Thai Coconut Soup

The kitchen is done. Okay, I still need to put on some knobs and put things away...and someday I'll decide on a backsplash... But yeah! Kitchen done.

Lets cook baby.

My favorite soup is Amy's Thai Coconut, Tom Kha Phak. But it's a bit expensive and it's the one they run out of first. Every. Single. Time. And there is no sharing. It's a small can.

So...my grocery store had a sale on mushrooms and this just happened. Omg, I may never have to buy Amy's again. But I probably will.

Thai Coconut Soup

1 lb cubed butternut squash
      or sweet potatoes
3 pints assorted sliced mushrooms, I used white, and baby bella.
1 cup sliced carrots
8 oz spinach
1 large onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can coconut milk
3 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp Persian Lime Olive Oil
1 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil with Garlic Ginger
black pepper
red pepper flake

Slice the onion into thin pieces. In a large pan with high sides toss the Persian Lime Olive Oil with the onions on medium heat.

If using frozen squash/potatoes and carrots, add them now. If you are using fresh, Add them to a pan with an inch or two of water and a pinch of salt. Put a lid on it and let boil for about 6-10 minutes, or until fork tender.

Over medium heat, sweat the onions and the garlic for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and break them up with a spoon. Saute for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally until they are reduced to about half their volume. Add the spinach, Sesame Oil and tahini; stir to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the rest of the veggies if you haven't already and the can of coconut milk. Add the black pepper and red pepper flake. I put in almost a teaspoon of black pepper and just a few shakes of red pepper flake.

Let simmer for up to 10 minutes. And serve.

And a peek at the kitchen!

First Friday- Results!

Hello again! Wow. Two posts in a couple days? A recent record!

First Friday was fantastic! We had polenta and soup and some really beautiful vegetables. And mulled cider to ward off the cold. It was very very cold and we thank everyone who came out anyway!

Recipes here!

Pan Seared Polenta

2C Polenta

3C Vegetable Stock

2C Water

1C milk

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons Butter Olive Oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Fresh ground pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese

Traditional Balsamic for drizzling

In large pot bring liquids to boil.

Add salt, slowly pour polenta whisking constantly to prevent lumps.

When smooth switch to a wooden spoon and lower heat; stirring frequently. If polenta appears dry add more stock as needed. Cook 35-40 minutes.

 Add cheese, butter olive oil, sage and adjust seasoning.

Turn polenta out on parchment lined baking sheet and cool 2 hours.

When cooled invert pan and turn polenta out on counter, cut into desired shape.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to heavy bottomed pan cook polenta 2 minutes per side until golden brown.

Top with Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of Traditional Balsamic.

Potato Leek Soup

3 tablespoons Cumin Olive Oil

1 large leek (white and pale green part only)

2 pounds red bliss potatoes

2 cloves garlic

1 bunch chives (for garnish)

1 quart vegetable or chicken stock

Salt and Pepper

Sweat leeks and garlic in olive oil for 10 minutes until very tender.

 Add potatoes and cook for 2 minutes longer.  Add stock. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree soup adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowl and garnish with fresh chives and a drizzle of Olive Oil. (The Black Truffle seemed to be the favorite!)

Roasted Fall Vegetable Antipasto

1 Delicata Squash

2 yellow squash

2 zucchini

1 bunch radicchio

2 bulbs fennel

1 small head cauliflower

1 red pepper

Coratina Olive Oil

Black Walnut Balsamic

Preheat oven to 400°.

Slice squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Slice squash and zucchini lengthwise into long planks. Quarter radicchio and fennel. Break cauliflower into florets.

Working in batches toss veggies with oil, salt and pepper. Roast until fork tender.

Arrange veggies on serving platter. Shave parmesan cheese and drizzle with the Coratina olive oil and a balsamic of your choice. The Black Walnut was the best!

The kitchen is just about done, I have a backlog of recipes that is going to explode soon. I hope I don't flood your blog feeds.

First Friday!

Hello Everyone! It's First Friday Time Again!

Local Chef Terrance Tice is going to be cooking up some great food. And there will be in-store specials going on. So come down and join the party!

7-9pm All over town

Hope to see you there!

Happy Halloween All!

Apple Cranberry Crumble

Hello happy olive oil users! Happy Columbus Day!

We are pleased to announce that this past month's First Friday was a great success. And we are looking forward to next month's event very much. I hope that everyone who attended had a good time and that even more people come next month. Looks like the Next one will happen on the 7th of November. Hope to see you there!

So, onto your coupon.

I also have a recipe for you! I borrowed my sister in law's kitchen and made a little mess. This is very lightly sweetened, so it's great for a lighter dessert, or a really healthy breakfast too. Feel free to substitute another fruit Balsamic for the Cranberry if you don't have it. I recommend the Red Apple, Black Walnut, Honey Date or maybe even the Chocolate...

Apple Cranberry Crumble

6 medium apples

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

2 cups granola

1 cup hot water

3 tbsp Cranberry Balsamic

Flaky sea salt

2 tbsp Blood Orange Olive Oil, plus a little for the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Dice the apples and mix in a large bowl with the cranberries and the granola. Toss with the olive oil.

Use the little bit of extra olive oil to grease a 9 or 10in glass or deep sided pie pan. Spread the crumble mix inside. Stir the Balsamic and hot water together and pour evenly over the crumble.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes. Stir it around about halfway through to keep it moist.

Top with whipped cream if you like, or maple syrup is really good too (for breakfasts)!

Cranberry Chickpea Salad

We just started carrying a new product. Soom brand Tahini and Chocolate Tahini. It's the best Tahini I've ever had. So many ideas for it. So I used it to tossed this quick chickpea salad together for lunch the other day. Everything I found was pre-diced, so it was easy enough to assemble even without countertops. Still waiting on that. Soon, I'll have a kitchen soon.

I'm tired of take out. I need to make food again.

Cranberry Chickpea Salad

2 cans chickpeas
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup shelled edamame
4 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp Cranberry Balsamic
1/2 cup Soom Tahini
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Stir everything together in a big bowl and enjoy your meal!

The tahini makes it so creamy. I am starting to see lots of ideas for this!

Guest Recipe: Espresso Balsamic Sauce

Heide is a new employee of ours and we are enjoying working with her very much. She made this sauce the other day and shared it with us. It's great to have another creative cook!

'I made an easy sauce out of espresso balsamic. Hope you like as much as we did!'

Heide King

Espresso Balsamic Sauce

1/2 small can organic tomato paste
1/3 large bottle espresso balsamic
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (depending on desired thickness)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon oinion powder
1/4 cup rum
1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt (to taste)
Wisk over low heat till hot and combined.  Eat warm or cold.