Roasted Roots

Ahh, root vegetables, they simply are the most warming, sweet, amazing veggies around.  What a wonder that these grow under ground and have stunning colors and flavors.  I find them the perfect comfort food this time of year, sometimes edging out soups and stews.  Last night there was not a lick of turkey in my kitchen but there were plenty or sweet potatoes, leeks, parsnips, beets and carrots.  I threw in some Brussels sprouts, squash and fennel for good measure.  These all went in the oven and voila they are scrumptious right out of the oven.  Sprinkle some fresh or dried thyme some salt and pepper and serve to your appreciative family and friends.
Thanksgiving around here was warm and wonderful!  We had fun with with friends and family from around New England and my sister in law from California.  My master plan of eating early proved to be a success!  We ate our big meal at lunchtime (after a rousing game of whiffle ball) and went for a walk while the sun was low in the sky (cannot get used to the sunsetting at 4:30!) then some board games  and drinks and then dessert and coffee at dinnertime.  None of the adults complained we were all very full from the mid day feast but  my 10 year old daughter was confused by this set up, dessert for dinner?  She decided to top off her pie with a helping of green beans!
This is the type of recipe that you could change to suit your whim or the contents of your crisper!

 Roasted Root Vegetables
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 small squash, such as delicata, peeled and cubed
1 leek, washed, whites and light green only, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
1/2 pound parsnips, peeled and diced
1/2 pound carrots, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
pre-heat oven to 400 F
put prepared veggies on 2 large baking sheets.  Keep like vegetables together in case one vegetable is done before others.  Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and toss vegetables lightly.  Roast checking periodically and stir when they start to brown.  Depending on how small they are cut the vegetables should be done in 20 minutes, be careful that the leeks do not burn!  Remove vegetables when they are tender and put into a large bowl. Check each variety separately to ensure proper cooking.  When all the vegetables are cooked and in the bowl, sprinkle with thyme and toss.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Traditions and Cranberry Relish

The Thanksgiving countdown has begun! Rev up your ovens, it is time to start preparing so you do not have to cram cook next Wednesday. I recently had a conversation with friends about holiday traditions. Now I love traditions at least the ideal idea of them but let's face it, in reality some of the traditions we hold on to are not enjoyed and can cause stress ( I'm talkin' jello molds, canned cranberry sauce, insert your own tradition here!) Well this year I am considering which traditions that don't fit anymore, make new traditions, and have fun with it. We are toying with the timing of our feast. It has always been tradition to have Thanksgiving Dinner at dinnertime in our family. The kids go to be stuffed or worse 2 years ago our younger daughter fell asleep at the table! So I am proposing that we eat at 2 or 3 and go for a hike before dessert! Genius! I will let you know how this goes, I am very excited about it.

Now I will get to the point, I am starting some food preparation this week by making cranberry relish, which I love. There are so many types to make, last night at my cooking class I made a raw cranberry relish sweetened with maple syrup, and we discussed the Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Recipe which I am told is delicious but really, sour cream + cranberries = Pepto-Bismol pink, and that I am not ready for at Thanksgiving. I am making a cooked cranberry compote with maple syrup and orange juice and peel. I relish this sauce and come to think of it, it is one tradition I am not willing to change this year.

Cranberry Orange Relish with Maple Syrup

3 cups cranberries (12 oz bag)

1 orange

3/4 cup Maple syrup

1 inch ginger root sliced into rounds

1 cinnamon stick

Pick over the cranberries, discarding any soft berries, then wash well, place in pot. Wash the orange and grate the peel then juice the orange, add to cranberries. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon stick and ginger root to pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until relish thickens and flavors meld. Remove ginger slices and cinnamon stick, taste for sweetness, you may like to add a little more maple, or not. This relish keeps for about 10 days in sealed container in refrigerator.

Back to "Normal" and Ginger Shiitake Soup

Greetings!  I am just getting back to normal after the strange October snow storm almost 2 weeks ago.  The kids are back to school after an 11 day break, electricity is on after a 6 day break and piles of branches as high as my head have been scooped up by giant trucks and taken AWAY...  So here we are, bracing for what is next as we all know snow and cold are just around the corner!
  I have been cooking and eating soups and stews exclusively lately.  Somthing about the steamy warming aroma just sets me right.  I also love the chopping and clearing out of all vegetables in the crisper to build the layers of flavors and nourishment that are otherwise know as soup.  My favorite is always Minestrone which is the ultimate in cleaning out the crisper but also meets all my families requirements for a meal and at least one left over meal, which I am a recent convert.  Soup is so much better the next day.
I talk about Minestrone but really I am going to share a recipe for Shiitake Ginger Soup.  Last week a friend came for dinner.  He is a vegetarian and I was so happy to leave the animal protein behind and create a "company" dinner.  I would love to eat like this 6 out of 7 days a week and shhh don't tell my faimly but we are closer to that goal.  I think that mushrooms do a stellar job stepping in for meat in all vegetarian dishes.  This recipe is one I adapted from Terry Walters beautiful cookbook, Clean Start.  

Ginger Shiitake Soup

6 dried shiitake mushrooms

8 cups water or veg. stock

1 heaping tablespoon grated ginger

10 oz white or brown mushrooms

1 large leek, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon EV olive oil

2 cups napa or green cabbage, thinly spiced

1 cup edamame beans

2 tablespoons tamari

1 teaspoon ume plum vinegar (or any other vinegar)

½ package udon noodles

Place whole shiitake mushrooms in 8 cups of boiling water or stock, remove from heat and cover for 30 minutes. While dried shiitake mushrooms are steeping slice fresh mushrooms.  Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon. Slice shiitake mushrooms discard the stems.  Heat oil in pan add leek and ginger sauté until the leeks are soft, add both varieties of mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms start to brown.  Add cabbage and edamame beans, tamari and reserved broth.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  Add vinegar and season to taste.  Serves 6