Musings of a Wench

I really do think about food all the time

I love fall. Weather wise, summer is my favourite because Calgary summers are just so great. Sure, we get down to minute 40 in the winter, but i love me some plus 30 sunny cloudless days. I love heat. And it's dry here, so it's even better. But for food? Oh, for food I love fall best. You can keep the berries and fruits and lettuce. I enjoy them a lot, but I'll still take squash and cabbage and potatoes and slow cooked meats. I love these things, past all culinary reason. And cabbage! I only started eating it a few years ago and I love it so. I've made some variation on the following Nigella Lawson recipe at least every few weeks and will continue until cabbage season ends.

Vietnamese Chicken and Mint Salad
1 chili, preferably a hot Thai one, seeded, minced (optional)
2 large garlic clove, peeled, pressed
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp rice or red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lime juice 3 tbsp Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce (nuoc nam or nam pla)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
½ medium onion, finely sliced
Pepper
1 small white cabbage, shredded
2 medium carrots, grated
2 c cooked chicken breast, shredded
Bunch of mint

In a bowl, combine the chili, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, oil and onion and black pepper to taste. Put to one side for half an hour. In a big bowl, mix the cabbage, carrot, chicken and mint. Pour over the dressing and slowly toss very well, so that everything is combined and covered thinly. Taste to see if you need salt or pepper. Serve with mint chopped on top.

The other thing that I love beyond all reason is soup. Now, I'm lactose intolerant, but I love cream soup. I have discovered that as long as you blend soup (love the immersion blender!), all you have to do to make it creamy is to add a potato when you add the rest of the veggies. Doesn't matter what kind of cream veg soup. Healthier, even if you can handle the dairy. Made one this weekend with an acorn squash, half a yam, half a sweet potato and two small white potatoes. Plus two onions from the garden, some pepper, sage and thyme and some time, and I had a great tasty pot of soup. Because I was feeling fancy, I fried up the squash seeds in olive oil and salt and threw them in on top. Served with fresh biscuits. Love.

I cook like that pretty much all the time. Tonight is mushroom risotto. The only reason I don't food blog is sheer laziness. I do love everyone else’s, so keep it up. Just pardon me while I only watch from the sidelines and drool. (And totally steal all your recipes.)

posted by Morgan @ 4:03 p.m.