Fall has officially ascended upon the Seacoast. (I started writing this post a couple weeks ago when I felt as though I was getting sick as the seasons were changing and craved a warm soup to clear my congested asthmatic lungs and since then a Nor'easter has also cascaded the area with a thick layer of snow, covering trees that have not lost all of their leaves causing the heavy weight to drop branches upon power lines....before Halloween...it was October, Mother Nature, seriously?) But, within these last couple of weeks with the ending Farmers Markets and CSA season, I have taken home a good amount of food that I have desperately, and creatively, trying to make use of - since the point of taking it home was not to let it go to waste!
So hence begins this blog post.
The other day I went to work early to organize and manage the CSA pick up. The employees at the mart were there setting up for the start of a busy day. They go through a lot of produce, some of it bought, some of it grown on the farm. People only want good looking food though. So, any spot, crack, blemish, bruise, or imperfection is generally, if not as a rule, removed. The compost goes to another local farm to feed their pigs. I don't know why the farm - sustainably - doesn't reuse it themselves. I also don't understand why they don't use these "bad" bits to make their own pies, jams, jellies, sauces, soups. But what about all the hungry people in the area that could be fed off this locally grown food? While in Italy, I joked about dumpster diving in my fridge to use up the food we had before we went on stages or weekend trips. But, my colleagues and I go through the compost bin daily and find "perfectly good" fruits and vegetables. It's infuriating. But, yesterday, I took home 6 large eggplants with some bruises, a couple bell peppers, a head of cauliflower, and a dozen or so tomatoes that were "unsellable" and going to be thrown out. Next to this box of stuff was another box with perfectly good bunches of celery that I didn't touch, because there was no way those could be thrown out, they were definitely still good. Later in the day, I saw them being thrown out. Unbelievable. As the day progressed, my ability to breathe lessened. I don't know if there was something in the air, but I couldn't grasp enough air into my lungs which decreased my energy levels. It was a beautiful fall day, but I could tell with the changing weather that I was getting sick. What to do other than sit on the couch and watch DVDs than to make soup. So I grabbed those perfectly good bunches of celery, some a-bit-soft-but-perfect-for-soup carrots and decided to make a vegetable broth. I added the bell pepper, mushroom, ripe-ready tomatoes, fresh ginger, onion and spices and was all set to cure my congested lungs with a spoonful of leftover-apparently-unwanted healthiness.
Vegetable Soup
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 handfuls button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp black pepper corns
5 cups water
a pinch of dill and other herbs, optional
1 large eggplant, about 1 1/4 lb
extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup Lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
Preheat the broiler. Place the eggplants in a foil-lined pan tray and prick them a couple times so they don't explode. Broil under they are deflated, about 1 hour. Let cool, then scrape out the flesh.
Meanwhile, place the lentils in a small sauce pan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes, until tender. Then drain.
In a larger pot, heat up some olive oil and add the onions. Cook until they have soften and turn a golden yellow. Add the lentils and the eggplant and the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then simmer. Remove from heat and Stir then blend with an immersion blender. Serve with a squirt of lemon juice or sherry vinegar.
Marinated Eggplant
2 lbs eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a handful of fresh mint, torn
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the broiler. Brush the eggplant with olive oil and place on a baking tray. Broil (or grill) for about 5minutes turning once until golden on both sides. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, garlic, mint, and remaining 1/2 cuop olive oil. Pour over the eggplant and season with pepper. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before indulging.
Apparently, people don't like kale and Swiss chard, or they just don't know what to do with it. Another day, I took home an enormous amount of leftover-been-sitting-there-for-3-days-about-to-be-thrown-out braising greens that has enormous potential.
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
1 1/2 lbs starchy potatoes (such as Idaho potatoes), peeled, cut into small equal sized chunks
A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each parsley and thyme, and a Parmesan rind
1 pound kale, stemmed and washed thoroughly, cut into thin strips
1/2 oz Roquefort or blue cheese, more to taste
Freshly ground pepper
Heat some oil over medium heat in a large soup pot, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the potatoes, the bouquet garni and two quarts of water. Bring to a boil, add salt, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes until the potatoes are falling apart. Remove the bouquet garni. When the potatoes have begun to fall apart, blend the soup with an immersion blender. Stir the kale into the soup, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered until tender. Add the blue cheese and blend (or can leave chunky). Taste, adjust salt and add pepper.
What to do with kale stalks when a recipe just wants the leaves?
They are great and super healthy to munch on while cooking! I heated up some olive oil in a pan with some sliced garlic. When they became a bit softer, add the kale stalks and toss to coat. Cook for about 7 minutes until slighly tender then add some strips of red pepper, a couple black olives, some red pepper flakes, and about a tablespoon of horseradish. Crunchy. Flavorful. Nothing wasted.
Curried Cauliflower Manchego Soup
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs cauliflower florets
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
squirt of sriracha
1 tbsp curry powder
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup Manchego (or Cheddar) cheese
salt and pepper
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add the cauliflower. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes, until tender and light golden brown. Add the onion and garlic and stir in to coat, then add the bay leaves and sirarcha. Stir again and cook for another 5 mintues. Add teh stock and bring to a boil then simmer for about 25 mintues, until the cauliflower is soft. Add some water to replace what has evaporated, add the cheese, and season to taste. Bring to a boil so that the cheese melts and simmer. Blend with an immersion blender.
....and this was only a couple of the recipes that I made. Mum also made a tasty kale and white bean soup. Full disclosure: I'm really bad at following recipes. My absolute favorite is to read through cook books, but when it actually comes down to using them, I use the recipes as guidelines and kinda make it up as I go....IF you use any of these, I am sure they will be fantabulously delicious, but I trust your own instincts as you go.
So hence begins this blog post.
The other day I went to work early to organize and manage the CSA pick up. The employees at the mart were there setting up for the start of a busy day. They go through a lot of produce, some of it bought, some of it grown on the farm. People only want good looking food though. So, any spot, crack, blemish, bruise, or imperfection is generally, if not as a rule, removed. The compost goes to another local farm to feed their pigs. I don't know why the farm - sustainably - doesn't reuse it themselves. I also don't understand why they don't use these "bad" bits to make their own pies, jams, jellies, sauces, soups. But what about all the hungry people in the area that could be fed off this locally grown food? While in Italy, I joked about dumpster diving in my fridge to use up the food we had before we went on stages or weekend trips. But, my colleagues and I go through the compost bin daily and find "perfectly good" fruits and vegetables. It's infuriating. But, yesterday, I took home 6 large eggplants with some bruises, a couple bell peppers, a head of cauliflower, and a dozen or so tomatoes that were "unsellable" and going to be thrown out. Next to this box of stuff was another box with perfectly good bunches of celery that I didn't touch, because there was no way those could be thrown out, they were definitely still good. Later in the day, I saw them being thrown out. Unbelievable. As the day progressed, my ability to breathe lessened. I don't know if there was something in the air, but I couldn't grasp enough air into my lungs which decreased my energy levels. It was a beautiful fall day, but I could tell with the changing weather that I was getting sick. What to do other than sit on the couch and watch DVDs than to make soup. So I grabbed those perfectly good bunches of celery, some a-bit-soft-but-perfect-for-soup carrots and decided to make a vegetable broth. I added the bell pepper, mushroom, ripe-ready tomatoes, fresh ginger, onion and spices and was all set to cure my congested lungs with a spoonful of leftover-apparently-unwanted healthiness.
Vegetable Soup
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 handfuls button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp black pepper corns
5 cups water
a pinch of dill and other herbs, optional
Heat some olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add onion, celery, pepper and carrot, tossing to coat and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and almost golden. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for about an hour or until the stock tastes rich and full. Strain stock to make a vegetable stock or blend all the ingredients to make a thicker soup, full of all the tasteful, nutritious ingredients.
Roasted Eggplant Lentil Soup1 large eggplant, about 1 1/4 lb
extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup Lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
Preheat the broiler. Place the eggplants in a foil-lined pan tray and prick them a couple times so they don't explode. Broil under they are deflated, about 1 hour. Let cool, then scrape out the flesh.
Meanwhile, place the lentils in a small sauce pan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes, until tender. Then drain.
In a larger pot, heat up some olive oil and add the onions. Cook until they have soften and turn a golden yellow. Add the lentils and the eggplant and the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then simmer. Remove from heat and Stir then blend with an immersion blender. Serve with a squirt of lemon juice or sherry vinegar.
2 lbs eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
a handful of fresh mint, torn
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the broiler. Brush the eggplant with olive oil and place on a baking tray. Broil (or grill) for about 5minutes turning once until golden on both sides. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, garlic, mint, and remaining 1/2 cuop olive oil. Pour over the eggplant and season with pepper. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before indulging.
Autumn Soup
3 medium carrots, or 6 small, peeled and quartered
3 medium carrots, or 6 small, peeled and quartered
2 large tomatoes, quartered
1 yellow onion and 1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 butternut squash, peel, seeded cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
6 garlic cloves
extra virgin olive oil
10 cups (or more) of vegetable broth
2 bunches of finely chopped kale, washed and stmmed
3 thyme springs
2 rosemary springs
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place carrots, squash, tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast vegetables until they are brown and tender, giving the pan a couple good shakes occasionally, about 30-40 minutes. When cool, cut the carrots into 1/2 inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves and place in food processor with tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour some broth onto the baking sheet to scrape up any browned bits stuck on the bottom. Scrape the vegetable puree into a large pot and add the broth in the food processor to get the rest of the puree on the walls. Add broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to the pot. Bring to boil then reduce the heat to simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes. Add carrots and squash to soup. Simmer for about 10 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
Kale, Potato and Roquefort Soup
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt
1 1/2 lbs starchy potatoes (such as Idaho potatoes), peeled, cut into small equal sized chunks
A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf, a couple of sprigs each parsley and thyme, and a Parmesan rind
1 pound kale, stemmed and washed thoroughly, cut into thin strips
1/2 oz Roquefort or blue cheese, more to taste
Freshly ground pepper
Heat some oil over medium heat in a large soup pot, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the potatoes, the bouquet garni and two quarts of water. Bring to a boil, add salt, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes until the potatoes are falling apart. Remove the bouquet garni. When the potatoes have begun to fall apart, blend the soup with an immersion blender. Stir the kale into the soup, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, uncovered until tender. Add the blue cheese and blend (or can leave chunky). Taste, adjust salt and add pepper.
What to do with kale stalks when a recipe just wants the leaves?
They are great and super healthy to munch on while cooking! I heated up some olive oil in a pan with some sliced garlic. When they became a bit softer, add the kale stalks and toss to coat. Cook for about 7 minutes until slighly tender then add some strips of red pepper, a couple black olives, some red pepper flakes, and about a tablespoon of horseradish. Crunchy. Flavorful. Nothing wasted.
Braised Greens with Olives and Goat Cheese
I made this one up with stuff I had...
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 bunches of braising greens (mix kale, Swiss chard, collared greens) washed, stems removed, chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
a handful of green olives, halved
crumbled goat cheese
pinch of hot red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
In a large pan, heat some olive oil and add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft and translucent. Add the green stems and cook until softened then add the leaves. Toss to coat in the olive oil, adding some white wine or water for more moisture. Add the red pepper and cook until softened. Add the olives, toss to combine then transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese and red pepper flakes over and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper.
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs cauliflower florets
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
squirt of sriracha
1 tbsp curry powder
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup Manchego (or Cheddar) cheese
salt and pepper
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add the cauliflower. Cook, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes, until tender and light golden brown. Add the onion and garlic and stir in to coat, then add the bay leaves and sirarcha. Stir again and cook for another 5 mintues. Add teh stock and bring to a boil then simmer for about 25 mintues, until the cauliflower is soft. Add some water to replace what has evaporated, add the cheese, and season to taste. Bring to a boil so that the cheese melts and simmer. Blend with an immersion blender.
....and this was only a couple of the recipes that I made. Mum also made a tasty kale and white bean soup. Full disclosure: I'm really bad at following recipes. My absolute favorite is to read through cook books, but when it actually comes down to using them, I use the recipes as guidelines and kinda make it up as I go....IF you use any of these, I am sure they will be fantabulously delicious, but I trust your own instincts as you go.
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