Lentil veggie and garden leek soup with pesto butter and homemade bread

These pictures are from December 1. We took out all the basil and peppers and some of the leeks, and spaced out the other leeks better. The basil went into a pesto butter with garlic, butter, and almonds. The leeks went into a lentil veggie soup. We served the dinner with white wine and homemade whole wheat baguette.

Leek pie with seared ahi

We found some pie dough that we had stuck away at the back of the freezer, and defrosted it overnight in the fridge. For a leek pie, clean and slice a few leeks and saute them in some butter, salt, and thyme. Heap the leeks onto a pie or pastry crust, fold up the sides, and bake until the crust is golden. Leek pie goes well with almost anything; we paired it with seared ahi tuna and a pinot gris.

Salmon chowder

I think I'm finally up-to-date with posting pictures here. We'll see how long that lasts. Last night we made a fantastic salmon chowder.

Begin by making the fumet: simmer the head (gills removed) and bones of a whole salmon (you should be able to get such scraps from your fishmonger, for around $1/lb), along with some ends of leeks, in just enough water to cover for about half an hour.

Meanwhile, start sauteing leeks, sliced, in a little butter or olive oil. Add some salt and, once the leeks soften, add just enough milk to cover. Dice two sweet potatoes and add to the leeks-and-milk.

When the fumet is done, strain it and add some to the soup. Add also 1/2 lb salmon trimmings (the bits of fish that the fishmonger cuts off the fillets to make them even, and so sells for half price), which will poach pretty much instantly. Stir in one cup cream, and maybe a little more fumet because although you like stew, you don't want the soup too thick. Adjust the salt and serve the very rich soup with a lightly-chilled cab-merlot blend or pinot noir.

Campanelle with canned tomatoes, leeks, and mushrooms

Cream of cauliflower soup with homemade baguette

B made this wonderful dinner for us and a friend of ours. He described the soup as "cream of everything in the fridge": after sauteing and boiling cauliflower, leeks, and celery, he blended the soup with the immersion blender. The cauliflower gets very creamy — no dairy necessary. We garnished the soup with parsley and broccoli flowers from the garden.

Pizza with leeks and spinach

Leek soup

Saute leeks in butter along with a little garlic and celery. Then combine with broth and blend. Transfer to bowls, and pour some cream on top to create a nice swirling pattern.

Crab bisque

Begin by preparing a mirepoix: wash and chop leeks, celery, carrots, and garlic, and cook covered over medium with lots of butter. Meanwhile, wash and shell one cooked crab, saving the shells (as well as the celery and leek trimmings) for a later soup stock. When the mirepoix has mostly cooked, add white wine, some shellfish stock or water, lots of cream, salt, and the crab. Bring everything briefly to a boil, let cool slightly, and serve with a crusty seeded sourdough bread.

Clam chowder

Making clam chowder completely from scratch is a treat unto itself, and the finished product is better than what you can get at any restaurant. Begin by making a fish broth: combine scraps of fish (frozen "chowder fish" is available at Berkeley Bowl for $1/lb), clam trimmings, leeks, onions, and other shells (I'm not actually sure that the other shells impart any flavor), cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer. We messed up with the camera, so here's a (2 sec) video of this all important first step:


Forty five minutes into the stock-making time, combine leeks, onions, butter, and salt in a large soup pot, and begin sautéing on medium-low. Wash 1.5 lb clams, place in a colander, and set in the steam from the stock pot, with the lid on top of the colander; steam the clams 15 minutes while the alliums cook, so that the clams completely open. Meanwhile, wash and dice a pound or so of potatoes. Sprinkle potatoes with lemon juice (half a lemon; use the other half for salad dressing) to prevent discoloration if the potatoes are to sit out a while.

When the clams open, remove them from the heat. Set a sieve over the soup pot with the leeks, and carefully ladle in stock, regularly dumping out the fish, crab, etc., into the trash. Fill the pot 3/4 full. (Transfer any remaining stock, strained, into freezer-safe mason jars (wide-mouth pints), let cool to shower temperature, and label and freeze.)

Add potatoes to the soup and bring back to a boil. Cook 10-15 minutes, checking that the potatoes are cooked through but not falling apart. Meanwhile, shell the clams with a small spoon. Turn off the heat, add the clams to the soup, and add one cup cream and some salt. If you have any chives or parsley butter, add it at the end too.

Serve hot with whole-wheat bread or a good sourdough. Have a very chilled wine and copious icewater — soup warms you up quickly.

Snapper wrapped in collard greens, with leeks and walnuts

Bake about 20 minutes. Perhaps we should have steamed the greens a bit first — they were tasty but a little tough.

Polenta gnocchi with leeks and peppers

Bring to a boil one cup water with two cups red wine and a small handful of salt. Then remove from heat, whisk in one cup corn meal, cover, and let the polenta cook for at least twenty minutes.

When the polenta has cooked, mix in an egg. Pour a small pile of semolina flour onto the counter, flour your hands, and roll the polenta into small gnocchi, rolling each gnocco in the semolina flour.

Julienne leeks, sweet peppers, and garlic, and sauté in olive oil, adding a little salt. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop in the gnocchi, and cook until they float, about five to ten minutes. Remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon, toss with the vegetable sauce, and serve with red wine and pecorino cheese.

Homemade linquini with beets greens, leeks, capers, and smoked fish

Butterfish, poached fennel, and bread

We began by mixing and baking the bread, letting it cool a bit before cutting it open. Then we baked the butterfish in leftover rouille, topped with fennel greens. Meanwhile, we sautéed leeks and then added trimmed green beans and quartered fennel bulbs, and simmered the veggies ten minutes in broth.

Gardening in November

Broccoli, leeks, and peas to plant (the peas will go in the back of the house):




Taking out the tomatoes, to make space for the broccoli and leeks:







Bugs!






Cleaning up the rest of the garden:



The finished planter: