So I've made so many wonderful meals the past 2 months in the forms of mainly soups and smoothies, but now that I can eat pureed food, I really wanted to have a meal. That is to say a plate of different food, with different flavors. Granted I'm not yet ready to venture into the different textures realm, really, but at least for tonight I wanted different flavors. So I made a delicious mushy dinner. The components were: pureed sweet potatoes with ginger; white wine and rosemary sauteed zucchini; and leek and cauliflower puree with hints of jalapeno and white truffle oil. It was all really good, but I have to say the pureed cauliflower was really, really good. It's definitely a mashed potato substitute keeper!
Yesterday I made a really delicious white bean and kale soup. I cooked onion, garlic, carrot, a potato, farmer's market kale, white beans, some fresh parsley, and then added a few heaping tablespoons of the amazing pesto sent to me by my good friend Ventura. I then used an immersion blender to turn it sufficiently mushy for me to eat, and I was extremely pleased with the results. Hey- do yourself a favor and add pesto to your soup. You won't be disappointed!
So now that my food doesn't necessarily have to be through a straw, I'm trying to branch out into the mushy food realm. But I have to say, it's been a little rough, since I've gotten so used to "straw" eating. The act of chewing makes me a little uncomfortable, especially since my teeth don't 'fit' together anymore, and any sort of chewing makes my mouth sore. But if there is one early summer combo that I can't resist it's strawberry and rhubarb, and while it might be tasty in a smoothie, or even in a juicer (hey- I might try that later this week!), nothing beats it hot and bubbling from the oven, with some sort of dough or crisp on top. My grandparents used to grow both strawberries and rhubarb, and man grandma Dahlin's strawberry rhubarb pie was not to be missed! This past weekend I made a strawberry rhubarb crisp that was pretty darn good. I cut up a bunch of strawberries and rhubarb, and mixed the fruit with some sugar, cornstarch, and orange zest and juice. (Please never slice your fingernail on a rasp- not nice!). For the 'crisp' I mushed together earth balance (vegan butter) with oatmeal, ginger powder, brown sugar and some flour. Then I put the fruit in a greased dish, and the crisp on top and baked it extra long to be sure it got sufficiently mushy for me to eat (about 50 mins. at 350). It was extremely tasty, I have to say. I miss grandma Dahlin's pie though...
(pardon the photo- I didn't have my camera, only my cell phone) And I felt obliged to of course have a little wine too, being that I was at a wine bar and all... As an added bonus, all of this was outside, which was particularly nice given the beautiful weather.
And now, finally, I'm ready to discuss today. Today I'm making a flageolet bean and leek soup from Deborah Madison's really wonderful cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (thanks, Molly!). Flageloet beans can be hard to come by in the U.S., so try and remember to pick some up the next time you are in Canada. They have a nice mellow flavor, and the most beautiful light green color. A friend gave these to me, and I got the leeks from yesterday's farmer's market. I also made homemade basic veggie stock using the method in Madison's book. The soup is still simmering, so I can't tell you how it tastes yet, but it sure smells awfully good.
Yesterday's weather in DC was so fantastic, after doing some biking I just couldn't help but sit outside and have a glass of wine in the sun, and read my book club book (which is really good, by the way!). Then a couple of my awesome girlfriends showed up, and low and behold we had a little more wine... It was a lovely afternoon.
Yesterday I made a really, really delicious mushroom soup from Sarah Kramer's fun La Dolce Vegan. I added some garlic chives from the Mt. P farmer's market, which were very tasty. The recipe calls for lots of tamari, paprika, and dill- which made for a great flavor combination. At the end I used my immersion blender to mix it all up with some soy milk, and it was a rich, creamy soup. I'm glad I doubled the recipe to make some for freezing!
Friday's fresh 'use what you got' juice was a good combination of a carrot, a hunk of ginger, a pear and an apple. It was bright, invigorating, and straightforward. Just what I was looking for in an afternoon snack.
Yesterday's 'use what you got smoothie' was comprised of a half of an avocado, a kiwi, some OJ, ice, a few chunks of frozen banana, vanilla protein powder, and some agave. It was surprisingly good!
Anyhow, the pho... It was great! And they have vegetarian pho, which isn't particularly easy to come by. When I asked our server if she could blend it up for me, she said 'sure, I'd be happy to do that for you.' But I guess she got overrode, because a little while later a dude came to the table and explained that because they used the blender for smoothies, they couldn't possibly blend my soup in it. (What? Don't they have soap and water?) But he wasn't going to change his mind, and I was seated with 3 friends, and really, really didn't just want to have the broth. I wanted the tofu, and veggies, and rice noodles... all of it. So I ran home (5 mins) and got my immersion blender, and broght it back, and let the kitchen borrow it to puree my soup. Maybe crazy, maybe a great idea, you decide (I blame it on being SO over the whole jaw wired thing). Anyhow, when they eventually brought the blended version, it was really tasty! I have to admit, the non-blended version looked better- with the big chunks of lightly fried tofu and steamed veggies floating around in it. But with a little hot sauce, the blended version was all that I needed it to be. And, as an added major bonus, they have really delicious avocado smoothies. On the down side: no wine, and you can't byob. Argh. Bu all in all, a nice addition to the nieghborhood. Just don't forget your immersion blender if you can only drink through a straw...
Savor didn't have any totally pureed soups on the menu that day, so they heated up some of the previous day's roasted red pepper soup, special for me. It, and the ecotainer it came in, was perfect.
That night I had dinner over at my friend Dan and Robin's house, and was treated to a wonderful homemade potato leek soup, made with fresh grass fed goat's milk. It was out of this world. (We even got to visit the goat's that afternoon, and I have to say they are the happiest, most adorable goats I've ever met!)
Lunch later that day, was soup from another street vendor, this time the "Spoon" cart. Spoon had delicious fresh tomato basil soup that, once again, was phenomenal. For real. Tasty bits of perfectly ripe tomatoes, and lots of fresh basil. This wasn't your mamma's tomato soup. (And while my mom makes the best grilled cheese in the world, I just was never into the Campbell's tomato soup she'd try to make me have with it.)
My last meal in Portland was soup and wine at the classy 23 Hoyt, where my friend Robin's sister works. The restaurant is beautiful, and is committed to local seasonal produce, and sustainability. I had two bowls of their spicy asparagus soup- it was so delectable, just one wouldn't do.
In sum, I <3 PORTLAND, and Portland through a straw is fabulous! And hey, the people aren't bad either. Especially all of those bikers... thanks for the inspiration.
I satueed some of Ventura's thai curry pesto, then added (in no particular order) coconut milk, cooked sweet potato, cooked peas, cooked rice noodles, jalepeno, some broth... (and, naturally pureed it all at the end...) All of this made for a really, really tasty and dynamic soup. It seriously lit up parts of my mouth I had all but forgotten about. Cheers to that.
