It's Salad Season! 100 Days of Recipes: Day 35

It's Salad Season!

Salads of some sort are in season year-round, but in my area, the Tailgate Markets are starting to overflow with wonderful greens and veggies, as well as similar bounties from farmers bringing eggs, cheeses, poultry, meat, and fish. Omnivores and vegans alike will find endless options!

As noted in yesterday's blog, I loaded up on good salad fixings to add to the goodies I get from Mudluscious Gardens every week. I'm also trying to better prepare myself for studio workdays - as much as I love having 12 Bones BBQ and a daily food truck behind our studio, I love cooking and preparing my own meals, too!

Two days of salad yumminess!

Today's lunchbox will include a lovely jar o' salad: salad greens, walnuts, mushrooms, carrots, roasted sweet potatoes, baby turnips, baby beets, and kale. I also have some of the garlic scapes and spring onions finely sliced in some balsamic vinegar and salt, a nice 6 minute egg, and some avocado. I've got a nice dinner planned for tonight inspired by the book I mentioned yesterday, and leftovers from that will no doubt find a place on tomorrow's salad!

Farmer's Market and Weekly Prep - 100 Days of Recipes: Day 34

Not only did I come home from 90 degree Florida with a bit of a late Spring cold, I came home to true Spring weather - rainy, colder, and rainy. I hear lots of moans around me, but I LOVE it! I love all four seasons, but my favorites are those that really have a little of everything. Well maybe not everything, but the cool nights and early mornings and breezy, warm but not too warm days that come in early Spring and late Fall are my favorites.

Yesterday I bundled up to hit my favorite Tailgate Market, and it did not disappoint! My lingering cold slowed me down from getting there when they opened, and I thought the cold might slow others down, but it was packed when I arrived, and my favorite mushrooms were already sold out. I did, however, find lots of early spring greens, veggies, and ALL the strawberries! 

The salad greens came in my weekly Mudluscious Farms delivery, and I found baby beets
and turnips, garlic scapes, spring onions, kale, and strawberries at the North Asheville Tailgate
(along with a yummy vegan scone and coffee that didn't last to make the picture!)

There was no cooking yesterday - it was first day back in the studio, finishing up some packing from the last kiln, a bit of studio organization, and some warm up platters at the wheel before joining studio mates with a bit of gallery re-arranging. Taco Billy sustained me at the studio, and nibbling on my market finds with leftover mac & cashew cheese became dinner.

My fridge and pantry have been filled, from Mudluscious, the Tailgate, and a quick stop at Hopey & Co. for fill-ins, and I'll start prepping ingredients and planning meals today to take me through the week.

A side note on an unintentional, yet lately acknowledged, tradition of sorts. Every year at Christmas, good friends come to stay, and one of our regular traditions is to make pilgrimage to Mr. K's Bookstore. We have a leisurely visit, and I try to limit myself but always walk out with a small armload of books. These books, it seems, are what I go to when I travel. I don't have as many long, uninterrupted periods of time to read as I'd like, but between getting to the airport early enough to navigate a long tsa line to layovers and delays, traveling by air is a great time to read. I've traveled to Florida several times this year, and I noticed on this trip that I was going to my "Mr. K's" stack of books each time for my reading companion.

Current reading...

So when I was preparing to leave for the most recent trip, I grabbed the book at the top of the stack, and it was "The Pleasures of Cooking for One" by Judith Jones. Anyone who knows me knows that I love cooking for others, so the title wasn't the immediate draw! What caught my eye in the bookstore was the author, Judith Jones - a name I immediately recognized as the editor for many cookbooks I owned, by Julia Child, James Beard, and others. I knew immediately I'd love to read her perspective on cooking, and even though I love to cook for the leftovers, I figured it never hurts to have new tricks and tips for putting together quick meals for one.

I read the introduction waiting for my first flight out, and by the time I finished that one section, I knew I would savor every word on every page of this book - I'll be sharing some morsels with you in the coming posts to be sure, but for now I'm off to take inspiration from this passage from her introduction:

"...there is something about going home at the end of the day or giving over a quiet Sunday afternoon to cooking - smashing the garlic, chopping an onion, getting all those good cooking smells going, stirring, and tasting mindfully, and then adjusting the seasonings - that makes us feel creative." (The Pleasures of Cooking for One, Introduction, by Judith Jones)

Mac and Cashew Cheese. 100 Days of Recipes: Day 32

I thought I'd get further in than 21 days before a major gap occurred in my 100 days, but I'm glad it's happened so I don't have to fret it! 

The past 11 days, some of which you'll find on the Instagram account, have included the frantic finish of production into a glazing and firing cycle, followed by unloading, sorting, packing, delivering, and shipping pots. That was followed by a trip to Florida to see my folks and help them with a yard sale, returning late Tuesday of this week, bringing with me a lovely summer cold. The cold kept me home yesterday and today, but today at least included taking care of the travel laundry, so I'll be ready to get back to the studio tomorrow!

I haven't been out to get fresh fruits/veg since I've been back, so all my comfort cooking this week has come from the fridge and pantry (I can't wait to get to the farmer's market tomorrow!). Today's recipe may have already appeared in the blog, but it's been a perfect comfort lunch on a slightly cooler, rainy day.

Sick Day Comfort Food: Mac & cashew cheese, with peas
& finely crumbled turkey bacon

Cashew Cheese Sauce (for mac & cheese)

This cashew based 'cheese' sauce is great to sauce your mac, or to use as you would any light cheese sauce. You can make it more hollandaise-like with a bit more lemon, or cheese it up even more by adding more nutritional yeast. 

1 1/2 cups raw cashews
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. chili powder (or cayenne)
1/2 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp. mustard

(this makes enough to dress 16 oz. pasta)

Process the cashews in a food processor. First they will chop up, then as they continue to process, it will ball up, then get more paste-y. That's where you want it to be.

Add the rest of the ingredients and process to blend well. 

If you're making 'mac & cheese', cook 16 oz. of pasta to your 'dente' choice. Drain and return to the pan, adding the sauce and stirring to blend and heat.

Quick Shrimp Noodle Soup. 100 Days of Recipes: Day 21

True confession: 100 days of recipes in a row is hard! I could just pull things from older posts/archives, but I had approached this challenge as more of a way to highlight the every day 'recipes' that I create. Some are created with great planning and care, some just kind of happen. Some are recipes for food, others for other things to nourish the soul. And some days, those things happen, but they don't get chronicled or even thought about until all there was to chronicle was a pile of empty plates or a distant memory. I've done a better job of capturing glimpses, at least, on the Instagram page, so if you're following there the gaps won't be as noticeable. :)

Case in point - Day 20 was yesterday, and it was a lovey and full day that actually presented multiple opportunities to be that day's post: a surprise housewarming for a Lindsey and Michael that had a table laden with bagels and all sorts of yummy things that go with it. The real recipe from that experience, however, was the peace found sitting on comfy couches, watching lovely birds dance around feeders in their new front yard, while Michael swung gently on the porch swing and strummed his banjo. Later in the afternoon, Lindsey and I attended an inspiring, if not chilly and damp, Healthcare Townhall, where we heard the new progressive voice of Matt Coffay, and celebrated his announcement to run for office (recipe for change!). That was followed by a warming bowl of soup at Blossom on Main, in Waynesville, NC. We were too busy talking and getting rid of the chill to think about photos or recipes, but later when I got home and was thinking about dinner, I just wanted more noodle soup!

So in fact, today's recipe is yesterday's recipe! When I got home I was happy to see I still had some rice noodles, and I found a few other things to add to the mix:

Noodles, shrimp, kale, mushrooms, miso, broth, and sriracha to start.

 Also from the pantry: some tamari, garlic, onion, and ginger. I'm going to list this in 'recipe' form at the bottom of the post, but admittedly I was tired, so amounts are estimates! I think it's a simple enough dish, however, to say that almost any ingredient may be added "to taste".

The finished soup, except that I snapped the picture before
I poured more broth over the noodles, so this is really the goodness
that was IN the broth!

Quick Shrimp Noodle Soup

8 oz pre-cooked shrimp*
4 oz. rice noodles
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup kale leaves, thinly sliced
thumb-size knob of ginger, thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 TBSP miso paste
2 squirts of tamari sauce
Sriracha sauce to taste
Salt to taste


prep note: *The shrimp were pre-cooked, and because if was the end of a long, if not lovely, day, I didn't want to take a lot of extra time for a slow-cooking soup that would give me more fully developed flavors. Miso is a wonderful ingredient to add depth to a quick recipe - I created a quick "marinade" for the shrimp by finely dicing some of the onion, garlic, and ginger into some miso. I loosened it up with a bit of the broth, and coated the shrimp with it and let that sit to the side while I prepared the rest of the soup. 

In a sauce pan, heat just enough broth to cover the pan. When you see it simmer, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and saute until they soften and become fragrant. Add the kale and mushrooms, and a bit of salt. Saute another minute or so to soften those vegetables, then add the broth. Bring it all to a high simmer, and add the noodles. Cover the pan and let the noodles completely soften - they will absorb a good bit of the broth, so add more if it gets less soupy than you like. Add the tamari and taste the broth for any seasoning yo might like to add. Reduce to a light simmer, and add the miso paste and the shrimp, stirring to fully dissolve and incorporate (and to heat the shrimp). Add sriracha to taste (more at serving, even!). 

Scoop out noodles, shrimp and veg to a bowl, then pour over as much broth as you want for your soup-slurping delight!

Some days, you eat cake! 100 Days of Recipes: Day 16

Some days, you have cake!

Birthday Girl!

Today at the studio, we celebrate our wonderful Operations Manager, Lindsey Mudge. We actually celebrate her every day: the amount of details she keeps up with on our behalf, the number of things she does behind the scenes, that we mostly don't even know about, but that keep us running smoothly - well I don't think it's an understatement to say they are innumerable! 

Princess Birthday Girl, enjoying having her cake and eating it, too!

So today, in her honor, we put the traditional "Happy Birthday" banner across her office, made her wear the "Birthday Tiara", sang (in four part harmony!) Happy Birthday to her, and feasted her with vittles from Homegrown restaurant. Our fearless leader Sarah is out of town, but she called in for the singing, and she arranged for a chocolate cake from Short Street Cakes that had us all giddy on sight. We capped off the celebration with a gift for Lindsey from Dobra Tea, her favorite after-yoga pit stop.

We drew on our Asheville community to help celebrate a valued member of our TVP community, and all of it reminds me how very blessed we are, all of us.

Some days, you punt. 100 Days of Recipes: Day 15

Some days, you punt.

Yesterday was one of those days - busy on the phone and computer before I left the house, and then busy at the studio, trying to continue glazing for my firing at the end of the week, with visions and thoughts swirling in my head from my busy-ness earlier in the morning. So it really didn't surprise me that something was just enough 'off' that I kind of kept running into myself. 

Studio Snacking Survival Kit

And while I didn't remember to post this yesterday, this was totally my recipe for surviving the day - small snacks so I could at least stop and distract myself for a few minutes and avoid any blood sugar "hangry" episodes (believe me, the day didn't need any help being dysfunctional!). My go-to items in this survival kit are often the same: Roots Hummus with dipping veggies, nuts and dried fruit, apple and peanut butter. And water - I did a marginal job on that yesterday, but I did stay fueled!

Today I'm a gallerina, so I can be more thoughtful about yesterday's folly and plan for my final glazing session tomorrow while my last bisque kiln cools. Today is also a special day in our studio, so my Day 16 post will be in that celebration - stay tuned!

Lamb Stew. 100 Days of Recipes: Day 14

Lamb Stew, a la Tagine

A Tagine is a dish from North Africa, named for the conical earthenware pot used to cook it. The conical lid allows for a very moist atmosphere in cooking, and the results are just as mouth-watering. 

I have yet to make myself a ceramic tagine - it's on the list, but I can approximate the results in my large, enameled cast iron stock pot, and that's what I did recently for our studio Annual Meeting that I hosted at my home.

The original serving, over cauliflower couscous with roasted sweet potatoes

As soon as I do make that tagine pot, I'll make the recipe again, and then I can give a good comparison. But given how abso-friggin-lutely good this came out in my stock pot, I'm not sure I'll be rushing to make the pot or the comparison (but it is still on the list)!

Lamb Tagine (serves 4)

Preheat oven to 300 (day of cooking!)
Marinade for the 3 pounds of lamb* (do the day before):

2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground allspice

*I used 3 pounds of boneless leg of lamb, with excess fat trimmed and chopped into 1" cubes.

Place the lamb in a bowl, sprinkle the dry marinade on top and massage it thoroughly throughout the lamb. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. 

Take the lamb out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you're ready to start - by the time you prep the rest of the ingredients for the tagine, it'll have warmed up just enough.

In a large cast iron or other heavy-bottomed pan, heat about 1 TBSP of olive oil to med-hi heat. Add as much of the lamb as you can without crowding it - it should all be a single layer with room (in a 10" pan, that's about 1/3 of your lamb). Brown the lamb on all sides, and remove it to a large stock pot (mine is an enameled cast iron pot, like Staub or Le Creuset). Repeat with the remaining lamb, adding more oil as needed.

Leftovers become even more tender, with even richer flavors.

To the stock pot, add:

1 TBSP freshly grated ginger
1 head of garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
1 large onion, grated
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
6 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced in half or left whole if small
2 28-oz can diced or crushed tomatoes
2 cups of stock (lamb or chicken)
10 dates, cut into 1/3's
8 dried apricots, cut into 1/4" slices
2 TBSP honey


Cover pot and place in 300 degree oven for 3-4 hours* Lamb will be SO tender, and the fruit and vegetables will make a thick, luxurious sauce. Remove it from the oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before removing from pot. Serve over couscous, or to be gluten free, cauliflower couscous (this recipe will show up soon, too).

*Ovens vary, and cook time will also vary depending on how consistently you cut the lamb.

One more note: I had intended to include sweet potatoes in the pot with the lamb, but one of my studio mates offered to bring some as a side dish, so she roasted sweet potato chunks in a dry marinade similar to what I used on the lamb. Had they been in the pot, they would have melted into the sauce with the other veg and been delicious, but having them roasted separately made them a perfect compliment to the rich tagine, with the lightness of the cauliflower couscous making a trifecta of deliciousness!