Split pea soup with garlic toast

Begin by sauteing a mirepoix of leeks and celery, and add some thyme leaves. Then add about a cup of dried split peas and about three cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the peas start to get tender, ten to twenty minutes. Then add spinach or young braising greens. If using non-spinach greens, be sure to remove any tough stems, and use only greens: no amaranth or beets or rainbow chard. When the greens are tender, puree everything with the immersion blender, and adjust the salt.

Meanwhile, chop and toast some walnuts for serving on top of the soup. For an extra special soup, before adding the walnuts swirl (but don't thoroughly mix) in some cream or creme fraiche. Also, mash some garlic with a little salt, spread on bread, and broil briefly to toast.

Three dinners: Asparagus pizza; Pasta primavera; Broiled salmon with red wine reduction

Picnic at Point Lobos

B and I love picnics. Before the closing-night performance of the San Francisco ballet (a wonderful production of Romeo and Juliet), we went to Point Lobos (as opposed to the other Point Lobos) and had a fantastic picnic of shucked extra-small oysters, homemade baguette, brie, home-grown peas, strawberries from our CSA, and red wine. Then we walked the mile-long trail, and then drove to the ballet, sneaking in chocolate-covered almonds for dessert.

Rather than post many pictures here, I will encourage you to click through the google-generated slide show (as always, click any picture for a larger version):

Salade Niçoise

Campanelle pasta with smoked tuna, whole peas, and cream

Farfalle with peas, cream, and smoked tuna

Saag Paneer and Aloo Matar

Use lots of sour cream and lots of curry powder. If you cannot find Paneer, the Greek cheese Haloumi handles heat very well. But it is expensive, and kind of too yummy to coat with so much spice. In any case, the dinner was great.

Homemade pasta with smoked fish, peas, and cream

Entrée salad

Begin with the aioli: one egg yolk; a small spoonful of water; many gloves garlic, mortar-and-pestled with salt; one can anchovies, washed, shells and bones removed, and mortar-and-pestled; a few spoonfuls capers, rinsed and minced; a cup and a half olive oil.

The rest of the salad: romaine lettuce; peas from Catalan (a fall harvest!); nicoise olives; cooked salad shrimp; sweet red peppers, sliced; onions, sliced; the last harvest of cherry tomatoes.

Toss everything together in a large salad bowl, and serve with fresh sour baguette and with a chilled rosé.

2 December 2008

We were happily surprised to see peas make an encore appearance at the market in December. Peas go very well with homemade pasta. We also had smoked fish, red bell peppers, and sage cooked in butter.

Slaw with mushrooms, peas, and carrots

The title says it all. For a tasty coleslaw, combine:

• 1 small green cabbage, stem removed, sliced fine
• 1 lb shelling peas, shelled (yields about 1 cup)
• 1/2 bunch purple carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 oz brown button mushrooms, sliced
• salt
• olive oil
• Moscatel vinegar

Stir-fry with tofu noodles, mushrooms, and peas

At the Berkeley farmers' markets, and indeed at every farmers' market in the Bay Area, is a stand for Hodo Soy, which makes excellent tofu and tofu-based prepared products. (I cannot, however, recommend their soy milk. It is the dried and ground soy beans dissolved in water that will have calcium added to curdle. It tastes exactly like what it is: a step along the way and by-product of tofu manufacturing.)

One tasty ingredient available from Hodo Soy are their soy noodles: firm tofu pressed through a spaghetti maker. These are excellent in stir-fries. The tofu, made fresh daily, tastes good already, and the high surface area allows the tofu to pick up flavors from the sauce.

In the wok, we heated vegetable oil with a little sesame oil, and briefly sautéed green onion, sliced mushrooms, and chopped baby bok choy (mei ching choi), and the tofu noodles.



Then we added snap peas (tips and strings removed), soy sauce, and one can each of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots. After a few stirs, we covered the wok and let the mixture simmer and heat.

Aim for your stir fry to have a little liquid at the bottom. Right before serving, combine a Tablespoon of corn starch with enough soy sauce to dissolve, and maybe a little sesame oil. Remove stir-fry from heat, and, stirring constantly, add corn-starch mixture. A few tosses, since the pan is still hot, should be enough to create the sticky glaze on tasty stir-fries. Mix in some toasted sesame seeds for good measure, and serve.

We had our stir-fry over brown rice.

Cooked Fall/Winter/Spring salad

I'm in the process of eating up my winter storage foods, to make space for summer crops. I have two gallons of frozen peaches: those go in pies, cookie bars, and hot breakfast cereal.

I had leftover phyllo dough from a dinner I haven't blogged yet. Let phyllo defrost in the fridge overnight. In a small/medium saucepan, prepare a spicy peach pie filling: frozen peaches, lemon juice, honey, lavender, cinnamon, clove, and corn starch. Also melt a few Tablespoons of butter, or for vegan use oil. Cut phyllo into few-inch strips, and place filling at one end, and fold up. Some people place butter between the layers, but I don't. I do use three or so strips per triangle, since my filling is pretty juicy. Bake in a buttered pan, and brush the melted butter on top of the pastries.


Squash also needs to be eaten. So my dinner tonight was a mix of vegetables best in different seasons. My apologies. All are local, and purchased seasonally. In any case, wash and halve one delicata squash, and remove seeds and strings with a spoon. Peel with peeler (you don't have to be too careful; the skin of the delicata is relatively tender), and chop into small cubes. Bake in an open oven-safe dish, having first tossed squash with oil and salt.

Meanwhile, wash, peel, and chop one bunch beats. Place in small pan and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, and simmer covered until tender.

Shell a pound of fresh peas into serving bowl (one pound pods yields one cup peas). Toss with some marmalade, olive oil, and dijon mustard. Beats should be tender by now; drain in colander and rinse in running water. Toss with peas to coat with dressing. By now, squash is done; mix that in too. Salad will be brightly colored and sweet. Serves one.

Fava, pea, and spinach soup

In a large saucepan, sauté in olive oil:

• 1 leek, washed well (there's lots of dirt between the leaves), with roots and outer leaves removed and saved for stock, and diced
  
• A few sticks of celery, diced
  
• A handful of carrots, washed and diced
  
• Some parsley, diced, and other fresh (or dried) herbs: basil, tarragon, sage
  
• Salt and pepper

When vegetables start to release water, cover and stew for a few minutes. Then add

• 6 cups water

And bring to boil, reduce to simmer, etc.

Start shelling

• a couple pounds of fresh peas and fava beans: you should yield a cup or two of shelled legumes.

Add to the boiling water, stir, and cover; they will be cooked sufficiently when the favas have burst open. Also wash, remove stems from, and chop

• 1 large bunch spinach.

When beans are cooked, add spinach, poking it down under the water to fully submerge. Cook a few minutes more.

Transfer roughly half the soup to a blender (just need to do one batch), and blend to smooth. Return the blended soup to the pot with the unblended soup, and stir to combine.

Serve immediately: color will not keep. Serve with a moist feta cheese, or sour cream, or crème fraîche, or, if you have them, sprinkle with bright orange flower petals (marigold or nasturtium).