Last of the beets! these are #chioggia and Bull's Blood from #westcoastseeds


https://www.westcoastseeds.com/shop/vegetable-seeds/beet-seeds/

back to work lunches!

I received this cookbook as a gift and have been waiting to get back to work so I can try some lunch recipes! The first recipe I'm trying is the Chimichurri Pumpkin Bowl:

This is the photo from the cookbook!

lots of cilantro and parsley go into the sauce:2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup pepitas, 2 cups parsley and 1 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1\4 cup water, 1 Tbs olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1\2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.

I strained the sauce as it was a bit watery

my version! I used squash instead of pumpkin

I've had this cookbook for many years, and it's an old standby - I usually make the Greek lentil soup, but thought I'd try the pea soup for a change....

It is a nice, thick soup for a cold, Winter's day - I used some leeks from the garden!

My garlic didn't grow very well this year - next best thing is buying organic, locally grown wonderful garlic - I got these from the store down the street:http://thelocalgeneralstore.ca/

adding some roasted beets makes......

A gorgeous pink hummus!!!

 

 

This week's lunches will help make going back to work more pleasant. I will be sharing the pink hummus so we'll all have garlic breath together!

fall colours

Fall colours for borscht! just picked veggies make the best soup

roasted beets

Roasted beets with lemon, garlic, cumin and olive oil

digging and planting

Planted Snow Peas, 2 types of radish,(Rudi, and Black Spanish Round - heirloom variety) and Sugar Snap peas (Sugar Anne)today - all from West Coast Seeds. Also pulled out the last of the over-wintered beets, which aren't very big, but still good - they are destined to be roasted beet salad.

Winter Veg Potluck

I went up Island today to attend the Slow Food Victoria and Gulf Islands event in Cobble Hill. http://slowisland.ca/item_view.php?item_id=1oDLwQ0jEp1lGgtBeq6cdGLAEYdwFjtFY7b We had a Winter Vegetable potluck, so I was up very early this morning kneading dough for roasted beet bread and making fresh apple, carrot, beet juice. My friend made pakoras with Swiss Chard from my garden. Here is the recipe I used for the bread:http://www.cookingbread.com/recipes/savory_bread/roasted_beet_bread_recipe.html This wonderful recipe was discovered here:http://www.thekneadforbread.com/ There are some fantastic food places in the Cowichan Bay area that use local ingredients : Merridale cidery:http://www.merridalecider.com/ True Grain Bakery:http://www.truegrain.ca/ and Hillary's Artisan Cheese shop: http://www.hilarycheese.com/

Salt Spring Centre Borscht

This is a very basic Borscht - and 0 mile diet, using onions, potatoes, beets, and cabbage that all grow very easily here on the coast. I love the sound of the name 'borscht' - such an earthy, peasant ring to it. This recipe is from Salt Spring Island Cooking: Vegetarian Recipes from the Salt Spring Centre , by Rodney Polden & Pamela Thornley- which is currently out of print, published in 1993, but is available used: http://www.librarything.com/work/1566737 ( a highly recommended book!) There are two recipes: one can serve a horde of people, and the other is family sized. Here's the family sized recipe which serves 4 - 6 people: 3 Tb. oil 1 cup chopped leeks, or onions 2 1/2 cups chopped beets 2 1/2 cups chopped potatoes 2 1/2 cups chopped cabbage 2 tsp. honey juice of 1 lemon (optional) 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 tsp dillweed 5 cups water or soup stock if you have them, you can add chopped beet greens at the end of the cooking Saute the leeks, beets, cabbage, and potatoes, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer, covered, for at least 30 minutes. Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of fennel if you wish. It's particularly nice to sprinkle a little fresh fennel leaf over top. I was surprised to read about all the different kinds of Borscht there are -some with meat, some with tomatoes, some made without any beets at all - originally, Borscht was a fermented grain soup, usually wheat bran, from Romania. There is the pretty pink Borscht from Lithuania, eaten cold and served with a boiled potato, or the Polish Christmas Eve soup served with little mushroom raviolis (uszka). The Borscht I make is of the typical Russian variety - if you like it thicker, you can add some toasted flour - mix with a bit of the hot soup, then whisk it back in. I like this story about Bubbe's Borscht: http://www.jewishmag.com/128mag/bubbe_borsht/bubbe_borsht.htm

can't beet this juice

A great way to use extra large beets and carrots from your garden ( or bought from your local farmer's market) is to make juice ~ In my neighbourhood, people leave things on the boulevard, and it was my luck to find a perfectly good juicer one day! It will only make one or two cups at a time, but that is all I need. I just wash and chop the fruits/veg and maybe some ginger or parsley, and pop the pieces into the tube on top of the machine. I made beet, carrot, apple, ginger juice today. The ginger gives a nice, warming taste. Another favourite is apple, carrot, parsley. The colour of the fresh beet juice is quite stunning - a gorgeous, fuschia red. The juice is nutrious and mildly sweet and is rich in natural sugar, sodium, sulphur, chlorine, iodine, copper and vitamin B1, B2, C and bioflavonoids. Some holistic practitioners believe that beet juice combined with other juices like carrot and cucumber are excellent for cleansing the kidneys, liver and gallbladder and for restoring health to these organs. It improves cardiovascular health overall- I have also heard that fresh beet juice increases stamina and endurance for athletes. see here for beet juice nutrition: http://www.juicing-for-health.com/beets.html And the pulp makes excellent compost! happy juicing!