Tunisian chickpea soup

This is my second favorite soup to eat in cold weather, the first being borscht(we will get to that one eventually). It is another recipe from Food and Wine that has mutated over the years. Now the original recipe did call for veal stock as I remember, but obviously that wasn't going to happen. Most of the other ingredients we kept, except that I don't used canned beans. I always make my own. When you are making the soup, it is very bland and basic, and that is on purpose. At the end you add all sorts of yummy condiments similar to pho. So don't over salt or over season the soup thinking it needs more umpf, it will get that from all the stuff you add at the end.

start with the basics

soak your beans overnight with salt

cook the beans, skimming the muck, but in this case, don't over season

hard boil some eggs

saute onions in butter and oil

add beans, veggie stock, and tumeric - that's all, and simmer for an hour, adding more water if needed

gather your condiments, chopped olives, capers, harissa, cumin, lemon, and oil

start with an egg, add generous amounts of condiments, (hold the harissa for the wee ones)

then top with the soup and serve

Definitely chickpeas showing how awesome they are.

Happy accident seeds

I like to cook multiple things at once when I am using the oven to save energy. I had promised to make an apple pie for my boys and I had some squash and pumpkin to cook. So I cooked the squash with the pie and then since the pie still had time left I threw the seeds in to roast. Boy was that fortuitous. Best seeds ever.

When making this...

make these also, just toss with lemon juice, oil, and salt

The apple pie dripping fell into the seed pan and made these delicious slightly candied, but not too sweet pumpkin seeds. They didn't last an hour.

Roasted tomatoes

I know, I know more tomatoes. I think I have mentioned that they are my eldest's favorite food. And I have to say—I do adore them also. This recipe is great for off season tomatoes, like when you just need to feel a little bit summery in the dead of winter. Otherwise it is even better with in season tomatoes when they are on sale, because no matter how many you buy, it won't be enough.

The original recipe for this is from Food and Wine and was an Irish recipe if I remember correctly that also had a super yummy brown bread recipe with it for eating the tomatoes on. That recipe called for a parsley blend on top of the tomatoes. I like to use summer pesto, harrisa, whatever seems to come together in the moment. And of course a few unadorned ones for the picky eater in the house.

tomatoes, salt, oil, pesto, hot peppers, garlic, shallots

rough chop shallots, peppers, and garlic

mash with oil, salt, and a pinch of sugar

thick slice the tomatoes

arrange on oiled baking sheet and lightly salt tops

then top with pesto, plain oil, pepper mix, whatever seems yummy and roast for at least 2 hours

serve with homemade bread

Melt in your mouth yumminess!

Hummus

Nothing beats homemade hummus. Once I started making it we haven't gone back. It does take some prep work to pre-soak the beans, but some people just use canned. I tend to make a lot since my daughter loves to eat it straight up. I also boil my garlic with beans. It keeps the hummus from being too garlicky for the kids and my husband doesn't like raw garlic in things, so it works.

oil, lemon, salt, tahini, chickpeas

soak beans overnight with salt and a pinch of baking soda, then rinse and add fresh water

bring to a boil, skim, and add oil, garlic, cumin, salt, sugar

once the beans are tender drain (saving water), add tahini and lemon juice

blend until creamy using reserved water as needed

season to taste with salt

enjoy!

CSA week 24 (final bonus)

So this is really it. The end. Fin. Das Ende. Sadly we let the yumminess go and embrace the cold weather food. Again, I went for a large share for this bonus delivery. We chose spinach over chard, carrots over beets, and parsnips over chiles. Everyone got onions and a sunshine squash. For our large share we picked more carrots and beets. My eldest, being a boy decided for our extra squash that he had to pick the largest hubbard they had there. The thing must weigh 30lbs. We also got a lot of really yummy granny smith apples for our fruit share.

The picture does not do the hubbard justice. The box is actually kinda sitting on it.

What I made: Applesauce; apples in bellies; sauteed spinach; winter vegetable soup with parsnips, turnips (from before), carrots, celery, and squash (from before); onions and squash for later.

Salsa verde

Tomatillos and roasted chiles make the best salsa. I do also have to say that you really need to pretend that the yellow citric object in the first picture is a green citric object. I try really hard to always have limes on hand, but for some reason I didn't. I do not recommend making salsa with lemon unless you have no choice. It just doesn't taste the same.

tomatillos, citrus, onion, cilantro, serranos, roasted chiles, salt, and oil

have minions peel tomatillos

boil until just changing color and then drain - I find this lets the salsa stay fresh longer

chop onion, serrano, and cilantro

put everything in the same pot but the cilantro and onions and blend well

then add cilantro and onions and just pulse

season to taste and let rest at least an hour

Serve with corn chips, as a base for chilaquiles, on top of enchiladas, wherever green yumminess will be appreciated.

Tomato gratin

This is a close second to tomato soup for my oldest. He loves tomatoes any which way. This way is actually my favorite. I originally found the recipe in food and wine, but over the years I have modified it so much that it really isn't the same. That is how you learn to cook. Don't just follow along, but experiment and change things to suit your tastes. The recipe is just a guide, the final product is what tastes good to you. That is different for everyone. This is also easy to make earlier in the day and then re-heat in the broiling step before serving.

tomatoes, onions, garlic, butter, oil, salt, pepper, and habaneros (not pictured, thanks computer)

I just really love this picture

peel your tomatoes

melt butter in olive oil and soften onions

add tomatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook down into sauce

remove children's tomatoes and then add diced habeneros or jalapenos if you can't find them

top with grated cheese or just plain for hubby and broil until bubbly

serve with veggie dogs, veggie nuggets, fresh bread...

Honestly my favorite way to eat bowls and bowls of tomatoes. We rarely have leftovers.