Clean Out the Fridge

With Barb's birthday dinner, we got our appetite back to cook.

We had cooked for the funeral reception for dear Jo Williams, then had difficulty mustering energy to cook, relying on assembly dishes.  So there was an embarrassing assortment of things to sort out and use this week, calling for

Hallelujah Vegetable Soup

Saute in a little olive oil with salt and pepper, in the pressure cooker:

Chopped onions and shallots

1 garlic clove sliced

3 Carrots and 2 celery stalked, chopped

Add:

1 huge heirloom tomato, too soft for eating but still good

1 hot pepper and one sweet pepper

2 baby squash that fell out of the bag when we were making Barb's Ratatouille

Green beans, chopped

corn from 3 ears

potatoes, chopped

1 cup of red lentils

5-6 cups water

salt, pepper, favorite dried/fresh herbs

a little leftover wine

Close up, bring to pressure, cook 10-11 minutes in a futura cooker, then cool and serve.

The only more virtuous feeling is to have used these veggies as leftovers, rather than rescues!

So I made up for it by taking the last of the Sullivan whole wheat dough and letting it rise (it is 3 days past due - will it make focaccia?) while grabbing 3 nearly gone bananas and turning then into Post Punk Vegan Banana Bread (except that I used WW Pastry and WW AP flour instead of white).

The kitchen smells divine.

Barb's Birthday Ratatouille

Barb's Birthday Ratatouille

Friday we gathered to celebrate Barb's birthday and have a "Chopped" style dinner party - the challenge - create a main dish from our Half Pint Farm CSA.  It was an easy bag - baby eggplant, onions & shallots, garlic, baby squash, cherry tomatoes, three colors of potatoes, radishes, assorted herbs including rosemary, and greens and microgreens.  The dish

Ratatouille over Roasted Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees:

Chop the potatoes and toss with salt, pepper, rosemary and olive oil.  Roast in the oven.

In a dutch oven or large skillet, cook the vegetables in this order, seasoning as you go along:

Saute onions and shallots.
When translucent and turning golden, add

Chopped celery, carrots and cherry tomatoes
(okay, we cheated, the tomatoes were so beautiful we used a quart of canned tomatoes and saved the cherry tomatoes to eat out of hand).

When the vegetables are glazed and no longer crisp add:  sliced baby eggplant and squash.

Add some dried herbs and wine and simmer until ready (or you have finished the first wine).
Add olive oil and chopped fresh herbs and serve with the roasted potatoes and a green salad with vinaigrette.

Happy Birthday Barb.  (With thanks to Melissa from flying in from Colorado WITH A BIRTHDAY CAKE)

We're back!

Now that Nate and Jarka are married, and Josh and Em are heading back to Vancouver today, we  are getting back into the swing of things.  Today College Street Church says a  grateful farewell to Rev Susan  who has served as our interim minister.   So we are taking crudite and chickpea dip inspired by a Neal Barnard recipe -  Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Vegan!

SPICY CURRIED CHICKPEA SPREAD//DIP

Place in a blender
3 cups chickpeas, drained
1 Tbsp hot curry powder blend (or your favorite curry powder blend)

Saute in vegetable stock, and allow to carmelize
1 medium nion, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
sprinkling of salt

Add the sauteed vegetables to the blender.
Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup water and add the water to the blender along with
Juice of 1-2 limes
2 -3 tsp agave nectar or sweetener of choice

Blend until smooth.
Taste, adjust seasonings, and serve OR
Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight to allow flavors to meld.
If you are able to let the dip rest,  taste and adjust the seasonings before serving - may need a little more water/stock since there is no fat added to this recipe..

For dip, may need a little more water or vegetable stock to loosen.
Great with crudite, rice crackers, or as a sandwich spread  along with roasted vegetable filling - especially on toasted raisin bread.

Sweet peas to the rescue

It is spring, life is busy.

At a meeting last year, the hotel had limited (translate no) options for vegans.

I found a pea hummus at a local natural foods store.

It was light, tasty, full of protein and could be used as a dip or a sandwich spread.

I was hooked.  On return to Vermont, I couldn't find it anywhere.

Here's the closest I've gotten ..

Sweet Pea Spread

2 1/2 cups frozen petit peas, thawed

(if fresh are available, cook them in lightly salted water til tender, then shock them)

1/2 onion sauteed over low heat til translucent (do not carmelize

1 tsp agave nectar

1/3 cup fresh herbs (my favorite is 1 part mint and 2 parts parsley)

Juice of 1 lemon, plus half the zest

1 clove garlic

1/4 tsp beau monde seasoning

1/4 tsp cumin

Salt and white pepper to taste

Place the ingredients in blender. Whirl to combine.  Add a little water to loosen or a few more white beans if too moist.

Great served on toasted white wheat baguette slices topped with chopped cherry tomatoes in a little olive oil and a few sweet pea tendrils or sprouts.

It's My Birthday and I'll Pie if I Want To

Birthday Weekend = Pie.

I learned pie from my mom.
My birthday has always meant lemon meringue pie.
Going vegan is going well, but I don't have a clue how to make lemon meringue pie vegan and I'm not sure I want to figure it out.
So here's my next favorite thing - making something special from what's already around.

Cuisine d'Opportunite Pie
Serves 6-8
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees


Jacques Pepin made an episode of his TV series Cooking with Claudine that was all about using what you have in the fridge (leftovers, dribs and drabs).  I'd watched Gram and Mom do the same thing for years.

So I'm putting their wisdom together in PIE.  Take your favorite double crust pie dough recipe and fill it with leftover fruit - fresh, frozen, preserves, dried, and that lemon or orange that has started to dry up (but hasn't molded!) along with nuts if you're not allergic.  Make it all pretty, bake, and enjoy!

The Crust - My version of Mom's pie crust

In a bowl, stir together

2 cups of flour (a mix of ww pastry, AP flour, or whatever is on hand- but probably not rye or bitter flours)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt

In a measuring cup mix together
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup water or a little more if needed
Stir in.  Turn the dough out, knead for a couple of turns, then cover with a towel and let rest 10 minutes (this will make rolling out much easier).

Roll out the bottom crust and line the pie plate.  Save the trimmings.

Go on to make the Pie Filling (see below).

Roll out the top crust, place over, trim and crimp the edges.

If it is a special occasion, or if you need a make having pie into a special occasion, use the scraps to decorate.  Roll and cut the scraps into flowers, swirls, or the initials of everyone who will eat the pie. (If you are punting because guests showed up unexpectedly - have them decorate).

Note:  Cream of tartar is tartaric acid.  It is helpful in vegan baking because it breaks up the strands of gluten, making wheat based doughs more tender (if that is what you need).  In most New England baking, dairy products play this role.

Note:  If you have extra pie scraps left over, toss them in cinnamon sugar, put on a baking sheet, and bake up to 10 min. or until golden brown while the pie is baking.

Pie Filling

Toss together

Grated rind of a lemon or orange
5 cups of fresh and or frozen fruit
the chopped flesh or the lemon or orange
One cup of leftover preserved fruits such as:  frozen cranberry sauce (leftover from Thanksgiving/Christmas), leftover bits of dried fruits, leftover nuts (optional), the chopped lemon and 2-4 tablespoons of leftover preserves

Sprinkle with 2-4 T flour (more if your fresh/frozen fruit is on the wet/very juicy side), and up to 1 tsp of spices that go with your fruits. This often includes a fresh grating of nutmeg.

Toss gently
Sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of water, leftover juice, or spirits and toss again.
Turn the fruit filling into the shell, dot with 1 1/2 T vegan margarine cut into bits.
Add the top shell, and decorate.  Cut a few vents in the top, hidden by your decorations.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 degrees and bake 30-35 minutes more until the filling is bubbling and the top is brown.

Cool, serve, EAT.  Happy birthday Mummy.
Picture of the finished product to follow, later today

Muffin, Muffin

Muffins = Weekend.

BANANA, BLUEBERRY & WALNUT MUFFINS

Yield 6 to 8, depending on the size of your tin

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush 6 - 8 muffin molds with oil.

DRY MIX  Stir together in a small bowl

1 cup flour (w/w pastry or AP, or unbleached white AP, or gluten free baking mix, or a mix of 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup leftover crushed cereal)

1/4 cup sugar of choice

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

WET MIX  Stir together in a large measuring cup

1 overripe banana, mashed

3 T vegetable oil

3/4 cup plant milk or orange juice (or a mix)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp ENERG egg replacer

If available - 1/2 tsp grated lemon or orange zest

POUR the wet mix into the dry mix; stir to combine.  Add more juice or milk if needed.

ADDITIONS  Stir in

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (or other frozen or chopped fresh fruit)

DIVIDE the batter into 6 muffin molds.

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS  Sprinkle with 

Chopped walnuts or other nuts 

Ground cinnamon or other ground spice

BAKE 20 minutes.

EAT.

Simple Living, Downsized

Now that our next is usually empty, it's time for smaller batches, simpler routines and experiments.  We're mostly vegan and always kind.