Saturday, March 31, 2007

Supper at Strega Nona's



Mmmm, minestrone. We were so pleased with the amount of pure veggie goodness in this stew that we had to do a mini photoshoot of it. Well, okay, i think Colin still finds it a bit odd, but he's a good sport.

Recipe was a blending (they were pretty similar to begin with) of The New Moosewood Cookbook's version and VeganCore's Kitchen Sink Minestrone. Ours came out more stewy than soupy, since pot size limitations forced us to add much less veggie stock. But it was great--necessity, invention, all that jazz.




Friday, March 30, 2007

Hamptony's Haight Streets


Since one of the bakers at work is leaving us in a few weeks, i've decided to do a photo homage to his bread-cutting skills. Bread as art! A full flickr slideshow is in order, i believe, so look for that in the coming weeks. The toast of this night was the sourdough trilobite. But you have to wait to see it (and the fish, and the eyeball, and the challahctopus...)

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The Pancaking Hour

Truth be told, that's just about anytime of the day for me. But today it was 3 am. Big time. You can even see the scraps of pancake #1 that got eaten straight from the pan in the syrup. And i was too ravenous to let #2 and #3 brown nicely.

Wheat-free Multigrain Pancakes. From The Yoga Kitchen, i believe. The cornmeal is great, lending the cakes some hearty grit. Pure organic maple syrup, bien sur.

I guess the overnight work schedule has finally gotten to me. But i've got plenty of time before the sun and sleep to look up what "organic" means in the context of syrup.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007



Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company.

~Author Unknown

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Curried Split Pea Soup from Vegan With A Vengeance

Mint Chickpea Rice Salad (our own recipe)

Our Home Meadery


Meads! The magical interaction of yeast and honey make meads a most special drink. When the yeasts go to work, the honey and water mixture becomes alive, and, to quote a very wise woman, "the sacred has entered the mundane". This process should be attended and celebrated with intention and attention. Talk to your mead! The healing properties of many herbs are enhanced by honey and yeasts, and many herbal meads are tonic for the brain, liver, and digestive process. We haven't gotten that far, but juniper and yarrow meads remain on our most wanted list.

We can't really say enough about yeast. We've used Montrachet Dry Wine Yeast and also a liquid sweet yeast. Yeasts synthesize B-complex vitamins (including B-12), which are crucial for brain function. An abundance of B vitams in a diet strengthens the heart, promotes good sleep, and helps to ease stress and lift depression. We're keeping our yeast culture to use in future meads--a gift that keeps on giving!

Honey is also a most amazing ingredient. Full of sugars, enzymes, minerals galore, and variety of vitamins that depend on the bee's diet. Unheated honey is antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antiviral. Since ancient times honey has been regarded as a preserver, promoter, and healer of life. It's sweetness conforts and nourishes.

We brewed this batch in a 5 gallon carboy with an alcohol air-lock. We stored in a cool place, out of direct sunlight, for a little over a month (when the rate of bubbling in the air-lock diminished). The necklace you see in the picture is a wreath of dried mugwort (we couldn't find fresh!) to protect the mead from unwanted yeasts in the air. Our bottling celebration lasted into the wee hours of the night--we were too excited to let this batch age!


Quiche!


Alex's birthday quiche.

Quiche is at the heart of our celebratory meal repertoire. Typical filling ingredients include asparagus, brocolli, mushroom, and tomato. Typical celebrations include arrivals, departures, birthdays, and lunar sabbats.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

First dinner!



Tridoshic Vegetable Curry from The Ayurvedic Cookbook
Side of Sauteed Kale with Tamari Dressing

foodifesto

Points of Unity:

Yeast
Food is art
Food is life
You are what you eat
Local
Fermented
Straight from the ground
Alive!
Sharing/community
Honey
Sacred entering the mundane