What do I want to say about this. It was really good. Really really good. I am slowly getting better at doing Indian food (and slowly worse at doing Mexican).


For the curry:
2 acorn squash
1 fennel bulb
1 head cauliflower
1 red onion
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1 c. plain yogurt
1 lemon
2 clove garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
4 Tbsn Curry Powder
1 tspn each of Cumin, Tumric, Coriander, and Cayenne
2 Tbsn water
1 tspn salt

Roast the acorn squash ahead of time for 45 minutes at 350, cut in half and seeded.
Roast the fennel bulb whole for 20 mins at 350.

Chop the onion small and sautee until transluscent in a little oil. Add the garlic and ginger and the spices. Mix the water in and stir for 2 minutes. This brings out the oils of the spices.

Pour in the tomatoes, coconut milk and yogurt. Mix it up then add the cauliflower, chopped. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is a little soft.
Chop the squash and slice the fennel bulb, leaving out the tip tops as they get too tough to chew. If you have the fennel leaves, dried from baking, toss those in. It won't hurt anything.
Simmer for 5 minutes, then squeeze lemon juice over it all. The lemon juice right at the end brings the whole dish together. Don't skip this step. And don't skimp on the juice. Get a few lemons if you'd like. Also, you could add some fresh garam masala and chopped cilantro if you have it around.

For the Bread:
1½  flour
1 tspn salt
1 Tbsn baking powder
Black Pepper
Dried Oregano
Dried Parsley
Dried Basil
Any other dried herbs you have on hand.
1 Tbsn cider vinegar (really just to get the baking powder to react)
¼ cup sourdough started if you have it
½ cup water

Mix the dry ingredients together, pour over the water and vinegar and mix until you get a soft but dense ball that mostly holds its shape.
Toss in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes

Balsamic Dip:
¾ cup olive oil
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1tsp salt
1 tspn black pepper

Mix ingredients with an Immersion blender. The blender is really key. It makes the dip nice and thick, to stick to the bread.

 Just Lasagna. That's all.

1 box lasagna noodles
48 oz tomato sauce
1lb italian sausage
1 anise bulb
1 large zucchini
1 bunch kale
5 cloves garlic
1 lb mozzarella
1 can parmesean cheese
olive oil
water
parsley
rosemary
oregano
salt and pepper

Start with the tomato sauce, by mixing the canned tomatoes with equal parts water, the garlic, parsley rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and use an immersion blender to smooth out. Reduce to simmer and let it reduce by nearly a half.

Brown the italian sausage while heating a large pot of water. Grease a large baking sheet. When the water is hot, dip the noodles in a few at a time until they are just pliable and place the first layer into the baking sheet.

Slice the anise bulb and the zucchini as thin as you can. Layer on the noodles with a little sauce. Layer some more noodles and add the mozzarella in large chunks. Add more parmesean cheese and italian sausage, and the kale chopped up small.

Layer things together however you want and top with sauce and parmesean. Some tricks: the noodles don't have to be fully cooked first as they will absorb some moisture while baking. The thinner the veggies the easier they will be to bake. Big chunks of mozz are fun to find when you are eating. Don't skimp on the parmesean.

Cover in tinfoil and place in fridge overnight. Cook in oven at 325 for 60 minutes, with an additional 10 mins under the broiler without the tinfoil to get a good crisp on top.

 I've made this tzizki sauce before, but this time I added fresh peppermint and greek oregano. So very tasty.

The rest of the salad had kale, red leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red onions black olives and feta, and Israeli couscous.

The other plate was simply sliced apples, grapes, and sharp cheddar. Perfect.

 So first, Make this cocoa syrup. It is amazing and easy.

Ingredients



1 1/2 cups water
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups Dutch-processed cocoa
1 orange zested
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
In a small pot, bring water and sugar to a boil and whisk in cocoa, orange zest, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until all of the solids have dissolved. Reduce sauce until slightly thickened. Cool to room temperature. Put it on everything.


Next the crepes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted (but not over heated


Directions


In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Toppings
Fresh Strawberries from the garden
1 Lemon for juice
Sprigs of chocolate mint, sliced
Orange Cocoa Sauce

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

10 sprigs thyme, tied together

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes

1–2 teaspoons sugar, divided

1/4 cup (or more) heavy cream

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper



Melt butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add thyme, onion, and garlic. Cook until onion is completely soft and translucent, 10–12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high; add tomato paste. Continue cooking, stirring often, until paste has begun to caramelize in spots, 5–6 minutes.

Add tomatoes with juices, 1 tsp. sugar, and 8 cups water to pot. Increase heat to high; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer until flavors meld and soup reduces to about 2 quarts (8 cups), 45–55 minutes. Remove soup from heat; let cool slightly. Discard thyme sprigs. Working in small batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth. Return to pot. DO AHEAD Soup can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool slightly, cover, and chill. Rewarm before continuing.

Stir in 1/4 cup cream. Simmer soup until flavors meld, 10–15 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tsp. sugar. Add more cream, if desired.


For the sandwich, I used some sourdough, buttered on the outsides, a very thin layer of miso paste on the inside, with some basil, ham and thick tillamook cheddar. I put this on the pan before turning on the heat to medium and kept it covered while it toasting.

 A solid breakfast right here.

English Muffins
2 eggs,
1 juiced and zested lemon
1/2 tspn cardamom
1/2 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
chopped hazelnuts.

I made the english muffin french toast, by splitting the muffin the night before and letting them sit out to get stale. This extra bite helps them absorb the egg and stay crispy and full of nooks and cranies when they are cooked.

For the glaze, I zested the lemon, then juiced it all out. I add the cardamom, and started mixing in the powdered sugar at about a large Tablespoon at a time, stirring until it was dissolved before adding more. I kept this up until it was thick, which took longer than I had expected.

Finally I just topped it all off with some hazelnuts to be fancy. Quite perfect.