Having A Generator is a Wonderful Thing

We had another week without power, although this time we were prepared with a generator. Without Internet, another week went by without a post, but not without cooking. The smell of soup, stews and more soup filled the house for most of the week. My favorite was a great Moroccan soup with squash chickpeas and pumpkin seeds. It came from "Olive Trees and Honey", one of the best vegetarian cookbooks around, especially if you like to use spices from the middle east, Europe and Asia.

1/4 c oil
2 Leeks or Onions, chopped
8 cups vegetable stock or water
2 to 3 pounds squash (I used a combination of butternut and acorn - you can also use pumpkin), peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 to 4 TBSP brown sugar (to taste)
2 cinnamon sticks or 1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric or saffron thread
1/8 allspice or freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped parsley, cinantro. 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds or pine nuts or 1 cup sauteed mushrooms for garnish

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add leaks and saute about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until soft, about 50 minutes. If you used the cinnamon sticks, discard.

To serve, garnish with chosen ingredient.

"Oh Honey...."

A cross between Macoun and Honeygold (which itself is a cross between Golden Delicious and Haralson), the Honeycrisp is now my new favorite apple. How fortunate to stop at The Garden of Ideas yesterday for some staples (onions and garlic) and find them there. These beauties are grown by Red Jacket Orchards, the same people that bring you the amazing juices, which are available at the farm all the time. If you haven't yet tried this sweet and luscious variety, get yourself one (or a dozen, which is what you will grab after one bite).

Today is the first day of the Fall share. For the two week break, I was busy cooking up the bounty that remained in my fridge after three weekends away. The chili I made for the Apple Cider press turned out great! But then again, how bad can chili be when it contains cocoa and Guiness?

The celeriac and cauliflower soup I tried was also tasty, and I loved my new hand blender - so much easier than ladling mush into the blender - and neater too.

Like soup, the stir fry is an easy way to get your veggies in and with only a wok to clean - worth all the work of the chopping. Heat wok - throw in oil - throw in onion and garlic - throw in veggies, in order of hardness (i.e., carrots first, cabbage last) - stir - add some soy sauce, mirin, wine - easy peasy.

Now, off to the farm for this week's share!

Say Goodbye to Summer

 The last week of the summer share brings yet another new vegetable I want to try - the red noodle bean:

Gorgeous scarlet in color, texturally it looks like a pole bean. Also known as yard long or asparagus beans. They come from Southern China and I plan on stir-frying them with the Bok Choy I picked up as my choice for the week.

The Cauliflower is not very popular in my house - I am the only one who likes it. With my new hand held blender, I will try a soup and see how that goes over. I found one I can use with the Celeriac, so it will really be an adventure.

Now, off to find a good chili recipe for the weekends' Apple Cider Press up in New Hampshire..

It's Soup Time

 Well, almost, but ever since Mark Bittman wrote his "Tomato" column in the New York Times Magazine, I have wanted to make the "Moroccan Style Tomato Soup with Chickpeas". Now that I have the exact amount of tomatoes, here goes:

Cook 1 chopped onion and 1 tablespoon each garlic and ginger in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons each cumin, coriander and cinnamon; cook for 1 minute. Add 2 pounds chopped tomatoes, 2 cups stock and 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas. Simmer until saucy. Garnish: Parsley or cilantro.

"This is really good and I don't even like tomato soup" - Arny.

Thanks Mark!!!