winter warm
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CO-OP
CULINARY
expertise
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very newsletter, we try to bring you delicious recipes of things you can make from all the amazing seasonal, local and organic groceries you can find in our stores. This year, we’d like to draw attention to local culinary talent who are Co-op members. Kicking off the year we invited local food writer, blogger, educator Amy White to contribute recipes for hearty winter dishes to get you through the cold weeks of January and February. The following is an excerpt about what inspired Amy to start her food blog, Veggie Obsession. Read her blog and get more recipes at www.veggieobsession.com. Sarah Wentzel-Fisher Veggie Obsession I'm Amy, and I am totally obsessed with vegetables. OK, fruits, too. There are so many gorgeous varieties and flavors. People ask me if I'm a vegetarian, and I say no—I just love vegetables! I just can't resist them at the farmers' market, I look forward to our local CSA box every week, I grow more in my garden, and I still love to browse through the produce section at the grocery store.
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With a veggie obsession like this, I had to do something ... so I started this blog as an outlet for my constant daydreaming about how to cook and grow veggies. I just want to show people how spectacularly delicious vegetables can be, without cheating by hiding them under loads of breadcrumbs and butter. I think the value of a blog is that the writer genuinely loves the recipe, talks about its history and points out trouble spots—I only write about recipes that I think are really, truly delicious! I don't know quite when this veggie obsession developed, but it started young. My grandmother had a huge vegetable garden on the farm in Illinois—they almost never bought produce, and the basement was stocked full of home-canned goodies. Her sugar snap peas and strawberries were always ready right around my birthday, and I loved just sitting out in the warm dirt eating them, with butterflies floating all around. My mom is a great cook, and she always used lots of vegetables because they were cheaper than meat. The great thing about seasonal produce is that it's cheapest when it's at its peak of freshness and flavor! I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with my husband, Dave, in an old adobe house with two cats and three chickens. Our ever-expanding vegetable garden now fills the front yard as well as the back!
SHOP
CO-OP!
Hearty Winter Soups A really good, flavorful soup makes a fantastic winter meal. I have to admit, I'm not generally a soup lover, because it's so often bland and boring, with tinny-tasting broth. Building a flavorful broth is critical, and vegetarian soups can be just as hearty as meat-based ones. These four recipes really deliver great flavor using a spectacular array of local winter produce. Chicken and Mushroom Stew with White Wine and Turnips Any mushrooms will work in this recipe, but it's especially nice with local oyster mushrooms. Turnips take the place of celery in the mix. 2 teaspoons butter 1 large carrot, diced 1/2 large onion or several shallots, diced 1/2 pound turnips, diced 1 pound mushrooms, sliced 1 cup dry white wine 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 1/2 pound sliced chicken (either cooked or uncooked) 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half Salt and pepper as needed Melt butter in a large pot or wide skillet; add onion, celery and turnips. Cook until soft and slightly browned, then remove vegetables from the pot with a slotted spoon. Add mushrooms and cook until nicely browned. Add wine and the vegetable mixture, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Add stock and chicken. Simmer until the flavors blend, about 20 minutes. Add cream and heat until just warmed again. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Serves 2 to 4.
Lentil and Winter Squash Soup (adapted from The New Spanish Table by Anya Von Bremzen) Lentil soup is awfully misunderstood. It's so often gloppy and bland, and people will add everything under the sun to try to make it better. This version is simple yet packed with flavor. 1 large head of garlic 3 teaspoons olive oil 1 1/2 cup green or brown lentils, washed and picked over 1 pound winter squash or sweet potato, cubed 8 cups water 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or marjoram 1 bay leaf 1 teaspoon red chile powder (optional) 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes 2 onions (one cut in half, one diced) 2 roasted red peppers (diced, from a bottle is fine) 1 teaspoon smoked paprika A pinch of saffron (optional) 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar Salt and pepper as needed Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the top off the head of garlic, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil in a small baking dish. Roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring lentils and water to a boil in a large pot. Skim off any foam and add the marjoram, bay leaf, red chile, half the tomatoes and two onion halves. Simmer about 20 minutes, until lentils are not quite tender. Add squash and simmer another 20 minutes, until it is almost tender. Remove the bay leaf and onion halves. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet on medium heat, and cook diced onions and peppers until soft but not browned. Add tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add this mixture to the lentils. Mash the