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.
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