The Transformation of Carrots

For the past 2 years I've planted carrots in the garden and for those of you who have seen my garden and noticed the nice straight lines and even spacing, I use the seed tape - mostly because I really, really hate thinning anything. I feel like I'm killing viable food and yes I intellectually understand it's all about the survival of the fittest, I'm a softie at heart.

With that in mind, it's humorous that Dan is so adamant about the fact that he can't tell the difference between a carrot pulled from the ground and one from the grocery store. People I hear your outrage - OMG really!  I know I say it too. I have no response.

About a week and a half ago I pulled the last of the carrots from the garden, I roasted a few for dinner and then we got busy and I forgot about them. But tonight as I was heading home from my walk I remembered they were in the crisper and thought they would make a lovely Curried Coconut Carrot Soup - which they did.

I started with this recipe and and made a few adjustments. I used 2 onions instead of one, substituted almond/coconut milk for the full fat coconut milk, I grated the ginger (to release the flavor), added garlic and increased the curry powder.

I started this project before Dan got home from work and was delighted to hear his "What smells so delicious" as he walked in the house. The smell of coconut, curry and ginger wafted through the house. Actually as we were sitting out on the deck enjoying a glass of wine we could smell it outside, with the door closed - it was that good.

Loving fall and fall foods and looking forward to some roasted brussel sprouts and beets for dinner tomorrow.

Apples, Pumpkins, Carrots and Cats!

We are in full fall mode here in Minnesota. The trees are turning, the nights are colder and as I take my daily walk along the trail the leaves are crunching beneath my feet. It's time to clean out the garden; cut the last of the mint, parsley and oregano for drying, cut down the barren tomato stalks, pull out the last of the carrots and update my gardening journal - it's been a great year.

We're getting ready for our annual Halloween Party; getting the decorations  out of the Halloween closet - and yes I do understand that I am most likely the only person in MN or the planet that has a Halloween closet - gotta love that. We made apple butter and prepped apples for pies last night and we're working on our costumes - I can't wait - I'm finally going to be a ….. well you'll just have to wait for photos to see but I'm so excited!

We spent the weekend with my Dad in Fargo and had a lovely side trip to visit my niece Katie at the U of M Morris on Sunday so my first cooking opportunity was Sunday evening. I've had my eye on making a Imam Bayildi the original recipe is here.

I made a couple changes (of course). I had one eggplant and two zucchini that needed to be used so I did a little substitution. I did two layers of eggplant and one layer of zucchini - no complaints from the peanut gallery and we finished the leftovers tonight.

Before we went to visit my Dad I harvested the carrots. I've been saving them for a velvety carrot ginger soup recipe that I found on Pinterest but since the bag was overflowing I decided to roast a batch with olive oil, agave and Himalayan sea salt for dinner tonight. We combined them with some sauteed zucchini and onions and whipped up a salad to round out a lovely dinner.

For those of you who are regularly reading my blog, in my last post I was pondering soaked oats - I can tell you without a doubt it's become a favorite breakfast food of mine. I've been soaking 2/3rd of a cup of rolled oats (not instant) in 1 cup of almond/coconut milk overnight. In the morning I add 1 Tbsp of agave (today I added 1T of apple butter), a pinch of fresh coconut, raisins and either pumpkin or sunflower seeds it's fast becoming a favorite. It's a little sweet, high fiber and gets me through the morning - give it a try I think you'll like it.

If you've been counting, our squash harvest is up to 15 - we've given some away and eaten a few but it looks like we'll be enjoying the fruits of our labor well into December.

I'm looking for Halloween food recipes, if you have any favorites please send them my way.

Ciao!

Relaxing Weekend and Healthy Food

It's been a beautiful September weekend. To be honest it's been a long time since we've had a late September weekend that was as lovely as this one. With the exception of herbs, our garden is done producing. As a matter of fact I harvested and set to dry the last of the basil, rosemary, oregano and mint. Lot's of little bundles hanging in the kitchen today – I love that I have not purchased any of those spices for the last 5 years.

After sending the hubby off to his work tech summit; 4 days of bonding, spending time with the engineers, learning about new products and team building, I went for a run, grabbed a few groceries, picked up the house and sat out on the deck to start the book club book – did I mention it was a beautiful afternoon – ahhhh.

Then of course dinner comes along and while I'm not a fan of cooking for one – I decided to bake one of the acorn squash from our garden and added a tablespoon of agave and some salt and pepper – tasty.  I served it with a small spinach salad with black beans, tomato, carrot (from garden), radish, pepper and mushroom. Camille wasn't a great dinner conversationalist but hey she does what she can.

I've been hearing and reading a lot lately about over night soaked oats (as opposed to cooking them) as a breakfast alternative so I'm planning to give it a try tonight. Start with ½ to 2/3 cups of rolled oats, ½ tsp chia seeds and 1 cup almond milk. Mix the oats and chia seed together in a container and pour the milk over the oats, stir and put in the refrigerator over night – that's it!

In the morning you can add nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes, cinnamon and maple, agave or honey to sweeten it a bit. I'm planning to add, apricots and raisins, cinnamon, a little flaxseed and some agave – can't wait to give it a try.

I've been interested in raw food for a while, you might recall that Dan and I took an uncooking class together in the Spring – we still haven't made the savory casserole at home – but it's definitely on the agenda.

Thanks for stopping by!

It's good to be home – home style cooking

We've just returned from a week long vacation in Coeur D'Alene Idaho. Neither of us had ever been there and I've always heard how beautiful it is – it's true it is beautiful. If you recall from my last post, Dan was in a bicycle accident four days before we were to leave. I was concerned about going but the doctor assured me that he would most likely be fine – and he was.

We spent time hiking, sightseeing, trying restaurants and new foods and some general relaxing, reading and moving marathons – it was good and we had fun which was exactly what the doctor ordered!

I learned a couple things on vacation. First, I'm a city girl; we rented a carriage house, which was beautiful but remote – about 15 to 20 minutes out of the city on a winding road. I loved the space, waking up in the morning and looking out the window to see 2 – 3 deer looking back at me. To see the mountain with the tall pines neatly lined, the lake clear and calm. It was all so beautiful but I would have liked to be a bit closer to civilization (and yes I know 20 minutes is not as remote as it could be ….).

The second thing I learned is traveling as a vegetarian is hard at dinnertime. We had a full kitchen so we did our own breakfasts and a number of lunches, which really helped, but dinners were at times problematic. Many restaurants believe that removing meat and adding a slice of cheese solves the "vegetarian" problem – poof we are now vegetarian friendly – and in many cases this works; just not for me – I don't do cheese that comes from a cow; a sheep or goat is fine it's those pesky cows that get me every time.

We had a couple of outstanding meals.  One at a recommend Italian restaurant called Tony's on the Lake, I had a delicious polenta, fennel, roasted tomato, mushroom, onion and vegan cheese baked dish. It was one of my favorite dinners while on vacation. We also ate at a Greek restaurant where we started with a eggplant appetizer and then Dan had a vegetarian platter and I had a falafel sandwich – both were very tasty especially the spanakopita which Dan had – I'd say it was the best I've ever eaten.

Other dinners included veggie sandwiches (without out the cheese thanks), tofu stir-fry, and a nice vegan tomato soup with a salad. Our last dinner included techno wine tasting no sommelier required. It was an interesting place; they had 28 wines - 20 reds and 8 whites all connected to technology that would precisely pour 1, 3 or 5 ounce tastes. You purchased a card up front for a certain amount and then you put the card in the slot, selected the size pour you wanted and pressed the button, instant wine, perfectly poured. It was a fun way to try small amounts of a number of wines – which ranged from 2 to 9 dollars per 1-ounce pour.

I love to travel but I hate the traveling process – I wish Scotty and Spock could get the transporter fixed so we could use it in our time – would make things much simpler. But we are back and to celebrate I made my favorite vegan black bean soup for dinner tonight.

It's a pretty simple recipe; 1 large onion diced, 3 cans black beans, 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, vegetarian broth, 4 cloves of garlic, red pepper flakes and cumin – stuff I normally have in my kitchen.

Start by chopping the onion and cooking it in a pan with the garlic until translucent. Take one can of the beans (do not drain) put in a blender and add the onion/garlic mixture – blend until smooth. Return the pureed bean mixture to the stockpot, add 15 ounces of vegetarian broth and the can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Take the second can of black beans (again do not drain) add ½ tsp. of red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. cumin and combine in the blender – puree until smooth and add to the stock pot. Take the final can of beans (yep you got it don't drain them) and add them to the stockpot, simmer for 25 – 30 minutes. Serve with chopped avocado and sour cream (if you eat that of course) and a slice of coarse-grained bread – you'll be glad you did.

For those of you who are bean purists and feel the need to make your beans from scratch – I say you're a better man than I have at it. 

It feels good to be home.

Summer Swan Song and a Prelude to Fall

Fall is definitely in the air. I just came in from walking and I noticed that the leaves are beginning to fill the driveway and the smell in the air has a certain crispness. The nights are cooler (which is awesome for sleeping with the windows open) and the days still have a warm feel – it's my favorite time of year.

Tuesday night we had a bit of excitement; Dan had a biking accident and we ended up in the ER. I'm grateful that he was wearing his helmet and that he was not seriously injured. He does however have a concussion and a nice collection of scrapes and cuts. He'll be sore for a few days however, the fog seems to have lifted and he's getting back to normal – even though he is moving a bit slowly.

We're still in high tomato production mode – which is heavenly although we're struggling to keep up. I'm having dinner with some friends tonight and of course I'll have to bring them each a few tomatoes – it's down right rude to show up without a gift right. And everyone loves a home-made gift – or home grown gift in this case.

As you know we've been toasting bread and consuming tomato and mayo sandwiches quite frequently this season and believe me I have no complaints. But everyone once in a while you need something a little different.

I was scrounging through the fridge and in the back I spied a forgotten cucumber an avocado, some feta and of course the large bag of cherry tomatoes. I decided to throw them together in a quick salad with a rice wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. Add baked squash with apples, onions, walnuts, cranberries and maple syrup (yes the acorn squash is from the garden) and you have dinner. Both were delicious and Dan added a side of grilled salmon to his plate. 

We've been slowly using our acorn squash. We've dropped a few off with neighbors, friends and family and Dan has calculated that if we have squash once a week we have enough to last us until early January. I've been searching for vegan mac and cheese recipes and the ones that seem the most interesting are the squash based sauces so I think we'll give that a try at our next movie night.

I'm looking forward to cooler days and Dan's famous white bean soup  We're definitely transitioning to fall and our Annual Pumpkin Carving Party – complete with costumes – let the Halloween preparations begin!

Swiss Chard, Acorn Squash and Freekah

If you've been watching my blog at all you know we're in high production mode for tomatoes, swiss chard, bok choy and acorn squash. What's a girl to do with all that produce?

Well … after an Indian birthday celebration and a 20+-mile bike ride on Saturday with Dan's sisters we were exhausted and full so we opted for goat cheese, tomato, cucumber, carrot, radish, and avocado sandwiches for dinner on Saturday night (sorry we were so hungry we forgot to take pictures)– they were however, quite tasty.

Sunday was filled with re-organizing the pantry – tossing out the things there is no way we will eat in this life time and scrubbing and cleaning the closet – a satisfying day.  After cleaning the closet I took a short nap and then headed out for my 8,500-step walk. After all that activity, my legs were tired and so was I.

But we still needed dinner – so now that we can actually see what's in the pantry I decided to make a dish that included Freekah which is a young green wheat that has been toasted and cracked. It's a healthy whole grain food, similar to bulgur wheat and other whole grains and it has a kind of nutty flavor.

I found the perfect recipe that used one of our 16 acorn squash, freekah and kale --which I substituted swiss chard for because we have more than any human should be allowed to have. The flavor combination of this dish was amazing. The sweetness of the maple roasted squash, combined with the garlic, nutmeg and pepper sautéed swiss chard and the Dijon mustard sauce was a unique taste combination – by unique I mean good.

I don't often get a "This is a top 10 recipe" comment from Dan but that was his response after a few bites; must have done something right.

We did take pictures of this dish and as you can see we have a side of sliced tomatoes (of course). If you have any favorite swiss chard or squash recipes send them my way. Lately I've been pondering a swiss chard dal and a squash based vegan macaroni and cheese - as the days get shorter and the nights cooler comfort foods seem to find their way to the dinner table. 

But take heart we still have a lot of experimenting to do in the coming weeks and my carrots are close to ready - roasted carrots with a balsamic glaze and toasted sesame seeds here we come!

Thanks for stopping and keep sending recipe suggestions!

Zoodles (Zucchini Noodles) not Noodles

I've never really been a fan of pasta; sure I have it from time to time but in reality I don't need the carbs. On the flip side, I love tomatoes, in sauce, on a toasted sandwich, in a salad, or plain with a little salt.  So when my boss posted a recipe for Spaghetti'd Zucchini with Lentil Marinara I knew I had to try it.  The original recipe is here. 
 

I started out following the recipe but as I was taste testing I felt that it needed "something" so I added a little siracha, some additional garlic, more salt and some ground black pepper. I also added fresh basil and parsley both of which are currently taking over my garden; which is a good thing. 

We had our monthly movie night with friends Maria and Gerd and got good reviews on the zoodles and sauce. Served it with a green salad, some fresh bread and ended the evening with some lemon bars and chocolate cheese cake (left over from a new book club I recently joined).

And the movie; Insurgent (part 2 of the Divergent series). I really enjoyed the movie and am looking forward to the next installment although I wish they weren't so far apart. 

Spent some time out in the garden this morning; we're still getting green and yellow beans, the swiss chard is beautiful rainbow colors and tall (guess what's on the menu tonight), tomatoes still in high production and the carrots should be the next crop. Acorn squash continue to grow and the mint never seems to stop. And somewhere in all of that my oregano and rosemary have found a place to thrive. 

It's been a good harvest so far this year – all the crops seem to play well together now if I can remember what and where I planted everything perhaps I can recreate it next year. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!