Salt & Humor

A while ago I cooked a buttercup squash and discovered that two out of the three kitties liked it.  I wasn’t actually planning to give them some because if you know one thing about cats, it is that they are finicky eaters.  Well, when I took it out of the oven and was scraping away thee skin, Yoshi and Choopey were at my feet just staring up at me, begging.  So, I put some in their dishes and was amazed at what I saw…

Little Yoch actually had seconds!

I know I have talked about how much I like massaged kale but I must tell you at least one more time.  I made this one with avocado, lemon and salt.  I promise you, it is fabulous

The combination of this dinner is one I might just have to duplicate the exact same way.  Yup, it was that good.  Avocado-massaged kale salad+ buttercup squash with tahini+ tempeh= perfect.

You know how I talked about kitties always wanting to get in the photos, well it didn’t fail this morning.

I almost forgot to mention the tasty zucchini muffins I made from ED&BV.  This morning I toasted them under the broiler in the oven. Let me just tell you about a really rad memories real quick.  My mom used to make the most fabulous sourdough biscuits (one of the best foods I have had in my whole life) and we would toast them in the oven this way.  Told you it would be real quick.  Have a great night

Today I picked up wild, local chanterelle mushrooms.  This would be our first time trying them and I am so glad we did.  I had a new tempeh to fix and thought I would go with the flavor of it and make a curry dish.

sweet onions, garlic, zucchini, green beans, tempeh, curry powder, chanterelle mushrooms, lite coconut milk and  sriracha

Served with baked kabocha squash and brown rice

It is safe to say that I was proud of dinner tonight, just saying.  I mean really, it all went together so perfectly.  I am even over the moon that Jason enjoyed it as well. In fact, I was too hungry and anxious to take the time and take better photos.  I was a bit disappointed with what I had on my camera when I sat down to post this.  All I know is, lunch will be stellar tomorrow!

Also, in great food news, have you had a persimmon yet!?! I fell in love with these little guys last year.  I have been waiting for them for a few weeks now and finally saw some Saturday.

“I think I love you fuyu.”

Did you enter the GIVEAWAY?

Earlier in the week I received a very special package from my dad.  We were talking earlier about how my garden produced very little zucchini and how his produced well, too much.  He was talking about how he had just picked everything in the garden because of the potential frost that would soon be on it’s way.  I told him how much I wish I could be there to share his garden with him as he and I live in different states So, would you believe that he mailed me the treats I wished I could be there to have! How stinken cool is that!!

He also sent tomatillos, which I love!  My brother has made tomatillo sauce which I save  for special occasions, like tempeh burritos.  I plan to make some sauce and get it canned, hopefully today.

THANKS DAD!!

Yesterday, I had a great visit with my dear friend Brie.  Just look at the package she brought for us!

Sugar cookies, oh my! They were even lightly flavored with pumpkin pie spice! Sugar cookies are a blessing to receive.  I feel like there is a lot of work that goes into making them and so I appreciate that and savor the taste of these little treats.  Especially, because I personally don’t have the patience to make them myself.

HAVE YOU ENTERED THE GIVEAWAY?

Why is it that some of the best meals look awful?  Sometimes, by the time I stir my salads up they look pretty weird.  Then I say, “that was the best salad ever!” Well, with a bit of a bloggers block, looking through recent photos to make a semi-decent post this morning, I noticed that some of my best eats weren’t so pretty.  I am that person who takes tons and tons of photos and then ends up deleting all but a few.  Sometimes, what looked good at the time, ends up looking terrible in my photo.  What better idea than to even share the odd stuff.  Not all post, can be my favorites right…?

When I sat down to eat this, I told Jason, the name of this salad is, “The Shit!”  He told me not to post that.  Oops, I am sorry Jason. Really though, this salad was truely, the shit! Sometimes when you are putting ingredient together you don’t really have any expectation, then you eat it and are amazed at how good it turned out.  Well yes, my friends, that is what happened to me with this. Salad: red leaf lettuce, kidney beans, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, fresh tomato, cooked millet with fresh salsa and taco seasoning, crumbled up corn chips and quacamole for dressing.  All stirred up; not so pretty, tasty though!

Tuesday night we made burgers.  Mine consisted of a grilled portabello mushroom and zucchini, tomato, mustard and lettuce with beet chips.  Beets would have been better, had I not over charred them!

Eggplant Bruschetta and Beets

Not wanting to overcook the beets again, I grilled them in the Forman grill with some yellow squash.  More exciting than that, was the eggplant bruschetta of course!  I liberally salted the eggplant in a colander and let is sweat for 30 minutes, then rinsed thoughly. Cooked in the oven on parchment paper at 375 for 40 minutes, flipping once.  After it cooled a bit, I cut it up into chunks and combined with tomato, half a juiced lemon, 1 jalapeno (it wasn’t hot), some dried basil and sea salt.  It would have been better with fresh basil, I admit.  This was one of those meals that is so good that you keep saying so, after it’s gone.  For some reason, I kept wanting more, even though I was full.  That is the beauty of making just enough for your plate sometimes.  If there aren’t leftovers, you can’t go back for seconds!

In more exciting news, I am going to the VegFest today!  I am even toting Jason along.  Can’t wait!

As part of the Foodbuzz, Tastemaker Program, I was lucky enough to receive a coupon for a Buitoni-Complete Meal for Two.  I was pretty overwhelmed with the options when I was trying to pick just ”one” out.  Jason mentioned a while ago that he wished he could have lobster, so I decided on the shrimp and lobster  ravioli.  Last night was the perfect night to pull this meal out of the freezer.  I made zucchini torte from zucchini in my garden and prepared a simple salad to go with it.

The Prep:

Butter a pan and chop about 5-6 cups of zucchini (I used the food processor)
Blend 1/2 onion, 4 eggs, 1-2 cloves garlic, 1T fresh or 1/2 dry parsley, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 t salt and pepper to your preference.  Then add 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick and blend again.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup parmesan cheese over zucchini.
Pour batter over zucchini and cheese and poke with a spoon a bit so that batter works it’s way throughout.  You could mix in a bowl before adding to the pan if you prefer.  I just skipped that step.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

The raviolis were much less work!

The dinner was great and we ate out back.  The weather was perfect.  Unfortunaley, it is cooling down at night which means summer is drawing to a close.  I love the Fall, don’t get me wrong, it just didn’t quite warm up here this summer.  So, a fresh bouqet was amust, in order to complete our meal!
Dare I say, I think I have finally figured out what my favorite flower is; Portulaca.  It is truly hard to pick just one! If I had to, I am pretty sure it would be these little guys.  There is a rose hidden in there too.
I was pretty excited about yesterday’s sun tea! It was three bags of black and one of peppermint.  Very refreshing, you should try it out.  Well, that is certainly enough detail for one night!