Random Fall Dinner

pretty simple dinner, but delicious variety of flavours and textures. in one big pan roast discs of polenta, halved red bell pepper, and halved delicata squash maybe 450 or so. sautee garlic and shitake mushrooms and sprinkle with a little thyme. then add enough cream to make a very thick "mushroom sauce." finally, roughly chop one whole head of russian kale and sautee until slightly soft with a little bit of olive oil.

Pumpkin Mulligatawny

Translated, mulligatawny means "pepper water," which is a pretty accurate description of this soup. But this time I wanted more body, so I threw in a can of pumpkin. The base recipe is: 1 yellow onion finely minced, 1 tsp each of ginger and galangal, 4 minced cloves garlic sauteed until soft in some olive oil and some butter. Add 1/4 cup of flour and continue cooking for a minute. Then add 1 tsp each of cumin, cayenne, and tumeric and sautee another minute. Add at least 4 cups of vegetable stock or water to desired thickness. Add 1 can of pumpkin puree and stir over medium heat until homogeneous.

Sweet Potatoes

I planted 3 seedlings, they completely took over the whole yard and some of the alley, but somehow did not kill the tomato plants. Sweet potato vines are attractive with cute little purple flowers. Harvesting reveals a crazy looking nerve center of roots and tentacles. It is difficult to tell where the root ends and the potato begins. After harvest, you have to let the spuds sit on top of the ground for several days so they can "cure," meaning they need to develop a tougher skin and sweetness, neither of which they have right after you dig them up.

Half Dried Tomatoes

I had an overabundance of super-ripe tomatoes, so I decided to try the "half-dried" preparation that I had in Spain. I'm pretty sure that's a loose translation, but it works. Halve tomatoes and place cut side up in a baking pan. Sprinkle with lots of garlic, herbs, olive oil and salt. Bake for 2 hours at 300 degrees F. Yummy to toss into stuff at the last minute, instead of sauce on pizza, a sandwich with fresh mozzerella. Intense tomato flavour.