Angry Soup

Joel:
It was supposed to be a white bean stew with roasted turnips and crimini mushrooms, aptly seasoned and created to reflect the changing weather. Joanna, who is usually right, had warned me not to cook when I was angry because it would come out in the food. You will notice that there are only two soups on the menu this week. B*$#* was right again, at least she didn't gloat.

Joanna:
I kept telling him over and over, you'd better get an attitude adjustment or your food is going to suck. Then, I came home from my yoga class and Joel shoved a spoon full of this scary mash in my mouth. Usually, my reaction is, "OH MY GOD" (in a good way)....this time I said "Um, well, what can we do to FUNK this thing up?" Neighbor (our old neighbor, Mark) and I kept referring to it as a pretty girl who needed make-up, or maybe some sexy boots. But, as it turned out, all the make-up, jewelry, boots and fishnet tights were not going to fix this fugly one. It got nastier as Joel poured more ingredients in and BIGGER. And, the worst was that he wanted to keep it pure vegan, why, what the hell? His last addition, only made it hateful. He shoved it off to the side and said something (I have no idea what).

Joel:
I had such a crap week at work last week that my head space was sorely lacking Sunday morning when I started to cook. It just worsened as the time went by. Luckily, the foul mood localized itself in just the one Angry Soup as it became known around the house. Artists and musicians can sometimes turn their anger into a creative force and make something great, but not chefs. What I made that day is usually followed by some kind of exclamation like,"Bad Dog. Get the F outside." I made every mistake possible. Broth was too watery, slightly burned bottom, forgotten seasonings. But I was determined to prove Jo wrong and make it good again. I pureed it partially, added truffle oil, dropped the vegan aspirations and put in goat cheese. But as the soup's volume grew and grew, its mediocrity became more painful. My soul sank lower and lower. How could goat cheese not work? The 10 gallons of puke-like failure laughed at me. People in public avoided me.

Joanna:
A few minutes later, I saw something that resembled my husband but different, it's face was flat and it's eyes were buggin' (like Vincent D'onofrio in Men in Black) and it was carrying the HUGE ASS pot of ANGRY soup out the backdoor. The guy who came in WAS my husband and he was sweet and happy. And the soup was gone. I get shivers thinking about that soup. It was one big ole pot of mean, grumpy gnarliness. So, there is something to be said for that book "Mean Soup".

Joel:
Finally, on Monday, I had had enough. Faced with the options of cheering up or filing for divorce, I gave in. I took the Angry Soup for a short walk down a long alley. I returned a different person. It felt like the Zoloft, Celexa, and Ecstasy all kicked in at once. I half expected to wake up this morning, Uncle Remus style, to a backyard full of raccoons, possums, squirrels and other cute critters serenading me with thanks. ZIPPIDEEDOODAH, ZIPPIDEEYAY, MY OH MY THAT SOUP REALLY SUCKED!"

SOUPS
Now we can talk about the soups that rocked. The Spinach Gorgonzola is a a riff on the Spinach Asiago we used to sell. Undertones of marsala and carmelized onion cut through the creamy goodness of the gorgonzola creating a wonderful wintertime soup. The Roasted Butternut Squash also came out very nice. Though it too asked for cream, I left if Vegan and spiked up the seasoning by leaving it a bit thick and concentrated with hints of garlic and ginger.

SNAX
The Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad is back, as well as the Blueberry Almond Granola. Their return is based on their successful sales record as much as our desire to eat them. The Calamata Olive and Sundried Tomato Dip is a new one. I resisted the urge to do the typical cream cheese base and opted for the healthier garbanzo and roasted garlic base. We also have a few containers of Three Olive Tapenade for those who are interested. I made some Roasted Garlic Hummus, but not just because I had extra chick peas and garlic laying around. Joanna challenged me by saying Grandma's Hummus from the Farmers Market kicks my hummus' ass. I tweaked my recipe and made probably the best version I have created. I even tried to influence Jo by telling her the girl who sells it at the Farmer's Market is pretty. I recounted the story of how one time we bonded by showing each other our linear scars on our arms from sheet pans. I thought jealousy my taint her her opinion of the competition. (Joanna: I actually said "if you are so chubby, why don't you get the recipe smartass) But to no avail, Grandma's kicks my ass. They are at the triangle and pleasant valley markets if you want to try the best hummus and baba ganouj in town.

SIDES
The Sesame Ginger Carrots return as well as the Roasted Sweet Potato Hash with Corn. A Barley with Roasted Crimini, Carmelized Onion, and Asparagus is new and came out great. It is a nice wintry dish. Although it is vegan, it would love some asiago cheese or goat cheese on top, unlike the Angry Soup.

SALAD
We made the Arugula Salad with Baby Red Potatoes, Green Beans, Cannellini Beans, Roasted Sweet Peppers, and a Lemon Parsley Citronette. It has become a house favorite.
Thanks again for all your support. We look forward to seeing you guys TODAY!

Joanna's Note: Everything on the menu turned out wonderful, as in "oh my god, delish". That calamata olive and sundried tomato dip is insane and his hummus turned out incredible. I just needed to turn up the heat a bit and keep him on his toes. This was a rough one but in the end, all settled well and now I embark on making the house look clean. Please drop by. We haven't set a hard date for the next VCSC, but there will be a nice break after this one....HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

When Yoga and VCSC Collide!

One of my favorite things to do is to create a meal using just the ingredients I have on hand when the cupboard is seemingly bare. Last week, two new dishes were born out of that same situation. I was too sick to go to the store and my desire was to eat something healthy and invigorating. All we had were the leftover ingredients from the previous Violet Crown and Joanna’s failed experiment in making kicheree, which is some kind of yogi miracle food. The two debut dishes are a Spicy Healthy Vegetable Soup with chipotle and tomato broth. The second we shall call the Lazy Yogi Curry.

I made the soup by slowly cooking down some celery, red peppers, onion, tomato, garlic and ginger until it was a wonderful carmelized mash. I guess in Spain this would be like a sofrito. I then added tomato paste and blended up chipotle peppers to make it rich and spicy. After adding the vegetable stock, in came any vegetable I could find in the house which included hominy, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, lentils and spinach. We had a bizarre combo that was wonderful and a few bowls of it seemed to nurse us back to health. I am looking forward to making it just so I can eat it again. (Joanna's note: I announced this morning that I could eat anything I wanted that was prepared for the VCSC and no one could stop me, I don't know why I'm always saving it, crazy me.)

The Lazy Yogi Curry is another dish I can’t wait to make again. The name is a playful jab at Joanna and a cooking experiment that never got off the ground. Many of her cooking experiments suffer the same fate. Products are bought and languish on the shelf until I figure out how to use them. A few months ago, she declared that our daily diet would include a yoga inspired kicheree whose base is the mung bean. I had never cooked with these, but have stared at them for weeks (Joanna's note: "months really"). They are cool looking little green balls that are apparently packed with healthy benefits. I sautéed some onion and carrots with large amounts of garlic, ginger, and that wonderful garlic chile condiment from Madam Mam's. If you have not eaten there, please check it out. It is one of my favorite restaurants and the spicy chile paste is a wonderful thing to eat. After a healthy dose of soy and mirin, I added the mung beans, arugula, and sweet potato. It was a truly surprising and delightful bowl of food that changed the way I felt that day. (UPDATE UPDATE. The playful jab wasn’t as playful as thought and I just got bitched out for referring to her as lazy. The name of this dish is now Bitcheree. She likes that better.)

And now the rest of the food……

SNAX
The Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad and Mom’s Insulted Tuna Salad are back. They both sold out easily and Jo didn’t get any tuna. She bitched out a bit. See a pattern here? I will hold some back this time. Living in this house is like being on that old radio program The Bickersons. The Truffled White Bean Dip has also received requests and returns. We will debut the Blueberry Almond Granola (Joanna's note: It's addictive.). I know that eating oats is good for you, but I just can’t get used to the mushiness of oatmeal. This seems like a better method of consumption, especially combined in a bowl with yogurt or Kefir.

SOUPS
The Carrot Ginger Soup sold out so fast last week, we thought we had better bring it back. Joanna among others, had requested the Pork Green Chile and with the wonderful weather change, I couldn’t imagine a better dish to be eating. The third soup is the Spicy Healthy Vegetable Soup mentioned at the top of the page. (Joanna's note: There is a surprise soup to for those who stop by, not enough quantity to mention....)

SIDES
As promised, the Brussel Sprouts with Soy Dijon is back. We should have plenty because I bought a 10# bag of Brussels. The Bitcheree has already been mentioned. We also have another debut, Farro with Butternut Squash, Roasted Crimini Mushrooms, and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds. The bags of Organic Italian Farro have been calling my name at Costco for some time now and I gave in. It is an ancient Italian grain that tastes great and is an excellent source of fiber, protein, and iron. (Thanks back of package marketing, just the words I needed!) I look forward to cooking with it and plan on treating it like a risotto. I would just reheat it in a sauté pan over a medium high heat with some nice olive oil. For the Gluten Free bunch, it is a wheat product. I had wanted to use pumpkin in celebration of Halloween, but when it comes down to it, I prefer butternut squash.

SALAD
This week is a Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Cranberries, Sweet Almonds, Pickled Red Onions, and a White Balsamic Vinaigrette. I have to admit, it also was inspired by the back of a package. This one was the Ocean Spray Cranberries. Don’t worry, it is our own recipe and should be a wonderful salad.

Joanna's Note: This is a special thanks to Mark and Frances who both came over and helped out this weekend. We couldn't do it without you guys. It's just a bit more festive over the boiling pots of food and the dirty dishes when there is someone else in the mix. Thanks to you guys!

Thanks for all of your great support and look forward to seeing you.