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.