Roasted, pickled and sauteed vegetables (zucchini, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, cremini mushrooms, arugula, nutritional yeast, sea salt, mustard, white vinegar, oregano, basil, black pepper, cayenne pepper) arugula and brown rice (evoo, sea salt).
With this dish, I roasted the vegetables, left them over night to marinate and then sauteed them with the arugula.
Spinach salad with artichokes, raisins and red peppers (lemon juice, black pepper, nutritional yeast, sea salt, liquid smoke).
Chick pea and pepita veggie burger (chick peas, pepitas, yellow split peas, allspice, five-spice powder, onion powder, cumin, garlic, vegetable stock), with artichoke/macadamia cheese (garlic, cilantro, sea salt, nutritional yeast) on a whole wheat beer bun (whole wheat flour, Heineken, sea salt, baking powder, evoo/flax oil).
Sweet potato mash with cilantro and chipotle (garlic, evoo/flax oil, sea salt).
The photo doesn't really capture it, but the burger was simply massive. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to eat it all. Against all reason and decorum, I decided to make a vegan version of the American superburger thing.
Red pepper, artichoke and kalamata olive salad (evoo/flax oil, sea salt and lemon juice, lime juice).
Tofu and quinoa paella with lobster mushrooms, dulse and sundried tomatoes (evoo/flax oil, saffron, vegetable stock, tarragon, basil, oregano, sage, liquid smoke, garlic).
Pineapple, red pepper and scallion salad (canola oil, sea salt) with peanut, tamari and miso dressing.
Roasted zucchini, artichokes and rhubarb with walnut ginger coulis (nutritional yeast, sea salt, apple cider vinegar, sugar, stevia, chipotle). The walnut, ginger and rhubarb were all good. The zucchini didn't have enough flavour to hold up its end. Next time, it'll probably be mushrooms instead of zucchini.
Brown rice spaghetti with tamari, tahini and ginger bechamel with sun dried tomatoes and Italian parsley (all I did was plate this one, but it was delicious!).
Mango, pineapple raspeberry sorbet.
The wine was Clos de Los Siete.
Roasted eggplant and artichoke salad (cider vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, chives, garlic, herbs de Provence, evoo/flax oil). Roasted portabello steaks (evoo, sea salt) with a pear, chive and palm oil veloute (pears, chives, whole wheat flour, palm oil, white wine, lemon juice, vegetable stock) and sweet potato and sweet onion mash (sea salt, palm oil, chives), plated, naturally, on a field of chives.
The sauce was based on a standard ravigote minus the tarragon and some additional accents. This may sound like an unusual pairing, but pear, mushrooms, onions and cheese are a common combination for panini.
Brunch 15 April 2007.
Blackened tofu salad (extra firm tofu, chipotle, cumin, paprika, sea salt, black pepper, coriander, celery, scallions, vegan mayo, mustard, tahini, garlic).
Chocolate chipotle cornbread (cocoa, chipotle, beer, baking powder, wine vinegar, stevia, sea salt, whole wheat flour, corn flour, chick pea flour).
Kalamata and jalapeno tapenade (kalamata olives, scallions, jalapeno, capers, evoo, flax oil).
Artichoke, pepita and carrot salad with sundried tomatoes, raisins and scallions (cilantro, evoo, flax oil, lemon juice, black pepper, sea salt).
Dinner 26 March 2007. Plantain, cassava greens and artichoke (roasted plantains, cassava greens, artichokes, white wine, turmeric, all spice, cumin, chipotle, garlic, sea salt, black pepper) roti (whole wheat flour, vegan margarine, spices) with red pepper and black bean salad (diced red peppers, black turtle beans, thin sliced onion, jalapeno, mint, lemon juice, black pepper, sea salt).
A Caribbean dish, roti is an excellent example of fusion cuisine wrapping spicy and sweet curry with a flat, pastry bread (somewhere between a pita and a tortilla). The dish combines some basic French and Indian pastry concepts, Indian and local spices and local ingredients (often fish, goat, potatoes, okra and so on).
Wine: Clos de los Siete. I thought this wine was particularly appropriate given Michel Rolland's transnational approach to oenology (the wine is primarily a combination of originally French grapes grown in Argentina).
Dinner 21 March 2007. Artichoke and green olive stuffed eggplant with roasted mushroom, green pepper and cannellini bean salad.
Aperitif: Dubonnet red on ice.
Digestif: Cognac and espresso.
Click here for the recipe.
Mezze with baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant, sundried tomatoes, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, sea salt sunflower oil), jalapeno hummus (chick peas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, sea salt and jalapeno pepper), and artichoke/spinach dip (artichokes, spinach, garlic, lemon juice, white wine, nutritional yeast, sea salt, black pepper) service with pita triangles.
I bought the pita at the Mideast Bakery in Ottawa (fresh, organic, whole wheat pita!). The hummus was mostly toss and blend with the hand blender. I had to roast the eggplant for the baba ghanoush, but then it was toss and blend. With the artichoke spinach dip, I sauteed the spinach in the wine, and separately pureed the artichokes, tahini, etc. Then it was just toss and mix.
No wine with dinner tonight, although although arak would be a traditional aperitif and white coffee would be a traditional digestif. Accompanying dishes could have included tabouleh, marinated mushrooms, roasted cauliflower, beets and so on. What's great about mezze is the simplicity.
Dinner 8 March 2007. Roasted vegetables (sundried tomatoes, green peppers, artichokes, kalamata olives, cremini mushrooms, sea salt, black pepper, white wine, nutritional yeast, garlic, basil and oregano) over whole wheat fusili.
Wine: Botter's Nero D'Avola.
