Crostini Trio

I recently attended a holiday potluck and was inspired by ingredients from the Little Italy Farmers Market to make crostini.  I had a Prager Brother's olive rosemary loaf of beautiful bread that I sliced thin, drizzled lightly with olive oil, and toasted until crisp.  And I made these three toppings:

Cannellini Bean & Roasted Garlic Spread
a head of garlic from the Schaners
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves from Suzie's, minced
sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cup cooked cannellini beans (Suzie's Farm seasonally has them fresh in the pod or dried), saving the cooking liquid
juice of a small lemon from Honeymoon Ranch

Separate the garlic cloves, drizzle with a touch of olive oil and a pinch of salt, and roasted at 350 degrees until soft and golden in color (this can be done on a cookie sheet, in a terra cotta garlic roaster, or wrapped in foil), about 30 minutes.  Allow to cool, remove skins, and set aside.

Over medium heat, saute the sage in a tablespoon of oil with a pinch of salt until fragrant.  Put all ingredients in a food processor, (start with just 1/2 the juice and add more to taste) including 1/4 cup bean broth. Blend until smooth. Taste and add salt to taste, and add more bean broth if it's too thick.

Makes about 1&1/2 cups.

Top with a drizzle of your favorite olive oil, fresh chopped parsley, caramelized onions, and/or some nice olives.

Sauteed Greens
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, quartered and sliced thin
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 bunch kale, destemmed, sliced into ribbons
1/2 bunch mustard greens, destemmed, sliced into ribbons
a couple big handfuls of spinach
fresh parsley, chopped
sea salt
red wine vinegar

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt and saute, stirring, until onions are soft. Add greens, garlic and another pinch of salt; cook until wilted, 4-5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in parsley and a splash of red wine vinegar, season with salt to taste.

Artichoke & Mushroom
a can of quartered artichokes, drained and chopped
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
a large shallot or 1 small leek, sliced thin
a pinch of red pepper flakes
sea salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, sliced thin
freshly ground black pepper
thick, aged balsamic vinegar

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, and allow to cook until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and browned, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.  Add the shallots, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt, and allow to cook until the shallots soften, stirring occasionally.  Then add garlic and thyme, and cook a few more minutes, stirring.  Remove from heat, stir all ingredients together, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Simple Soups for Healthy Holidays

During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it can often be difficult to want to spend the time to meal plan and cook. With stresses and flu season, we know this is a time of year when it’s very important to feed ourselves and our loved ones wholesome, quality foods. Between shopping, parties, family obligations, normal life and increased pressures, fast-food options may be increasingly tempting and good intentions for eating healthfully can go out the window. But with just a few ingredients and minimal prep time, you can have a healthy, home-cooked soup. Warm and comforting on a cool winter day, soups can easily be turned into a meal by serving them with a loaf of crusty, whole-grain bread and a salad.

Don’t want to make a big mess in the kitchen? You don’t need much equipment to make these soups:

• a cutting board 
• a good chef’s knife (or whatever knife you like to chop with 
• a pot with a lid, preferably a heavy pot, such as enameled cast iron 
• a hand-held immersion blender, which is the easiest and safest way to blend hot ingredients for smooth soups

Making these one-pot recipes means that clean-up is quick and easy, too.

These soup recipes are simple, hearty, comforting, delicious, inexpensive, and easy to put your own spin on. You could make your own stock by saving your vegetable trimmings, which can be collected and frozen to be used at a later date. Or for a quick, ready-made option, use bouillon or boxed vegetable broth. Because most of these soups are blended smooth, the veggies that need to be prepped can be coarsely chopped into roughly 1-inch cubes to get these soups going fast. Don’t want to peel the vegetables? Scrub them clean and leave the peels on for a more rustic soup, which works great with most root vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, as well as thin-skinned winter squash, like kabocha, delicata, maybe even butternut.

Each recipe is enough for a family, to be reheated and enjoyed throughout the week, or frozen in individual servings to eat later. These recipes are also gluten-free and offer options so that they can be made dairy-free.

Want a little bit more advanced version? These recipes include ideas for different variations to mix things up to suit your tastes. Fancy them up with suggested garnishes. Holiday Bonus: soup poured into shot glasses and garnished with a pinch of microgreens are a great party appetizer!

Winter Squash Soup

Leek & Potato Soup

Carrot Ginger Soup

Tomato Soup

Vegan Chili

...or find even more soups here!

Another Mushroom Gravy

I wanted a slightly lighter, more liquidy, more traditional gravy this year.  Bonus: use oil instead of butter and you've got a nice vegan gravy!  The meat-eaters at the table prefer this gravy to the one someone else made from turkey.  You may want to make a double-batch.

4-6 tablespoons Spring Hill butter or oil
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced, or even better 1 1/4 ounces dried wild mixed mushrooms, reconstituted in hot water for at least 30 minutes and roughly chopped
3 large shallots (about a cup), minced from Schaner Farm
3 tablespoons flour

a bay leaf

a sprig of thyme
3 cups vegetable broth/water from reconstituting dried mushrooms (bonus: use potato water to help keep the gravy from solidifying when cooled)
a splash of tamari, soy sauce, or bragg's to taste if needed for both for taste and color

a splash of vinegar
freshly ground black pepper

If using fresh mushrooms, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and brown, then set aside.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan and lightly caramelize the shallots on medium-low heat.  Add the remaining butter and melt.  Add the flour, bay leaf, and thyme, and cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking frequently. Whisk in the broth, so as not to have any lumps.  Add in the mushrooms and simmer 6-8 minutes until it thickens. Season to taste.

Makes about 4 cups.

Winter Squash Stuffing

This year I plan to substitute the bread cubes with roasted winter squash cubes, to decrease the breads and increase the veggies and nutrient density on the table (and it just so happens this is gluten-free and dairy-free)...

about 1/4 cup olive oil
12 cups butternut/tahitian/acorn/your favorite winter squash, peeled and seeded, cut into ¾” cubes, from Suzie's, JR Organics, the Schaner's or Sage Mountain Farm
1 yellow onion, diced, from Schaner Farms
1 cup celery, diced
6 large garlic cloves, minced from the Schaner's
1 cup pecans, chopped from a friend of a friend's farm
1 cup fresh cranberries (or ½ cup dried)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 large green apple, diced, from Smit Farms
fresh chopped herbs (from Suzie's, the Schaner, or JR Organics):

1/4 cup parsley

2 tablespoons sage

1 tablespoon rosemary

2 tablespoons thyme
1 cup apple juice from Smit Farms
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

If you want to prep ahead of time, this much can be done the day before serving:

• On a baking pan, drizzle the cubed squash lightly with olive oil, season with sea salt, and toss to coat. Roast at 400° until they start to soften (not totally mushy)  and are golden, stirring occasionally, for about 30-45 minutes.  Set aside.
• In a large skillet, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, sage, thyme, rosemary and a sprinkle of sea salt and cook until the onions begin to soften. Add garlic and celery and cook a couple more minutes.
• Combine all ingredients - and place the mixture in a large baking dish rubbed with olive oil. 

On the day to be served:

• Cover and bake at 350° for about 30-45 minutes

Serves 12

Re-Planning Thanksgiving

I love cooking this meal that affords us the opportunity to spend time together in gratitude with family and dear friends. But I find that sometimes I miss out on some of that time because I'm very busy in the kitchen, while others might be playing games or enjoying conversations. Each year I vow to make next years' meal more simple, so I can have more time to relax with loved ones. And each year, I can't help myself but to cook all the elaborate favorites that keep me in the kitchen.

Last year I spent the weekend before Thanksgiving with my siblings in a cabin in the woods, celebrating a little early so we could be together (because as we grow older, our family expands, and Thanksgiving is spent at the homes of our respective in-laws). On Thanksgiving day I had a revelation as I watched my spouse's brother, a professional chef, leisurely put together a meal that he mostly prepped and cooked the day before.

Duh! Why haven't I thought of this? Why have I been so rigid in my plans to do almost everything the day of?

So now I'm re-thinking my recipes and re-planning my cooking schedule for the next time this (or any other elaborate meal I make for many others) gets cooked, which will allow me to actually enjoy the present moment, and be more relaxed and engaged with my family. Isn’t that the whole point?

If you have friends and family that enjoy working in the kitchen, make use of them! If someone asks, “Can I help?” say “Yes!” and find a task so they can share with the loving preparations for the meal. Or why not have a Thanksgiving potluck? Encourage folks to come whenever they like, bring an appetizer or their favorite holiday dish if they offer to bring something.

Another way to cut back on prep time? Make half the amount of food that you think you need. But what if we don't have enough? There will be enough. And if folks eat smaller portions, it is so much the healthier for them and the planet. Still, I'm terribly guilty of this, even after years of menu planning, so I always buy half of what I think I need and I continue to end up with plenty leftovers (which we love and eat the rest of the week).

So here's my game plan - 

A Week or More Ahead of Time:

• create a menu, assemble recipes and make a food shopping list
• gather or borrow any needed kitchen equipment, silverware, plates, and glasses
• purchase all non-perishables
• make cranberry sauce or compote (you could also freeze or can it)

The Weekend Before:

• buy perishable ingredients
• prepare the serving pieces, plates, flatware, glasses, etc
• iron cloth napkins and tablecloths, if you're into that sort of thing

2 Days Before:

• make salad dressings, sauces, gravy and marinades
• bake pies and desserts
• wash all vegetables
• most vegetables can be prepped and chopped
• caramelize onions

The Day Before:

• arrange furniture and set the tables
• assemble the stuffing and keep covered in fridge. And this year I plan to substitute the bread cubes with roasted winter squash cubes, to decrease the carbs and increase the veggies and nutrient density on the table
• Chop potatoes for the mashed potatoes (you could make them entirely but they come together really fast on the day of) and store in water
• whip up cream for desserts
• sweet potato dishes can be made up to the point of final baking
• breads and rolls could be made and par-baked, but I still think they are so wonderful made the day of.

Thanksgiving Day:

9am   Start the rolls.

11am  Prep fresh salad ingredients.

12pm  Form the rolls.

1pm  Bake the stuffing; make the salad.

2pm  As room in your stove top and oven permits: cook the mashed potatoes (for something extra special - yes, let's guild the lily - stir in grated cheese and 1 beaten egg per cup of potatoes, whip briefly and bake into a souffle until golden brown on top); roast or steam up pre-prepped vegetables; heat sauces and gravy; bake pre-prepped sweet potatoes. Finish and garnish all dishes except the rolls

3pm   Serve dinner and put the rolls in oven to be served hot. Give thanks & enjoy the bounty!

5pm  Make coffee and serve dessert. Make music & have fun!

Dia de los Muertos Lunch

After building an ofrenda for loved ones who have passed on, my family and I enjoyed a lunch honoring my great-great grandma Narcissa, grandpa, uncles and other family members who continue on in other forms and in us.

Tamales with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Black Beans

Romaine Salad with Creamy Cilantro Dressing, tomatoes, and toasted pepitas

Pomegranate Lemonade with Chia Seeds
I have pomegranates and lemons from friends.  Stir in 1-3 teaspoons or so of chia per cup of liquid and allow seeds to hydrate for at least ten minutes (but I prefer to let them fully hydrate overnight).

Cinnamon Apple Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting
I recently made goat cheese from fresh goat milk from another friend of mine.

Tamales
This recipe makes about 50 tamales so get together with friends or family and have a tamalada! We used my large canning pot with the canning rack flipped upside down at the bottom as a steamer.

corn husks (next summer I'm saving my corn husks cuz I can't find these organic):
Soak the corn husks in hot water for a couple hours.  Make sure they are completely submerged.

For the batter:
7 cups masa harina (you can find organic masa in the bulk section at OB People's)
4 1/2 cups hot filtered water
1 pound and 4 oz Spring Hill salted butter, softened
4 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups vegetable broth

Stir together the masa and hot water and allow to hydrate and cool.  Set aside.

I had to make this to two batches, half of the ingredients in each batch, in my stand up mixer but if you have an electric beater, you can do it all at once. On medium high speed, beat the salt and baking powder into the butter until well combined.  Beat in the masa for about 1 minute until light and fluffy.  On medium low speed, add 2 cups of the broth until well combined.  Test 1/2 a teaspoon of masa to see if it will float in cold water.  If not, beat until it does.  Then beat in the final cup of broth.

For the filling, whatever you like or have on hand (roasted anaheim chiles and cheddar, mushroom and goat cheese...):
4 large summer squash, quartered and sliced thin
4 large red bell peppers, sliced thin
2 medium red onion, sliced thin
olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Saute the veggies a couple cups at a time in a tablespoon or two of olive oil until they start to soften.  Salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

For each tamale, spread about 1/4 cup masa in a 4-inch square on a corn husk (or two overlapping if they're small), leaving about an inch and half uncovered on the top and bottom, and 3/4 inch on each side. In the center, spoon a couple tablespoons of filling down the middle of the masa.  Pull each side together, joining the masa with the filling in the center. 

There are many ways to tie tamales.  If I'm making a few different kinds of tamales, I'll fold each one a different way. Here's a few examples:

1. Fold the bottom and top corn husk towards the center, forming a small rectangular package.
2. Fold bottom up and leave the top open.
3. Tie each end.

Use strips of corn husk or string to bind your tamales so they don't come undone.  Add 2 inches of water to your pot, boil and reduce to a simmer. Line the bottom and sides of your steaming pot with extra corn husks and fill with your tamales standing upright. Steam for about an hour and a half.

Delicioso!

thai peanut sauce

About time I posted this favorite. Use it in a whole wheat wrap, with Asian noodles, for stir-fried veggies, a dipping sauce or thin for a salad dressing. Goes great with greens, carrots, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, avocado, sunflower sprouts, green onions, fresh cilantro and mint leaves. Garnish with roasted or sprouted peanuts.



Thai Peanut Sauce
2 tablespoons namu soyu (soy sauce)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon local honey or agave
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger (dry measure)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter (measured by displacement of the liquid)
2 tablespoons warm water (more or less to desired consistency)

Blend with immersion blender until smooth. Makes about a cup.