Dear Everybody Who is Obsessed With Blue Apron, Green Chef, Hello Fresh, and The Like

I get it, okay. I know we need convenience in our lives. I know we're all busy - I'm right there with you. I work full time, I volunteer, I have kids, a spouse, dogs - plenty of demands. You and me both, okay? We like getting everything delivered to our doors. Amazon Prime, Bark Box, Honest Company - it all just shows up on our door step and we never even have to leave the house or shop in public or anything! Amazing. But let's step back a minute and talk about what we're getting when we make our food decisions and what our community is getting as a result. 

First let's talk about freshness - I'm guessing you are really keen on fresh ingredients because that is something that these companies tout. Fresh and organic ingredients. I also love fresh and organic ingredients. But let me suggest to you that the freshest ingredients you can get are the ones that are grown very close by and aren't packaged and well travelled. Try shopping the farmers market or the many grocery stores that sell local produce and get something fresh and organic there. It will be fresher than something that's been shipped to you and it won't come with food miles or extra packaging. It will not have travelled a long journey from the farm to the distribution center to the packaging facility to the next distribution center, etc. etc. etc. There is a lot of energy input for a journey like that so your delivery comes with kind of an outsized carbon footprint. Not unlike when I was a teenager and my feet grew faster than the rest of me: normal sized kid - GIANT feet! Meal delivery services mean a normal sized stash of ingredients - HUGE carbon footprint! 

Each time we buy food - and we buy food pretty often, don't we? Three meals a day, snacks, you, me, our families - lots of mouths to feed and lots of meals to make. Each time we buy food we are supporting someone. Think about who you support. A local, sustainable farmer? Or a large corporation? Or a company that supports organic farmers? There are a lot of decisions to make and we make them everyday. Sometimes we need to make decisions based on convenience. But whenever we can, let's make decisions that support our community.

Please join me in looking for ways to support local, organic, hard working, small farmers in our region when you make at least some of your food decisions. Your food will be fresher and your money will stay in Kansas City. By the way - you know about the local multiplier effect, right? For every $1 you spend at a national chain, only 15 cents is invested locally; but for every $1 you spend locally, 45 cents gets reinvested locally! Think about how much better our home town would be if each of us chose to spend just a few more of our dollars supporting local farmers. 

Thanks for your time!

Love,

Emily

PS: IF you want to join a Community Supported Agriculture program, call me - helping people find the right CSA is one of my favorite past times!

Strawberry Bread Pudding

berries

If you're anything like me, you may find yourself with a good chunk of leftover Italian bread and an overage of fresh, local, organic strawberries (because you can never buy just one quart since one quart is what you eat on the way home from the market and you'll need a lot more than that once you get home). And in this fortuitous moment, you may think to yourself, "Is there such a thing as strawberry bread pudding?"

You may do a Google search and find out that, Yes, there IS such a thing! And you may sort through a lot of recipes before finding THIS ONE and emailing to your husband one morning suggesting it for dessert that night. And you may even get home at the end of the day and offer to make that Strawberry Bread Pudding only to discover that he has already done it! 

And then you may find out that not only is there such a thing as Strawberry Bread Pudding, but it is delightful. 

The next morning your husband may have the brilliant idea to slice the leftover bread pudding and fry it a little like a french toast or something. And then you may justify eating Strawberry Bread Pudding for both dessert AND breakfast. And you may be delighted yet again. 

If you're anything like me, that is.

Strawberry Bread Pudding
from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by the Daily Loaf 
click here for full details and a recipe for caramel sauce
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 ounces crusty stale bread, torn or cut in bite-size pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) strawberries, sliced

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 x-2-inch pan. Set aside.
2) Combine eggs, milk, sugar (white and brown, vanilla extract, spices and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until blended.
3) Place bread pieces into a large bowl. Pour milk mixture over bread and toss to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow milk to be absorbed into bread.
4) Fold in strawberries and pour mixture into baking dish.
5) Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until raised and puffy. Insert a toothpick into center and if it comes out fairly clean, it’s done. Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.


The French Toast Treatment for Breakfast

Ingredients:
leftover Strawberry Bread Pudding
butter

Directions:
Slice the pudding into 1-inch or 1 1/2-inch slices.
Heat butter in pan.
Fry the pudding slices (that's a weird phrase) until golden.
Ignore the fact that you just made something unhealthy even unhealthier.
Enjoy!

Rapturous Radish Sandwiches

A few weeks ago I was making cucumber sandwiches for a potluck. I had a lot of radishes on hand and remembered hearing tell of radish sandwiches, so I thought I'd make some of those, too. I found this recipe, which was a good starting point for my own, more local version (see recipe below). They turned out to be delicious; I was delighted when, at the end of the potluck, there were still some radish sandwiches left for me to enjoy.

bread, sheep's cheese, and radish from Badseed; pea shoots from Brookside

I took my radish sandwiches to the next potluck I went to, hoping again that I would have left overs to enjoy for myself. Finally I realized I should just make my own radish sandwiches without feeling obligated to share. So for the last three days I've had radish sandwiches for lunch and I am still totally enraptured by them.

the mandoline is my friend

Speaking of rapture, I finally decided to blog about these divine sandwiches after Sergio came up with a clever name in honor of today being the supposed judgment day - "Rapturous Radish Sandwiches."

left behind

I think it's easy to bypass the radish as a thing you just put on a salad or some other sideline. But putting them on center stage like this enables you to appreciate their differences - each shade of pink, differing levels of spice, etc. For today's version I used some Cherry Belle radishes from our CSA and some ... I think they were Easter Egg radishes from Badseed. I also used plain sheep's cheese from Green Dirt Farm and incredible Sicilian bread from The New Traditionalist - the incredible new bread vendor at Badseed this year - which I was able to slice (Thanks, Wusthof!) relatively thin, to make for a more delicate sandwich.

tender pea shoot tendril

My pea shoots from the market two weeks ago are still holding up well and tasting wonderful. And the sesame seeds on top of the bread added another layer of flavor, distinct and delicious.

If today really is the end of the world, then I say - what a way to go.

"Rapturous Radish Sandwiches"

serves 2

- some radishes sliced super thin (How many radishes? 3? 6? I don't know - it totally depends on the radish. And you.)

- plain, soft, spreadable Green Dirt Farm sheep's cheese (although the nettle variety would probably be good, too)

- mayonnaise

- pea shoots (which are harder and harder to find the later we get into May, but you could also use arugula if you want to kick it up a notch)

- bread (a nice big loaf, sliced thinly, or I used Bread of Life Multigrain for my lunch on Thursday and Friday - a totally serviceable option for days that aren't special occasions like Judgment Day.)

Do you really need instructions for how to put together a sandwich? Surely not. I'll just say this. Don't skimp on the radishes. They are, after all, the main attraction. I do about 4 layers. Feel free to go crazy if you'd like. I do a good bunch of pea shoots, too, so the flavor really comes out. Um ... what else. I should mention that the sheep's cheese is easier to spread the closer it is to room temp. You can do all mayonnaise or all sheep's cheese - or one on each side of the bread. Be liberal with the cheese, too. Especially if it's the end of the world. What have you got to lose?

If I'm lucky, the world won't end today and you know what that means, right? Radish sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

Easter

Easter seems late to me this year. But I kind of like that it came so close to Earth Day, so as to pack in the celebratory feel all in one weekend. And Saturday - in between Earth Day and Easter - was the opening of the Brookside Farmers Market, one of my favorite markets. That's a red letter day in my book. So we celebrated today - with Sergio's sister and her family - with fresh greens and mint and rhubarb and daffodils and little plastic eggs from the church Easter egg hunt ... and it was lovely.

bright spot

be-bob-a-re-bob rhubarb - which went in to a crisp (not a pie)

minty mint tea

salad mix with nasturtiums, cucumber, radish, mint and - drum roll - pea shoots!

los primos

Eat Local and Organic Expos

Week one back in the workplace was wonderful. I got right back into the groove, and it felt (in a good way) like I never even left. Julia and Sergio did just fine at home without me; she's eating and sleeping well and Sergio's having a blast.

So what better way to put a cap on that first week of transition and to prepare for the second week back - and to celebrate Spring, despite the snow! - than to see all my farmer friends and to stock up on fresh food at the Eat Local Expo last Saturday in Independence.

Forsythia for spring - Independence Expo

I bought a big batch of salad greens, micro greens, scallions, carrots, and my favorite spring delicacy - peashoots. The snow outside my window last night seemed far, far away from the newness and freshness of the scallions and peashoots that I was packing into my salad for lunch today.

I'll be going back for more next Saturday at the Eat Local and Organic Expo in Shawnee. See you then?

Making Baby Food (Ode to a Vitamix)

The Badseed Winter Farmers Market is ending this month, and Julia will be ready for solid foods soon - and we broke down and bought a Vitamix (!) - so, we've been making baby food!

"Mommy, can I eat some yet?"

Julia wore her sweet-potato-orange bib for our first session, which I thought was very clever of her. These days she has been intently watching us eat and drink, slowly but surely recognizing how we pick things up and put them in our mouths. She'll be ready soon.

silicone ice cube trays - a helpful gift from my mom

One of the reasons (the many reasons) we bought the Vitamix was because of the recipes for baby food in the back of the book. Using the Vitamix is so perfect for baby food that I can't imagine owning a separate baby food maker. I totally sound like the Vitamix demonstration lady at Costco, but it's true! It's an amazing machine and purees like magic.

smells so good

So two weeks ago I bought five pounds of sweet potatoes at Badseed - they were the last of the season for Bigg Blue Farm, so I'm glad I caught them in time! Then last weekend I bought 6 hefty acorn squashes, also from Bigg Blue Farm. (PS: the small amount of acorn squash puree left over in your Vitamix, blended with orange juice and some frozen fruit, makes a really good smoothie!) Having exhausted our orange options for now, next on the docket are some canned green beans from last year. (Won't be making a smoothie with left over green beans ... or will we?)

sweet potato puree

As the winter season wanes, we eat what we've been saving and the freezer (chockablock with preserved harvest at the beginning of the winter) slowly empties; so I am filling it back up with baby food. Tightly sealed perfect little cubes of colorful, local, organic baby food.

many cubic inches of baby food

2011 - Year of the Soup

We've been eating a lot of soup so far this year. And while I don't think we'll actually spend the entire year on a soup diet, we have at least sustained it for nearly two weeks and it's been a blast planning out our menus.

On a regular basis, we make a lot of soups and stews that are terribly similar and formulaic (this one, this one, and this one, for example) and so I was looking to diversify our repertoire with a few new and different soups. Plus, I wanted to take advantage of my being home all day thus allowing for 6-hour soups in the crock pot. So, I've been reading Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker each night before bed, picking out some recipes and trying not to get distracted by the complicated and delicious-sounding non-soup recipes.

We've had a couple of chunky soups or stews, a chili, some smooth pureed soups, some with a tomato base and some without. Each one different, all of them vegan, and most of them as locally sourced as possible. A trip to Badseed's winter market last Friday boosted our ingredient list for the second week of soup and beyond.

So here's what we've had...

Monday: Lentil Soup with Ribbons of Kale - I made this for some friends who had a baby right before Christmas; I'd been craving it ever since, so it was first on the list. An oldie but a goodie.

Tuesday: Creamy Tomato Soup with Israeli Couscous (see the recipe below) - our beloved Cosentino's, alas, did not have Israeli Couscous. But we made do with a charming tiny shell pasta. This was a very fun soup that I intend to add to our regular repertoire.

Wednesday: Red Bean and Quinoa Chili - my "award-winning" chili ... okay, it's not really mine (it's Cynthia Lair's from Feeding the Whole Family) and it really only won second place (out of three chilis) ... but it's delicious nonetheless.

Thursday: Lentil Soup with Ribbons of Kale Redux - I added Field Roast Sausage to spruce up our left overs.

Friday: Dinner out at Eden Alley where we had soup! Potato Dill to be exact.

Saturday: ¡Pozole! Sergio found this super simple and delicious recipe. It's traditionally made with meat, but what ours lacked in traditional ingredients, it made up for in traditional garnishes: radish, red onion, cilantro, lime, and tostadas.

Some fancy smoked salts that Sergio got for Christmas made a nice addition to our other traditional garnishes.

Sunday: On the seventh day, we rested from our soup fest and had a special lunch at Blue Bird Bistro in honor of Julia's baptism.

Monday: Winter Squash Soup (see recipe below) - one giant butternut squash from the Badseed winter market was the star of this show.

Tuesday: Two Mushroom Barley (see recipe below) - if you love mushrooms, you'll love this soup. Funny thing, though - I don't love mushrooms. In fact, I was preparing to eat left over winter squash soup if this little number was going to come out as mushroomy as it smelled all day. But eventually the pearled barley plumped and took a prominent place among the mushrooms and, lo and behold, I actually like it!

Wednesday: Left over Winter Squash (for me) and Two Mushroom Barley (for Sergio)

Thursday: Golden Summer Squash Soup - I know - a weird thing to eat in the winter, right? But it's one of the soups I made in September, before Julia was born, and it's been hanging out in the freezer all this while. It was just as delicious four months later.

Golden Summer Soup with salsa and tostadas

The following recipes are from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Israeli Couscous
Israeli couscous is distinctly different from regular couscous in appearance and flavor. About the size of peppercorns, Israeli couscous can be found in well-stocked supermarkets and gourmet grocers. If unavailable, substitute acini de pepe (peppercorn) pasta, or another small soup pasta such as orzo or ditalini.

Slow cooker size: 4 quart
Cook time: 6-8 hours (ours was done in 6)
Setting: Low
Serves: 4

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
(I added about 1 cup of chopped red peppers)
3 cups vegetable broth
one 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (or one quart of local canned tomato halves!)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
pinch of sugar or a natural sweetener
2 bay leaves
(I added a teaspoon each of basil and oregano; I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of tamari soy sauce)
salt and pepper
1 cup cooked Israeli couscous
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves for garnish

Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. (You can leave this step out and just but the onion and garlic straight in.)

Transfer the vegetables to a 4-quart slow cooker, add the stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and bay leaves (and basil and oregano and soy sauce); season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours. Remove the bay leaves and purée the soup in a food processor or blender or use an immersion blender to purée it in the slow cooker. Adjust the seasonings.

To serve, spoon about 1/4 cup of cooked couscous into the bottom of each bowl, ladle the hot soup on top, and serve sprinkled with the basil.

Winter Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
This soup is a great way to begin Thanksgiving dinner. Best of all, when made in a slow cooker, it frees up the already-crowded stovetop and keeps the soup at a good serving temperature while everyone gathers at the table.

Slow Cooker Size: 4 to 6 quart
Cook Time: 6 hours
Setting: Low
Serves 4-6

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
2 medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced (I had a huge squash so I used all squash and no sweet potatoes)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and celery, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the cooked vegetables to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the sweet potatoes, squash, stock, thyme, and sage; season with salt and pepper, cover, and cook on Low for 6 hours.

Purée the soup in a blender or food processor, working in batches, or directly in the slow cooker using an immersion blender. Taste to adjust the seasonings, and serve hot.

Two-Mushroom Barley Soup
Both dried and fresh mushrooms are used in this satisfying soup popular throughout Eastern Europe. Any kind of dried mushroom is fine for this soup - I especially like the woodsy flavor of porcini. Pearl barley can be found in most supermarket or health food stores.

Slow Cooker Size: 4-6 quart
Cook Time: 6 hours
Setting: Low
Serves 4-6

1 ounce dried mushrooms
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery rib chopped
1 cup pearl barley
8 ounces white mushrooms, sliced (we got ours from Paul and Judy at Badseed!)
6 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons minced fresh chives

Place the dried mushrooms in a heatproof measuring cup and cover with hot water. Let sit until softened. Drain, straining and reserving 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, thinly slice the mushrooms, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the cooked vegetables to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the barley, both kinds of mushrooms, the stock, the reserved mushroom liquid, and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Taste to adjust the seasonings before serving. If a thinner soup is desired, add more broth.

Serve garnished with the chives.

Labor Day Gnocchi

After noticing the other day how many potatoes I've been collecting from each and every trip to the farmers market and CSA pick up, I decided it would be fun to make gnocchi. So with the prospect of a "free" day today, and with enough nesting/crazed cleaning finished up to allow for lengthy fun time in the kitchen, I set about to do just that.

local flour + local potatoes = local gnocchi

Except that the first recipe for gnocchi that I found said something really encouraging like "everything could go wrong," and that made me feel a little bit daunted. Like maybe I should stick to making something I know - just roast those potatoes and be done with it. But Sergio - always more fearless in the kitchen than me - said, "No, let's make the gnocchi. It'll be fine!" And you know what? He was right?

Labor Day gnocchi!

This was the recipe that he found. Super simple. Only two ingredients. Totally accessible. And it totally worked. Granted, it was a lot of work from start to finish - so many steps for so few ingredients. But so fun at each stage of the process.

balls of gnocchi dough, trying to resemble potatoes

step ? in the laborious multi-step gnocchi-forming process

almost done!

Our cute little gnocchis were maybe a little soft and with our whole wheat pasta they were definitely heartier than others. But I was really pleased that they didn't turn out too dense, as some gnocchi are prone to do, landing in one's belly with a resounding thud.

our first batch of gnocchi rising to the occasion

These little "lumps" (the meaning of the Italian word "gnocchi") took well to the pesto sauce we made with lots of last year's frozen pesto ice cubes. With a sprinkling of 'deconstructed pesto' on top (parmesan, salt, pine nuts, and fresh basil), our first-run, whole-wheat, mostly-local Labor Day gnocchi was complete!

pesto, pesto gnocchi

We had Christy and Armando and the kids over for dinner - they were our willing guinea pig guests. This morning when we measured out our pound and a half of potatoes, we had decided it seemed a little paltry. So we doubled the recipe. Of course we now have a whole big batch of leftover gnocchis in the freezer. I'm looking forward to eating them again.

Sexy Stir Fry

If you haven't been following Badseed on Facebook or enjoying the weekly email updates, then you have missed a lot of good food p0rn this summer. Each week, Farmer Brooke posts a runner-up and a grand prize winner in her "Sexy Veggie of the Week" contest. There have been some gorgeous vegetables all season long, and each week I can't wait to get the email to see who won.

the pin-up from Sexy Veggie of the Week - Grand Prize Winner , 8/6

Come Friday, when I make my way to Badseed (my 'happy hour' after a long work week - "next round of green beans are on me!"), I find that those sexy veg are as gorgeous in person and as delicious as promised. The week before last, the runner-up was the two-foot long Chinese red noodle bean and the grand prize winner was sweet potato greens. I bought both and decided to make what turned out to be a delicious stir fry.

my sweet potato greens and (appropriately) "Vegetables and the parts we eat" illustration

Chinese red noodle beans

I also grabbed a bunch of Thai basil (one of the runners-up from 3 weeks ago) for garnish. Except, it's really an integral part of the flavor, so garnish isn't quite the right word...

Thai Basil, Runner Up, 7/23

Try these three very sexy vegetables together in this very Sexy Stir Fry - you'll see what I mean.

Sexy Stir Fry

Serve with rice or noodles or - if you're a pregnant vegetarian looking for whole sources of non-soy protein - with quinoa! Serves 2 - 3.

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 small bell pepper, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 T olive oil

1/2 pound Chinese red noodle beans, chopped into 2-inch pieces with stem end of bean removed

2-3 T honey (Les Miller's raw honey from Badseed)

2 T tamari (or other) soy sauce

6 oz Quorn (or some local chicken, available at Badseed, or local tofu - whatever protein you desire)

the leaves from one bunch of sweet potato greens, trimmed from the stem and rinsed

1/4 cup peanut sauce

bunch of Thai basil (don't leave this out - seriously!)

• Mince and chop the garlic, onion and pepper and saute in a small amount of olive oil, just until tender.

• Add the noodle beans to the onion and pepper; stir in the honey and tamari, and simmer - covered! - until noodle beans are tender and slightly wrinkled - about 10 minutes.

• Add the protein. If you're using Quorn, stir fry for about 5 minutes, then add the sweet potato greens on top. Cover and allow the greens to wilt for another 5 minutes.

• Stir in some of the peanut sauce and use a fork to break apart the sweet potato greens as they continue to cook, wilt, and reduce. Continue to cook until greens are fully wilted and Quorn is fully cooked, adding peanut sauce as needed.

• "Garnish" (or rather, complete the full flavor spectrum) with whole leaves of Thai basil, as many as you see fit.

Some Summer Highlights

Amid the summer's festivities and activities so far, there have also been some noteworthy vegetables (and dishes) - three of which I found particularly worthy of capturing "on film."

Earlier in the summer (but still too late to be spring), I bought peas from Bigg Blue Farm at Badseed Market. I had been hoping I'd find peas somewhere; after seeing so many farmers sell pea shoots all spring long, I figured there had to be a comparable number of peas to follow. But they are rare. There are sugar snap peas a-plenty, yes, but regular old shelling peas are few. So when I found the Bigg Blue peas, I snatched some up. I wish now that I'd bought every last pea he had.

recently shelled peas

I spent a very peaceful morning sitting in the sun on my church pew, shelling these peas - a little bit of zen. I had no idea how I'd cook them. I can't ever remember cooking fresh peas. I was considering mushy peas, one of my favorite bits of Britishness. But it seemed kind of a shame to boil and mush them, so tender and perfect as they were. I thought I might also blanch and freeze them for later - but that also seemed a shame. Ultimately, I decided to steam them with carrots for a plain and simple peas-n-carrots side dish for a "meat" and two veg. This turned out to be a perfect way to cook them while still allowing them their maximum pea-ness. Now I am just waiting for more peas in the fall; if I find any, I'm going to buy them all.

chioggas

Next up on the list of memorable veg were these beets. We got them in our CSA share, I think ... or maybe I bought them at Badseed. I can't remember; we had an assortment. At any rate, by the time I pulled them out of the fridge to cook them, I'd forgotten that they were Chioggas. Until I sliced them open and found their psychedelic swirls. They were like peppermint candies, except that we drizzled them in olive oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and baked them in a hot oven (425, maybe?) for quite some time. They were better than peppermint candies. By far. And so stunning.

Thomas Hart Benton zucchini

On my last shift at CSA distribution, a friend was complaining about how she'd run out of things to do with all the summer squash we'd been getting. True, there had been an abundance of squash at each CSA pick up and at Badseed. But I hadn't quite exhausted my options yet - and besides that, I couldn't turn away the interesting shaped ones so I had my share of an abundance, as well.

So one night I made zucchini burgers (a la these eggplant burgers of 31 Veggie Burgers fame). Those almost-perfectly-round, ball-shaped squashes lent themselves well for this (one medium squash, two burgers), but you could use any of the zucchinis that have enough girth. I don't have a recipe for this dish, per se; all I can tell you is that I sautéed each relatively thick (1/4 inch or so) slice in a skillet until it was nice and brown, with thyme on one side and chipotle chili powder on the other side. (A good trick to remember: make some slices through the skin around the outer rim of each zucchini "patty" so the skin breaks easily when you bite into it.) Oh! And I added some cheese while the slices were still on the skillet. Any burger fixings are right with this - in our case I tossed in some meat-free deli slices for added protein. They were delicious burgers but all too short lived.

Good thing squash is still abounding this summer; I have a fridge-full of them and I'm ready for more.

ThanksVegan #6

The tradition continues. Every fall for six years we have gathered with our friends Jon and Erin for a completely vegan Thanksgiving. The menu changes every year and gets better every year, too. But some things - like the mashed potatoes and the bonhomie - stay the same.

seitan roulade from Vegan Yum Yum

We were all Tofurkey-eating novices when this began in 2004. By now we've graduated from a processed & boxed main dish, to made-from-scratch roulades - a tofu roulade last year and a seitan roulade this year.

sage, thyme, garlic - for the stuffing

Each year we've been able to get more local, too - although we seem to delocalize things pretty often - driving our Missouri Brussels sprouts to Tulsa - or driving Oklahoma sage and thyme to Kansas City.

Eden Alley's Mushroom Gravy was Sergio's most stunning gravy yet

Our resources this year included the Candle Cafe cookbook, a Nigella recipe cut out of the newspaper, and the newly released Eden Alley cookbook - Stirwell to Heaven. Oh, and Erin, who is a resource in and of herself.

heirloom pumpkins; long island cheese and jarrahdale

The Nigella recipe was for stuffed, roasted pumpkin. I took two elements of my centerpiece - two heirloom pumpkins from Hun's Garden - and stuffed them with rice, cranberries, and saffron and roasted them for ages. Delicious.

steak on our Cosentino's gift cards - not vegan

What I couldn't buy at Badseed on Friday, we bought at Cosentino's on Saturday - wheat gluten, oranges and cranberries, among other things. (Very little soy, though, as this year's meal was virtually soy free.) This trip to the grocery store was funded by a generous gift card from a colleague which I have been holding on to all year. I've been saving it for a special occasion - an occasion like the Sixth Annual ThanksVegan - a very special occasion indeed.

The Full Menu
• seitan roulade (recipe from Vegan Yum Yum)
• roasted, stuffed pumpkin (recipe from Nigella Lawson; pumpkins from Hun's Garden)
• roasted broccoli and cauliflower (from the JCCC/K-State Student Farm)
• sauteed kale and chard (from Badseed and KCCUA)
• mashed potatoes (from Alice, Western Hills Produce)
• wilted spinach salad (from KCCUA)
• mushroom gravy (from Eden Alley cookbook, using Soaring Eagle Farm wheat flour)
• mushroom and wild rice soup (recipe from Candle Cafe cookbook)
• grain travel bread (from Fervere)
• cranberry orange relish (recipe from Erin's grandmother)
• easy tarte aux pommes - a.k.a. Apple Pie (from Vegan Yum Yum)

Giant Pumpkin and Lil Baby Pumpkin

On Halloween, I bought a pumpkin. Not an orange, jack o lantern kind for carving, but a mottled greenish one for eating. At City Market, while Pov Hun was selling me on this particular pumpkin (the smallest he had of this variety, I might add), Sergio stood by, imploring me not to buy such a large pumpkin. But Pov said it was easy to cut, would stay good in the fridge for a couple of weeks, and was really sweet. I couldn't resist. So I bought it. All 20 pounds of it.

me and my fairytale pumpkin

It looked even bigger when we got it home, so I thought it best to start cooking it post haste. Plus, Sergio was still grumbling about such a big pumpkin. So the next day, All Saints Day, I decided to cut it open. Perhaps because he was afraid I'd do myself harm with the knife (or perhaps he'd changed his mind about the pumpkin?), Sergio took over the arduous task of slicing it open; he even cleaned out its seeds. I wrapped the pieces in plastic and made room in the fridge; I hunted down some recipes to get started. We had a lot of pumpkin to get through.

Sergio wrestling the giant pumpkin into submission

I started with Pumpkin Muffins on Sunday night, moved to Pumpkin Butter on Monday, made Pumpkin, White Bean and Kale stew on Tuesday and was planning Pumpkin Risotto for Wednesday. All this while, we had been awaiting the birth of our nephew, whom we had long since named Baby Pumpkin, since he was due right after Halloween. We all thought he was going to arrive early, which he didn't. So by the time I was working through slice number 5 of the Giant Pumpkin, I was beginning to wonder if Baby Pumpkin would even get here before I made it through the whole thing.

so much orange

Lo and behold, on Wednesday, no sooner than I'd printed my Pumpkin Risotto recipe, my sister-in-law went into labor. We postponed our marathon pumpkin baking/cooking spree and headed to the hospital to welcome Lil Baby Pumpkin, who arrived early in the morning on Thursday, November 5, weighing in at 9 pounds and 1 ounce, nearly a Giant Pumpkin himself.

Emilio Fidel • November 5, 2009 • 9 lbs, 1 oz

Mom and baby recouped in the hospital for the next few days while everyone tried to catch up on sleep; I went back to my Giant Pumpkin and my list of recipes, including a Thanksgiving Squash casserole. For a big Welcome Home From the Hospital feast on Saturday I made Pumpkin Soup and Maple-Glazed Winter Squash with Garlic and Ginger, among other things.

Lil Baby Pumpkin in his hat from Auntie Em

And when Emilio was one week old, Sergio and I finally made that Pumpkin Risotto and everyone came over for dinner then, too, to share our Giant and Lil Baby Pumpkins with each other.

Pumpkin Risotto

PS: Last night at Badseed I learned from Pov that this variety of pumpkin is called "Fairytale." Indeed.

RECIPES:
Pumpkin Muffins - from Smitten Kitchen
Pumpkin Butter - from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker (see below)
Pumpkin, White Bean, and Kale Stew - a modified version of Spicy White Bean and Collard Stew
Thanksgiving Squash Casserole - from a friend on Facebook (see below)
Pumpkin Soup - from Chez Panisse Vegetables - same soup as the Pink Banana Squash Soup
Maple-Glazed Winter Squash with Garlic and Ginger - from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker (see below)
Pumpkin Risotto - from Food Network


Pumpkin Butter
from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker
This butter benefits from a good stirring about halfway through the cooking process.
1 pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, diced
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cups apple juice
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
add later:
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt

In a 3.5- to 4-quart slow cooker, combine the pumpkin, onion, apple juice, and brown sugar. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours, until the pumpkin is very soft.

Stir in the spices and salt and mix well. Press the pumpkin mixture through a metal strainer or food mill to achieve a smooth consistency (you could also purée it in a food processor, if you prefer). Let cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator in tightly covered containers, where it will keep for several weeks.


Thanksgiving Squash Casserole
from Erin Dennis

Brown lightly - 5 min:
2 T butter
1 med yellow onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

Bring to a boil:
2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Add with 1/2 nuts and boil; simmer 10 mins:
2.5 pounds squash (or pumpkin!)
1.5 cups pecans, toasted and chopped

Layer 1/2 cooked veg with 4 ounces of goat cheese, crumbled; top with cheese. (Optional: add spinach or chard in with the layers.)

Bake 45 minutes at 350 until cream is absorbed and top golden.


Maple-Glazed Winter Squash with Garlic and Ginger
from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

2 T olive oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
one 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 T water
1 T tamari or other soy sauce
1 large butternut squash (or pumpkin), halved, seeded, and peeled
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 T firmly packed light brown sugar
Salt and pepper

Spread the oil in the bottom of a 3/5- to 4-quart slow cooker. Arrange the onion slices over the oil, followed by the garlic and ginger. Combine the water and tamari and add to the cooker.

Cut the squash into 2-inch chuncks and place them on top of the vegetables in the cooker. Pour the maple syrup over the squash, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours (or less!) until the squash is soft. Serve hot.