harvest supper

butternut squash with butter, maple syrup (or brown sugar), a splash of milk and pinch of salt.

braised fried tofu in balsamic, garlic, pepper, rice vinegar, sesame oil and ginger.

this sauteed greens recipe on top of rice. 
and some(thing like a) marjorie standish blueberry cake

i used butter and some brown sugar outside standish's instructions

and all together this makes...

kinda smiley, huh?

try it!

happy autumn equinox!

spinach tomato hummus pasta

this is actually a default lunch for our kid. it's very quick and simple, and his favorite. we like it too.

it requires:
2c brown rice pasta, or something similar
1c chopped spinach
1 tbs olive oil or butter
1/3c diced cheddar
3 or 4 tbs of your favorite hummus
1 tbs whole milk
cherry tomatoes, quartered. 
sprinkle of nutritional yeast



then you just cook the pasta, and put the spinach in at the very end. strain and mix with all the other ingredients. top with crushed pepper.  also, you should experiment with more or less cheese and hummus to your taste. you might add fresh basil, or some red pepper to give it more flavor, and replace the spinach with some other leafy green. nutritional yeast is key, though.

william carlos w.

let's take a moment and honor the poet extraordinaire of the mundane. 

the red wheelbarrow

our wheelbarrow

so much depends 

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens. 

support your kale, people

some spring kale

howdy.
i just have to say a few words to you about kale. these days, it's making a comeback, but it's still underrated in my humble opinion. i've been hearing a lot of kale-bashing recently (you know who you are...) which only tells me that the hey-day of kale has long since passed. so gather 'round, 'cause i want to tell ya'll about my very favorite brassica.  
-kale, is a 'superfood'. technically speaking. a card-carrying superveg. so that, in and of itself, deserves some deference. 
-kale is in many ways more nutritious than it's more popular leafy green associates (i.e. spinach and collards) because the iron and calcium, in tandem, are better absorbed by our bodies.  thus, it is innate to our corporeality to make room in our bellies for kale. 
-kale is a misunderstood vegetable. more likely to be used as an uncooked garnish than accompany a dish at most restaurants, kale is caught in a viscous spiral of betrayal and depreciation. 
-kale displays duality. it's a spring and autumn crop - the fall crop is sweeter, and a tad less bitter.
-kale tastes more sweet and flavorful after exposure to frost. what else can you sat that about?
-kale is currently the only vegetable our son will literally, while chewing, peel out of his mouth, so as to retain all the other food we feed him, but the kale.  so we've got him on kale smoothies now.
-in north western germany there are cultural milieus centered on kale.  they have a kale king and queen, annually.  inspiring, isn't it?

clearly, i have a soft spot for kale - it's beautiful, nutritious, versatile and really tasty.  i have no qualms with my soft spot.


 support your local kale, folks!

blueberry kale smoothie

chickpea bajane

ok. so this was a hit in our house. chickpea bajane is close to being 'comfort food', but not quite heavy enough to be (it's lacking dairy, which i think is a key ingredient for 'comfort food'). in any event, it's a solid meal for a cool night. although bajane means 'midday meal' in provence, where chickpeas are something akin to a staple food item. so, why not try it midday? we did, for leftovers.

chickpea bajane

quinoa:                   

2 tsp olive oil

2 garlic clove

1 c vegetable broth

1 c uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme

salt

     heat oil at med heat, add garlic,  then broth, quinoa, and seasonings. cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 min.

chickpea mix-up:

2 tsp oil

2 c leek

4 garlic cloves

2 1/2 c sliced fennel*

1/2 c white wine*

1 c veg broth

4 tsp fresh thyme

15 oz of chickpeas

1 tbs lemon juice

1 1/2 c of spinach**

salt and pepper

* didn't use this, i used celery and apple cider vinegar, respectively. our fennel bolted and our wine was drunk. you might also add in sliced carrots and fennel seeds, for some color.

** used about 3 c of spinach, but i also nearly doubled the recipe....

    for the chickpea mixture, heat oil on med heat. add leek and garlic, saute until tender.make sure all vegetables become golden. add wine until liquid nearly evaporates. stir in broth, thyme and chickpeas and cook until tender. remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, s+p and spinach.

you can either place the quinoa mix in a bowl and cover with the chickpea mixture for each individual serving, or go crazy and mix it all up.

we didn't use the wine, but i think we should have. i added extra spinach, and some celery. the whole thing was very tasty, it could have used some orange juice, i think, though. or something tangy. also, could use couscous instead of quinoa, but you'd miss out on all that protein.
anyways, it's a good garden recipe, even though the most of our chickpeas were eaten, much of our fennel bolted, and our spring spinach did poorly. you could throw in just about any veg and it would taste good.  enjoy!

the garden

earwormed corn

green beans III

green beans

butternut

staked tomatoes and corn

edamame, mammoth sunflowers, beans and corn

potatoes

  confronting the field of beans

sungolds

dry beans

black beans