Winter Squash Soup

Split and roast one 2.5 lb butternut squash 400 degrees, 45 mins
Seed, scoop, and lightly mash (there can be some chunks)

Meanwhile...

1 red onion diced
1 in of ginger root, in recognizable slices (i.e. ones you can fish out later)
2/3 t mace
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 star anise cluster

saute above in a little olive oil until onion is soft

Add
1 qt organic chicken broth (we get ours in the "soymilk" packs -- aseptic packs)
1 C marinara (homemade by Andrea!)
1/2 C sherry
1/2 t cinnamon
3 squirts Bragg's aminos
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
1 t black pepper

Simmer until squash is ready.

Blend in lightly mashed squash, simmer as long as you can to blend flavors

Just before serving, blend in:
1 C sour cream
1/4 C Braggs cider vinegar

Adjust salt/pepper

Beef loaf

I won't quite call this meat loaf, as the proportion of fillers to meat is higher than the traditional, and there are two less eggs (substituted tapioca, which absorbed the juices nicely too). However, this was very tasty!

1.5 lbs ground beef
1.5 C oatmeal, uncooked
1/2 C breadcrumbs
pkg Knorr Leek Soup Mix (which I will use when I can instead of onion soup mix)
1/3 C garlic flakes
1 C tomato sauce
1/4 C tapoica starch
1/2 C sherry

Whisk tapioca into sherry, blend all ingredients together

Bake 45 mins in 350 degree oven

Serve with ketchup, salsa, or your favorite condiment. I think bbq sauce would have been nice.

Salmon Salad for Sandwiches

This beats the heck out of traditional tuna salad sandwiches!

1-2C flaked poaches salmon (see previous recipe) cooled
3 T capers
1 T dijon mustard
1/2 C mayonnaise (we use vegenaise for egglessness)
1/2 T Spike seasoning
1/2 C leftover canned corn

Blend and let sit in the fridge for an hour or so if you have time...

Note that the leftover veggies could be just about anything with a bit of tooth to it. You could even use something like leftover quinoa. I bet diced fresh jicama would be terrific. Use your imagination!

Poached Salmon

"Poached" sounds so much better than boiled!

Salmon should be eaten fresh -- but when you have more than you can eat in a night, cook it all in a way it will hold best.

Poach 1-1.5 lbs of salmon in:

1 C sake
1/2 red onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
water to cover

It only takes a few minutes. Use the thin parts immediately, and the thick parts (which will bear reheating better, and can be left a bit rare in the middle) for the next day.

Ginger/White Peach Jam

6 large white peaches
3 slices (quarter-size, a bit thicker) ginger root
3 cardamon pods
2 C sugar
1 t fresh lemon (or to taste)
1/3 C crystallized ginger, cut to a small dice

(adapted from Gourmet Preserves Chez Madeleine, pg 68)

scald peaches and peel them (I eat the peels, myself, as I peel them)
Cut peaches into chunks and whiz briefly with short bursts in the food processor
Put peaches, ginger and cardamom in the jelly pot
Add sugar so as to mix throughly -- no lumps!
Cook VERY SLOWLY to jam stage (test by temperature or sheet test) -- you should end up with 4 cups or less in volume.

Meanwhile, mix fresh lemon juice with diced crystallized ginger, set aside

When jam is jammed, take it off the heat and stir in the ginger/lemon mixture

Process in 10 min hot water bath -- and remember, whatever you will eat soon needn't be processed! Just eat it as fresh as possible!

The state of the kitchen

Several things have conspired to slow me down in the last couple weeks on this blog. First, I had a bad setback with my asthma a couple weeks ago, and that set necessaries before pleasures, so cooking became rudimentary and online writing went by the board. And then, our Gavin has gone off to the wars, so to speak, and is working far more than full time for Carry Oregon, the consolidated campaign for the democrats in Oregon. Joseph has started middle school. The idyll of the regular dinner table is in interruption.

I will try to post things here more regularly, whether or not we are cooking full meals, however, and I have notes from past days to transcribe over the next while.