if only...

If only winter were really over! But no, it's still January. It's our winter farm share that is over. I picked up our last share yesterday. Nothing more until June!

The pickup included: spinach, mixed baby greens, kale, mixed braising greens, leeks, onions, garlic, shallots, beets, potatoes, celeriac, purple-topped turnips, carrots, parsnips, parsley root, and lots of popping corn!

I have a few leftovers from last month that needed using up...1 more head of cabbage, and some salad turnips. And I was in the mood for ramen noodles. Time to combine them all...

Cabbage Ramen

1 package ramen noodles
1/2 cup chopped green
cabbage
1 white turnip, sliced
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. white miso
2 T. soy sauce
pinch of cayenne pepper

Chinese food sometimes utilizes water chestnuts, but Japanese cuisine often includes the smaller radish-like white turnips. I'm actually not fond of raw radishes or turnips. But cooked or salted or pickled...yum! In case you can't find any salad turnips, you can just leave them out.

Begin by heating water
in a small pot.
Cut off 2-3 big slices of
cabbage, then cut it up
roughly.
Thinly slice the salad
turnip.
In a tiny bowl, mix the
grated ginger, miso, soy
sauce & cayenne pepper.
When water comes to a boil, add the cabbage, turnip & ramen. Cook for 3-4 minutes. When noodles begin to soften, stir.
Drain most of the cooking liquid and toss with the sauce.

Snowy Day, not a Snow Day

Lots
of
snow
here
over
the
week-
end.
If it
had
landed
on
monday
I'll
bet
even
our
die
hard
town
would
have
declar-
ed a snow day. But it ended by sunday afternoon, and they're very efficient at plowing, so off to school! And welcome winter!

Ryan's lunch: roasted pumpkin seeds; mini banana blueberry muffin; steamed broccoli; mashed potato snowman w/black bean mouth & buttons; brown rice.

Friday was our second winter share pickup at our CSA. The bounty included 3 kinds of lettuce, spinach, baby greens mix, parsley, salad turnips, swiss chard, kale, carrots, parsnips, parsley root, celeriac, purple top turnips, beets, potatoes, shallots, red & yellow onions, leeks, popping corn, apples...and Brussels sprouts.

Now normally everyone says they don't like Brussels sprouts. But I cooked one stalk's worth anyways, and what do you know...Ryan was the only one who didn't want them, and Nate asked for THIRDS!

Sauteed Brussels

2 dozen Brussels Sprouts
2 T. Earth Balance
margarine
1/2 vegetable bouillon
cube (I like Rapunzel sea
salt & herbs variety)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon juice
freshly ground pepper

Remove sprouts from
stalk, then remove one
layer of outer leaves.
Trim off any remaining
stem, then cut in half.

Melt Earth Balance in
saute pan over medium
heat. Add bouillon and a
little water if necessary
to keep bouillon from
burning as it melts with
the margarine.

Add sprouts, salt &
pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding lemon juice when sprouts begin to brown. When one side of sprouts are nicely browned, remove from heat and sprinkle with a little extra salt & pepper.

We served these with brown rice and a bowl of root vegetable soup, perfect after playing in the snow.

We decorated our tree and hung lights outside in time for the winter solstice. Dinner was a quick "picnic" before going to the Boy Scout Reservation's tree & light festival. We use their hiking trails a lot.
























Some of our favourite trees were a Lego ornament tree and one with recycled ornaments.

all good things...

...must come to an end. First summer and our weekly CSA share, then Vegan Mofo, and now our local farmer's markets.

Thursday afternoon I
managed to sneak off
solo to nab some final
goodies. The weather
was nice, the fall colours
were just beginning to
wane, and the vendors
were ready with lots
of great food.
I bought tomatoes, purple brocco-flower (broccoli? cauliflower?), white cauliflower, zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, eggplant, lettuce, kettle corn, and loaves of bread...including Nate's requested "farm bread" which means white bread...though I got some extra seed bread to freeze.

Now comes the long dark winter...what to do? There is a farmer's market a few towns away that runs for another month. And there is the year-round Haymarket in Boston. Otherwise, in addition to our monthly winter CSA share, it's back to the supermarkets. I pay close attention to the little stickers on everything, denoting location and growing method. When all else fails, I head to one of warehouse stores for a giant bag of organic broccoli and freeze the extras. I've got quite a bit of soup veggies frozen from the farm, but the failed tomato crop will either keep me making brothy soups or buying tinned tomatoes. And I'll likely treat myself to a few trips to the various asian markets.

So tell me, how do your eating habits change when the cooler weather arrives? What fall/winter crops do you look forward to most? I always reminisce about a December trip to Australia we took, when the local avocadoes and mangoes were in season. Sometimes it makes me long to live in a warmer locale.

Mid-winter

Remember this bento I
made FOR MYSELF??
Well, you can vote for it
if you so choose over at
Adventures in Bentomaking
in the 300K contest!

There are some great entries,
like Jewelmaker's rainbow
bento...totally trumps my rainbow peace bento I made for September 11th last year.













Let's get the cute pics out
of the way next, LOL.
Maia has to put up with
a lot from her big brothers.

And here she is ready to
go out for lunch on Superbowl
sunday at the Lotus Blossom.
The food was fantastic, but
unfortunately I forgot my
camera so I can't review it
until next time. Sigh.

Monday:
AJ's snack: fancy apples; cucumber slices; meatless meatball; rice ball w/sun; green beans.
Ryan's groundhog day lunch: blueberries; fancy apple slices; meatless meatball; green beans; bell pepper "sun"; cucumber slices; baby carrot; Lake Champlain dark chocolate with almonds; rice triangle with abure age "groundhog" coming out of his nori "hole" to look for his shadow. Alas, I don't think winter is over yet.

A lunch for my husband:
steamed turnip; Lake
Champlain dark chocolate;
grape tomatoes; marinated
mushrooms; rice ball;
meatless meatballs; mini
pumpkin muffin; mixed
nuts; blueberries.

Nate has been really
in to eating avocado
halves lately. Actually,
he's been an eating
machine for most
everything, growing like
a weed.





Tuesday:
Nate's lunch: "chik'n" salad; grape tomatoes; roasted parsnips; strawberries & blueberries; mini pumpkin muffin; broccoli; carrot.

AJ's snack: "chik'n"
salad; broccoli; carrot;
mini pumpkin muffin;
Triscuit triangles.




Ryan's lunch: strawberries & blueberries; carrots; roasted parsnips; mini pumpkin muffin; snow peas; broccoli; Triscuit triangles; soy cheese shapes; Thermos of ma po tofu with green beans, bok choy & bamboo shoots.

Wednesday:
Ryan's Nintendo lunch: rice balls with yellow bell pepper & carrot stars; marinated mushrooms; edamame; broccoli; vegetable dumpling; fancy apple slices; "mushroom" made of soy cheese & tomato half w/nori face.
AJ's snack: a cupcake
for his friend's 5th
birthday at school.






Thursday:

AJ's snack & Nate's
lunch: mini pumpkin miso
muffins; mini banana
blueberry muffins; soy
nuggets...
AJ had seaweed rice
crackers & crunchy peas.
Nate had a chocolate
covered strawberry, blueberries, & grape tomatoes.
Ryan's lunch: Thermos of rice with stir-fried green beans, snow peas & asparagus w/"chik'n" strips and some stir-fried mung bean sprouts; mini pumpkin miso muffin; mini banana blueberry muffin; chik'n nuggets; grape tomato; chocolate-covered strawberries; blueberries; crunchy peas; iso maki crackers; almonds.

I thought I'd made way too much food for Ryan, but it was a very cold morning, he didn't finish breakfast, and he was singing in the school winter concert that morning. Wouldn't you know it, he ate everything except a few almonds & a single pea, and he couldn't finish those because he ran out of time at lunch. I guess he really was hungry!

My husband was leaving
on yet ANOTHER trip.
He's been traveling a lot
lately to promote his new
game to distributors around
the country. So I made
him dinner for the plane:
strawberries; Tofurky bagel
sandwich; red & yellow bell
pepper strips; grape tomatoes; baby carrots. And I tossed a chocolate heart in on top (not shown).

Friday:
Ryan's mid-winter lunch: peas & corn; meatless meatballs; blue rice; mashed potatoes; soy cheese cloud; yellow bell pepper sun; cucumber pine tree w/ Tofutti cream cheese snow & Tofurky trunk.
Ryan was being picked
up by grandma from
school, and later going to
a Valentine's party, so in
addition to a Luna bar, I
made this dinner/snack
assortment that could
last the entire day in his
backpack: whole grain
crackers; dried apricots; strawberry cereal bites; crunchy peas; iso maki crackers; peanuts &
raisins; grape tomato; baby carrots.

And can you believe it...a
local tomato, grown in an
adjacent town hydroponically.
Cool...and delish, once it
ripened sufficiently!



Better late than never!
I forgot to post our final
winter farm share from
2 weeks ago, oops. I have
dutifully posted pics of
an entire year's worth of
local produce since last
June. This last haul
included 4 ears of popping
corn (one of our favourites), 8lbs. of parsnips, a bag of spinach, a bag of bok choy & kale, a piece of daikon, and a 13lb. bag mix of other storage vegetables such as rutabaga, winter turnip, russet potato, carrot, onion, shallot, garlic, parsley root...and a mammoth winter turnip from the "extras" bin! And as usual I brushed aside the snow to pick some frizen sage leaves.

Winter soups

It's snowing. Again. Definitely time for a soup recipe post. A bunch of them. So here are my recipes for a few satisfying yumminesses I've showcased in Ryan's Thermos and at home during the past few months, and an old fave...Happy New Year!

Star Soup

My vegan version of Chik'n & Stars.

1 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled & diced
1 package Lightife Smart
Strips, chopped
2-3 cups mild vegetable
broth (I like Imagine's Organic
No-Chicken Broth)
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1/2 box/bag star pasta

Cook onion & carrots in olive oil over low heat until onion is very soft.
Add broth & salt, bring to a boil.
Add pasta, reduce heat to medium, stirring often.
After about 10 minutes add the chik'n strips. (Add extra water if soup becomes too thick.)
(If you don't want to use faux meat, try adding 1/3 cup of red lentils when you add the broth instead.)

Potato Leek Soup

Creamy goodness. And you can change it up by adding chopped broccoli, parsnip, or winter squash when you add the potatoes.

1 T. olive oil
1-2 T. margarine
1 large onion, roughly chopped
3 large leeks, washed and roughly chopped
6 potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
a few grinds pepper
3-4 cups milk vegetable broth (I like Imagine's Organic No-Chicken Broth)
1/2 cup plain almond milk or rice milk

Cook onion & leeks in olive oil & margarine over med-low hear until quite soft.
Add potatoes, broth, salt & pepper. Cook about 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Allow to cool somewhat, add milk, then puree soup in a food processor until just smooth.
Serve & add more salt & pepper to taste.


White Bean & Root Veggies Soup

Somehow white beans in soup seem so delicate and delicious. A great way to mix & match your winter storage root veggies.

1-2 T. olive oil (and/or walnut oil)
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth + 2 cups water
1 tsp. salt (optional)
1/3 cup dried red lentils
2-3 large carrots, peeled & chopped
1 turnip, chopped
1 parnsip, chopped
1 medium potato, peeled & chopped
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 can cannellini beans (or other white beans), drained & rinsed.

Cook onion & garlic in olive oil over med-low heat for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add all but remaining ingredients except for the beans and cook until vegetables are just tender. Add beans and cook another 15 minutes.


Spicy Black Bean Soup

Add an extra jalapeno and clear your sinuses baby!

2 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded, diced
2 cans black beans, drained, rinsed
2 T. ground cumin
1 T. dried oregano
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
a few grinds black pepper
1 poblano pepper, seeded & chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
4 cups vegetable broth, plus 1 cup water
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. cooking sherry
2 T. lime juice (lemon will suffice in a pinch)

Cook onion, garlic & 1 of the jalapenos over low heat until soft.
Add black beans, cumin, oregano, 1/2 the cilantro, 1/2 the parsley, salt, pepper, 1/2 the poblano pepper, 1/2 the red bell pepper and the vegetable broth.
Bring to a boil. Cook for at least 1 hour at a slow boil, adding water if necessary.
Remove from heat. Briefly puree soup with an immersion blender, or ladle half the chunky contents from the soup and puree in a food processor.
Return to pan and add remaining ingredients. Cook for another 30 minutes.

Cupcake Craziness

Monday:

Only AJ needed a snack
because Ryan and dada
were not back from their
trip yet...broccoli; apple
rabbits; roasted squash
seeds; tofu herb ravioli.


As soon as Ryan was
home he couldn't wait
to put up the tree.
Here's Maia checking
it out for the first time.



Tuesday:
Ryan's lunch was full of gifts...fried tofu with a spaghetti ribbon, banana walnut muffin square with a red bell pepper ribbon, steamed carrot with a chive ribbon...etc.

Nate's lunch:
sesame tofu;
broccoli; rice
ball; baby corn.




AJ's preschool class
has an inordinate
number of December
birthdays. Add that to
the holiday snack
craziness and it means
I've had to make two
batches of cupcakes in
the past 2 weeks.

I frosted this one for
myself, and then of
course everyone
wanted one. I call it
the "almond joy".



Wednesday:

AJ's cupcake of the
day was frosted with
mint frosting and
tiny dark chocolate
chips.




Ryan's lunch: root veggies & beans soup; red berry flax waffled with maple syrup & pomegranate syrup; 1/2 a clementine.

Dinner was a muffin tin
meal...peanuts, cukes,
veggie crackers, chick
peas, pretzel nuggets,
bell peppers, almonds,
carrots, clementine, rolls
of Tofurky slice, apple,
Veggie Booty.

Thursday:
All the boys had: dinosaur "cream cheese" & jam sandwiches; broccoli; cucumber slices; carrots. Nate had some Veggie Booty too, and Ryan had double layer sandwiches plus a stuffed pasta shell for his bigger 6-year-old appetite.

Nate's class did a white
chocolate wreath making
project. So I sent the
closest thing I had at the
time: frosting, chips,
sprinkles, and a lemon
poppyseed Boston Cookie
with a circle cut out of the
middle--he loved it.













Would someone please explain to my 2 year old that his brothers don't appreciate him hiding pretzel nuggets in their water cups and marbles in their boots. Doh.

Friday:

We're
expecting
a big
snowstorm
in the
afternoon,
so I made
a lunch
for the
occasion!

Ryan's
lunch:
snowman
rice balls;
kiwi;
cucumber;
brown
rice/carrot/edamame salad; green beans; trio of peanuts/almonds/cashews.

I beat the blizzard by just
a couple of hours and
made it to the farm for
our monthly winter
produce pickup. The
greenhouse has bags of
snow-covered leaves
packed along both sides.













I picked some sage from the herb garden, then hauled everything to the car. We got 2 green cabbages, some kale, leeks, mixed baby greens, radishes, spinach, popping corn, salad turnips, and a massive bag filled with various potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celeriac, onions, garlic, shallots, rutabaga, and winter turnips.

Blizzard dinner:
spicy sweet potato
pancakes with guacamole,
pumpkin miso muffins,
mushroom asparagus
tofu quiche.

The sweet potato pancakes
were delicious, but I hate
all the olive oil it uses to fry them, so in the future I'll make my usual baked wedges instead, but just add the extra seasoning and use the guacamole for dipping.

The pumpkin miso muffins from Just Bento were yummy, but I still like my own recipe better. I had to cook these for 5 minutes longer than indicated or they'd have been mushy.

My quiche was just another variation of my broccoli quiche, but this time with 4 baby bella mushrooms, 8 shiitake mushrooms, & a handful of asparagus, all sauteed with the onion, plus a little sesame oil added. Delish!