Ecclectic Friday

This is going to be an ecclectic post of a variety of vegan and garden food happenings. I got home yesterday afternoon and discovered Dave had found a bunch more morrel mushrooms. There weren't as many this time, but they were big. I am making mushroom barley stew with these, there was a little over a pound this time. The stew also has carrots, celery, and black eyed peas. It comes from Bryanna's Fiber For Life Cookbook. I've made it before and DH likes it too, but DS hates mushrooms and wants nothing to do with "that poison". I plan on serving it with the remainder of that Earthworks (locally made in Ames) Kalamata Olive Roasted Red Pepper sourdough bread that I bought at Wheatsfield Grocery. This stuff is divine! I made kalamata olive sourdough bread like this once, but it was duirng a time that I had time to "babysit" a starter and remember to refresh it. It's not hard work, but does take some thought and effort. I'd like to get a starter going again, but this is unlikely until after January.

I was so happy to see that I have some baby spinach ready to pick from my garden so my plan is to have this for lunch tommorrow. I am really looking forward to one of my favorite spring soups, Spanish Kale and Potato. I think this soup is very pretty using red baby potatoes which can be harvested at the same time as the kale, but I have to wait a few more weeks for this though. What got me to thinking about this is that I have to thin my turnip greens tommorrow. I am thinking of using them in another soup in Bryanna's 20 minutes to Dinner Cookbook called Beans and Greens. She says it is a Tuscan-style Italian dish that may become a staple before long. I think I will make the pasta separate and spoon the soup over it so that the leftovers won't have pasta that soaks up all the liquid. I'll probably freeze some of these soups in serving size portions for later eating.

I'm not sure what I will be taking with me for my Monday - Thursday stay yet. I'm getting tired of muffins... the ones I thought would be easy enough to take again next week. Perhaps I'll try a breakfast burrito or a breakfsat cookie... in a previous Bryanna newsletter she did a breakfast biscotti, it looked delish. I'll let you know what I chose for the next MwM entry.

On a another note, I made 7 jars of GRAINY APRICOT MUSTARD tonight (after allowing ingredients to set out for a couple of weeks before pureeing, this takes the hot off of them). I haven't made this recipe before, but I really want to have some of this with something. Maybe a turkey style seitan would be the best with it and then I could make a sandwich or two to take with me. Perhaps this week I'll take the george grill instead of the crockpot then I can grill a fast slab of tofu or this seitan. I love grilled onions on the george!

I added the following link and a few pictures to my MwM entry prior to this one.
DRIED POTATO SOUPS (instant and family style link to recipes)