A skeptic relents: tomatoes in winter??!!

Another slim-pickins day at USG, which slimness was compounded by my late arrival (my usual vendor was even out of kale by the time I got there at 11).

I don't believe they were out of kale:
3 lbs. Nicola potatoes
2 yellow onions
1 1/2 lbs. carrots
1/3 lb. baby spinach
1/3 lb. baby red Russian kale
2 tomatoes
Total spent: $30

It was with a mixture of shame, hope, and confusion that I finally bought some tomatoes from the Shushan Valley Hydro Farm stand (this photo is from their website). Since they appeared a month or so ago, I've peered into their little plastic tent, even picked up then put down a bunch of basil once or twice, but haven't taken the plunge. Tomatoes in winter seem impossible, or at least ill-advised; I feel a bit like the sucker of a snake-oil dealer: "The taste of summer, yours year-round! Step right up, folks!" But today I needed inspiration (and I have had tomatoes on my mind since making the exquisite tomato soup from Veganomicon), so I went for it. I'm going to use at least one of them tonight in a quick sauce for Knoll Crest Farms spinach pasta, along with some black olives, spinach sautéed with olive oil and garlic, and Lynnhaven Farms goat cheese. So even if the tomatoes' soil-less cultivation has rendered them insipid, there will be enough flavor in the dish.

Other updates:
Pear pie = meh - I liked the pecan streusel topping, but the pear pie didn't quite work. Perhaps I needed more seasoning, or more lemon juice, or something: it was a bit overly sweet and one-dimensional, as my mother warned me it might be. Though it doesn't help that the pie crust was the toughest and worst yet! I am somehow regressing in pie-crust skill, and I don't know why. This week I will either go apple again or find a recipe for vegan banana cream pie.
I'm out of cinnamon so I had to order from Penzeys again. My order, which I am only listing because it's an eclectic bunch of mostly B-list spices I'm unsure about: allspice, cinnamon (Ceylon this time), vanilla beans (Madagascar), marjoram, zatar, tarragon, mustard powder (not hot), ancho chile powder, chipotle chile powder. I can't wait!
Veganomicon forays - So far I have made the chickpea cutlets, which are just as fabulous as I'd hoped, and the tomato soup, which is the type of tomato soup you'd get in a restaurant and say "this is why we go to restaurants - for tomato soup like this." But you're at home, so you just think "I am a genius," even though it's not your recipe. I still haven't made the autumn latkes - they'll happen this week.
More applesauce is on the stove, using last week's miscellaneous apples.

Warning: totally predictable.

Allow me to join the boring hordes and pledge my undying love to Veganomicon. Believe the hype - and I don't mean about Vampire Weekend, though you can go ahead and believe that hype too, they're pretty good - this is a great cookbook, with tons of recipes that even non-vegans will love.



More of the same:
3 beets
2 lbs. carrots
3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes
1 box red clover sprouts
1 bunch kale
2 bags spinach
2 bags misc. apples
6 pears

I bought the pears for the pear pie I meant to make yesterday, using this recipe, but I didn't have time. I'm hoping I can make it happen this week, because Pear Pie with ginger and pecan streusel topping sounds about as good as it gets.

My first foray into Veganomiconing will be the Autumn Latkes, which are simply potato pancakes made out of other autumn vegetables instead of potatoes; the recipe calls for shredded beets, carrots, and sweet potatoes, but the previously mentioned dearth of sweet potatoes at USG means I'll be using regular Yukon Golds to replace them. Otherwise I want to try just about every single recipe in the thing, particularly the casseroles.

While we've been using the sprouts primarily in smoothies, where texture doesn't really matter, the red clover sprouts are more "hairy" and better for sandwiches than the mung or the lentil, so I think I'll only get them from now on. Since there's not really any lettuce to be had for our Tofurky-cold-cut-and-mustard sandos, the sprouts are essential for crunch and contrast.

The bad news: we had some of the carrots steamed alongside stir-fried seitan and brown rice, and they tasted like perfume. This happened a couple of weeks ago, and I stopped buying carrots from that vendor for awhile, but this time I didn't have another option. It doesn't taste chemical-y, just like these particular carrots have an odd flowery flavor. They're okay when combined with other ingredients and spices, but it's quite noticeable when they're steamed on their own. Weird.

My favorite new cookbook!

Someone wonderful got me Mollie Katzen's new cookbook, The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without, for my birthday, and I am utterly enamored. Not only is it really cute (hand-drawn illustrations and recipe titles circled by e.g. broccoli-floret motifs), but the recipes are simple, thoughtful, and (literally) mouthwatering.

I haven't had the chance to try anything yet, but tomorrow I am going to pick up some braising greens at the market, for Dry-Sauteed Braising Greens with Layers of Garlic, which includes both roasted and fresh garlic; others I'm looking forward to include Tarragon-Pecan Asparagus (!), Braised Brussels Sprouts in Maple Mustard Sauce, and Green Beans with Crunchy Peanut-Lemon Coating.

Tomorrow is going to be an early Greenmarket morning - I'll have to stock up on veggies for these recipes, and of course to test out my Vita-Mix...I can't wait!

A late USG morning

I slept in 'til 10 this morning, so I didn't end up making it to the greenmarket 'til 11. I wasn't surprised to find about the same selection as last week (read: not much), but I did find some inspiration for next week's vegetable dishes.

My short list:
1 butternut squash
1/2 lb. fancy organic spinach
1 bunch fancy organic chard
8 (or so) shallots
2 small yellow onions
1 head garlic
7 lbs. Mutsu apples
Total spent: $28

How did I spend $28 on such a small haul? The spinach alone was about $10 - it's $4 per 1/4 lb., which works out to about twice as much as the Trader Joe's bagged organice spinach. But this stuff has better flavor and hasn't spent a lot of time getting intimate with plastic...and my purchase supports local growers. Everything was a bit pricey - even the squash (which is quite nice-looking) was $3, which is a bargain considering its food value, but still high compared to $1 during peak season.

I had planned to have roasted squash, braised celery, and sauteed chard with Tofurky sausage for dinner, but my photo assistant was feeling sick so I made a version of my Ultra-Soup. This used 4 tbsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of 3 tbsp. soy sauce, potatoes instead of pasta (I had some left from last week's greenmarket excursion), and - most exciting of all - I used homemade seitan! The idea came from La Dolce Vegan, a book I ordered specifically for its faux-meat recipes; the seitan was very easy to make (I started with vital wheat gluten), and it turned out very well after simmering for an hour in the soup. This was probably my favorite batch yet.

Meanwhile, my beloved Mutsu apples are simmering away on the stove for applesauce, and I'm looking forward to when the greenmarket has produce pretty enough to photograph again.