Walnut herb sauce
In the meantime, here’s The Soul Leaders with their wonderfully saucy song Pour on the Sauce.
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Walnut & herb sauce
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Roasted carrot & apple with goat cheese in a rosemary crust
When I was little, I loved the Little House on the Prairie book that was about Almanzo Wilder’s childhood in upstate New York. In one scene, he gets all excited because his mom makes him his favorite dish – apples and onions. As a child, I thought this was a very odd combination, because apples were sweet. Well, it turns out that little Almanzo was a culinary genius, because apples are lovely in a lot of savory environments. In these little pastry parcels, carrots and apples, roasted with shallots and garlic, show off their sweetness to tart goat cheese and sharp cheddar, and all the tastes are enhanced by the lovely combination of golden raisins and rosemary. A surprising mix-up, perhaps, but really delicious. I made these quite small, because the filling is soft and it contrasts nicely with the crispy crust. Have 2 or 3 with soup or a salad for dinner, or take them to a party as a fancy appetizer.
Here’s Neutral Milk Hotel’s King of Carrot Flowers. Might not actually be about carrots, but such a good song.
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Happy Thanksgiving!
ginormous mushroom pie
So what am I making, you ask? I’m making a ginormous deep mushroom pie, that will be just as satisfying and delicious as turkey, I feel sure, for the vegetarians among us. And I’m making a herbed walnut “gravy.” I’ll let you know how that goes later on. And I’m making a stuffing of chestnuts, white beans, apples, shallots and sage. Recipe after the … jump!
Here’s a small playlist of songs of thanks and gratitude. Have a wonderful day, everybody!
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Turnip and arugula soup with gorgonzola toasts
Turnip & arugula soup
A flavorful soup with a cheese toast floating in it – for me, this is the apex of comforting food on a rainy November day. This is a light, bright soup. The sweet yet slightly edgy taste of turnip goes well with the nutty but slightly edgy taste of arugula. (And the arugula helps to prevent turnip-soup-grey drabness!) And both combine nicely with the distinctive (and slightly edgy) taste of gorgonzola. I used half arugula/half baby spinach, hoping that the spinach would help to mellow its snappier cousin. I used a vegetable broth made with the carrots/potatoes/mushrooms/shallots/garlic & turnip greens. Plus a handful of masoor dal and a variety of herbs. If you’re not a fan of gorgonzola, you can make cheese toasts using a milder cheese, or no cheese at all, or leave them out altogether!!
Danny Polo is a clarinetist from the 30s, and here he is Doing the Gorgonzola.
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NPR’s history of the pie
I’m not the only pie geek out there! Here’s an article on the history of pies from NPR. Fascinating! And I LOVE magpies!!
And here’s Alfred Deller’s The Tailor and the Mouse, which used to freak me out a little when I was young. He bakes his mouse in a pie! Why would you do that?
Pie, Mash & Liquor – vegetarian style
I first came across pie, mash & liquor in the wonderful blog Spitalfields Life. This meal is an east London phenomenon, which consists of a meat pie, a pile of mashed potatoes, and a drenching of liquor (parsley sauce). And it seems to be accompanied, traditionally, by jellied eels. (I haven’t come up with a vegetarian version of this, but it would probably involve okra.) The meal is served in gleaming marble and glass pie shops, which I vow to visit one day!
I used a black bean and mushroom substitute for the meat. From the recipes I’ve seen, there’s a bit of leeway with different flavorings – it’s not as pure and simple as a cornish pastie, for instance. I added marmite, mustard powder, paprika, and beer, and the result is really delicious! I have made parsley sauce in the past, but I was in the mood for something different, this time, so I made an herbed walnut sauce, and stirred a big helping of pesto in at the end so it would be green (and tasty!!)
I used a hot water crust on the bottom and a paté brisée on the top, which seems to be traditional, according to some sources. But you could use one or the other. And I used a large-sized muffin pan, but you could use a regular muffin pan, or, to really keep it simple, just use paté brisée and fold them over like turnovers.
Here’s Dee Dee Sharp doing Mashed Potato Time
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Empanada Gallega – vegetarian style
This is the time of year for savory pastries! (somebody told me I say the word “savory” too often. And perhaps I do, but somebody’s got to!) They’re so warm and comforting, and they’re the perfect solution to the problem of trying to feed vegetarians a holiday meal. Or to feed non-vegetarians a meal special and satisfying enough that they don’t miss their meat.
Let’s start with the grandmother of all savory pies…the Empanada Gallega. This empanada is probably the source of empanadas all over the world. It hails from Galicia, in Northwestern Spain, and it’s a large flat pie that would be cut into pieces. I’ve never been to Galicia, and I’ve never eaten a genuine empanada gallega, but I’ve been so taken with the idea of it, and I’ve read so much about it, that I feel like I have! I’ve cobbled together a vegetarian version of my idea of an empanada gallega. It’s delicious, relatively simple to make, and it feeds a lot of people. I believe that seafood, specifically tuna, is used in the real version. I’ve experimented with different types of vegetables…mushrooms, eggplant, spinach, zucchini. The combination I like best, in the end, is artichoke hearts and zucchini. Baby spinach would work well in that combination, too, if you’re in the mood. If you’re not a fan of zucchini, you could stick with artichoke hearts by themselves. Whatever you like! We’re making it up as we go along, so it’s very adaptable. You know what would be good? Artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. I’ll try that next time!!
In Galicia, the patterns on the pies help to identify what kind of filling is inside. Since I just make one at a time, we just have fun with them. My son made the owl!
Continue readingIt’s your birthday
This week was my son’s birthday. His favorite food is pizza, so for three days, he literally ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I feel less guilty about this now that I know that pizza is a vegetable. My birthday is in June, and we always eat outside. We have a nice bottle of viognier, and good bread, good cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, olives… you get the idea.
Another thing I like to have on my birthday is ice cream. Which made me think of this scene from Ghost Dog. It’s such a beautiful scene – and Isaach de Bankole’s character trying to persuade Ghost Dog that ice cream is really good for you (a nutritionist on the radio said it’s almost exactly like food!) reminded me of the current conversation about pizza. And Reagan-era catsup qualifications.
Is there something you like to eat on your birthday, or a special day? What’s your favorite meal?
Black Bean Burgers
Black bean burger
Here’s De La Soul’s Bitties in the BK Lounge
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Sweet potato buns
I made these sweet potato buns with the last of the veg from our CSA. They’re a lovely rosy color, have a crisp crust and a fine crumb. I added a little cardamom and paprika, so they have a subtle sweet/smoky flavor that seems to go with their color. Yesterday was a day of freezing dampness, and it was nice to have a fresh-baked bun at the end of it.
Good with black bean burgers!
Here’s Mikey Dread’s Hot Cross Bun to listen to as you wait for the dough to rise.
Out of the Ordinary 