#Moosewood2022, part 4 - May and June

Continuing on with the Moosewood 2022 Challenge... 

May

Recipe #15: Tomato Curry (new), page 175

I was saving this one for the glut of summer tomatoes, but Hubba and I both bought tomatoes in the last few days.  So we're starting out May with another delicious curry...

I'm glad that I'm tracking this as we go.  Because at the end of May, I thought I had made zero Moosewood recipes this month... Don't worry, we're not starving.... just eating other things.  ;-)

June

Recipe #16: Eggplant Scallopini Marsala (new), page 83

I don't know what makes it "Scallopini" but this is delicious... even if I had to improvise on the Basil and use a blend of Italian Spices that we received as a Christmas gift.  I didn't bother to check our inventory, because who doesn't have Dried Basil in their pantry?  Me, that's who... and the settling in from the move continues.  lol.

In looking at the Dictionary, Scallopini means thin slices of meat sauteed or fried... however, my eggplant is diced, and not meat, so technically this dish is not scallopini.  ;-)

Stats:

• 12 + 2 = 14 (new) = new-to-me recipe...  ie, one I have not made before
• 2 + 0 = 2 (standard) = recipes I have made frequently over the years, because we love it so much
• 0 + 0 = 0 (repeat) = previously made in the #Moosewood2022 challenge

16 Total Recipes as of Month #6 and Week #26 of the year.  So while I've slowed down significantly, I'm still ahead of my overall goal of 2 per month.

#Moosewood2022, part 3 - March and April

Continuing with the Moosewood2022 Challenge...

March:

Recipe #7: Eggplant Curry (new), page 172

This one got rave reviews from Hubba.  He kept saying it's "perfection."  So I guess we will keep this one in rotation too.  :-)

Recipe #8: Gado Gado (new), page 180

I had been wanting to try this recipe for a few weeks.  It's more of a warm-weather dish and we had some very cold weather that caused me to put it off.

Most of the vegetables were sautéed individually and then served over Turmeric Rice.

The peanut-ginger sauce is delicious and has made the idea of crudite interesting to me again.  :-)

I did forget the hard-boiled eggs, which I had prepared ahead of time, but this is still a very easy and delicious dish.

Not recipes from the Moosewood Cookbook, but we've used the leftover Gado Gado Sauce in several other dishes.  Most notably on some oven roasted eggplant and mushrooms over rice.

Oven-roasted vegetables are really something special. Wow!

Recipe #9: Herbed Carrot Soup (new), page 23

Super easy and satisfying.

I think this recipe would benefit by being made ahead, so the flavors have more time to meld with each other.  I think I'll also go on the lighter end for lemon juice, next time.

Hubba LOVED(!) it and the color is amazing!

April:

Recipe #10: Swiss Cheese and Mushroom Quiche (standard), page 157

This recipe has been a favorite of ours for years.... like more than 15 and possibly as many as 20.  It was one of the first recipes I tried when I first got my own copy of The New Moosewood Cookbook.  This is the book that this food challenge is based upon.  It was first published 48 years ago, in 1974.

A 1.5x recipe fills two store-bought pie shells.  Which I tend to use so this is a faster meal.  I should note however, that the pie crust recipe provided is delicious and makes the dish better.

We often put other vegetables in it, depending on what we have on hand.  This version has a huge pile of spinach.

Try it.  You'll see why we love it so much.  :-)

Recipe #11: Spinach-Ricotta Pie (new), page 156

One of the things about this challenge is that I am working to try recipes I have not made before, in a book I've owned for more than 20 years.

This recipe is on the facing page of the Swiss+Mushroom Quiche I wrote about in Recipe #10.  Sometimes you just don't see things that are sitting right there....  and since we were trying to use up some spinach, I decided to give this one a shot...

Perhaps this was too many quiches back-to-back, but it is a very good recipe, and one that I will make again.

Recipe #12: Comprehensively Stuffed Squash (new), page 152

Butternut Squash is absolutely in the top tier of vegetables for me.  So finding different ways to use it is always of interest.

This recipe is great!  I think the stuffing would be nice in chicken cutlets, à la Cordon Bleu.

Recipe #13: Mushroom Curry (new), page 174

I love SE Asian foods... and I love mushrooms.  So, why not try this one next.  :-)

I did leave the coconut out, since I am allergic... otherwise this recipe was quite tasty.

Recipe #14: Marinated Sweet Potatoes with Broccoli (new), page 71

Sweet Potatoes are another one of my favorite vegetables and I'm hoping this will be a good way to use Broccoli.   

I ate far too much broccoli while in college... it was cheap and easy and I ate so much of it, that I can barely put it in my mouth anymore.... but Hubba LOVES(!) broccoli.  So I'm hoping this dish will satisfy both of us.

And of course, broccoli always makes me sing this song....  :-)

This recipe reads like it will be a nice side to grilled/smoked meats and was delicious with a riff on our favorite Meatloaf recipe.

Stats:

• 5 + 7 = 12 (new) = new-to-me recipe...  ie, one I have not made before
• 1 + 1 = 2 (standard) = recipes I have made frequently over the years, because we love it so much
• 0 + 0 = 0 (repeat) = previously made in the #Moosewood2022 challenge

For a total 14 Recipes as of Month #4 and Week #17 of the year.

Food Adventure slowed down as we were wrapping up for the sale of our former home/farm.  But my stated goal for this challenge is 1-2 recipes per month.  So we're still on track.  :-)

What are you making for dinner these days?

Garden 2020, part 11

Since my last post, our harvests have continued to trickle in.

We've eaten the garlic, shallots, and remaining onions.  I definitely want to plant more of these next year.

We're still getting rainbow chard and I'm letting the spinach go to seed.

The winter squash have started to flower(!) ...

... and spread out.

The corn and tomatoes continue to hang on and give me hope.

My tiny herb garden is doing well.

I extremely happy with this variety of Basil, and plan to grow more next time.

With the exception of the herbs, everything I've been able to harvest was grown from directly-sowed seed.  None of the indoor starts survived transplanting.  :-/

We have about 3 months until our first freeze.  So while it's quite hot right now, I'm starting to think about planting cooler-season/fall veggies.  Not sure if/what I'll do yet.

I hope your garden adventures have gone better than mine this summer.  :-)

Garden 2020, part 10

My garden has sustained damage due to hail and extreme heat, but we have also had small harvests so far... mostly onions, spinach, and chard.

Most of the transplants have not survived, so several have been replaced by directly sowing into the outside garden.  I think I will wait to do any more seed starting until I have a greenhouse... or at least a different house with better light.  ;-)

There were a good amount of cherries (that the birds enjoyed) and only about a dozen apples that I can find.

Our neighbor brought over duck eggs from their family farm... so pretty and delicious.

The melons and squashes are all looking good so far.

The onions and rainbow chard have been delicious sauteed with mushrooms and the spinach has been enjoyed raw.

I've gotten some use from the tiny herb garden... in here are rosemary, basil, winter savory, and chives.

The rabbits ate my peas and fava beans... :-(  But I'm still holding hope for tomatoes and corn.

For future reference, I think my garden needs to be in the dogs' territory, but protected from the dogs and alpaca, in order to keep the rabbits out.

It does look rather pathetic from this point of view, but rest assured, we are eating from this garden.

Garden 2020, part 9

My intention for this year was to increase the variety of foods we were eating.  Being home due to COVID-19 has helped a lot in this endeavor.

The idea is that the more whole the food and the more variety of the foods, the more nutrients you are receiving, and therefore the healthier you should be.

We've tried different cuts of meat and different recipes during this Stay-at-Home period and our garden will be providing a greater variety of vegetables.

Over the weekend I replanted some of the early-season starts that did not survive thru transplanting and added a few new varieties.

So my garden is now fully planted.  It doesn't look like much from this broad view, yet.  But the following are doing well:

Peas

Fava Beans

Carrots

Red Onions

Spinach and Lettuce

Chard

I have attempted 43 varieties so far.  46 if you count our fruit trees.  A few have definitely not survived and I'm holding hope for a few others.

Regardless, I think we will achieve my goal of adding more variety to our diet.  :-)

Garden 2020, part 8

I planted all of my surviving late-season seedlings in the outside garden on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.

Some of the starts didn't make it to planting.  I assume its a combination of limited sunlight inside the house and old seeds.

Then Sunday we received close to an inch of rain (when 2-inches is normal for the month) and Monday was relatively cool, so some of the starts have not survived transplanting, but many of the directly sowed varieties are doing well.

The neighborhood bees have visited the few fruit tree flowers, so I am expecting some fruit, but not too much this year.  Though there are definitely cherries in progress.

I have about 1/3 of the outside garden still available for planting and a few more varieties I'd like to get into the ground.

I am completely loving my garden this year, especially having the ability to spend a few minutes weeding each morning!  I also collected the first harvest of a few hail-damaged spinach leaves this week!

Garden 2020, part 7

Since I'm at home, I'm making a point to check on my garden every morning and weed a bit after feeding the alpacas.

This way it's more of a daily 10-15 minute task rather than a major weekend chore.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy playing in the dirt every day!

My spinach is getting close to being able to harvest (a little).  The chard and carrots are starting to come up.  The peas, fava beans, onions, and garlic are all looking good.

We had a mild freeze on Monday, May 10th...  So I'm now targeting the planting of my late season seeds to about May 25th, Memorial Day, which is next weekend.

I hope you all are having a great spring!

Garden 2020, part 6

The fruit trees are starting to leaf out and flower now...

and the outside garden has food growing in it!

Considering I don't have a great space for growing plants indoors, the late-season seedlings are doing much better than I expected.

Our last frost was on May 5th (so far) so I'm targeting the planting of these for about May 19th.

In the meantime, I  found this wonderful Salad Bowl at our locally-owned market.  This has been a fun way to get fresh greens while we're waiting for the outside crop to grow.

These mixed greens were especially nice paired with smoked cuts of local lamb earlier this week.

How's your garden growing?