Octobrrr

Yesterday was the first of October, and unofficially the first day of fall (so much for that 21st of September thing). Fifties, grey, drizzly... and me, utterly unprepared in brown strappy flats.

When I made it back home, having scooped up a good helping of apples and cabbage from the market, I decided to make a nice stew with what I had left over from the week before (that, and the enormous head of cabbage took up too much fridge space). I also craved protein after a long yoga class and lots of walking, so I wanted some black beans and quinoa.

The results:

Grown-up food

So it's that time of year again--time to worry about what we're doing next year. The summer stretches out long ahead of us... and I'll be (semi, hopefully) employed! Which really only means more time to spend on cooking on the weekends.

To start it off right, I spent this weekend working through the remnants of my freezer and pantry. Moving is a daunting enough task without wondering what you're going to do with 3 combined pounds of rice, lentils, couscous and pasta. Until I leave, I will consider the grocery a no-go zone except in the most dramatic of circumstances.

The first item to escape the tundra of the Frigidaire was a package of ahi tuna steaks. Feeling like those would constitute something very "grown up," I thawed one Friday in cool water for 3 hrs, and put the other in a honey-soy-ginger glaze to wait for Saturday. Here are the results:

Spicy ahi tacos with arugula

Asian-flavor ahi

In all honesty, couldn't think of a better way to clear out the fridge and pantry at the same time. Or, in combination with Whip It and a glass of vinho verde, a better way to spend weekend evenings.

Summertime, and the living's easy

OK, well not quite. I may be getting ahead of myself. But sunny blue skies and 65 degree temperatures mean that at least it's no longer soup weather! In celebration, I present the following: orange-cranberry couscous with spinach salad, roasted tomatoes, and carrot-cumin salad. Paired with--what else?? Bell's Oberon, the "sunshine nectar."


It's light, can be eaten cool or hot, and has lots of flavor. Hard to think of something that equally packs in the whole grains, vitamins, and moderate levels of alcohol :)

Spicy coconut soup with enoki mushrooms, tofu, lotus root, onion and bean sprouts. Then, topped with cilantro, crushed peanuts, Sriracha and a squeeze of lime. This recipe warmed me up during the blizzard, and made enough for 3 big meals!



Finally, when I got back in town after traveling to Chicago--and having an amazing early meal at Longman and Eagle!--I got back to the cooking. Farfalle with artichoke hearts, vegetarian sausage, homemade pesto, spinach and feta. And to use the last of my brown bananas, I opted for cookies (not muffins, as I'd planned) with oatmeal and chocolate.

新年快乐！

In other words, happy (Chinese) new year! The holiday period has started, although I don't think the official date is until... the 14th/V-Day... In preparation, I wanted to scope out the goodies at the local Chinese market and see what I could find to make dumplings.

I also forgot how nice it is to speak Chinese when no one knows you do. They answer your questions, half paying attention, until part of the way through their response when they suddenly realize that you 'shouldn't' be speaking. Then, as I moved down the aisle with mushrooms in hand, the elderly woman I'd talked to just stared, drop-jawed, and then laughed a bit to herself as she turned around.

Got seriously distracted. But did end up coming away with a lot of goodies that I'm excited to play around with tonight. See the grocery list. And, here's to salty-sweet plums!

More soon.

Squash courting

I know this doesn't look quite so lovely as it tasted--but I promise that this was a great second try at the recipe! Again, it was about using what I had left over: so, rice and mushrooms from fajitas the week before, a squash that had been sitting in my fridge since....early December?... and a few other staples. The only special purchase was the bacon--2 pieces, applewood smoked and specially from the local market.


Here, instead of stuffing a pumpkin with bread crumbs, I stuffed a kabocha squash with rice.... and a mixture of spinach, onions, mushrooms, bacon, and gouda, topped with half&half. This was a lovely warm meal, with plenty of leftovers, and I paired it with a few other courses: brie and jam on black pepper crackers, potato-onion soup, and a sparkly vinho verde.

All on a Monday/date night. I'd recommend it hands down, except for the part where your whole apartment smells like bacon...

But wait! There's more! I finished it off with a special dessert, one which also made an appearance at the Charity Auction coffee stand: coffee-spice shortbread with candied ginger!

Better Bharta

This was a great inspiration from a friend--baingan bharta, or eggplant with tomato-yogurt sauce. We paired it with spicy-crisp potatoes and brown rice, then topped it with coconut, lime, and (for the leftovers!) cilantro.

It's about the only thing I can think of that can keep me warm on a January Michigan night!

Unresolved, and only recently inspired

Happy New Year

So I've been unfortunately very busy this month, and haven't been posting with regularity. Earlier, over the Christmas holiday, I could have posted every day: me + full fridge + dish washer = getting by at my parents' house. Some of the highlights included a canellini bean, kale, and butternut squash stew, a custard pie with cardamom-ginger applesauce, and another roasted vegetable and quinoa dish. But those will just have to remain happy holiday memories :)

Since I've been back at my place, I've cooked mostly subsistence. See below for the best I'd done until this weekend, with a tomato-artichoke sauce over farfalle and spinach.


The last few days, however, I've reiscovered soy chorizo, which makes a great brunch or fajita addition AND has this incredible soporific effect on me... it's certainly not the reading I try to do afterwards...

Finally, tonight I was preparing some things for a big meal tomorrow, and scraped out some bits of Kobucha squash to hollow it out and stuff it. Not willing to waste, I took the flesh I scraped out with and sauteed it Indian style for a spicy little side dish.