Fall Meals

Thought I would include some more seasonal recipes today, as we continue to have delicious treats from the garden...

Roasted Root Vegetables
Last night we had this with our sicky soup (recipe follows). The beets and fresh herbs were from our garden, the potatoes from our neighbor's farm, the parsnips from our CSA, and the garlic from our neighbor's home garden. Just use what you've got!

Any assortment of the following:
Beets
Carrots
Potatoes
Parsnips
Turnips
Whole Garlic Cloves, peeled
Onions or Shallots
Winter Squash, cubed

Coat well with olive oil, salt liberally, pepper to taste. Add chopped herbs of your liking, last night, I used thyme, rosemary, and sage. Place in a baking dish, and cover with foil, bake at 375 for about an hour, till veggies are fork-soft. Remove lid and continue baking until tops crisp and brown.

Kira's Sicky Soup

My friend Kira made this once when I lived at her house, and it has become my favorite soup to eat when sick.

One onion, sliced in half rounds
Several cloves of garlic, minced (2-3 or more)
shiitake mushrooms, if you have available
4 large chard leaves
6 medium paste tomatoes, skins removed and chopped, or one 28-oz can pureed tomatoes
2 cups veggie stock
6 cups water
one package bean thread noodles or one bundle soba noodles
3 tbsp miso, or more to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
grated ginger, to taste

Saute onion well in olive oil, until translucent. If using mushrooms, add next and saute until well cooked. Add garlic, cayenne, and ginger and stir around for a few minutes. Add stock and water, and bring to a boil. Add in tomatoes and simmer until well softened and broken up. Add in chard, cook for just a few minutes to soften. Add in noodles, and cook for a few minutes more. When noodles are done, turn off heat. Scoop out some liquid into a jar or mug, and add miso, to dissolve well. Add back into the soup and serve.

Baba Ganouj
Yummy Eggplant spread, I just made some this morning.

2 globe eggplants, baked as halves in a 375 oven, until very soft, flesh removed from skin and put into food processor
2 tbsp tahini
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
juice of a lemon, or to taste
a dash of cayenne

Mix all together in food processor, and serve with crackers or pita bread. YUM!