Kale and "Sausage" Hash

I've been super busy lately: out shooting from the hip with my holga, taking a painting class at the local community college (gotta love those continuing education classes!), still trying to finish a few quilts (I should probably finish them before the babies I am making them for graduate high school or something), and writing, writing, writing!

But a girls gotta eat, so I've been making simple fast foods like this hash, which there a bazillion different variations on. That's why I love them: chop up some potatoes, add whatever is on hand, saute everything in some oil until heated and crispy and voila: a filling and delicious meal that doesn't break the bank and only takes about 30 minutes to make.

Kale and "Sausage" Hash

Hearty Minestrone

Minestrone is, simply put, a hearty, thick Italian vegetable soup. Usually it includes some beans and often pasta, though I think the inclusion of pasta can be a bit overkill. I suppose it just comes down to an individuals personal taste. Minestrone is diverse, and can include just about anything one can find to throw in a pot, making it pretty much a stone soup, sans the stone.

Minestrone is considered one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine, and has roots stating back to the Roman Empire. The minestrone the Roman soldiers lived on was far from the modern version: they didn't even get to enjoy the more recent additions of tomatoes and potatoes that American cooks started utilizing in the mid 16th century. Other than slight tweaks though the ages, the soup often stays true its roots by using local, season vegetables.

So, now that you are aware of the history of minestrone, here's the recipe for a batch I whipped up while visiting my mother the other day. Have at it.

A Minestrone Recipe:

A Simple Curry

One of my favorite things in the entire word is having friends over for dinner. I like sequestering myself in the kitchen for a few hours and tuning into Thelonious Monk, playing mad scientist with spices, and ignoring the rest of the world until friends knock on the door and it's time to set the table. Sometimes I plate and serve full courses, and sometimes I spread all the elements on the table, and let my guests put together their own plates. The following curry works best in the latter format, as people can choose how much rice, vegetables, sauce, and garnish they want. It's a good meal for a smallish (4-6) dinner party.

Cilantro, Coconut Curry Sauce, Cumin Scented Rice, Roaster Cauliflower and Carrots, Steamed Spinach and Choi Sum

Curry Powder:

“Cheesy” Potato Gratin

I finally fed my craving. See, I've been craving scalloped potatoes since Thanksgiving. The warm cheesy bubbles that pop with steam on the way from the oven to the table, the crisp browning edges that crunch, the perfectly laid rows of thin potato slices that are soft when you bite down, yet not mushy... yeah, that's what I've been craving. 

I fought the craving off for a while until Christmas rolled around and we had dinner with my wife's family and my mother-in-law served up a potato gratin, looking like the angels had made it and placed it down right beside me to tantalize my olfactory senses. And it was made with bacon. As quickly as the angels had laid down this dish beside me, the Devil was there to enforce the steadfast law that if you want something done your way, you better just do it yourself. So I begged for the recipe, veganized it, and bestow upon you the holy grail of potato gratin.

“Cheesy” Potato Gratin

Portuguese Bean Soup

If you wanted to try my linguica seitan "sausage" recipe, but weren't sure what in the world to do with said "sausage," don't fear! you can make this awesome cabbage stew. It's a true "peasant stew" americanized by generations of mothers passing down to their offspring, and it was a favorite of mine when I was small during the winter months.

On a completely different, yet slightly related note, I blame Michael Scott and Ricky Gervais for my 4th grade stifled laughter over the last two days. Trust me, I know it's stupid, and immature, but I can't, for the life of me, read or type the word "sausage" without immediately thinking "that's what she said!" Even if it makes no sense whatsoever. Thanks, pop-culture, for taking over my brain. Again.

Portuguese Bean Soup

Shepherd’s Pie

Our friend Vanessa has been hounding me since we moved back a few months ago for the privilege of following me around the kitchen while I cook in an attempt gain some mad cooking skills through osmosis*. She finally invited herself over to make this dream come true today, but unfortunately, not realizing an eight week old baby affects scheduling, arrived more than a few hours late, just as I was putting dinner in the oven (don’t fret Vanessa, there are many more opportunities in the future).

Since the air finally took on that distinct crisp, fresh scent that means snow is on the way (which the weatherman has been promising), so I decided it was the perfect time to make Shepard’s Pie. If tender veggies and faux beef topped with mashed taters with a side of crispy kale seasoned with sumac doesn’t warm you to the core, just add in your wife, three good friends, and an eight week old baby snuzzling into your chest, and your heart will grow three times, like the Grinch’s did after the icicles around his heart melted.

Shepherd’s Pie

Why I Cook, plus Simple Tofu Scramble

If you ask me why I cook, I’ll tell you it’s not about food. Not really. I mean, I could probably survive on rice and lentils with no seasoning if I needed to. Or ramen. Or grass. Or McDonald's burgers and shakes. (Though if I went that route, I wouldn’t survive very long as my colon, along with every other organ in my body would run the risk of spontaneously combusting by the time I hit 30).

But cooking, for me, is not about survival. It sounds pretentious, but I know I’m a good cook. I have a decent knack for what flavours go together and how to season food. I love farmers markets and like adventure, so I try new vegetables and fruits and grains on a regular basis. If you bring me a vegetable, I’ll figure out something to do with it. And I like the quietness of the kitchen when I cook. The care and patience it takes to prepare that which nourishes us.

Cooking and sharing meals for me is just that: nourishment. And not just for our bodies. It is something I can share with the people I love, give the people I care about. Most of my friends work in some field of social justice or social welfare. The great majority are activists, counselors, non-profit workers, teachers and artists. They are the ones that choose to look society in the face and fight back. It’s not easy to look at the scars left on each other and our planet and not give up.

At the end of the day, I don’t believe anyone wants to go home to a TV dinner, even the vegan ones. “remove from wrapper, place in microwave for 5 minutes. Eat.” How very sterile and boring. At the core, I think what we want, and need, is connection. Anthony Bourdain says cooking should be taught in school, that it would make children more patient, appreciative, and in general, better people. I don't agree with Bourdain on much, as he can be a vegan's nightmare, but I will give him props for that statement.

I offer connection and nourishment to you when I cook. A thank you for being in my life, offering me your friendship and support. So stay in the kitchen with me and taste the process. Sit in a space with me and share what I have made. Good ingredients cooked well and good company make for good conversation shared, and it is for that simple connection that I cook. I should stop now before I sound anymore like an overdone Hallmark card.

Here is a simple little recipe I whipped up the other day to share. While it’s true there are thousands of ways to make a tofu scramble, sometimes simple is best.

Simple Tofu Scramble: