried sage leaves, as I don’t really like sage and I didn’t have any. Instead, I fried some of the carrot greens. Although they were pretty for decoration, they were flavorless. I also substituted shallots for the onion, as I have more shallots than I’ve ever had as a half-pound or more arrived in my bin.

We eat a lot of mushrooms, you may have noticed. I decided that it would be best to eat these creminis, which came in the bin, on their own rather than using them as an ingredient in another dish. I sliced them and then sautéed them in a mix of Earth Balance and olive oil, with some shallot and garlic, and a little salt. They are so much more flavorful than white button mushrooms and are a tasty side dish on their own.

There was something about this meal that was really special. I'm so accustomed to looking for recipes, and many times my food gets more and more complicated, that it was nice to have a plate of vegetables and let their flavors dominate, adding only a bit of salt and garlic.

Cream of Celery (and Carrot) Soup

I just got my first Farm Fresh Delivery order Wednesday night. I have been impatiently waiting for this, ever since I decided to start ordering with them. You should have seen me all day Wednesday, waiting on it to come, checking out the window and the front door. I also had my camera ready. The bin finally arrived after I'd gone out for the night and Alex unpacked it while i was gone. The idea behind the service is that you get a bin of fresh, organic produce delivered weekly or bi-weekly and you can add other products (eggs, grains, etc.) from their market. This is a great idea, and I'm certainly happy with the results, but it's one of those marks of privilege that I can even consider doing something like this.

One downside to doing this (although it’s a true “opportunity” in the buzz-word sense) is that I don’t get to choose exactly what I get. Instead, I just get a certain amount of fruits and vegetables. This week, I got mushrooms, celery, lettuce, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, shallots, apples, oranges, and tangerines.

Of all that, I found the celery most challenging to use. Typically I keep some in the fridge and use a stalk or two at time to put in soup or casseroles, or even to eat raw with peanut butter or dips and salads. Well, I already had some celery in the fridge and when I got this new delivery, I searched for ways to use it. I found this recipe for cream of cauliflower soup on Food Network’s website. I made it almost exactly, although I substituted cashew cream for cow’s milk cream.

It was pretty good. I don’t know that the un-pureed chunks of carrot and celery added much, so I might not bother with cooking those separately in the future. That just made things more complicated and dirtied another pot. And like some of the comments mention, using orange carrots turns the celery soup orange. I liked it, though. So did Alex, and we have just enough for one bowl leftover. I really, really, really like it when we eat almost all our food so we’re not looking at it for days on end trying to finish it.