Small Piece of Heaven- Siena Farms Year Round

As many of you know my favorite restaurants in Boston are Oleana and Sofra.  These fantastic restaurants are owned and operated by the amazing Chef Ana Sortun, wife of Siena Farms owner Chris Kurth.  I am a regular of the Sienna Farms tent at the Copley and Harvard Square farmers markets, however the farmers markets are not year round. But, I just found out that Siena Farms is opening a farm shop TOMORROW, in the South End! (Between the Butcher Shop, Stir, and B&G Oysters) I cannot begin to express my excitement. The new shop will offer flowers, hand picked produce from regional farms, and prepared foods- some from Sofra! So, although the farmers markets are packed up for the winter you can now get local fresh produce year round!

http://www.sienafarms.com/farmstore.php

My Top Three Veggies In Season Now

#1 Brussel Sprouts
The brussel sprout harvest typically lasts through the winter months in New England. This year, Hurricane Irene did leave her mark on on many of New England's winter harvest vegetables.  For brussel sprouts this means they just need a little extra love and attention. You many notice that there are spots on the outside leaves of the brussel sprouts at your local farmers market, don't get discouraged.  The outside leaves just need to be peeled off to reveal the beauty that lies beneath. Trim the ends, but not so short that the good leaves fall off.  Then soak in warm water for about 10 minutes. My favorite way to cook brussel sprouts is to slice them in half, toss them with EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste, then roast them at 350 degrees until tender and the outside leaves are just beginning to brown.

#2 Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichoke)
Sunchokes have a harvest from mid October through the spring, yet another great winter vegetable.  They remind me of a mix between water chestnuts and potatoes. This root vegetable is knobby but this is not indicative of its quality.  I do find that the smoother they are the easier they are to prepare.  Just like the brussel sprouts they are best roasted. For a sweeter dish roast them with maple syrup and lotus root. Last week I roasted some until they were crisp on the edges and used them to top my salad. Perfect with a homemade blackbean veggie burger!.

#3 Persimmon
 The persimmon season runs from November to February, so its relatively short. The secret to persimmons is to make sure they are ripe.  You will regret it if you don't. Persimmons are kind of like eating deodorant and chalk mixed together when they are not ripe. SO make sure they are ripe!!! Hachiya persimmons look like an orange acorn and will be very soft and squish when they are ripe, like a very over ripe tomato. Fuyu persimmons are more tomato shaped and are ripe when they are firm but yet give slightly to the touch.  Like a peach.  Last week I made an avocado salad with hachiya persimmons and a miso citrus dressing. I peeled my persimmon because the skin is a little tough. For the dressing I mixed 1 tablespoon of white miso with 2 tablespoons of warm water, 1 tsp yuzu vinegar, 1 tbs EVOO, a squeeze of lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.

Kabocha Squash Curry

The lovely Blake Sachs sent this recipe to me....obviously she knows me well.  This recipe is a little more labor intensive than the majority of my recipes but oh oh oh so worth it! Luckily I made a large amount and had leftovers for two days...so good.

Kabocha Squash Curry
Ingredients
1 large kabocha squash
1 cup green beans, frozen or fresh
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 kaffir lime leaves
6 thai basil leaves (can substitute regular if you cant find thai)
3 tbs red curry paste
1 15 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1 tsp brown sugar
2 red thai chilies, pierced with a knife (use serrano if can find thai)
cooked brown rice for serving
EVOO
canola oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice the kabocha squash in half and clean seeds out. Drizzle EVOO on a baking sheet lined with foil and place the squash cut side down. Roast for 30 minutes until tender.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Peel or slice the squash away from the skin, cut squash into large chunks and set aside.

Heat 1 tbs canola oil in a large frying pan.  Add the curry paste and coconut milk and wisk so there are no clumps of curry paste. Add the water, kaffir lime leaves, basil, brown sugar, and chilies. Bring to a simmer. Add the red pepper and green beans, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the squash and saute for another minute or two.  Serve over rice! Enjoy!

Four Ingredient Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie is by far T's favorite of all the pies out there.  So I've been looking for a recipe that we would both love....without sacrificing flavor. My dear friend Austin Lin sent me this recipe he found online...so I tried it out. At first I was worried it would taste too much like cashew, but after it cooks and cools the pumpkin spices really come out, making it one of the best vegan pies I've made yet.  T loved it, especially with vanilla almond ice cream.  Austin, I owe you a pie for giving me such a great recipe!! Note: this recipe take about three hours because the pie really needs to cool properly.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups raw soaked cashews
1 cup real maple syrup
16 oz pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 standard vegan pie crust

Method
Soak 1 cup raw cashews over night, approximately 8-18 hours, in 2 1/2 cups water with 1 tsp salt. Salt helps absorption of the water. The softer they are the better they blend, but don't soak them for more than 18 hours or they get slimy.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Drain the cashews, they should be slightly purple, this is normal. Add all ingredients to the blender and puree. Pour the mixture into a par baked pie crust.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.  Turn the heat down to 350 and bake for another 40 minutes.  Let the pie cool for 30 minutes on the counter and about another 1-2 hours in the fridge, that way the filling really has time to set.  Serve with whipped cream or ice cream or enjoy plain!!!


Recipe from: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/10/four-ingredient-vegan-pumpkin-pie.html

Red Lentil Sweet Potato Curry Soup & Red Lentil Dusted Scallops

As I mentioned previously, at the beginning of this year I started to add some fish and shellfish into my diet.  I only eat it about once a week or even less.  So, when I do I want to make sure its worth it.  Sunday night I made this amazing soup so that I would have lunch for the early part of the week.  Then last night I pureed what was left over and added some scallops to make it a quick easy and amazingly delicious. 

Red Lentil Sweet Potato Curry Soup

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and in chunks

4 cups veggie broth

1 1/2 cup dry red lentils

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs earth balance butter or EVOO

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tbs curry seasoning

dash of cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Saute onion and sweet potato in evoo until the onion is soft.  Add garlic, ginger, curry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir. Add broth and dry lentils, rinsed.  Bring to a boil then turn down and let simmer for 30 mins.  Viola- sweet potato lentil curry soup.  Serve with toasted coconut flakes if you wish.  I made it last night and its so so so good. 

After having the soup for lunch in its originally cooked form I decided to puree the remaining soup and add scallops for a hearty dinner entrée. 

Red Lentil Dusted Scallops

Ingredients

6-8 Scallops

1/4 cup split red lentils, ground

2 tbs EVOO

Method

Grind the lentils in a coffee grinder or food processor until powdery.  Heat a cast iron skillet with a film of evoo.  Roll the scallops in the ground lentils to coat.  Sear the scallops approximately 2-3 minutes per side, or until cooked.  

Buckwheat Oatmeal Pancakes With Apple Pumpkin Chutney

I am constantly inspired by the food at Oleana.  The vegan plate last night included a red lentil, beet, and coconut kibbeh with an apple pumpkin chutney.  It was absolutely amazing.  My entire walk home I decided how I would recreate this dish at home.  So this morning I decided to start by making an apple pumpkin chutney.  I figured I would make pancakes and test the chutney with the pancakes.

Buckwheat Oatmeal Pancakes
Ingredients
1/4 cup buckwheat pancake mix
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 tbs oil
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tbs agave

Method
Soak the oats in 1/4 cup almond milk for 10 minutes. Mix the buckwheat pancake mix with the oil and the agave.  Add the oats to the pancake mix.  Mix with a cake mixer to add lightness to the batter or the pancakes will be very dense.  Cook on med/low heat.

Apple Pumpkin Chutney
Ingredients
2 tart apples, diced and peeled
1/2 extra small pumpkin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 maple sugar
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp dukkah (homemade or bought from Sofra)

Method
Add all ingredients to a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and simmer until apples and pumpkin are tender.  Cool, cover, and chill.

Pumpkin Hummus

For an appetizer during lunch yesterday while we were waiting for the squash to cook I made pumpkin hummus.  I have been wanting to make this recipe for such a long time and yesterday was the perfect time to try it out.  Except I thought I had tahini, but I didn't so I had to wing it, and fortunately it turned out great.  My secret ingredient in this recipe is Ras El Hanout, a North African spice blend typically made with cardamon, clove, cinnamon, ground chili peppers, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, peppercorn, and turmeric. We complimented this pre-lunch snack with a glass of red wine!

Pumpkin Hummus


Ingredients
1/2 extra small sugar pumpkin- cooked
1/2 cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 clove garlic- diced
2 tbs sunflower seeds
2 tbs pine nuts
1 squeeze of lemon
1 tsp cumin
1 pinch sea salt
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs water (more or less depending on desired texture)
ras el hanout (homemade or bought from Sofra)

Method
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until creamy. Top with a dash of ras el hanout and serve with warm pita or crackers. (Lauren and Goldie bought homemade cracker from Sofra which were lights out amazing!)

Stuffed Delicata Squash

Yesterday was such an amazing day....I had the day off!  On my way to yoga I went to the Copley Square Farmers Market and found myself at the Sienna Farms Tent.  (Owned along with Oleana and Sofra- my absolute favorite restaurant in MA) I ate at Oleana with T last week to celebrate by passing of the bar and was really inspired by all their amazing spices.  Well, I later learned that their spices are so sought out that they actually sell them at Sofra and the Sienna Farms Tent.  So I treated myself to a four pack.  I also picked up some "imperfect" brussel sprouts, a sugar pumpkin, watermelon radishes, and the most delicate baby bok choy I have ever seen in my life.  After yoga I had plans to cook lunch for Goldie and Lauren.  I was recently given a recipe for stuffed delicate squash from my friend Holly and have been wanting to test it out.  I also wanted to incorporate my new spices! So I followed the original recipe from Holly but added dukkah to the stuffing. Dukkah is an Egyptian spice and nut mix made with sesame, hazelnuts, coriander, cumin, and coconut. (Amazing!) The dish turned out spectacular.  Every once in a while I will just make up a recipe and fail...this time I hit it out of the park.  I cannot wait to make this for my dad during Christmas!

Stuffed Delicate Squash
Ingredients
2 small/medium delicata squash
1/2 cup red quinoa
1 cup garbanzo beans- dried (substitute a can of garbanzos if  you have less time)
1 cup chopped kale
1/2 cup diced zuchinni
1/2 red onion diced
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs earth balance
sea salt
dukkah (this can be homemade or bought from Sofra)

Method
Soak the garbanzos over night in a bowl with a 2:1 ratio of water and beans.  The beans soak up the water so you want to make sure there is plenty of water.  Add a dash of salt to the water to keep the skins intact. Let soak for at least 8 hours.  I cook my beans in a pressure cooker because it takes less time but you can also boil them.  Once cooked set aside.  Cook the quinoa according to the package, usually 2:1 ratio of water to grain.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half and clean out the insides.  Place them face down in a glass baking dish with about a quarter inch of water.  Cook for 25-30 minutes.  Then flip them over and add a little salt and about 1/2 tsp earth balance butter to the inside of each squash half and continue to cook until tender, about 15-20 more minutes.

While the squash is cooking saute the garlic, onion, zuchinni, and kale until tender.  Mix the garbanzos, quinoa, and vegetable saute in a bowl.  Add two tsp dukkah to the stuffing mixture or how ever much you desire.

Once the squash is tender, pull the dish out and stuff the squash with the stuffing. Return to the oven to warm the stuffing, about 5-10 minutes.  Enjoy!