Sweet Potato, Green Garlic and Cashew Bisque

Beaches. Good for sun and sand and myriad other fun subjects. My personal favorite is a daily (or more) walk and wave ion fix.  In South Padre Island this April, I joined a 5K “fun run” that started at 8:30 pm at night. Headlamps and flashlights required. I felt so positive loping down the beach with thousands of little lights glowing, mine being one of them, shining extra bright I am sure from the negative wave ion energy.

When I visit my brother and sister-in-law in Newport Beach California, not only do I get my wave ion fix, I get a food fix. My sister-in-law Leslie is a very good cook and a self-described “foodie.” In the last few years she’s been leaning to vegetarian and vegan, and both she and my brother appear slimmer and all the more healthy as a result.

On my most recent trip, we stopped at her plot in the community garden.  There we gathered young squash along with enough squash blossoms to make what is possibly my favorite appetizer–pan-sauteed blossoms with tangy cheese stuffing. But that is another story.

When I left their house the next day, Leslie sent me on my way with a loan–one of her new cookbooks, The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat. This week I tested the ‘cashew cream’ that author/Chef Ronnen calls his vegan staple, his stand-in for dairy in many of the book’s recipes.

I wanted to make whipped cashew cream for a cupcake filling. Warning: don’t put too much fresh cold water in the blender, or you’ll get cashew milk/cream–not thick enough to whip. Another note: the recipe specifies whole raw cashews, not pieces, which are often dry, quote, unquote. I cheaped out and bought cashew pieces. However, that didn’t prove to be the forewarned problem, because my cashew pieces soaked in water 5 days, versus the overnight refrigeration called for; it took that long for me to finally get around to making the cashew cream. Which worked in my favor because even though the recipe said I would have to strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sleeve if using a regular blender versus a Vita-Mix, a minute or so in my trusty Braun blends very well-soaked cashew pieces into rich, smooth cream. (If you want to buy me a Vita-Mix for Christmas, start saving. The one I want is $400—and that is the refurbished one.)

I went back to the cookbook to see what Chef Ronnen makes with his regular, thinner cashew cream, like mine. How about using it for the “milk” in mashed potatoes, or “Twice-baked Fingerlings?” Or reducing the thinner version into stunning cream sauce—a vegan beurre blanc? Cream soups anyone? Whichever recipe you choose, plan ahead, because the cashews do need to soak overnight, or 5 nights….

And that is how “Tomato Bisque” from The Conscious Cook became my inspiration for this post.

Sweet Potato, Green Garlic and Cashew Bisque.

For the Cashew Cream:

Rinse 2 cups of whole raw cashews in cold water several times. Put them in a bowl and cover with cold water. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the cashews and rinse again. Place in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high speed for several minutes, until very smooth. Strain if the cream is not completely smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the bisque:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

7 bulbs and tender parts of green garlic, finely chopped

2 carrots, cut in ¼-inch dice

1 stalk celery, cut in ¼-inch dice

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

5 to 6 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

2 large garnet sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in ¾-inch chunks

2 cups Cashew Cream (separate recipe)

1 pinch cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Minced chives

Chive blossom petals

Make the bisque: In a soup pot, in medium flame, heat the oil briefly. Before it gets too hot, stir in the minced garlic. Cook and stir a minute or so, then add the diced carrots and celery. Cook and stir 5 to 8 minutes, until the garlic is translucent and the carrots and celery have softened.

Add the paprika, stirring it in until the vegetables are well coated. Add 5 cups of the vegetable broth, the bay leaf and the diced yams.

Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the yams are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Puree with an immersion blender—my first choice. Or, working in batches, pour the soup onto a blender and blend until smooth. (Beware, hot soup tries to burst the blender lid off, creating a huge kitchen counter mess and potential personal burns.)

With the pureed soup in the pot, stir in the Cashew Cream. If you prefer a thinner soup, stir in the last cup of vegetable broth. Heat through. Season with lemon juice, cayenne, and if needed, Real Salt.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with the green chives and purple blossoms.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

• The cashew cream can be made up to one week ahead. That way it will be ready when you are.
• Green garlic is young spring garlic before the bulbs separates into cloves. You can also use garlic scapes, maybe ¼ cup diced, or fully developed garlic, one or 2 cloves at the most.
• Choose sweet potatoes with the darkest copper orange skin. Those will be the ones with the brightest flesh.
• Be sure to remove the bay leaf. I once pureed a soup with the bay leaf in it and I had to strain 8 quarts of thick soup through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of the unpleasant texture in every spoonful. Dinner took more time than I had planned before it was ready to serve!

Spinach and Black Bean Egg Burritos

Enjoy these hearty and healthy scrambled egg burritos for brunch with nothing more than good coffee and friendly company. If you want to get fancy, add a batch of breakfast potatoes and cook up some vegan sausage. We have breakfast for dinner every few months–needless to say these make great supper rollups.

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained

Salsa, 1 cup, more or less, as needed

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

½ large onion, chopped

½ pound fresh spinach leaves, washed and coarsely chopped

Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 to 6 eggs

4 sprouted wheat tortillas

In the work bowl of a food processor, puree the drained black beans with salsa, starting with about 3 tablespoons. When the beans are smooth, scrape into a small bowl and set aside.

Heat about a tablespoon of grapeseed oil in a skillet over medium flame. Stir in the onion and cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent. Add the chopped spinach and cook and stir until the spinach wilts and seriously shrinks in volume. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.

Wipe out the skillet and drizzle in a little more grapeseed oil. Beat the eggs with a tablespoon or so of salsa and season with a pinch of salt. Pour the eggs in to the skillet and cook, stirring gently with a rubber spatula, until the eggs have just set, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Heat both sides of the tortillas, one at a time in a clean skillet or a comal. Spread each tortilla generously with black bean puree, leaving a 1-inch border. Distribute ¼ of the spinach mixture down the center, sprinkle with some cheese and spoon ¼ of the eggs down the middle of the tortillas.

Serve with more salsa, letting each person add as much as they want before they roll the tortilla around the filling. Hook in and hold on.

Makes 4 servings.

• Some of the bean puree should be left over. Save for spread on crackers or in a sandwich.
• Chard easily substitutes for the spinach in this recipe.
• Use them best eggs you can find–ideally farm fresh.
• Substitute Monterey jack cheese or crumbled goat cheese for the cheddar if that is what you have on hand.
• You can make these about 1 hour before service. Roll the filled burritos and then roll each one into sheet of aluminum foil. Keep warm in the oven.

Green Salad with Beluga Black Lentils, Fresh Mozzarella, and Curry Vinaigrette

As May rolled into June, just 10 days ago, I had the pleasure of visiting friends in Santa Barbara. Maura and Ed are conscious eaters and take advantage of the area’s incredible Farmer’s Markets and local produce. We fast-walked the nearby beach, I took my first ever water aerobics class and we all rolled in an earthquake with the epicenter only miles away.

Both of our evening meals we shared at home, cooking with a fridge full of fresh veggies, their take-home from Saturday’s Farmer’s Market. For breakfast, Maura blended her house smoothie, complete with kale and organic anti-oxidant berry blend from Costco. (Did you hear about the recall of those berries because Hepatitis A was traced to the pomegranate seeds from Turkey?)

We cruised the downtown and “did lunch.”  (We didn’t visit the old Santa Barbara Mission church where my parent’s were married in 1933—just saying, not lamenting.)

Maura wanted to take me to a vegetarian restaurant—but guess what—they really don’t have a great vegetarian restaurant. I think an area with stellar produce could foster a stellar plant-based restaurant. Maybe everyone else cooks at home too.

Salt Lake City on the other hand, sometimes referred to as backwoods and 20 years behind the times, boasts several unique and excellent vegetarian and organic restaurants.

One is Sage’s Café. I totally admire owner/founder Ian Brandt’s vision and stick-to-it-if-ness. I heard about his idea of opening a natural foods warehouse to complement his restaurant long before it came to fruition—Cali’s Natural Foods.

The store is in a funky brick building with a coffee place out front. Inside is funky as well and reminds me of a 1970’s era co-op. Problem for me is that Cali’s is only open to the public on Friday’s and Saturdays. Last Saturday I scheduled my semi-annual Costco shop combined with my complimentary Hepatitis A vaccine. Cali’s is around the corner from Costco in the same block and so fulfilled my shopping trip to the big city. Only rarities made it into my Cali’s cart–avocado oil and little black lentils—aka black beluga lentils.

As the thermometer outside climbs into the 80’s here in Park City—I like to prepare main course salads for dinner. And boy do we welcome the first of 20 plus weeks of Ranui Gardens CSA mixed greens.

Green Salad with Beluga Black Lentils, Fresh Mozzarella, and Curry Vinaigrette

½ to ¾ cup black beluga lentils

2 tablespoons plus 3 tablespoons fruity extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon plus ¼ teaspoon Real Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard

¼ cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar

2 heaping teaspoons curry powder

3 tablespoons avocado oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

4 or 5 handfuls mixed baby salad greens

Sliced celery, carrots, jicama, avocado and tomatoes, as desired

4 to 5 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes

Look over the lentils, sorting out any that don’t look right—rogue pieces of rock and such. Rinse, put in a saucepan, adding water to at least 2 inches above the lentils. Bring to a boil. Simmer until the lentils are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. (They take longer at 7000 feet above sea level.) Drain them and toss with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the first ¼ teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Set aside.

Make the curry vinaigrette:

Place the mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt and curry powder in a bowl. Anchor the bowl in a circle made from a damp towel. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the avocado oil. Stir in the chives and freshly ground black pepper. Mix a few tablespoons of this dressing into the reserved lentils.

Choose a pretty salad bowl. Mound the mixed greens in the bowl, tearing them into fork-size pieces if they are large leaves. Arrange the vegetables in concentric rings over the lettuce. In the center, pile the seasoned lentils.

Toss the mozzarella cubes in the vinaigrette. Using a slotted spoon so you don’t overdress the salad, remove the cheese, spooning the cubes on top of the lentils.

Take to the table so everyone can feast their eyes before you toss all together.

Serve extra vinaigrette on the side for those who prefer a well-drenched salad.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Notes:

• For vegans: Substitute cubes of fresh extra firm tofu for the mozzarella.
• Use any assortment of vegetables—including as snow peas, cherry tomatoes, blanched haricots verts—cook’s choice or according to what’s in the fridge
• Substitute more olive oil or walnut oil for the avocado oil
• We received chives in our CSA box this week; therefore they are in the dressing. Basil or tarragon leaves would be fantastic.

Orzo with Spinach, Blue Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds

Downtown Farmer’s Market Salt Lake City, Trader Joes’s, a random yard sale, Costco and Cali’s Natural Foods all took a share of my money last Saturday. My friend Teri and I bypassed 20 odd Park City garage sales—you can see where our priorities lie—for it was opening day for the Farmer’s Market. It was my first trip to Trader Joe’s since they opened last fall and since we were at Costco, well Cali’s was in the same block. The yard sale was on our path.

I spread almond butter on the the heels of Crumb Brothers Honey Raisin Rye bread this morning.

Clifford Family Farm eggs with same bread inspired Sunday’s French toast.

From now on, I’ll be visiting our local Wednesday Park City’s Farmer’s Market which also opened last week—that is until later in the summer, when the abundance of ripe fruit calls me for another venture to the big city.

Our favorite farmer and skier, John G was in Salt Lake with his flatbread truck. But we saved his arugula and lettuce mix for the Salt Lake shoppers.

That’s because our Ranui Gardens CSA is up and running starting today, which means we get our weekly box from John. This also means I will be posting 2 recipes a week until October. Yippee! Enjoy all the new recipes and be sure to Search the Archives for more ideas for what to cook with your produce. I love feedback—leave comments as you feel it.

It’s hot. Especially for Park City. Right now the thermometer reads 83 degrees F. in the shade. Air conditioning is opening the front door, which late afternoon is the east facing shady side of the house. Hot means easy stove-top don’t-turn-on-the-oven cooking.

Orzo with Spinach, Blue Cheese and Pumpkin Seeds

1 cup orzo pasta

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large bunch spinach

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1 head green garlic, finely chopped

zest of 1 lemon

2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Red pepper flakes

Real Salt

Bring about a quart of well-salted water to a boil, stir in the orzo and let the water return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the orzo pasta is cooked with just a slight resistance to your tooth. Drain the orzo, put it in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil.

While the orzo is cooking, prepare the spinach. Wash it several times to make sure there is no gritty dirt remaining. Remove and discard the stems. Chop the leaves into 1-inch size pieces.

In a large skillet, heat the grapeseed oil with the green garlic until the garlic turns to golden, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the spinach and sprinkle with salt.

Stir and toss until the spinach has wilted, then add the cooked orzo to the pan, along with the lemon zest. Stir in the blue cheese and pumpkin seeds, continuing to stir until the orzo is heated through and the cheese melts. Season with a good pinch of red pepper flakes, taste for salt, seasoning with more if you think it is needed. Serve immediately let cool and serve in 20 minutes.

Makes  3 to 4 servings.

Notes:

• Use plain orzo for a pretty contrast of green and white, or use tri-color orzo for a jazzy kaleidoscopic dish.
• Extra virgin olive oil for flavor, grapeseed oil for high-heat cooking.
• Use baby spinach instead of chopped larger leaves.
• Substitute feta or goat cheese for the blue cheese if that’s what you have on hand. Or skip the cheese altogether if you or your guests are not eating dairy.
• Chopped parsley or a sprinkling of fresh (or dried) herbs such as oregano or marjoram are a nice addition.

Shopping tips for healthful eating

It’s a complicated food world out there but if you draw a few lines in the sand it helps.

Shop for organic produce if the item dirty dozen list. There is also a “least contaminated list” and you can use that as another guide. Make sure produce is organic or that the farmer follows organic prcatice even if not certified. In the grocery store, look for the number on the label– it should begin with 9.
Read labels at any store…. Anything with corn syrup is off my list. Usually I add sugar to the unallowed, that really cuts down on the processed foods in our cupboard. I also try not to buy anything with non-organic corn in it with a hope and a prayer, since some say non-GMO corn is unavailable even if organic.

Coming Soon–letty’s kitchen.com

Exciting news! I am designing a new food blog.

If you like what you read here on muffintalk, you are going to love lettyskitchen.com, featuring ever more veggie recipes and fitness/exercise pages to boot.

It’s about sharing healthy lifestyles–one bite at a time.

Curry Carrot Soup

I am sure you can flavor this recipe with purchased curry powder but it will not be the same; blending your own spices for curry, I think, is worth the extra three minutes of measuring them out. Portion the spices and set them aside in a little bowl before starting to make the soup.

Adding a potato makes it smoother and creamier—without milk or cream. If you cook everything in a pressure cooker, and puree the soup with an immersion blender, you can have dinner on the table in ½ hour. Figure one-third of the cooking time with in a pressure cooker. Look for mustard seeds in the bulk herb and spice jars at the health food store.

Curry Carrot Soup

3 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon Real Salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 pound carrots, cleaned and cut into slices

1 potato, peeled and cut into ½” cubes

4 cups cups vegetable stock

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey

Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and cook and stir the onions and garlic until the onion is translucent. Add all of the spices, from the mustard seeds through the cayenne, and cook for several minutes, stirring constantly. Add the carrots and continue cooking and stirring for several more minutes. Add the vegetable stock, cover tightly, and simmer until the carrots are very tender, at least 1/2 hour.

Puree the cooked carrots in a blender, in batches, or with an immersion blender in the pot. Stir in the lemon juice and agave nectar.

Taste and correct the seasoning with more cayenne and salt as desired. Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.