Semantics Matter

In my alternate life I’m a writer for a software company - but not just any software company, one that does a kick ass job at semantics. It’s what we do all day every day. 

Thursday was bookclub (or wine club as Dan likes to call it) and I offered to bring an appetizer. My garden has a full crop of cherry tomatoes and basil so I decided to make those little appetizers with a cherry tomato, 1 basil leaf, a tiny mozzarella pearl and a splash of balsamic reduction. 

As I was assembling my ingredients I realized I didn’t have any toothpicks. In hindsight I should have called my neighbor but I decided to run over to the Dollar Store and get some. When I got there they were closed for some unknown reason but I was confident I could get them at Target, which is right next door. 

After searching for 10 minutes I asked a young man if he could tell me where I might find toothpicks. With a confident air he said of course you will find them over by the toothpaste and dentil floss! Chuckling I tried to explain that I was not looking for dental picks I was looking for little wooden skewers that you used to thread food on and serve as appetizers. Sadly he shook his head and said “Never heard of that kind of toothpick.” 

With no toothpick in sight, I grabbed a veggie tray from the deli and headed home - Semantics Matter!

A few days before the Semantics incident I made a batch of vegan portabella stuffed mushrooms because I had 4 in my refrigerator waiting to be eaten. We’re at that point in the summer where dinner is defined by what’s in the fridge - it’s always an adventure. The recipe I started with was for 2 so I doubled what you see below.

Ingredients:

For the Mushrooms:

2 portobello mushrooms

Avocado oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Stuffing:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup onion diced

1 celery stalk

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 small red bell pepper (approximately 1/2 cup), diced

1/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced

Mushroom stems, chopped

1 large tomato, diced

1/2 teaspoon each rosemary, thyme, and tarragon

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chickpeas

1 packed cup kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

A pinch of black pepper

Instructions:

Mushrooms:

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and set aside. Place mushrooms on a baking sheet and drizzle with avocado oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes.

While mushrooms are cooking, prepare the filling.

Stuffing:

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.

Add the onion and celery and sauté for a couple minutes, until translucent.

Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add the remaining ingredients,. Cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is wilted and tomatoes have broken down.

When the mushroom caps are done, remove from the oven and stuff with the filling and add a sprinkle of feta cheese. Depending on the size of the caps, there may be some leftover filling.

Simple ingredients, fantastic results. Thanks for stopping by!

The Bounty of Summer

If you’ve been reading my blog (or the lack of it :-) ) you know that we’ve not been enamored with our harvest this year. I spent some quality time in my flower garden over the weekend and our curb appeal has improved dramatically. 

The tomatoes have started to pick up, I’ve made 2 batches of pesto and I still have 2 large plants waiting to be harvested - I guess it’s gonna be a bountiful pesto year. I’ve found a new pesto recipe - it’s vegan. Instead of cheese I use nutritional yeast and when Dan tasted it - he was amazed (I didn’t tell him what it was but he loved it!) so I’m going to continue to go with that. This morning we had our favorite egg wrap sandwiches with fresh tomatoes, pesto and avocado - I was full until dinner - so many delicious flavors. 

Tis the season for Ratatouille - eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes are in season. If you grow your own garlic then it is in season too (next year garlic will be one of my experiments). 

I started with eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and zucchini from the garden, added 1 yellow squash, onions and garlic (from the grocery store). I mixed in fresh and dried parsley, bay leaf, thyme and oregano - yes I know it is not part of the traditional dish but I love the flavor. We served it with a salad of watermelon, feta and fresh basil - no complaints from the peanut gallery. 

Ingredients:

6T olive oil 

1 medium eggplant - I used a combination of Japanese and regular - sliced and cubed

1 medium zucchini - sliced in 1/4 inch rounds

1 yellow squash - sliced in 1/4 inch rounds

2 onions - thinly sliced

3 tomatoes - seeded and thinly sliced

3 - 4 cloves of garlic

1 - 2 bay leaves

3 - 4 sprigs parsley

2 - 3 sprigs of thyme 

dried parsley

dried oregano

Instructions:

Chop eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash as directed, place in a large bowl and salt - let sit  30 minutes. Slice onions, peppers and tomatoes - set aside. Create bouquet garni by combining bay leaf, parsley and thyme and tying with string. 

Place eggplant mixture on a paper towel and blot moisture away with additional paper towels. In a large fry pan, add 2T olive oil and heat until smoking. Lightly and quickly saute the eggplant mixture in batches and remove to a dish as each batch is cooked. 

Heat 2T olive oil and saute the onions, peppers and garlic until the onions are softened. Add the tomatoes, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove 2 3rds of the tomato/onion mixture from the pan and set aside. Spread the remaining 1/3 on the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of eggplant/zucchini mixture and continue to layer in this manner until all ingredients are used up. Be sure to season each layer. Tuck the bouquet Garni on the top, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Server with whole grain bread and any sides you like - we served with a watermelon, feta, and fresh basil salad. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lunch for the Thundering Herd

Wow it’s August and where has the summer gone? i can tell you we’ve been busy; we moved my father in law from a townhouse, which he lived in for 33 years, to an assisted living space. I’ll start by saying that he is an archivist - I don’ t think he ever threw anything away. While daunting at times we found and learned some interesting things about him and his ancestors. 

Our garden is not having a banner year and whether it is because everything is late, we’ve had one hell of a lot of rain or something else, we’re a little sad. I will say the spinach and greens were wonderful, the kale is going strong and we have been flooded with green beans and peas so that’s something. I’ve counted about 10 squash, which is way under last year’s 30 but we’ll take what we can get. 

Dan’s biggest disappointment is tomatoes - he loves a sandwich with toasted whole grain bread, a little mayo and a super thick slice of tomato - it’s what’s on for dinner tonight but this will be the first sandwich of the year. 

We’re heading on a European riverboat cruise this fall but we did take time to head up to the lake for a week with Dan’s family (aka The Thundering Herd). The vacation was not without excitement!

Dan’s youngest daughter got engaged on the beach of Rush Lake on our first night - so exciting. She and her fiancé (who by the way is an awesome cook) have been together for 3 years, they seem to really compliment each other in the best of all possible ways and we are excited to have him join the family. 

Dan’s oldest daughter also had some excitement - gallbladder surgery - it was painful (as I understand) but she is feeling much better and on the mend. It was a little stressful but we are glad she is doing well. 

Our cooking of late has been our standard veggie fare; salads, stir fry, and occasionally something more complicated. We did a veggie grain bowl for our lunch meal at the lake and got good reviews. I made a batch of fermented carrots, cucumbers, radish and onions it adds a nice kick to what we’ve been eating. The recipe below is a scaled down version of what we served, you can easily add or subtract quantities or items as you wish.

Ingredients:

1 jar artichoke hearts in water

1 jar kalamata olives - cut in half

crumbled feta cheese 

1 can chickpeas 

Greek seasoning (oregano, parsley, basil)

lettuce - shredded 

1 zucchini - chopped

1/2 red pepper - chopped

1/2 orange pepper - chopped

1 onion - chopped

cherry tomatoes - sliced in half

1 cucumber - sliced and cubed

Roasted red pepper hummus

Quinoa 

pita bread
fermented veggies (radish, red onion, cucumber)

Vegan tatziki:

1/2 block medium-firm tofu, drained

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 English cucumber

Preparation:

Vegan tatziki:

Add everything but the cucumber to a blender or food processor and pulse several times until smooth stopping to scrape the sides as needed. 

Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and discard. Grate the seeded cucumber, place in a clean dishcloth and squeeze out as much water as you can. Add it to the blender and pulse to incorporate.

Veggies and Grains:

Roast the chickpeas, onions, zucchini and peppers  with olive oil and greek seasoning until just crisp. Make quinoa according to package directions and chop all other ingredients. 

We served this buffet style with veggie chips and strawberries and nectarines - it was a hit!