I busted out my sprouting jar, got a tablespoon of green lentils and followed the same recipe/method for the alfalfa and mung been sprouts.  I was a bit skeptical because green lentils are pretty tough and only begin to soften after 20 minutes of simmering, how could they get tender from simple rinses of water over the course of 4 days?  It turns out sprouts work in mysterious ways, the lentils came out tender and delicious, perfect to top off a salad or to just snack on!

The title of this is silly but it’s an ode to my dear friend Tara who will be moving to France this month.  Tara is a vegetarian so she likes to eat taters because they are hearty and filling and when she gets saussy she likes to tate.

This past weekend we celebrated New Years together and for our big dinner, Tara contributed a tater dish which came out delicious.  Since this dish is so simple it can be tweaked by switching up the seasonings or even made vegan by substituting olive oil for the butter and omitting the cream and parm.

Potato Risotto
2 lbs potatoes, small diced
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 C stock
2 TBS butter
1/3 C grated parm
a splash of cream
2 tsp herbs de provence
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic in a pan until translucent.  Add potatoes, salt, pepper and herbs de provence and saute another 5 minutes.  Stir in a half a cup of stock and keep stirring until it is absorbed, repeat the process until the potatoes are tender and begin to break down and resemble the appearance of risotto (you may not need the entire 1 1/2 C of stock).  Once the taters are done, remove from heat and stir in the splash of cream and grated parm.

Tara also suggested using tumeric as the primary seasoning, which sounds tasty especially if you add some frozen peas at the end!

My first attempt at broccoli and potato soup was an utter fail.  I made it in the slow cooker and when the potatoes weren’t breaking down after 4 hours i cranked the heat up which somehow curdled the whole mixture.  Please note that some of the curdled soup was ingested by 2 unnamed fellas that had a bit too much to drink that night. My second attempt tasted yummy but I had to add more butter, cream and cheddar than my liking.  If it weren’t for my overflowing potato bin and giant head of broccoli I probably would have gave up on this recipe, but after opening a bottle of vinho verde I summoned the confidence to give this soup another whirl.

Broccoli & Tater Soup
1 large head of broccoli, coarsely chopped reserving 1/2 C of smaller florets
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and small diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 carton of chicken or veggie stock
2 cups of water
1 parmesan rind
1/3C grated pecorino romano
1 TBS butter
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS flour
1/4C white wine
1/8C cream
salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot saute onions and celery in the butter and olive oil.  Once softened add flour and stir for one minute, then add wine and and stir to dissolve any flour lumps.  Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper along with the stock, water, potatoes, broccoli, garlic cloves and parmesan rind.  Cover and simmer on medium high heat for a 1/2 an hour.  Uncover and continue simmering for another 1/2 hour- 45 minutes.  Turn off heat and puree mixture with an immersion blender or food processor (don’t forget to take the parmesan rind out!).  Once pureed, bring to a low simmer and add cream, grated cheese, reserved broccoli florets and grated carrots.  Check for seasoning and its ready to serve.

Baked Baba Ganoush
1 large eggplant
3 large cloves of garlic
1 tomato
1/2 C of bread crumbs
grated parmesan cheese
1 bunch of basil leaves
oregano, salt, pepper, & olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Cut eggplant in half and make about 3-4 slits in the flesh of each side.  Place garlic cloves on top and season generously with olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano.  Cover and bake for about 20 minutes, remove the garlic cloves and set aside, continue baking the eggplant for another 10 minutes or until the flesh is soft and can be easily scooped out of the skin.  Leave oven on while you mash the eggplant flesh and the peeled garlic cloves together in a bowl.  Spoon into a baking dish and top with sliced tomato, bread crumbs and grated parm.  Bake another 10-15 minutes or until the top begins to brown.  Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil and serve.  This makes a perfect side to a garden salad or it can be served with crusty bread as an appetizer.

The best part about this dish is that the oven does all the work, perfect after a week of labor intensive meals.  Pop it in the oven, sit back and sip some wine!

Tangy Carrot-Apple Salad w/ Cider Vinaigrette from Vegetarian Times

Tangy Carrot Salad w/ Scalloped Blue Potatoes Recipe

2 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups grated carrot
1/2 red apple, diced
1/4C scallions, chopped
1/4C fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 C dried cranberries, chopped
1 tsp honey
1 TBS olive oil
2C baby spinach

Combine cider vinegar and garlic in a bowl, let stand for 15 minutes.  Whisk in honey and olive oil and pour over  carrot mixture and toss to combine.  Add salt and pepper and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight.  Serve over a bed of baby spinach leaves.

We had this carrot salad and scalloped blue potatoes as side dishes during our lobster feast.   I never have dried cranberries around so I chopped up some walnuts but even golden raisins would fit well in this salad.

Check out this amazing article in the NYT style section today on preserving fruit in alcohol rather than canning.

The crows do an awful lot of booze-fruit eating in the summertime when we fancy-up our white wines and simple cocktails with a little fruit garnish to be munched on at the end of the drink.  I’ve never thought to preserve fruits this way and then have them for all year long!  I love the idea in the picture of doing pomegranate with a orange peel- can you imagine adding that to a glass of sparkling wine or a whiskey tonic?  I think I just found my weekend project!

This past Thursday I was frequenting the Brigham Circle Market on the way home from work.  I knew I shouldn’t buy much since I was going away for the weekend but like I said, I needed to stock up on some root veggies, and my experience with their lettuce has been long lasting if you wash and pack away in the fridge right when you get home.

I had reached my quota and was about to check out when it caught my eyes… the cutest bundle of leeks for sale, all tied together with a rustic piece of rope.  Call me a sucker for packaging all you want but that bunch of leeks did it for me; i had no plans for leeks but there was no way I could turn them down.  And to top if all off they were giving out complimentary reusable bags which I thought was a great end of the season gesture to all the loyal customers.

Of course that night I made potato and leek soup and on Sunday when I got back from Providence I used the remaining leek for a spicy red lentil soup.  Leeks can go in just about any soup to add another layer of flavor.  Since we are approaching soup season check out the Crow’s Soup Archive for some ideas.  Hopefully we’ll beef that section up in the coming months!

From the Market: Corn, lettuce, cukes, onion, garlic, potatoes
From the Porch: Cherry tomatoes, basil, thyme

The potato pouch is very simple, just drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of the tin foil pouch, add thinly sliced potatoes onions.  Drizzle more olive oil on top and give a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper along with some fresh thyme sprigs.  Roll up the tin foil and pop it on the grill over medium high heat for about 20 minutes.

Corn off the Cob w/ Roasted Garlic and Basil
I made this as a side dish but feel free to increase the quantity!

2 ears fresh corn sawed off the cob (this is always messy but if you cut the tip of the ear off it provides a level surface to stand the corn up on)
2-3 garlic cloves, roasted emily crow style*
drizzle of olive oil or butter
freshly chopped basil
salt and pepepr to taste

In a saute pan heat the oil and add chopped roasted garlic.  Add corn kernels, salt and pepper and stir until it is all coated.  If the corn is fresh then it doesn’t need to cook it just needs to heat through  and get some of that yummy roasted garlic flavor so about 30 seconds to one minute.  Take off heat and top with freshly chopped basil.

*Emily showed me a quick & easy way to roast garlic.  Peel the cloves, put them in a tin foil pouch with salt, pepper and a generous amount of olive oil.  Close up the pouch and toss it on the grill over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes.  Emily and I like to snack on the smaller crispier cloves like little savory candies and the left over olive oil in the pouch can be used in salad dressings.

Green lentil Salad w/ Mushrooms & Thyme
1 C green lentils
1 Celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
1/2 package mushrooms, medium chopped
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
bunch of scallions, chopped
1 TBS champagne vinegar
olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Put lentils in a pot with celery, carrot, onion, bay, garlic, salt and pepper.  Cover with water and let simmer until lentils are tender (20-30mins) and skim off the foam that appears on the surface.  While lentils are simmering saute the mushrooms with olive oil and freshly chopped thyme. When the lentils are tender, drain and let cool and discard the vegetables and bay leaves.  In a large bowl combine lentils and mushrooms, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil to moisten the mixture and add a splash of champagne or white wine vinegar to awaken all the flavors.  Add the scallions and your work week salad is complete.

This salad is tasty warm or cold, if I have goat cheese on hand i like to sprinkle it on top, but my Man Crow persists it is fine without.

Lest I overwhelm the collective voice of the blog via my self-indulgent introduction, I will provide the breakdown of the Watermelon and Feta salad I contributed to V-Bar’s delightful engagement party. I can’t take credit for the Jambalaya, that was all the boy and The Fat Man (Paul Prudhomme).

Watermelon and Feta Salad

adapted from Jacques Pépin

1 Watermelon, cut into bite-sized chunks or balled, if you have the patience

1/3 cup olive oil (the unsullied kind)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Tabasco (I like a good amount, but add to your taste)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups crumbled feta cheese

1 small sweet onion, diced

1 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

Jacques adds olives, but I omit.

Whisk together everything you can whisk in a big bowl, then add the watermelon, feta, and anything that’s not so easy to whisk and toss. Garnish with the mint. Eat soon, it quickly turns to soup as the melon de-bloats.